The Vikings Research Paper

586 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How the vikings impacted europe

The Vikings The Vikings were and still are a very important part of history. The Vikings were known to trade, explore, raid, and settle across Europe and Asia. However, Vikings are thought of as barbaric raiders, ravaging, looting, and terrorizing the coasts of Northern Europe during their time. This may be true, but not completely. Although they were thought of as larger than life figures, they were an important part of history in shipbuilding, navigation, language, and several things in modern life. Perhaps the most evident of Viking achievements was their state-of-the-art shipbuilding technology. This technology allowed them to travel greater distances than anyone before their time. The most well known ship built by the Vikings was called …show more content…

Doing so left an enduring impact on the land, culture, and language. As the Vikings started to interact with their English companions through farming, trading, and intermarriage, their languages, Old Norse and Old English, began to mix as well. As a result, many words in our English vocabulary comes from the Vikings. For example, we get the words they, there, then, skirt, sky, ski, sled, sleet, flow, fog, and many more words from the Vikings. There are several other things the Vikings have contributed to modern society. For example, we can thank the Vikings for introducing the Western tradition of skiing. Ancient Norsemen skied across their snowy homelands for entertainment and transportational purposes. Although they were thought of as scruffy barbarians, they actually bathed more frequently than other Europeans of the day. They developed bristled combs, which were made of antlers from the animals they killed. The Vikings are given credit for inventing the comb as the Western world knows it today. They also developed sagas with graphic depictions of deeds of powerful rulers and ordinary people. This paved the way for best-selling books and blockbuster movies. The Vikings were and are currently a very important part of history. Although they were thought of as barbaric raiders, they were very advanced for their time. They had developed a sophisticated shipbuilding technology. They had thrived in navigation to other lands. They had also contributed to the English language. Finally, they contributed several things to modern society, such as skis, combs, and sagas. In conclusion, the Vikings were an important part of history in shipbuilding, navigation, language, and several things in modern

Show More
Related

  • Beowulf's Cockiness and Self-Esteem

    410 Words  | 1 Pages

    When he arrived at the Danish land, Beowulf was a man seeking adventure and glory. Beowulf was famous among his people, the Geats, for his bravery. Beowulf fought in many battles and as a result showed his great character to others.

    Read More

  • Interactions Between the Vikings and Natives

    2036 Words  | 5 Pages

    Upon first encountering one another, the vikings and the natives of Scotland often experienced violent confrontation. However, through the passage of time they contributed in shaping each other in equal and sometimes opposite measure. There are several hypotheses that describe the details of the first viking-indigenous interactions.1 Out of the many propositions, two theories appear most often. The first asserts that the vikings set up an earldom and thenceforth ruled over the native Scottish population. Sometimes this earldom is portrayed as peaceful, at other times more violent. The second proposition asserts that a genocide took place in which the vikings eliminated and replaced the native people.2 The evidence for either model is contradictory and variably justifiable. The best explanation therefore is a syntheses of both hypotheses. Namely, that both earldom and genocide took place in different circumstances. Bands of viking ships were often federations, and as such individual rulers within the federation must have had some measure of latitude. In some areas viking captains completely exterminated the indigenous people they found. In other instances, the leaders simply subjugated the people they encountered. In areas where the local population were left alive they influenced the Scandinavian settlers in terms of religion and material culture to different degrees. Conversely, the viking presence in Scotland forced the native inhabitants to become more militant and politically united.3 Furthermore, the natives eventually adopted parts of Scandinavian language, material culture, and custom as well.

    Read More

  • Vikings in Iceland and Greenland - Exploring the Development of Viking Civilization

    1433 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vikings’ settling down in Iceland and Greenland were important reflection of Viking expansion and they caused Viking civilization to extend on these two islands. Vikings were people from Scandinavia. For many reasons, such as the authoritarian policies of Harald Fairhair (Paine, 2013), the geographical features that lacking of lands for agriculture but having abundant trees for shipbuilding, Vikings were forced to expand into the sea. The two locations’ providing Vikings with lands undoubtedly provided them more chances for surviving.

    Read More

  • Viking Impact on Northern Europe

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    When we hears the term Viking an immediate image of bloodthirsty men with long beards and horned helmets is conjured up in our minds. This is the image the historical sources have given us, and it is partly true. Vikings were merciless when raiding, but they were peaceful when they traded. Their navigational technology was exceptional, and the ones who settled in foreign lands contributed greatly to the lands’ culture.

    Read More

  • The Vikings Trial In North America

    1478 Words  | 3 Pages

    TheVikings have been sailing for thousands of years (Steel 1). The Vikings traveled for 2 years this was called a Vikings trial (Steel 1). They would go out in search for land and new wonders in life. They would build their own boats out of wood and hides of animals. They were known as the best sailors of their time.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Viking Contact on Western Europe

    402 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Vikings in their time were the best shipbuilders and sailors in the world. Their ships were very strong as they were made out of a very long-lasting type of wood, which was oak wood. They thought of many creative ways to make their ships more durable, such as dipping sheep?s wool in tar and then filling in the ships gaps to make it waterproof. The Vikings had long voyages, passing many parts of Europe and simultaneously speeding at least glimpses of their amazing technology skills to the people who saw there ships. For example many people from Ireland and Brittan must have seen their ships as they travelled from their homeland Scandinavia to France in the year 798. But their amazing technology skills would have not been spread throughout the world with out the help of navigation.

