The Vikings! Undaunted Invaders That History Ever Faced!

The assignment for my Humanities class and it was about The Vikings. Teacher let us to choose one topic to search about and actually it was huge area when you say Humanities. Those times, I was watching the Vikings series (that 1st season ended now ) on TV and that makes me curious about Vikings history. So I take this subject as my assignment topic and I wanted to share it here. I can say that I found some interesting informations about them. So here it is! Expand your knowledge. :))

The Vikings were a seafaring people , the era known as the Viking age lasted for more than 300 years from the late eighth to early 11th century, who established a name for themselves as traders, explorers and warriors.
However this does not complete the story of the Vikings. They were also poets, lawmakers and great artists. Their superior ships explored unknown seas and they settled new lands. Historians have also proved that the Vikings were the first settlers on the American continent.
While these people are often attributed as savages raiding the more civilized nations for treasure and women, the motives and culture of the Viking people are much more diverse. These raiders also facilitated many changes throughout the lands from economics to warfare.

The Viking Age

Many historians commonly associate the term “Viking” to the Scandinavian term vikingr, a word for “pirate.” However, the term is meant to reference oversea expeditions, and was used as a verb by the Scandinavian people for when the men traditionally took time out of their summers to go “a Viking.” While many would believe these expeditions entailed the raiding of monasteries and cities along the coast, many expeditions were actually with the goal of trade and enlisting as foreign mercenaries.

Vikings As a Society

*Even if the Vikings were known abroad as ruthless pirates, at home they lived in an well-ordered society, based on laws and democracy. Viking society was divided into three classes: one elite with great economic power, free-holding farmers with the right to bear arms and attend the Ting, and slaves who had no rights. The Ting, or the general assembly, was responsible for maintaining law and order, and is by many considered to be one of the first true democratic organs in history. Learned men quoted the laws, and then lawsuits were heard. In simple cases everyone present, often hundreds of people, judged, and in important cases 12 chosen men judged. 

This is considered the beginning of the modern jury system. The women held a strong position in Viking society and were responsible for the farm when their men were abroad. The symbol of the powerful housewife was her keys, hung from her gown. If her husband took the keys from his wife, she could divorce him instantly, and keep their shared property. No women were forced into marriages, unlike most other cultures at that time.

*The Viking Age references the earliest recorded raid in the 790s until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. During this time, from the countries today known as Scandinavia, the Vikings traveled south to England, Ireland, France and Spain, and settled there. Names of cities and the nature of the people are obvious signs of the significant role they played in these societies for almost three centuries.

They also traveled to the Arabian world in northern Africa: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. In fact, more than two million Arabian coins have been recovered in Viking burials all over Scandinavia, proving the extent of their exploring and trading.
The Vikings traveled east to Russia and settled several places there, including the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. The name "Russia" actually originates from the Swedish (Rus = Vikings).

A Viking raid on the monks of Lindisfarne, a small island located off the northeast coast of England, marked the start of the Viking migration from Scandinavia in 793. This location was a well-known abbey of learning, famous throughout the continent for the knowledgeable monks and its extensive library.

During this raid, monks were killed, thrown into the sea or taken as slaves along with many treasures of the church, and the library itself razed. This single event set the stage for how Vikings would be perceived throughout the Viking Age: savage warriors with no respect for religion or appreciation for learning.

In the years that followed the initial raid, coastal villages, monasteries and even cities found themselves besieged by these sea-based foreign intruders. Due to the frequency of sea attacks, many developments were made in developing fortifications in the forms of walled-in harbors and sea-facing stone walls, defenses that proved to be quite effective at deterring raids.The reason behind these attacks is a topic of debate among academics, though the reasons often stem from such things as the

Christian persecution and forced baptism of pagans to reduced agricultural outputs in the Scandinavian region. Many more documented reasons might have prompted these people to leave their cold and harsh homes to seek out the means to survive elsewhere. Yet, despite how unforgiving their homeland may have been, most Vikings still returned to their homeland at the end of each season with treasure, slaves and goods to survive yet another winter

Viking myths

Many modern perceptions of Vikings found their origins through Catholic propaganda. Upon the sacking of multiple Christian facilities and the loss of countless relics and treasures, the Catholic ministry sought to dehumanize them. Until Queen Victoria’s rule of Britain, the Vikings were still portrayed as a violent and barbaric people. During the 19th and 20th centuries, perceptions changed to the point where Vikings were glamorized as noble savages with horned helmets, a proud culture and a feared prowess in battle.With regards to the more popular Viking myths created through these misperceptions, the following are proven to be clearly false according to historical record:

• *Vikings wore horned helmets

Vikings traditionally went bareheaded or wore simple leather and metal-frame helmets with the occasional face guard. The idea behind horned helmets came about from the Viking revival during Victoria’s reign.

