The Vikings
Viking History
The Vikings were a group of Scandinavian raiders that were around from about the 8th century to the 11th. They mainly attacked the British Islands , the Frankish empire, England, but they also plundered places such as the Iberian peninsula and northern Africa. Vikings did not always settle into the places that they found, for instance after exploring North America they left the place never to return again. Even so, after landing on Greenland they colonized themselves there, and ancestors of the Vikings still live there today. So now that you know a little about the history of the Vikings lets go into detail about the specifics of the Viking age. (Peter Sawyer, Oxford Ill. History of the Vikings p. 1-19)
On the Holy Isle of Lindisfarne, which is located between England and Scotland Irish monks had built a monastery; there they wrote many holy and beautiful books, called the Lindisfarne Gospels. These monks were peaceful people, wouldn’t hurt a fly, pity they were chosen by the Vikings, on the 8th of June in 793 to be the first major victim of one of their raids. Their arrival was seen first far off, they could see dragon head carvings on their well crafted ships slowly coming closer and closer to the shore. As soon as they got out of their boats the Vikings poured onto land ripping off the monk’s clothing and tearing their bodies apart with their sharp swords, and sometimes drowned them. Viking raiders tipped over the cross of Bishop Ethelwold, which was built out of stone. Before they left that hot day the Vikings had taken all of the monk’s treasure, set each building aflame, and killed the monk’s cattle to feed themselves on. Then, in an instant they got into their ships and left.
This was the first major Viking attack, as you can see it was pretty gruesome, but they were just getting started. The next summer there were several places on the British North Sea coast attacked. After 799 the Vikings managed some raids on Friskan-Frankish coast, forcing them to set up a coastal watch to warn citizens of the area. (Oxenstierna, Eric, The Norsemen p. 49-74)
The Vikings in the 8th century mainly centered in places along the Dutch coast, but the Norwegian Vikings were settled in the Orkney and Shetland islands. Throughout the 9th century the Viking’s expanded their empire to engulf Ireland, and Northwestern England. In t...
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... a mixture of clay and dug them to make them draff and weatherproof. Vikings lived with their animals, the animals kept their houses warm, and it secured them from being stolen, because cattle was very valuable. Women did all the work around the house while men worked in the fields, and on the farms, of coarse they also fished and hunted when that was needed.
There was not much wood in Sweden and Norway, except in the south where softwoods like conifers were used for building. They also provided for the long straight horizontal timbers that served as the joints.
Viking Relationships
The military leaders of the Vikings were Earls (called Jarls) and sometimes even priests. The freeman (bonds) were the farmers and merchants. The slaves (thralls) worked on other people’s farms to pay for their share in profits from raids. (Purves, pg. 10)
Viking family life did not include much free time for personal enjoyment. They ate slept and worked in one room of their house. The 2 most important objects in the room were the firepit and the weaving loom. There were no cupboards, tier belongings were hung on the wall or in chests that were at the edge of the room. (Gibson, Michael pg. 18)
The vikings first made contact in eighth century Shetland. From there they made their way south to Orkney and Caithness, eventual...
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.
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.
It is widely accepted that the Viking raids started at around C. 780 and lasted until the year 1020. The first recorded raid on the British Isles occurred in 789 when three ships from Hordaland (modern Norway) landed on the southern coast of Wessex. The exact reason behind this raid and the many others that followed cannot be put down to one particular reason as a number of factors contributed to the presence of the Viking invasions. In order to be able to assess whether Gold or Land acted as the primary reason behind the Vikings actions it is important to look at both motives thoroughly and additionally examine other enabling factors that have been put forward such as religion and various technological advances. By looking at other supporting
Vikings originated from Scandinavia, They were well known as brutal raiders most of the time, but not always. Viking homes were mostly workshops because most of their houses have a certain job to do such as carving, quilting, cooking for trips, and storing food and a lot of other jobs that was held in the Viking houses. Most Vikings were farmers and believe it or not they were very hygienic for what they are made to do.
