The Vikings Discover America, ca. 1000 The Vikings Discover America, ca. 1000 The Hell's Angels motorcycle gang on steroids - an appropriate description of the Viking raiders who ventured from their Scandinavian homeland to pillage the coasts of northern Europe beginning in the 8th century. Booty was their prize and the defenseless monasteries that thrived in splendid isolation on desolate shore lines often their target. The raiders used savage hit-and-run tactics. The Viking's reliance on the sea as their avenue of attack and escape motivated them to develop seaworthy ships and reliable navigational techniques with which they could travel vast distances over open water. Eric the Red was the first to venture into the distant waters when - having been banished from the island for a series murders - he sailed west from Iceland in 985 or 986 to an island he dubbed "Greenland". The story of the Viking exploration is contained in the sagas that passed by word-of-mouth from one generation to another before being committed to paper.
Viking | History, Exploration, Facts, & Maps Also called: Norseman or Northman Recent News Top Questions What is the origin of the word Viking? The etymology of the word Viking is uncertain. Who were the Vikings? The Vikings were raiders, pirates, traders, explorers, and colonizers during the 9th to 11th century. What was the Vikings’ religion? The Vikings' original religion was the pagan and polytheistic Old Norse religion, which can be traced back to about 500 BCE in what is now Denmark. Why did Viking raids stop? The defeat of the king of Norway, Harald III Sigurdsson, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 is considered the end of the age of Viking raids. Why do Viking helmets have horns? The stereotype of Viking helmets having horns goes back to costuming in 19th-century opera. How did Viking warriors dress? Viking men would normally wear a woolen overtunic, linen undertunic, either tight or baggy trousers without pockets, woolen leg wrappings, and waterproof leather shoes. How was Viking society organized? Did Viking women fight?
Middle Ages for Kids: Vikings Back to Middle Ages for kids The Vikings were people who lived in Northern Europe during the Middle Ages. They originally settled the Scandinavian lands that are today the countries of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The Vikings played a major role in Northern Europe during the Middle Ages, especially during the Viking Age which was from 800 CE to 1066 CE. Viking Raids The word Viking actually means "to raid" in Old Norse. The Viking Age and Expansion into Europe Eventually the Vikings began to settle in lands outside of Scandinavia. Viking expansion during the Middle Ages - Click to see larger view By the start of the 11th century the Vikings were at the peak of their expansion. Defeat in Great Britain and the End of the Viking Age In 1066, the Vikings, led by King Harald Hardrada of Norway were defeated by the English and King Harold Godwinson. A major reason for the end of the Viking age was the coming of Christianity. Viking Ships Perhaps the Vikings were most famous for their ships.
Welcome to A+E Networks | UK The Weather and Climate in Scandinavia Scandinavian countries can be either a winter wonderland or balmy summer destination. The climate varies from north to south and from west to east, so each locale has a unique temperature signature. Depending on the month you travel to Scandinavia, travelers can expect to pack shorts, bundle up with a parka, or dress in layers to accommodate the fluctuations in weather. The areas that are included as part of Scandinavia can be debated, but typically Scandinavia is considered to be comprised of Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Differences in Climate Scandinavia's regions have different climates, and temperatures vary widely between the regions. The central part of Scandinavia from Oslo to Stockholm has a more humid continental climate, which gradually gives way to subarctic climate further north, a lot like the weather in Finland. Parts of the Scandinavian mountains in Norway and Sweden have an alpine tundra climate with frigid temperatures, especially in winter.
Primary History - Vikings - Who were the Vikings A History of the Vikings: Simplified – Scandinavia Facts The Vikings were Norse people who have a rich and fascinating history. With roots primarily in southern Scandinavia, they raided some countries, and traded with others, in order to build wealth and extend their influence. In the year 789 A.D., the Vikings launched their first raids on England. Similar violent attacks continued intermittently through the year 1066, which generally marks the end of the Viking age. Perhaps the most well-known Viking is Ragnar Lodbrok, who successfully led raids in France and England. The Vikings were such excellent seafarers that they reached to the East Coast of North America and they were able to successfully infiltrate regions like modern-day Ukraine in their explorations. To many observers, the history of the Vikings is fascinating though somewhat mysterious due to how little historians can confirm with certainty about the lives of those who lived during that period of Northern European history. Their first target was the Christian monastery of St.
Games and Animations Welcome to the Best of History Web Sites Games and Animations section. Below you will find an annotated list of fun history games and animations organized around broad historical periods. Most of these games and animation are aimed at students ages 10-16. Ancient History Games and Animations Gladiator: Dressed to Kill This game has the player choose the correct armor for three different types of Roman gladiators within a time limit. Housesteads Fort This is a 3D tour of a reconstruction of a Roman fort along Hadrian’s Wall in Ancient Britain. Mt. The Mummy Maker Test your knowledge of history with an interactive challenge. Roman Villa This is an interactive reconstruction of a Roman villa viewed in Google Earth. Discover Babylon 500 This strategy game provides challenges and mysteries that can only be solved through developing an understanding of Mesopotamian society. Anglo-Saxon Coins In this game you learn stories behind the coins and try to make “money talk.” Pirates! Early U.S. U.S.
