The Vikings

The Vikings
At the end of the 700´s people from the Scandinavian nations went south on raids.
Because of this The Viking era started, and it lasted until about the 1100´s . The word
”Viking” is probably coming from the word bay or from the Swedish word vig, an old
nordic word for fight. At the summer the warrios went out on the seas. They searched
for valuables that they could bring home or for new lands to settle on.
The Viking ships
There were two distinct classes of Viking ships: ”The Longship” (
sometimes erroneouslyc called ”drakkar” a corruption of ”dragon” in
Norse) and the ”Knarr”. The Longship, intended for warfare and
exploration, was designed for speed and agility, and was equipped with
oars to complement the sail as well as making it able to navigate
independently of the wind. Longships were used extensively by the
Leidang, The Scandinavian defence fleets. The term ”Viking ships” has
entered common use, however, possibly because of its romantic
associations.
In their spare time
Most of the Vinkings were very competitive. When the
weather was bad they challenged each other in board
games, some of which were played on the boards.
When the weather was nice they liked outdoors sports
like for example a sort of football.
This game was called ”The king’s table”
Viking clothes
Kirtle or shirt
Pants and other leggings
Mantle
Leather shoes
Necklaces
Helmets or headgear
The Viking’s Writing
The runic writing was the Viking’s writing.
”The smoke stone” (Rökstenen) is the stone that has
the longest inscription in the world with 760 sings.
The medeival ”Futhark”
Where did the Vikings travel?
The Vikings went far and they even went to Naples and Sicily and set up trading stations. During the rule
of Roger I, the Normans helped to conquer Sicily in 1068 and took it away from the Arab Muslims.
The Swedish Vikings went mostly to the east. The places they
traveled to were Russia and Arabia for example. The city
”Miklagård”(Konstantinopel), later Istanbul in Turkey, was the
capital in this kingdom, and a centre for trade. It was an
incredibly rich city, and a big dream for almost every Viking to
go there.
Were the Vikings violent?
Some of the Vikings were of course violent, but not all of them.
They were indeed raiders, but they were also traders whose
economic network stretched from today´s Iraq all the way to the
Canadian Arctic. They were democrats who founded the world´s
oldest surviving parliament while feudalism still existed in
Britain. They were master metalworkers, fashioning exquisite
jewelry from silver, gold and bronze.
Famous Viking raid
The Viking raid on the Christian
monastery at Lindisfarne in AD
793 shocked and frightened
people in England. Lindisfarne
was an English kingdom. The
kingdom and its monasteries
were famous for books, art and
treasures. The Vikings came
there and attacked during a day
in January. They burned
buildings, stole treasures,
murdered monks, and terrified
everyone. Some Christian Church
leaders said the Vikings were
sent by God, to punish people in
England for doing wrong.
Viking navigation
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They uses their senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch).
They observed the weather and learned about it’s changes.
They used wildlife as landmarks (birds and whales for exampe).
Chants and rhymes showed the way (since there were no written
maps or nautical charts).
Some of the instruments they
used were:
• Weather vanes (for the
wind)
• Bearing circle (position of
the sun)
• Sun stone
• Sun board
• Semi wheel (directions)
Food
Fish was an important part of the diet. For the Vikings who lived
on the coast, freshwater fish was the main source of protein.
Fish could be preserved by drying it in the wind or smoking it.
They also pickled the fish in salt water, so it would be preserved.
They grew oats, barley and wheat, and ground the grain to make
flour, porridge and ale. Vikings grew vegetables such as onions,
beans and cabbages. Their farm animals included pigs, sheep,
goats, cattle, geese and chicken.
Viking influence?
• They gave us our language, literature and mythology. The
Viking saga and the aseir gods.
• They gave us contacts with the world.
• They influenced other places where they settled.
Ragnarök=the end of the world
More than 900 of the English most common words came with the Vikings, words like sky,
scrape, shirt, husband or window (Danish vindue) There are more than 600 names of
places in England that end with –by= Grimsby, Thoresby, more that a hundred that end
with –toft = Brimtoft, Lamgtoft etc…There are areas in England where 75% of the village
names have got Nordic roots.