I am very interested to learn about the Vikings. One reason is because they, not Christopher Columbus, were the first European settlers to find North America. Another reason is that in Norse, the Vikings native language, Eric means, well, we will get to that later.
1. Didn't have horns on their helmets like suggested. They were used in ceremonies only.
2. Landed in Newfoundland.
3. Were Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Finnish.
4. Did not have good hygiene.
5. Were great hunters
6. Conquered England, France (Normandy), Greenland, North America and Russia.
7. Lived in very hostile environments.
8. Had a Monarchy Government.
9. Lived in thick forests. (Isnt it good Norwegian Wood?)
10. Were wonderful warriors. (How else can you conquer England, France (Normandy), Greenland, North America and Russia?) They also were gory warriors.
11. Were extremely good ship builders.
12. Lived until medieval times.
The Vikings raided and ruled many areas, but which ones?
They ruled almost all of Europe and a bit of Newfoundland. Here are a couple of Maps of the Vikings World:
This map shows the main cities and settlements of the Viking era. In the yellow is land that the Vikings conquered. The red lines are trading routes.
This shows a map of what the Vikings land looks like. The green is land that they claimed theirs, but the Vikings never reached Africa, like shown on the map.
This map shows current day Scandinavia. It shows the capitals of Finland, Helsinki, and of Norway, Oslo.
The Vikings were the first settlers of Present Day North America. The first European to discover North America was Leif Erickson, son of Erik the Great. Erik the Great was part of the Royal Family of Denmark. Leif Erickson discovered North America in 1000 A.D. He settled in Greenland with a group of fellow explorers. He sent flyers to other Viking territories telling the native Vikings that Greenland was a grassy landmass. He named it Greenland for this very reason. But actually, Greenland was a dry, cold equivalent of Scandinavia, where they lived. Leif Ericksons farm in Greenland
was in the Arm of Ericsfjord.
The Vikings once populated Present Day Newfoundland. It was there that the first Viking ruins in North America were excavated in the 1960s. A Norwegian explorer and author named Helge Ingstad found a typical turf house that the Vikings would have used in Greenland or Iceland at L Anse Aux Meadows. It was beside a freshwater stream, which would be important for fishing. On the other side of the stream was a smithy, an iron rivet maker. They know that the farm didnt last very long. This was due to the fact that the hostile Native Americans lived in the region. The Natives killed Leif Ericksons brother, Thorwald, in a brief fight.
At L Anse Aux Meadows, There is a museum at the site. For information, contact:
Area Superintendent, Historic Sites West Coast Newfoundland
Parks Canada Canadian Heritage P.O. Box 70
St. Lunaire-Griquet NFLD Canada
A0K 2X0
The Park is open at these times:
June-September and September- October limited services available
In the summer of 1997, a knarr, a Viking trading boat, 54 ft. long and 16 ft. wide called Snorri was reconstructed by Museum volunteers. This ship is now available for viewing at the Museum.
And on April 1, 2001, Helge Ingstad died at the age of 101 in Oslo, Norway.
Of course, the Vikings didn't spend all their time raiding. What did they do when they rested? Some of the most exciting things they did were woodcarving, skiing, and wrestling. Thats not all. They worked on maps of their region and rode their favourite animal, the horse.
The Vikings, like any civilization, celebrated the yearly crop, but only if it was successful. Also if the raiding season was good there would be a great feast. With stolen treasure the Vikings would have a great reason to celebrate. There would have to be a certain amount of alefeasts a year. There you would brew beer from grain. If not, you could, at the worst, lose your land!
The Law is just as evil as it sounds. It decided what the Vikings could and couldnt do. One of the easiest ways to solve the dispute or crime was a duel. Whoever the offender was, he had to face the prosecutor in a duel. Whoever won the duel wins the case and for the loser, maybe next time. After Christianity came into the picture for the Vikings, you could carry hot irons. The Christian Church introduced the Vikings to try someone by fire. The most common method was to grab a piece of iron from boiling water and walk 9 steps with it carried in his hands. The church also introduced another method of proving ones innocence, walking 12 steps on red-hot irons. It could prove ones innocence only if after 3 days the feet were inspected and the wounds were found clean e.g. without infection. Then they would be innocent. And I thought they had it easy!
The men were the fighters and the women almost never left home. The women cooked the meals so when their husbands came home, they could eat right away. Time couldnt have been as well used in my opinion.
Life was rough with makeshift houses and terribly cold temperatures. If you add the payment for your crimes, life was very, very rough.
Listening to sagas was one of the few times men enjoyed themselves after long fought battles. The sagas were stories, mostly legends, about great conquers and rulers. One of the greatest sagas is about Leif Ericksons trip to Vinland. It describes at first who his forefathers were and what importance they were to society.
Well, this is the end of my final project. I learned more than I really need to know in some cases. Here is a brief summary of what I have learned:
1. Leif Ericksons farm in Greenland was in the Arm of Ericsfjord.
2. The Vikings were the first settlers of Present Day North America.
3. One of the easiest ways to solve a dispute or crime was a duel.
4. At the beginning of Medieval Times, the Viking started to believe in Christianity.
5. I learned a few Viking Words;
aser= The Gods
rike=kingdom
sol=sun
mane= moon
Vinland=North America
lagu=law
Jorvik=York
Eric=all mighty ruler
6. The Vikings were extremely good ship builders.
7. The Vikings did not wash very often.
All and all, I had a great time doing this project on the Vikings. I always will remember this project. Sometimes I wish I could do this kind of project more often. I enjoy researching and learning about the past.
I wish I could meet Erick the Great or Leif Erickson. To me they are great heroes of their times. I think the Vikings were more significant in history than Christopher Columbus or Alexander The Great. Without their discoveries, we may not be here today. They were the people of their time.
Here were a few helpful Web Sites I used:
www.expedia.com
www.control.clambers.se
www.vikings.no
www.yahoo.com
www.msn.com
And a book:
The Vikings
By The Seafarers