The Norse had a structure to their society. They had kings and priests, Jarls and lords, freemen and slaves (thralls). Before the formal organization of the Scandinavian countries, the Norse were considered a single people that consisted of family clans. Nordic society was set and organized with a deliberate means to the ends.
With the Kings and royal families at the very top of the class structure, Norse social stratification was layered like most other culture of the World. Kings were generally were placed and chosen by birth, as the heirs to current kings in power. Next down the social layer were the Jarls, whom were the chiefs of the clans. The Norse people were considered a single people that were subdivided into family clans ruled by Jarls until the end of the Viking Age when the separate Scandinavian nations emerged and were ruled by centralized kings. The Jarls were the chieftain landowners and warrior noblemen that pretty much controlled everything within their realms.
In the middle of the social layer cake were the Karls, these were some of the freemen that owned large farms and owned slaves (thralls). Some of the Karls (freemen) worked as fishermen, craftsmen or boat builders as well. The typical Norseman was a Karl or freeman.
The lowest on the social layer were the thralls (slaves), whom were considered as property and were often traded for large amounts of silver and gold. In Norse terminology, “thralls” were male slaves and “ambátt” was the term for a female slave. The mark of a thrall was to have closely cropped hair and they were to wear a white vadmal or kulf (coat) to distinguish themselves from freemen. War captives from expeditions were the chief supply for slaves and they came from places such...
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...nst its dead and mutilated. The Thing assembly prevented wars by allowing disputes to be peacefully heard and the demand for reparations settled by means other than outright blood feuds between clans.
There were various levels of Things, starting from the smaller local Things to the larger, high leveled Althing where the local Things would be represented. The location of a Thing assembly was often carried out at a religious and trade location that was a significantly known location or landmark of the day.
The Thing eventually evolved into Parliaments and still reflect the original concept the Norse had for a representative government. The 'Storting' (Great Thing) is the name of the Norwegian Parliament. The Swedish speaking people of Finland are represented by the 'Folkting' (Thing of the People) and the Sami are represented by the Sameting (Thing of the Sami).
Servitude is a usual part of African ritual. Tribes would often use trade to obtain slaves by going to the head chief and trading for livestock. Not only did various tribes trade with the people of their countries, but with the Europeans of other nationalities as well. There were times that tribes would go to war and keep chiefs and prisoners of war were kept as slaves, to trade with European countries. Many times slaves were sold due to being punished, or to rape and other various crimes. Some were also forced into life of captivity. It was common for young individuals to be kidnapped and taken to a home of a common family to work and serve them. Many owners would treat their slaves fairly. The masters would own a piece of property and have an apartment for their own personal family along with a home for the enslaved family. Equiano talks about how many slaves owned their own slaves in some cases. If a family was wealthy enough, they would accommodate their property, meaning the slaves. They were a part of the owner’s family and were as brutally treated comparing to slaves of the Colonial U.S.
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.
In his translation of The Saga of the Volsungs: the Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer, Jesse L. Byock compiles many versions of this famous Norse epic and creates a very important scholarly work. Of special importance is the introduction, which provides a central working background to base readings upon. There are several themes echoed throughout the translation that reflect accurately on this portion of history. Byock does a superb job of illustrating these important aspects in his work. While the tale Byock tells is a fairy-tale handed down by generations of families, within the reader can find tell-tale signs of important aspects of Norse culture. For instance, important aspects of family life and the role of men and women surface. Likewise, the importance of wealth and material possessions on the power and prestige of a king is also evident.
The Vikings are had arrived in North America. The Vikings were in North America about 10 years (Weiner 4). They settled and made a life for themselves in North America. They had learned to adjust to the weather to survive for all those years. The Vikings were the first Europeans and Christians to come to North America (Steel 2). The Vikings explored North American waters for partners to trade with (Pringle 4). The Vikings wanted
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.).
Leif Erikson was believed to be born 960 A.D. Other sources show that there is no exact birthdate but he was born sometime in the 10th century (901-1000 A.D). He was born in Iceland, yet he was raised in Greenland. His family consisted of his father Erik the Red, mother Thjodhild, brothers Thorvald and Thorstein, sister Freydis, his grandfather Thorvald and grandmother Asvald Asvaldsson, great-grandfather Asvald Ulfsson, and later his two sons Thorkell and Thorgils. As you can see Thor(insert something) and Asvald was a family name passed down from generations. He, his father, and his mother were the ones with more unique names. He was the middle child in his family. His last name has been spelled in
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”).
It is obvious that there are many differences between men and women. Throughout history women have been taught to dress, act, and speak differently than men. These differences are so common that they can sometimes be overlooked in everyday life and in reading. By taking a closer look at poems and stories one can begin to see how frequently gender differences occur. Thomas Gray’s “The Decent of Odin,” read from a Feminist point of view can reveal many examples of these differences through the use of dialogue.
Analyzing the Norse Collapse from Diamond’s view, the first factor that he examines is the environmental damage aspect. He states that “The Greenland Norse damaged their environment in at least three ways: by destroying the natural vegetation, by causing soil erosion, and by cutting turf” (Diamond, p.248). Diamond believes that when the Vikings arrived, they began burning woodlands to clear areas for their livestock, and cut many trees down for shelter and firewood. When the Greenlanders began raising animals such as cows, sheep and goats, the amount of fodder for the animals increased, which in turn increased the amount of farming they had to do to maint...
During the era of 1450-1750 CE, the characteristics of human slavery throughout the world started as a system of assistance gained from the capturing of enemy soldiers and adopting them into the victors society, but changed to a large trafficking business reaching overseas, and then to inherited positions gained from being born into slavery. However, throughout this time period, slavery continued to center in Africa and the Middle East, and remained a prime source of human labor in every society, due to their ability to be easily obtained and cheaply managed. Before the Atlantic Slave Trade, most slaves were acquired through capturing soldiers and citizens following a military skirmage, and were not viewed as the lowest class of citizens.
The beginning of the ninth century AD to the eleventh was known as the “Viking age”; during this time Iceland was settled by Scandinavians and CeltsCeltics. Some of the settlers were Christian while most were Pagan; together they created a culture
Norway is one of the “three fingers” of Scandinavia, and is just larger than New Mexico. It covers 125,181 square miles. It is located in Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. The coastline stretches 21,925 km. The population of Norway is 4.3 million and growing. The population is predominantly or Nordic (Scandinavian) decent. There is also a small minority (20,000) of native Sámis (Laplanders), who live mostly in the North. Many aspects of business and management in Norway are very similar to those of America including language and communication, power structures/politics, work ethics, food and eating habits, dress, and religious beliefs.
The act of slavery was widespread around the globe, seen in places like: the Sumerian society; Greece; the central Nigerian Society, Nupe; and of the course, the United States (Ember). Although slavery was common in all of these places, what differed is how the slaves were obtained and maintained. One of the earliest documented history of slavery dates back to 3000 B.C. in the Sumerian society (Ember). Since this society was very complex, slaves were common in Sumer. The slaves were often captives brought back from war. This way of ...