Vikings Characteristics

During the mid to late 1800s, however, Sweden’s economy had evolved into a highly industrialized and urbanized one. Due to this phenomenon as well as the relatively high incomes of its people (in addition to the people who emigrated from the country), the poverty levels decreased substantially. Further economic system reforms gave way to formation of banks, corporations, and more, all of which increased the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product input and output from areas such as trade and manufacturing), income, etc. (Swedish Society).

The Vikings spent most of their time raiding villages and killing people. They sailed very far distances in their longships to find land to raid. The Vikings mostly raided western and eastern parts of Europe. They also raided places like Greenland and Canada. While raiding the Vikings would basically kill anyone that got in their way and they would destroy villages completely. If you survived a Viking raid, you were extremely lucky. When the Vikings raided they would steal anything they could, including money, food, cattle and loot from churches. The Vikings would usually not leave places alone. Once they had raided them one time, they would do it again and keep stealing and killing. One famous raid that the Vikings did was in Northumbria, North-east England. Here the Vikings arrived in their longships and burned down buildings, murdered monks, stole things and frightened everyone. Apparently some of the Christian church leaders said

An Empire that Covered Several Continents: Vikings and Technology Most people know of the Vikings due to their bold and elaborately carved vessels and their horned hats. However, this is a common misconception. Although Vikings often wore hats, they did not have horns due to practicality purposes; instead, they were "simple leather and metal-frame helmets with the occasional face guard" (Goodrich). Despite this misconception, the Vikings remain an utterly unique culture in countless ways. For instance, their expansive empire lacked a central government and universal king (Godfrey).

Vikings originated in Scandinavia, which is now known as the countries Norway, Sweden,

Vikings were a group of people from Scandanavia (modern-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden) who navigated the North Atlantic and Baltic Regions, sailing to destinations in the south to North Africa, and east to Russia, Constantinople (“Istanbul”) and the Middle East, as ‘hit-and-run’ looters, traders and colonists. Notably, the Vikings were seen as a barbaric clan by their victims, especially to those in Europe with whom they had an imposing influence. Equally, as the Old Norse (the language of the Norsemen) translation of the word ‘Viking’ signifies, the Vikings were feared as fierce and ruthless pirates. However, most of these people may not have called themselves Vikings since only a few engaged in raiding and pillaging, which was seen as a

Annie Williams Professor Marram World History to 1500 13 April 2015 Role of Women in Viking Society Upon hearing the word “Viking”, a specific image is usually conjured in the mind’s eye. More often than not, it is of a group of big, burly men, pillaging helpless English villages and sailing across fjords, but there has always been more to the Viking people than wielding axes and braving treacherous water, especially when it comes to the women, who are commonly left out of this stereotypical picture entirely. Vikingar, the Old Norse word for viking, was solely in reference to the men, who were the ones who primarily participated in trips to Great Britain, Europe, and the East. According to most sources, the women within Viking society did

The title "Viking" includes a wide description of Nordic people; Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians, who lived during a period of

Skandia is a Viking like land where the inhabitants must be strong to survive and prosper. Unfortunately, not all Skandian children live up to the expectations set for them. Will, a half Scandian, half Arluen child is the weakest and the smallest of his age group. Will is met with mockery and disdain for the majority of his younger years. Despite his best efforts to be an equal, Hal’s inventions only serve to further alienate him from his Village. Skandians were supposed to think with their muscles not their brains. Because of this, when the time came to enter a Brotherband, Will was unwanted. However, Will was not the only outcast of his age group. Stig, Edven, Ingvar, Jesper, Stefan, Ulf, and Wulf all find themselves unwanted in the Brotherband

The 1st method the Vikings used was Cremation it very common around the Viking Age Cities in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Vikings used temperatures so hot that flesh and bone would turn to ash. Vikings believed during the Norse times that by cremating the body before a land or sea burial, their dead had more chance to reach the afterlife. By cremating their dead the Vikings believed the smoke play an important part to carry their dead to the right destination in the afterlife but achieve their goal they required enough fire so they used a pyre. The dead were cremated wearing their clothes and jewelry. The burnt bones and melted jewelry were then merge together and discarded in distinct ways. The disposal methods were different from region

The Vikings used a written alphabet and letters called Runes. The Vikings believed that the god Odin gave them runes as a gift. They believed the runes were magical and they can also tell the future.

Viking history and culture have been depicted in many movies, television series, and stories. Vikings are commonly known as barbarians that raid villages and intimidate others with huge ships with dragon heads, and horned helmets. This information is based on facts, but has been distorted and exaggerated over many years and tales. Viking history spans from the years 780 until 1100, which is the time span of the Viking raids. Not every Scandinavian was a Viking; Vikings were known as the men that conducted raids and bloody battles. The old definition of Viking was synonymous with the term pirate. The modern definition is relevant to the Scandinavian medieval culture, to include farming, crafting and trading.

The Vikings were a group of Scandinavian raiders that were around from about the 8th century to the 11th. They mainly attacked the British Islands , the Frankish empire, England, but they also plundered places such as the Iberian peninsula and northern Africa. Vikings did not always settle into the places that they found, for instance after exploring North America they left the place never to return again. Even so, after landing on Greenland they colonized themselves there, and ancestors of the Vikings still live there today. So now that you know a little about the history of the Vikings lets go into detail about the specifics of the Viking age. (Peter Sawyer, Oxford Ill. History of the Vikings p. 1-19)

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

The strengths of the Vikings surely was the most significant factor in enabling them to be successful in terms of their strategies and tactics. Their strategies for example included the ‘Great Army’ which consisted of small forces therefore allowing them to use the element of surprise to their advantage and so raid completely undetected. They first gathered in East Anglia (866/7) and were skillfully able to live of this land by taking horses and supplies from the locals. The success of these Great Armies is clearly represented by their ability to destroy 3 kingdoms including Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. The Great Army was certainly key as it was believed to have been able to ‘dramatically change the political and demographic

Something that I really loved and learned about the Vikings, that I did not know about before reading about it with the class is how Vikings really respect nobility, but also, fight it when it needs to happen. Reading some of the stories really brought to light how there was an order of people, and how there is almost a secret code between people. I have no idea if I would really like it or not, but I really enjoy reading about it because it is very interesting to me because I love to see the love stories and the little man win. I have always been a huge supporter of the little guy who works really hard to accomplish something against all odds, and this situation is able to happen so often in a society that has kings and queens and lay people. I do understand that this line of people can be easily connected to the United States, but it just seems so much more medieval and beautiful when kings and queens are talked about instead of just the president, or a major, or something like that. I also love to see overthrows of people who are doing a bad job, and I think that the viking era has examples of this going on, and I did not really know that about Vikings.