• *They were filthy and unkempt

Archaeologists find evidence on a regular basis of combs, spoons and other grooming utensils that indicate the Viking people were very keen on maintaining personal hygiene.

• *They spent all their time raiding and warring

While raiding proved an excellent source of income, many of the Vikings held farms back in their homeland that their wives maintained during Viking season. When the men returned home from a raid, they resumed their normal routine of farming.

• *Vikings were a unified army

Due to the difficult geographic location, the Scandinavian people were very spread out to conserve limited farmland. In addition, the penetration of Christianity caused many great divisions among the people still worshipping the traditional Nordic pantheon, further emphasizing the divided nature of the people.

• *They were large and heavily muscled

Due to the short summer seasons, growing crops was difficult and resources were always scarce. As a result, many of the Scandinavian people were much smaller than commonly depicted due to limited food sources.

While the living conditions in Scandinavian regions were certainly harsh and made a hard people, many Vikings suffered from the scarcity of resources and the people set up their homes over great distances with no real unified leadership. During the Viking Age, the Scandinavian people were able to make a stronger push to the outside worlds and create a reputation for themselves beyond simple barbarism. While some Vikings were driven with the lust for riches, many sought more peaceful economic relationships with the surrounding nations.

The Viking explorers covered most of the known world during the Viking age. Viking settlers founded many large cities. Today, we find that Viking descendants all over Europe are proud of their heritage from these fierce and fearsome yet very culturally developed people from the North.

Viking Religion

The Viking Age was a period of considerable religious change in Scandinavia. Part of the popular image of the Vikings is that they were all pagans, with a hatred of the Christian Church, but this view is very misleading. It is true that almost the entire population of Scandinavia was pagan at the beginning of the Viking Age, but the Vikings had many gods, and it was no problem for them to accept the Christian god alongside their own. Most scholars today believe that Viking attacks on Christian churches had nothing to do with religion, but more to do with the fact that monasteries were typically both wealthy and poorly defended, making them an easy target for plunder.

Viking gods

Odin

Odin was the chief god in the Norse mythology, and the father of Thor, Balder, Hoder, Tyr, Bragi, Heimdall, Ull, Vidar, Hermod and Vali. His wives were Fjorgyn, Frigga and Rind. He had a bad habit to roam around Midgard in human disguise seducing and impregnating women. This is why many mortals were able to trace their ancestry back to him.

Thor

Thor was the son of Odin and Fjorgyn. He was the god ofthunder, the sky, fertility and the law. Armed with his strength-giving items, a belt and the hammer Mjölnir, he had a simple way of righting wrongs: he more or less killed everything that moved. The other gods -mostly Loki- occasionally took advantage of Thor's simplicity.

Loki

Loki can be called the 'wizard of lies' and is in many ways the most interesting god in Asgard. Loki was related to Odin, but their relationship was rather strange. He came to Asgard either as of right or because Odin and he entered into a blood-brotherhood.

Frey

Frey was a fertility god of the the Vanir race. He was the son of Njord and came to Asgard as a hostage along with his father and sister Freya.

Freya

Freya was the goddess of sex and later also war and death. She married the god Od, who deserted her. After being abandoned she divided her time between mourning his absence and being promiscuous.

Idun

The goddess of spring and immortal youth was called Idun. She was the daughter of the dwarf Ivald and married to the god Bragi.

Sif

Sif was the goddess who married Thor and bore his stepson (by Odin), Ull. The vikings (and their gods) admired golden hair, and she was exceptionally proud of hers, so Loki cut it all off while she was asleep.

Hel

Hel was a goddess (or a monster), a daughter of Loki and Angrboda, who ruled over Niflheim, which was the land of the dead. There were different opinions of whether she was alive or dead. Ull, in his role as god of winter, was supposed to spend a few months each year as Hel's lover. Hel and her ghostly army were going to support the other gods at Ragnarok, after which her domain would go out in flames.

So there are lots of speculative information on net about Vikings, few of this information is true, bu lots of them is not clear at all. What is sure is that, they lived  over 300 years and they dominate their territory and the nearby. They also created a strong norms and belief in their society and pop up with great culture with it. So to sum up, despite knowing not lots of thing about them, the information we got about them makes us respect them surely.

I also recommen you to follow the TV series The Vikings. It seems like they are going to hit the top. :))