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The Vikings
The word Viking in the Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language says that the word Viking means the following. “Vi•king 1. any of the Scandinavian pirates who plunder the coasts of Europe from the 8th to 10th centuries. 2. a sea-roving bandit: pirate. 3. a Scandinavian. 4. U.S. Aerospace. One of a series of space probes that obtained scientific information about Mars.” (1)
The Vikings lived about one thousand years ago in the lands that we now call Iceland, Lapland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. To most people the Vikings were raiders that got in their longboats and sailed somewhere and then went from town to town killing and pillaging. This is not completely true, because the Vikings were also great adventurers. They set up trading links and looked for land that they could settle down make a home and have a farm. But not to say that the Vikings weren’t fierce warriors, because they were great warriors that won almost every early battle. Although they never had an empire, the King of Denmark ruled Norway and England for a brief time from 1030 to 1035.
The Vikings had many reasons for leaving their homeland and living up to being the great adventurers that they were. One reason to leave was that the land that the Vikings were living in was becoming over populated, such that one family couldn’t own as much land, as he would like. Also the land in Scandinavia, that they lived on was very mountainous and had very little land that could be farmed. Likewise Sweden contained many forests that made it not fit for farming.
The Viking people were divided up into different classes much like many other societies. They were divided up by how much land and money that they had. There were the “kings” that ruled over each township. Below him came the rich noblemen, or jarls. The king and the jarls were the most powerful people in a township. Then below the jarls there were the freemen or the karls, which included craftsmen, merchants, and farmers. At the very bottom of the totem pole were the slaves otherwise known as thralls.
The majority of Vikings spent very little time away from home on raids. Instead they were at home working as farmers, growing oats, barley, rye, and vegetables, and tending to their cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats. They also kept fruits, such as apples, and nuts such as hazelnuts and walnut...
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... Inc, ©1996, page 2122
2. Streissguth, Thomas, “Life Among the Vikings”, Lucent Books, Inc, ©1999, page 49
3. Streissguth, Thomas, “Life Among the Vikings”, Lucent Books, Inc, ©1999, page 49
4. Streissguth, Thomas, “Life Among the Vikings”, Lucent Books, Inc, ©1999, page 50
5. Streissguth, Thomas, “Life Among the Vikings”, Lucent Books, Inc, ©1999, page 54
6. Streissguth, Thomas, “Life Among the Vikings”, Lucent Books, Inc, ©1999, page 54
7. Streissguth, Thomas, “Life Among the Vikings”, Lucent Books, Inc, ©1999, page 27
8. Streissguth, Thomas, “Life Among the Vikings”, Lucent Books, Inc, ©1999, page 27
Bibliography
1. Done by Committee. Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. New York, NY; Random House Value Publishing, Inc, ©1996.
2. Martell, Hazel Mary. What Do We Know About The Vikings? New York, NY; Simon & Schuster Young Books, ©1992.
3. Ganeri, Anita. Focus On Vikings. New York, NY; Aladdin Books, ©1992
4. Streissguth, Thomas. Life Among the Vikings. San Diego, California; Lucent Books, Inc, ©1999
5. http://www.sandiaprep.org/library/bib/bib.html
6. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vikings/village.html For the video’s on CD.
In conclusion, both the textual and archaeological evidence can be contradictory as to the exact nature of the early viking-native encounters. Some evidence supports genocidal tendencies, other evidence supports native integration. Evidence for the different theories was presented above, but even that which was presented represents only a fraction of the evidence, both archaeological, textual, and linguistic, that support the various models. It is also important to note that Scotland has still been left woefully unexplored by modern archaeologists, and that further investigation may provide key answers to reconciling the disparity in evidence. Until such time, it seems the most logical conclusion to draw is that of the middle ground, whereby both genocidal and more peaceable vikings arrived and initiated different circumstances for the natives.
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.
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.
Leif Erikson’s grandfather, Thorvald Asvaldsson slaughtered a man in Jæren, Norway in 960 CE. This was the age of the Vikings, but Thorvald was still banished from the land (Mandia, n.d.). So he brought his ten year old son Erik, later to be named as Erik the Red because of his scarlet hair, to Drangar in northwestern Iceland on a farm with rather appalling soil (Where is Vinland?, n.d.).
