The word Vikings invokes images of savage warriors and barbaric raiders with a thirst for blood. Vikings were raiders and they did invoke terror up and down the coastline, they coerced and intimidated, many of their raids were focused on sacred Christian sites, known as monasteries. It is not certain why the Vikings turned to raiding or exploring; one theory is they needed the food and wealth of other lands to ensure their survival (Raffield, Greenlow, Price & Collard, 2016). The word Viking or Vikingr actually comes from an Old Norse term, meaning a pirate going abroad to raid (Sorabella, 2012).
Spoken and Written Language of Vikings
The language spoken by the Vikings was Old Norse, which is a member of the Germanic family. The Vikings did
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One of these stories was about a powerful god named Odin, who had a symbolic connection with Christ and his crucifixion; the tale states that Odin sacrificed himself by hanging from a tree and being pierced in the side with a spear, which was then followed by a resurrection. Viking beliefs included rituals, which were often led by Chieftains, and on occasion included sacrificing horses as part of their culture (Williams, …show more content…
Vikings took great care and design in building their ships, and this devotion carried over to their belief in the afterlife. They buried their dead in the ships, as they thought these vessels would carry the deceased on their final journey. The burial ritual included filling the ship with valuables, weapons, and in some cases sacrificed slaves. Women held some basic rights, they could request a divorce and inherit property. However, women could also be forced to marry as young as twelve years of age, and endure years of great hardship when their husbands were away exploring (Cohen, 2013). Vikings were uncivilized, yet they were a culture of farmers, craftsmen, master shipbuilders, merchants, explorers and barbaric raiders.
Stereotypical images of Vikings have been distorted into horned helmet wearing, stinky men who sailed the high seas and never bathed. Vikings were seafaring warriors, but they were also master shipbuilders who bathed on a regular basis and they did not adorned their heads with horned helmets. They enjoyed skiing and the men liked to bleach their hair blonde with lye soap, which also got rid of head lice (Cohen, 2013). Vikings were warriors, and they did plunder up and down the coast, leaving nothing but death and destruction in their path, the reasons why they took to raiding have been
The vikings first made contact in eighth century Shetland. From there they made their way south to Orkney and Caithness, eventual...
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.
They were nomadic, pagan people who did not raid others for the purpose of gaining territory or promoting their religious beliefs. They would ravage communities of their valuables and return to Scandinavia so they would be able to support themselves. Because their main focus was obtaining wealth, they paid immense attention to the trading patterns happening throughout Eastern and Western Europe. This attributes to why they travelled to Western Europe to attack just as the economy flourished. They also paid attention to political changes in Western Europe, as when there was political confusion or tension, they knew that area would be vulnerable to attack. (Bianchini, Lecture).
Odin was the god of wisdom, magic and runes (“The Pagan Library”). The runes were the alphabet of the Vikings. Rune stones is the only documented writing from the Vikings during their existence, so a lot of the history during the ...
nowadays when you see vikings in movies or in book the main thing you notice is there weapons and there armour. the vikings are a well known group of people today and the reason is because of the armour they wore and the weapons they use Vikings won wars do to the fact that they had better armour and weapons then the opposing side and they became known be winning wars. The viking armour and weapons were way beyond other groups which made it easier for them to win wars. If the Vikings wore not to have the armour or weapons they have they would not be known today because they would not have been able to win wars and that is why they are known now and back then.in general if you cant not win wars and take over peoples
. was taken and plundered by the Moors. . . moreover, [the Vikings] slaughtered all the Christians whom they found” (87). The Vikings were fearsome people who made plundering and killing a way of life. The Norse were also heavily feared by the Christians. “The heathen from the North wrought havoc in Christendom as usual and grew greater in strength” (Sherma 87).
The viking virtues were all a set of ideals that the vikings would have to live up to and if they lived up to these virtues and death greets them they would be ascended to the afterlife Valhalla. The poem, Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel, is about a man named Beowulf that travels very far away from his main land to help the king of Denmark , Hrothgar, to get rid of a terrible monster named Grendel. The song “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio is about a man that tells his story about how his life works on the streets. Beowulf and the narrator of the song both share the same viking virtues within both of these writings.
The Vikings have garnered attention over the years not only for their raiding and trading, but also for the Paganist gods and religion. Similar to many other ancient civilizations, the Vikings leave behind many myths containing tales of their gods and their beliefs. Marvel’s 2011 film Thor serves as an introduction to Norse gods and mythology, but it does fall flat in term of accuracy and detail in certain areas. Despite various large and small-scale changes to its overall plot and characters, Thor has been well-adapted to portray Norse myths as best as possible within an existing Marvel franchise.
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.
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.
Most people think of the Vikings as rude, rough, mean people who simply wanted to destroy and steal everything. But is that really true? Was there a reason behind the Vikings rage and destructive mentality? Their way of life was different from most of the people at the time. But they were very skilled at many things.
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.
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...
http://www.pentheon.com/articles/o/odin.html 1 page, accessed April 7, 2004. Created on March 3 1997, Modified Feb. 12, 2004. Encyclopedia Mythica 1995-2004