Viking Age (739 AD 1066 AD) Nicholas McClain

Social Jarls: Wealthy men who kept the lower class safe. Measured by treasures, ships and estates. Karls: Middle class men. Worked jobs such as farming and smithing Þræl: Slaves or Bondsmen (men who do labour to repay another)

Political/Government The Viking Age had no central government but could be viewed as a republic ruled by several Jarls or a monarch. They did however have a court system. Criminals were brought to a þing where the panel (kvidr) presented the facts of the case and a jury of 12, 24 or 36 presided over. A Hólmganga (or duel) was another way of solving issues.

Innovations The Vikings were known for their navigation ability and were able to navigate so well due to a sólarsteinn (sunstone) which was a rock held up to the sky on a cloudy day to find the sun. Vikings were also renowned for their ship making abilities. Longships usually were 57ft long and had 16 rowers.

Culture: Language and Literature The Vikings spoke Old Norse, a Germanic Indo-European language. Many words in English are taken from Old Norse such as Anger and husband. Below is the Runic alphabet Old Norse used (Elder Fuþark) Vikings had rich literature either about their religion, common man or Kings. On the next page is an excerpt from the Poetic Edda Vǫluspá in Fornyrðislag stanzas in Old Norse. (*the translation may not be entirely accurate*)

Language and Literature: Vǫluspá Old Norse English Translation “Hearing I ask from the holy races, From Heimdall’s sons both high and low Thou wilt, Valfather that well I relate Old tales I remember of men long ago I remember yet the giants of yore Who gave me bread in the days gone by; Nine worlds I knew, the nine in the tree With mighty roots beneath the mold” “Hljóðs bið ek allar helgar kindir, meiri ok minni mögu Heimdallar; viltu at ek, Valföðr, vel fyr telja forn spjöll fira, þau er fremst of man. Ek man jötna ár of borna, þá er forðum mik fædda höfðu; níu man ek heima, níu íviðjur, mjötvið mæran fyr mold neðan.”

Culture: Art Viking art is characterised by intricate tribal inlays and patterns. Longships were decorated in the Oseberg style while Runestones were decorated in the Ringerike style. To the right is a picture of the intricate inlay work on the hull of the Oseberg ship, a well preserved Viking ship dating to 834 AD.

Culture: Music Despite popular beliefs the Vikings did make music. Verse 42 of Vǫluspá mentions a harp and in chapter 87 and 88 of Grettis saga Þorsteinn who was imprisoned in Byzantium sung songs to keep his hopes high. This suggests that the Vikings very well did play music. One of the first examples of secular musical notation is from Codex Runicus and was written around 1300 AD. It is titled “Drømde mik I drøm I nat” To the right is a picture.

Culture: Religion The Norse religion was a polytheistic and pantheistic religion with many Gods. The Vikings didn’t usually have places of worship due to the blót style of worship. Thor, Odin, Loki and Freya are some of the many important Gods in the Norse religion. To The right is Mjǫlnir pendant, something many Norse wore.

Econimics The Vikings were most known for being very Globalised in their trading, having made it all the way to Greenland and North America Traded commodities included ceramics, animal skins, slaves, precious metals and cod. Below is a map of raids and trade routes the Vikings took.

Christianisation The Christianization of Scandinavia started in the 8th century and ended in the 12th century. Despite popular belief that the Vikings were quick to give up their religion and follow the Christian religion the process was very grueling and took around 150-200 years. To the left is the Sövestad 1 Runestone, which depicts a man holding a cross.

Women In the Viking Age Women in the Viking age usually married at age 12-15 and were expected to run the house. Marriage was mutual between both her and his family. Women in the Viking age had the right to a divorce if the husband mistreated her and/or the children or if he was lazy and not a good provider The young children during a divorce were automatically given to the women while the older children were divided between her and the husband based on wealth of his and her family Viking women had more rights than most European women at the time because they were entitled to property, inheritance and divorce rights.

Old Norse Pronunciation Guide Vowels a as the "a" in land (or in German mann) á as the "a" in father e as the "ee" in meet (or as in French été) é as the "ea" in wear (or as in German reh) æ as the "ou" in gout (or as in German thräne) i as the "ie" in lien (or as in French fini) o as the "o" in nose (or as the French repos) ó as the "o" in not (or as the German bote) u as in French roux ú as the "oo" in droop ǫ used in place of o-cedilla (an o with a hook under it, which can't be represented using the current HTML standard) as the "o" in not au as o-cedilla+u

Old Norse Pronunciation Guide II Vowels Double consonants followed by a vowel are pronounced double, hence the KK in drekka is pronounced as in bookkeeping. When final or followed by another consonant in the same syllable, double consonants are pronounced long, being more than a single consonant yet not the repitition of the full double one. D, T, N and L are all pronounced with the point of the tongue against the teeth (as in French and German) not with the tongue against the gums as in English.  HL voiceless L HN voiceless N L is pronouced normally when standing next to D, N, L or R or when following an unaccented vowel, but the L is trilled somewhat in any other position where it is not voiceless. NG or NK is pronounced like single or sink F in the initial position, or when followed by a voiceless consonant, is voiceless, as in English fat. Otherwise F is pronounced like an English V. Voiced F followed by N was nasalized, so that jafnoften was spelled and pronounced jamn

Old Norse Pronunciation Guide III Vowels V was usually pronounced as an F, but HV was a voiceless V or KV. P was pronounced as in English except when followed by S or T, when it becomes an F as in loft. R is always rolled as in Scottish dialects. Final R (such as in draugr) was not pronounced. A voiceless R is always spelled HR. S was always voiceless, as in English blast Þ or þ the rune thorn is the voiced "th" sound of thorn Рor ð the rune edth is the unvoiced "th" sound of this Z is pronounced as TS  J is pronounced as "y" in "young“ G in the initial position or in NG or when doubled is a voiced velar plosive (a hard G), like the "n" in English got If NG or GG occurred before S or T, the G became unvoiced to K (thus "eggs" would be pronounced ekks)‘ G in the middle or end of a word is a voiced velar fricative (a soft G), almost a "j" sound as the "g" in the English reign -- unless the G was follwed by S or T, when it becomes the hard CH of Scottish loch

Bibliogoraphy http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/literature/text/music.htm http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONPronounciation.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%B6lusp%C3%A1 http://www.viking.no/e/life/elaws.htm http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/society/text/social_classes.htm http://www.viking.no/e/life/ewomen.htm