VIKINGS
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Vikings were a group of men who invaded Europe around 700 AD to 1100 AD. This period of time is called the Viking age. Viking men were also known as Norsemen or Northmen. They were known to be aggressive and vicious at times although are extremely important in our history as without them, we wouldn't have the same countries developed. Vikings also adopted Christianity, and helped make England and France strong, having a missive influence on us today.
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Scandinavia is the Viking homeland and they developed the nations called Denmark, Norway and Sweden. It has a large amount of steep hills and cliffs and is a very rocky place. The waterfalls there are also very powerful as they fall from great distances.
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Unfortunately due to the rocky, mountainous area's, Vikings struggled to find arable areas. Just 3% of Norway's land is good farming ground, making it difficult for them to grow crops. Most Swedish Vikings lived in Southern Sweden for this very reason. Vikings sometimes had up to 20 hours of sunlight and sometimes a whole day of darkness!
On the right is a picture of a fjord. They are a deep valley with water leading into the Scandinavian land. There are many positive things that fjords had to offer to the Vikings including that they were a great food source, especially considering that crops were scarce.
On the right is a picture of a fjord. They are a deep valley with water leading into the Scandinavian land. There are many positive things that fjords had to offer to the Vikings including that they were a great food source, especially considering that crops were scarce.
The most common weapons that the Vikings used to fight with included swards and battle axes, while some also used spears and bows and arrows.
Some would carry shields made out of wood and others wore armor made out of various thick animal hides. The leader of the battle would tend to wear the most precious gear available; metal helmets and chainmail armor. |
The picture on the left is a Viking longship. These ships were specifically designed by the Vikings and used for raiding. The boat itself is long and narrow allowing it to travel fast which was useful in attacks so that Vikings could easily escape or surprise their victims. A longship could carry up to 80 Vikings who would use the oars to row the ship, they would also help to sail the ship and they would fight battles on the land. The figurehead at the front of the ship was used to create fear to the Viking enemies and for the Vikings to express their importance to them. Both the Viking longship and knarr (more information below) were always made from oak as it was strong, hard and extremely flexible.
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INTERESTING FACT: The sails on the ships were made from wool. So they were waterproof, the Vikings would smother fat from a horses neck on them!
The picture on the right is a Viking knorr. The Vikings were very dependent on these ships for carrying big and heavy goods. This smaller ship would carry the items in the center of the boat. The main source of power, unlike the longship, was the sail. The longship uses the sail but would mainly rely on the oars to power the boat. The reason that the knorr is more dependent upon the sail is because it is to heavy to be powered by oars due to all of the goods inside. Knarrs were not known for there speed, like the longship, but rather their ability to carry heavy items. This meant the weight of the ship was not a problem. The Vikings made certain that the ship was strong, otherwise it would't stand the sometimes violent North Atlantic seas.
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Valhalla is what Vikings believed to be the place they go to once they have died, but only if they died by a heroic death, meaning if they died in battle they would be sent to Valhalla but if by any other way, they would be sent to hell in which is the opposite to Valhalla. Vikings believed that Valhalla was filled with drinking everyday, tons and tons of gold and jewels as well as fighting daily and then restarting the next even if you died. Valhalla had a massive influence on them as they would make a battle just so they could go to Valhalla.
Watch the video on Valhalla below.
Watch the video on Valhalla below.
As you can see from the video above, Biorn was old and expecting to die soon. Because of this reason he tried to make many battles with people, but never actually got the chance to fight for various reasons (the reasons in the video were over exaggerated). However, when he did have the chance to die in battle, he fought with a "monster" in a church, and when he did die, the Christians put a cross on his burial. This "converted" his beliefs into Christianity, therefore meaning he no longer believed in Valhalla.
Click on the right for Leif Eriksson's: |