    Read More

  • Contributions to Western Civilization Made by Ancient Greece and Rome

    2014 Words  | 5 Pages

    These two epics have had a profound impact on western literature and continue to influence literary scholars and authors to this day. The following excerpt from Bio describes the impact of these ancient poems, “The Iliad and The Odyssey have provided not only seeds but fertilizer for almost all the other arts and sciences in Western culture” (“Homer”).... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

  • Vikings Tactics

    469 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Vikings’ battles and tactics were simple, yet well planned. With these battles came great leaders and modes of transportation. Which shaped the way the Vikings lived their daily lives. The constant fighting made the Viking communities strong, independent, and well prepared. Rollo was one of the many leaders in this significant time period.

    Read More

  • Mass Immigration Essay

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many of these industrial inventions was thought to help make life easier. These inventions typically made life easier for men but created more work for women. These advancements also contributed to the expansion of the American diet.

    Read More

  • Analysis of When the Vikings Reached the New World

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the Vikings reached the New World, they called the native inhabitants (American Indians or Native Americans), “Skræling.” There has been much debate as to what exactly this word or label meant. Some translate it as “skin wearers,” which may be true as to how they described them, being the Norse generally wore woolen or linen clothing and North American Natives generally wore animal skins. But there was one additional thing puzzling about the Norse and the Skræling. The Viking explorers weren't curious or baffled by these new people. As if, they'd come into contact with people like this before and their way of life. 500 years later, when other Europeans had come to the New World (The Americas), they were ultimately curious of these strange new people and their ways that they had never seen before. But not the Norse, the Norse hint that they have come into regular contact with people like this on a fairly regular basis.

    Read More

  • The Vikings

    2042 Words  | 5 Pages

    Typically, the image of a Viking is a barbaric, bearded man plundering and destroying a neighboring village. This is actually the stereotypical viewpoint. In actuality, Vikings, have a very different image. For example, Vikings did not wear furry boots or furry armor, they did not have horned helmets, they invaded Britain, and they also were the first to discover America! They were also experts in nautical technology, crafts, trading, warfare and many other skills (Jonsson 1). With all of these traits, the Vikings seem like an unstoppable force in the European continent. But, who were the Vikings? The Vikings were actually venturesome seafarers. This means that they were travelers who were constantly exploring and looking for new areas of land. There roots can be traced all the way back to 6000 B.C. were nomadic men traveled in primitive crafts up the Denmark coast. Fast forward two millennia and these nomadic people have established permanent homes, but still using the boat for food and travel. As stated before, they were not just raiders, although they did do this frequently, but they were actually expert traders, trading all around the world. It wasn’t until around 793 A.D. that a Viking explosion took place in northern Europe (Jonsson 2). Raids began to take place on neighboring villages and their places of worship. To some this is the only type of knowledge they have about Vikings. However, their culture was something to be admired. Trading, religion, and everyday life are all important parts of a Viking culture.

    Read More

  • Norse Mythology Research Paper

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mythology was used by the ancient worlds to tell their civilizations past and explain the unexplainable. The highly known and studied mythologies include Greek, Roman and Egyptian. However, there is another mythology that is lesser known in terms of popularity, Norse mythology, it is known to date back just as far and even farther in some cases than the more popular mythologies. Even though it is not widely known about, it still contains a vast and detailed history.

    Read More

  • Wiglaf Vs Beowulf Essay

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf portrays the beautiful scenario of ancient Anglo- Saxon society. Though the poem itself named after the Scandinavian hero Beowulf, it exploits the characters bounded with their reputation in their society. Based on the social anatomy, there exists an honor system between the king and his warriors. Heroic acts of a warriors in a battlefield always seems to get high-praised and even considered as the greatest accomplishment of their life. Similarly, in the poem, Beowulf and Wiglaf were also considered as the heroes of Danes because of their heroic acts after their fight against the dragon.

    Read More

  • History and Mechanics of Viking Warfare

    1475 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the earliest years of the Vikings, there was little history recorded due to the polytheistic views that they followed. After the Vikings converted to Christianity, there were eventually written documents created pertaining to their existence. In Viking Warfare, I.P. Stephenson states that the Vikings “first described attack took place in AD 789”(11). The Vikings were also known as Norsemen. They were great storytellers, and that is perhaps how society knows so much about them today. The stories that the Norsemen told were called Sagas. Today, Vikings are often depicted as murderous savages, but while they were not pillaging villages they were actually quite a peaceful civilization. There were three countries that Vikings evolved from; Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Although it may seem that all Vikings were on the same side, they quarreled with each other as well. Despite the fact that Viking battles were bloody and gruesome they were also known to be the most hygienic out of many of the earlier civilizations. There was not a huge percentage of Vikings that went out and raided but when they did they made a huge impact on what Vikings are now known for. The success of Viking warfare and raids relied primarily on the uses of armor, weapons, long ships, and battle tactics.

    Read More

  • The Norse Viking Age

    4398 Words  | 9 Pages

    The most accepted official start of the Viking Age is recorded to have begun on June 8th, 793 AD when Norse raiders landed on the island of Lindisfarne and attacked the Christian Monastery located there, killing the monks and seizing the valuables. Viking raids by op...

    Read More

More about The Vikings Research Paper

Open Document