The Vikings

Overview:

The Viking culture was a culture that shaped many modern countries today. Mainly Scandinavia, Iceland and Russia but even on other countries there has been a big impact.

Expansion: The Vikings are usually depicted as a Fierce, bloodthirsty seafaring people. In 476 AD the Western Roman Empire fell, and a period called the Dark ages began in which many barbaric tribes were romping about Europe. The Vikings originated from parts of Scandinavia, modern countries Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The first Recorded attacks on England were in the 790s, from which we see the Viking age growing rapidly. Soon, many expeditions and Raids were being made all around Europe. Greenland was colonized in 938, and soon after, a colony was established in Modern day Newfoundland. In Europe, the Vikings Raided and started to conquer England, while Normandy was established by Vikings and Viking settlements were springing up around the Baltic Sea. Some Vikings even made it to North Africa and others served as Mercenaries for the Byzantine Army. The Vikings also fought against the Saxons and some lived in North-west Germany. Many settlements were made in Russia and surrounding areas. Why the Vikings suddenly started Raiding and colonizing, no one knows. Some scholars think that either Scandinavia was getting over populated and new lands had to be found to suffice the demands. Others think that because the Vikings where at that time united under one leader and that the general decision was to start Raiding other Kingdoms.

Culture:

The Vikings were generally non-literate   many records have been found on Runestones and a few scripts remain. We know that the Vikings had a Alphabet called runor.In all, enough has been found to give us a good view on what Viking culture was like. The Vikings were ranked in three socio-economic classes: Thralls, Karls and Jarls. The Thralls were the lowest class, in other words slaves. Thralls, mostly captured on Raids were either sold on the Market (usually to Arabs for silver) or they were used for big costructions like constructing canals, fortifications, building houses, housework, and grave digging. The Thralls were looked down upon and life was not pleasant for them. The Karls were free peasants who worked on the fields, fixed wagons, built houses and did some other daily chores. The Karls could own Farms, land and cattle and although they worked hard, they used their Thralls to do most of their work. The Jarls were the Viking aristocracy and were wealthy. The Jarls had large estates and lived in big, spacious longhouses. The Jarls were usually the warriors that went out to Raid. They enjoyed hunting, fighting and being part of the wealthier part of society. So that was a brief explanation of Viking expansion and Society.