The Viking era existed from 800 AD to 1200 AD and during 1000 AD Christianity began to have major influence in the Viking culture (Roesdahl 27). A major religion that shaped the Viking culture is Nordic Paganism (Williams). According to Stephen Henkin who wrote an article called the Viking Fury, the Vikings admired and tried to live up to the character traits they saw their gods portraying(Henkin ). Stephen Henkin suggested that character traits the Vikings saw in the Nordic gods are virile qualities: brutality, anger, lust, and humor (Henkin). The Vikings attempted to try to shape their character from the character traits they saw their gods portraying believing that they should try to acquire these characteristics to make their gods happy. Nordic Paganism was polytheistic with the main gods being Odin, Thor and Frey (“The Pagan Library”).
The books is a very valuable book in a world history course. It is a very important primary sources for historians for many reasons. It can tell historians many things about the culture and history of this time period. Ibn Fadlan's reports are important for Russia's history because the accounts pre-date the earliest Russian written sources(Note on the Texts,xxxv). The book also includes the earliest known mentions of the cities Mainz, Prague, and Cracow(Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub,162) and the most reliable report of the Viking attack on Seville(Ibn Hayyan,105). The book is vital because it offers some of the most important primary sources of the Eastern Vikings in this time period.
...ught could be seen as arrogant, and had a condescending attitude as they thought the Inuit were “skraelings (a sick, weak person)” (McAnany and Yoffee, p. 56), all their encounters may not have been confrontational. They believe that their attitude simply could have come from a religious factor that it was the difference in being Christian compared to non-Christian. Though artifacts were scarcely found from the Norse in the Thule Inuit ruins and vice versa, the artifacts that were found could represent an encounter, but could as well have been from plundering abandoned homes. Also, when searching Norse settlements, no weapons were found, thus making them powerless against the Inuits if it had come down to a conflict between them. A scene on a small piece of bone did depict a battle, however it is important to note that it did not depict a Norseman against an Inuit.
The Norse religion is the religion of the Norse people prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia. It may seem as though the religion’s influence has died out, but it still affects our culture today. The general mythology is well known, but the details, such as how the lore was passed down from generation to generation, is obscure.
The Norsemen were feared for hundreds of years. They came from Scandinavia and raided both the known and unknown world. They were great warriors, raiders, shipbuilders and leaders. The Norsemen were pagan, their obedience to the gods and their leader Odin. Religion was an important part of their life and death. In life, the Vikings strived for is Valhalla (the great mead hall of the gods and fallen warriors) in Asgard. Only the most honorable warriors, who dies in battle or if executed by the way of blood eagle (the victims will be on his knees and held up by two hooks and they take an ax to his back to break away the ribs, then take his lungs and place them on his shoulders) without making a sound, will go to Valhalla. Their social behavior was based on an unwritten system of honor or code of ethics. Their moral code was determined by the gods but rather honor. Honor went a long way in Viking culture, it was the most defining attribute a man could have. A man of honor was a principled man, he gave moderation, was generous and hospitable, he would offer a helping hand to a friend in need. This included allying himself with his friends against his friend’s enemies. A man of honor also never forgot to be a foe to his enemy. A Viking never wanted to be a man of disgrace. This is the opposite of a man of honor, and because every man lived his life as a member of an extended family-circle, he could easily bring disgrace to his entire family - including his forefathers. Therefore, it was intolerable for a free man to live in such a fallen state. If he was disgraced, he could only restore balance in his social system by confronting the source of his fall from an honorable status. Thus, revenge was a key component of this social system, ...
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.
During the seventh and eighth centuries, the Swedes were merchant seamen well known for their trade. In the ninth century, Nordic Vikings raided and ravaged the European Continent as far as the Black and Caspian Seas. During the 11th and 12th centuries, Sweden slowly became a united Christian kingdom that later included Finland. Queen Margaret of Denmark united all the Nordic lands in the "Kalmar Union" in 1397. Frequent tension within the countries and within the union gradually led to open conflict between the Swedes and the Danes in the 15th century. The union's final disintegration in the early 16th century resulted in a long-lived rivalry between Norway and Denmark on one side and Sweden and Finland on the other.
The New International Webster's Pocket Dictionary of the English Language. Naples, FL: Trident International, 2002. Print
Webster, Merriam. Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. New deluxe ed. San Diego, California: Thunder Bay Press, 2001. 352, 1884. Print.
Cohat, Yves. The Vikings: Lords of the Seas. Trans. Ruth Daniel. New York: A Times Mirror Company, 1992. Print.