Vikings

What was a “Viking”? Old Norse noun meaning “piracy” or “pirate raid”. Vikingr meant a pirate or raider After being used for so long, is has come to represent all those of Scandinavian blood

World of the Norsemen The “Viking Age” covers the years 800-1100. Many were absorbed into other cultures. Most of Scandinavia came to accept Christianity and resembled European civilization. Culture did live on in some places, such as Iceland Scandinavia included Denmark, Sweden, and Norway

Norse Homes A Viking house often consisted of just one room. Usually made with a wooden frame, which was filled in with timber planks. Center of the hut was a hearth where the cooking was done. Had little furniture. In the hut there would be a table and stools Only wealthy Vikings could afford beds. Most people slept on benches with rugs

Norse Society Upper class Vikings were called Jarls. Below them were a class of farmers and craftsmen. At the bottom of the heap were a class of slaves called thralls. Slavery was common in the world at that time. Captured women and children on their raids and made them slaves. Norse women had a good deal of freedom. Things were where political decisions were made, laws upheld and disputes settled. They acted as meeting places and were often the focus for trade and religious activity.

Norse Gods Odin- The most powerful and wisest god. Odin is the Allfather of the Norse gods. Thor- Odin’s youngest son and the second most powerful god. He is the god of thunder, master of the weather and the strongest warrior. Loki- A giant in Norse mythology. He is also a trickster, the god of thieves.

Runes The Norsemen used runes to write. It is guessed that only a few were able to read and write Most inscriptions were on wood or stone. Stories and sagas were not written down until after the Viking Age was over.

Lindisfarne- Beginning of the “Viking Age” A.D. 793, an attack on the Lindisfarne monastery off the coast of Northumberland in northeastern England Sailed directly across the North Sea–did not destroy the monastery completely, but the attack shook the European religious world. Had no respect for religious institutions such as the monasteries, which were often left unguarded and vulnerable near the shore.

Continued Raids For several decades, the Vikings confined themselves to hit-and-run raids against coastal targets in the British Isles. They then took advantage of internal conflicts in Europe to extend their activity further inland. In 840, Frankia (modern-day France and Germany) actually invited the support of a Viking fleet in a power struggle with brothers.

France Before long other Vikings realized that Frankish rulers were willing to pay them rich sums to prevent them from attacking their subjects, making Frankia an irresistible target for further Viking activity.

British Isles By the mid-ninth century, Ireland, Scotland and England had become major targets for Viking settlement as well as raids. Vikings gained control of much of Scotland Only one kingdom of England–Wessex–was able to successfully resist Viking invasions. In 871 King Alfred the Great of Wessex became the only king to decisively defeat a Danish army in England

British Isles Leaving Wessex, the Danes settled to the north, in an area known as “Danelaw.” Many of them became farmers and traders In the first half of the 10th century, English armies led by the descendants of Alfred of Wessex began reconquering Scandinavian areas of England; the last Scandinavian king, Erik Bloodaxe, was expelled and killed around 952, permanently uniting English into one kingdom

North America In the ninth century, Scandinavians began to colonize Iceland, an island in the North Atlantic where no one had yet settled in large numbers. By the late 10th century, some Vikings (including the famous Erik the Red) moved even further westward, to Greenland. According to later Icelandic histories, some of the early Viking settlers in Greenland (supposedly led by the Norwegian Viking hero Leif Eriksson, son of Erik the Red) may have become the first Europeans to discover and explore North America in modern-day Newfoundland. Beyond that, there is little evidence of Viking presence in the New World, and they didn’t form permanent settlements.

End of the “Viking Age” Events of 1066 (expelling a Norse invasion) in England effectively marked the end of the Viking Age. By that time, all of the Scandinavian kingdoms were Christian, and what remained of Viking “culture” was being absorbed into the culture of Christian Europe. Many of them became farmers and traders