The statement “The Vikings are deserving of their bad reputation” is a deeply inaccurate statement. The bad reputation of being primitive, lawless, bloodthirsty pirates of the dark ages can be challenged by a consideration of the perspectives and motivations of written records such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, as well as archaeological evidence that reveal the Vikings as a technologically developed people whose advanced longboats were used to surpass geographical disadvantage to trade their intricate cultural productions. Furthermore, Viking contributions to British law and linguistics is further evidence that the “heathen Northmen” were multifaceted
Research and archeological evidence have revealed the Vikings were a race of tall, blonde, imposing figures that lived predominantly in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway before the Middle Ages. The Vikings were a race of war mongering peoples. They conquered and then conquered each other to gain more victory and prowess in battle. On page forty, we can find King Volsung himself offering: “I have fought a hundred times… it will not be reported that I either fled or asked for peace.” (Saga, 40.) Their society was based in monarchs and Vikings lived in kingdoms rules over by many different kings, all fighting for dominance and resources. As these resources depleted over the years, along with the available land, the Vikings pushed each other south and out of the Nordic
Viking raids and expansion enabled them to gain power over others. The Vikings were skilled warriors and knew exactly what places to target for maximum effect. Places such as “abbeys, monasteries, and churches were regular Viking targets because they were defended lightly, if at all, and contained large amounts of wealth” (Davis). Vikings wanted to acquire the items that could be found in places of worship in order to become wealthier. This would advance their nation over all the others, enabling them to achieve complete control. The Viking’s lust for power and wealth pulled them out of Scandinavia. As the Vikings became stronger and more powerful, they were also able to colonize different areas and expand. The Vikings were able to successfully colonize parts of England, Europe, and Greenland (“Viking Age”). Conquering nearby lands enabled the Vikings to gain rule over other nations. The Vikings wanted to gain more land and power than other civilizations, so that they could prosper. This led to them setting off on long journeys across the sea in search of new land. Their determination to secure power led them to expand into territories all over Europe and Asia. The Vikings soon became highly successful, due to their skilled warriors, allowing them to conquer and gain the most wealth possible. Their lust for power inspired them to travel in search of new
They had a substantial amount of wealth from their raids, and this wealth allowed them to build infrastructure such as buildings and ports in their towns and maintain strong and well-armed raiders. They had arguably the best navy in the world with very sophisticated ship designs that were able to make long voyages. The Viking ships were faster, stronger and more effective than those of other parts of the world and had two different types of ships which were used. They had “Langskip”, which were used primarily for war and battle, and “Knörr”, which emphasized a large cargo for carrying goods to be sold and traded. With profits from the raids, they were able to trade with neighboring countries, and even those faraway. Places such as Arabia, Spain and Russia engaged in trading and many other forms of interaction with the Vikings in result of their conquests, voyages and expeditions. These engagements were sometimes peaceful, but most of the time the warrior mentality of the Vikings would take over. Many Viking settlements began to pop up all around eastern Europe around Russia (Abram), due to a group of Swedes who were on a journey eastward and got forced to settle in the mid-European woods on their way, the group of people were called the Rus. These peoples mixed their ideologies and abilities with the native people to their regions, and brought them back to
when a Viking had a death on the boat they would burry there men inside of the boat (Jennie Cohen). The Vikings were also unique to many people especially in our day in age. A cool fact that Vikings did was “Use urin to start fires”. Most people knew how the Vikings were blond. The reason the Vikings was blonde is because they used a special type of soap to dye there hair blonde. Male Vikings preferred blonde hair. The Vikings didn't like brown hair, and I'm nit really for
793, the Vikings revealed their true strength during the attack of Lindisfarne monastery, located in northeastern England. The monks and small force of soldiers were overwhelmed by the sheer power of the mysterious invaders. Marking the beginning of the Viking Age, the ferocious attack shook the religious world, striking fear into the hearts of Europeans across the continent. While the Europeans cowered in fear in the presence of the Vikings, they never expected them to have a religion.
Vikings were a Norse-speaking, seafaring people who lived from the 8th to 11th centuries, mainly in Scandinavia. They were expert sailors who, starting in late 700s, looted and burned civilizations along rivers and coasts of Europe and Asia. They traded, sailed and explored across the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, opening trade routes that connected Europe to the Mediterranean lands. During this time, some of the population settled in the kingdoms that they were exploring; namely England, Ireland, northern France and Russia. One of the main influences that the surrounding cultures had on them was through religion. As the Vikings came in contact with Christianity through their raids, it began to form a unique fusion of Christian influence, while still holding on to many aspects of their pagan lifestyle. Not many primary sources remain from pre-Christian Viking society as much of their culture was destroyed during the Christianization process. The extremely strong oral tradition and the artifacts that remain are what the knowledge of the culture is based on. The pagan culture interests me, as I can still examine influences of it on my Scandinavian family today.
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.
In the 14th century, war, and violence were prevalent. The Canterbury Tales were written during the Hundred Years War, when the Catholic Church was dealing with the Western schism, and “Against the darkest period of his life…” (Bloom 14). The story is centered on a group of thirty pilgrims who are traveling to the shrine of St. Thomas at Canterbury (Bloom 14). The pilgrims are all focused on a theme which is backed by the story’s underlying tone of religion.