The Origins of the Norse Mythology | The Norse Gods Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled on Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. Norse mythology is the best-preserved version of the older common Germanic paganism, which also includes the very closely related Anglo-Saxon mythology. The Norse Gods are the mythological characters from stories shared by Northern Germanic tribes of the 9th century AD. These stories were passed down in the form of poetry until the 11th – 18th centuries when the Eddas and other medieval texts were written. The Poetic Edda (also known as the Elder Edda) was committed to writing about 50 years after the Prose Edda. Besides these sources, there are surviving legends in Scandinavian folklore. A few runic inscriptions, such as the Rök Runestone and the Kvinneby amulet, make references to the mythology.
The Amazing Vikings Ravagers, despoilers, pagans, heathens--such epithets pretty well summed up the Vikings for those who lived in the British Isles during medieval times. For hundreds of years after their bloody appearance at the end of the 8th century A.D., these ruthless raiders would periodically sweep in from the sea to kill, plunder and destroy, essentially at will. "From the fury of the Northmen, deliver us, O Lord" was a prayer uttered frequently and fervently at the close of the first millennium. Small wonder that the ancient Anglo-Saxons--and their cultural descendants in England, the U.S. and Canada--think of these seafaring Scandinavians as little more than violent brutes. But that view is wildly skewed. The Vikings were indeed raiders, but they were also traders whose economic network stretched from today's Iraq all the way to the Canadian Arctic. In doing so, the curators have laid to rest a number of popular misconceptions, including one they perpetuate in the show's title.
How The Weather Affected the Vikings in Viking Age? - baviPower Blog – BaviPower Back to the Viking Age, the weather was among the determining factors that decided what the life of the Vikings would be like. In other words, the Vikings were likely to depend a lot on the weather. Many scholars believed that it was the weather that shaped the Viking mindset of living, entertainment, and faith. Living The Scandinavian men back to the Viking Age pretty much relied on farming. They relied on farming and their food mainly came from agriculture. The Viking's life was not merely pillaging and killing. Many of the Vikings also took the life of seafarers who did not always pillage and raid with ships. Overall, the Vikings depended on the weather a lot for their living and survival. Entertainment During the long winters, the Vikings had more time to spare as they didn't have to spend much time on the crops. An account by an archbishop told his witness of the Vikings ice skating. Back to the Viking time, they loved spending their time skiing in the winter Faith
Boy finds treasure linked to Viking king 'Harald Bluetooth' on Baltic island Updated Tue at 2:47amTue 17 Apr 2018, 2:47am Hundreds of 1,000-year-old silver coins, rings, pearls and bracelets linked to the era of Danish King Harald Gormsson have been found on the northern German island of Ruegen in the Baltic Sea. A single silver coin was first found in January by two amateur archaeologists, one of them a 13-year-old boy, in a field near the village of Schaprode. The state archaeology office then became involved and the entire treasure was uncovered by experts over the weekend, the Mecklenburg-West Pomerania state archaeology office said. "It's the biggest trove of such coins in the south-eastern Baltic region," the statement said. The office said the two amateur archaeologists were asked to keep quiet about their discovery to give professionals time to plan the dig and were then invited to participate in the recovery. "This was the [biggest] discovery of my life," hobby archaeologist Rene Schoen told the German news agency dpa. Topics: archaeology, history, germany
Daily Life in the Viking Age Daily life for most men and women during the Viking Age revolved around subsistence-level farmwork. Almost everyone lived on rural farmsteads that produced most of the goods used by the people who lived there. The work on a farmstead was divided by gender/sex. Women were customarily charged with the tasks that were performed “within the threshold” of the house, while men were charged with those tasks that lay outside of the house.[1] The two main tasks of women were producing clothing and preparing food.[2] Women baked, cooked, made alcoholic drinks, and made dairy products such as milk, butter, and cheese. Milking sheep and cows were tasks that fell to women as part of this process, even though those activities were often performed outside of “the threshold.” Agricultural work, as opposed to food preparation, fell to men. The first task of the agricultural cycle was plowing. Famine and disease were very common, and took their toll on the population. Settlement Patterns References:
Girl, 8, pulls 1,500-year-old sword from lake in Sweden By Lara Lauth Updated Fri at 12:01pmFri 5 Oct 2018, 12:01pm An eight-year-old girl went for a dip in a Swedish lake and returned wielding an Iron Age sword. A local museum described the find as "spectacular"Experts said the weapon was up to 1,500 years oldIt was found complete with a scabbard made of wood and leather Young Saga Vanecek was swimming with her family in southern Sweden's Lake Vidosten when she stumbled upon a long metal object. The Jonkopings Lans Museum said in a statement this week that the discovery was "spectacular". "The sword is in total 85cm long and exceptionally well-preserved, including a scabbard made of wood and leather," it said. "It has tentatively been considered from the Iron Age, that is at least 1,000 years, perhaps even 1,500 years old." The museum said Saga found the relic in about half a metre of water. They were not sure how or why the weapon ended up in the lake, but the Jonkoping County Museum and other organisations plan to investigate the area soon.