Vikings

Vikings

Close your eyes for a moment. Now imagine that you’re an English monk going about your eclectic duties, when a noise suddenly grabs your attention. You look towards the beach and you see a boat, massive in size and awe-inspiring in appearance, sitting right there on the beach where there was only sand a moment before. Then armed warriors pour off the boat, five at first, then ten, then fifteen, then twenty. To you, they’re giants, a good 4 inches in height greater than you; heavily muscled and of fair hair and complexion, running up the beach towards you, howling, brandishing large swords and axes and wooden shields more than half the size of your body. It’s easy to imagine how those monks’ blood ran cold at the sight of the Norsemen. But, contrary to popular belief, this was not all there was to the Norsemen. I intend to show that these raiders, these barbarians, these Vikings, had a rich cultural heritage by illustrating their cultural achievements and atrocities, such as their advanced seafaring abilities, martial strengths, their valued system of ethics, their relentless invasions of Europe, and other cultural distinctions.

The Viking Age, as the period between AD 800- 1100 during the 11th century has come to be called, is best described as when hordes of warriors from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and parts of Finland flowed down into Europe and eastern Asia to seek their fortunes. The beginning of this age follows what is called the Vendel era and the crowning of Charlemange as king of the Franks. In 810, a coastal area known as Frisian reported the first attack by northern raiders. That was just the beginning. Attacks like these would continue unhampered for the next 290 years. No one was able to sta...

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...s hammer, Mjollnir. Next come Frey and Freya, the god of fertility and the goddess of love, respectively. But, according to their myths, the world does not end with Ragarok. After the war, the world tree Yggdrasil is left standing and hiding in its branches are a man and a women, who will then repopulate the world. Also in Norse tales, are magical creatures called Dwarves and Elves, dragons and sea serpents.

At this point I ask that you close your eyes again. I want you to imagine that you are standing on the bow of a great Viking ship, feeling the wind blow a light ocean spray onto your face. Think of the things you heard in this report, and then turn and look at the Vikings manning the boat behind you. Think of the cold plains and dense forests of their home, the snow and the ice, the harsh and cold seas, and judge again these people of the frozen north.