The Vikings PDF

The Vikings
Don Nardo
The Vikings
Don Nardo
© 2011 Gale, Cengage Learning
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Nardo, Don, 1947-

The Vikings / by Don Nardo.
p. cm. -- (World history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4205-0316-6 (hardcover)
1. Vikings--Juvenile literature. 2. Northmen--Juvenile literature. 3.
Civilization, Viking--Juvenile literature. I. Title.
DL66.N37 2010
948'.022--dc22
2010010500
Lucent Books
27500 Drake Rd.
Farmington Hills, MI 48331
ISBN-13: 978-1-4205-0316-6
ISBN-10: 1-4205-0316-2
Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 14 13 12 11 10
Contents
Foreword 4
Important Dates at the Time of the Vikings 6
Introduction:
Evidence for the Vikings 8
Chapter One:
Viking Origins and Early Raids 17
Chapter Two:
Viking Conquests and Expansion 29
Chapter Three:
Viking Warriors and Ships 41
Chapter Four:
Viking Families and Home Life 53
Chapter Five:
Viking Communities and Culture 64
Chapter Six:
Viking Religion and Myths 75
Chapter Seven:
Viking Explorations in the West 87
Epilogue:
The End of the Viking Age 97
Notes 100
Glossary 103
For More Information 105
Index 107
Picture Credits 111
About the Author 112
Foreword
E
ach year, on the first day of school, children made the journey. Parents
nearly every history teacher faces bravely allowed many children to go,
the task of explaining why his or and entire communities were inspired
her students should study history. Many by the faith of these small Crusaders.
reasons have been given. One is that les- Unfortunately, many boarded ships that
sons exist in the past from which contem- were captained by slave traders, who en-
porary society can benefit and learn. thusiastically sold the children into slav-
Another is that exploration of the past al- ery as soon as they arrived at their
lows us to see the origins of our customs, destination. Thousands died from dis-
ideas, and institutions. Concepts such as ease, exposure, and starvation on the
democracy, ethnic conflict, or even things long march across Europe to the
as trivial as fashion or mores, have his- Mediterranean Sea. Others perished at
torical roots. sea.
Reasons such as these impress few stu- Another story, from a modern and
dents, however. If anything, these expla- more familiar place, offers a soul-
nations seem remote and dull to young wrenching view of personal humilia-
minds. Yet history is anything but dull. tion but also the ability to rise above
And therein lies what is perhaps the most it. Hatsuye Egami was one of 110,000
compelling reason for studying history: Japanese Americans sent to internment
History is filled with great stories. The camps during World War II. “Since yes-
classic themes of literature and drama— terday we Japanese have ceased to be
love and sacrifice, hatred and revenge, human beings,” he wrote in his diary.
injustice and betrayal, adversity and “We are numbers. We are no longer
triumph—fill the pages of history books, Egamis, but the number 23324. A tag
feeding the imagination as well as any of with that number is on every trunk,
the great works of fiction do. suitcase and bag. Tags, also, on our
The story of the Children’s Crusade, breasts.” Despite such dehumanizing
for example, is one of the most tragic in treatment, most internees worked
history. In 1212 Crusader fever hit Eu- hard to control their bitterness. They
rope. A call went out from the pope that created workable communities inside
all good Christians should journey to the camps and demonstrated again and
Jerusalem to drive out the hated Mus- again their loyalty as Americans.
lims and return the city to Christian con- These are but two of the many sto-
trol. Heeding the call, thousands of ries from history that can be found in
4 ■ The Vikings
the pages of the Lucent Books World valuable tools for further research and de-
History series. All World History titles bate.
rely on sound research and verifiable Finally, Lucent’s World History titles
evidence, and all give students a clear present rousing good stories, featuring
sense of time, place, and chronology vivid primary source quotations drawn
through maps and timelines as well as from unique, sometimes obscure sources
text. such as diaries, public records, and con-
All titles include a wide range of author- temporary chronicles. In this way, the
itative perspectives that demonstrate the voices of participants and witnesses as
complexity of historical interpretation and well as important biographers and histo-
sharpen the reader’s critical thinking skills. rians bring the study of history to life. As
Formally documented quotations and an- we are caught up in the lives of others, we
notated bibliographies enable students to are reminded that we too are characters
locate and evaluate sources, often instan- in the ongoing human saga, and we are
taneously via the Internet, and serve as better prepared for our own roles.
Foreword ■ 5
Important Dates at the
476 793
711 The first major V i k i n g raid i n
Traditional date
The western Europe occurs at
for the fall of the
Moors Lindisfarne, on Britain’s
western Roman
invade eastern coast.
Empire, w h i c h
Spain.
had long
exerted cultural
influences over ca. 986
the inhabitants A Viking ship
787
of Scandinavia. strays off course
The earliest V i k i n g
raid on England and sights
624 occurs, according N o r t h America.
The M u s l i m prophet to The Anglo-Saxon
M u h a m m a d and his Chronicle.
followers capture
Mecca.
400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200
800
The Frankish leader
Charlemagne is
crowned emperor.
859 ca. 900
Muslims i n The classic
Morocco f o u n d Maya era ends
the University of i n Mexico.
A l Karaouine, the
oldest k n o w n
university i n the 922
world. M u s l i m traveler
845
Ibn Fadlan
Paris is attacked
witnesses and
b y Vikings.
writes about an
ca. 870 elaborate V i k i n g
857 Norse funeral i n w h a t is
A V i k i n g fleet enters the settlement n o w Russia.
Mediterranean Sea and raids of Iceland
the coasts of southern Europe begins.
and N o r t h Africa.
6 The Vikings
Time of the Vikings
ca. 1000
V i k i n g mariner
Leif Eriksson
builds a
settlement i n
w h a t is n o w
northern
Newfoundland.
1100
The giant temple
A n g k o r Wat is 1453
erected i n w h a t is The Byzantine capital of
n o w Cambodia. Constantinople falls to the
Ottoman Turks.
r
1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
I
Well-preserved remnants of a
1880
1500
A Portuguese large V i k i n g ship are
explorer sights discovered at Gokstad, i n
Norway. 1914
and names
World War I
Greenland, not
begins i n
realizing it was
Europe.
once a V i k i n g
colony.
1960
1776 The remains of a
The American Norse colony
Revolution are f o u n d i n
begins. northern
Newfoundland.
"iru1 ! m f ■»..
es at t h e T i m e o f t h e V i k i n g s 7
(c) 2011 Don Nardo. All Rights Reserve
Introduction
Surviving Evidence
for the Vikings
F
or the people of Europe in the Vandals, wave upon wave of tribes,
early medieval era, the story of moved across Europe, giving momen-
the Vikings was one of unex- tum to the peoples of the continent.”1
pected and naked violence, of the tri- In time, these huge folk migrations
umph of the strong and ruthless, and of finally ran their course. By the late 700s
the suffering of the weak and innocent. A.D. large sections of Europe had finally
The prelude to this epic tale of woe was settled down and become relatively sta-
rooted in late ancient times. In the final ble. The era of peace proved to be tragi-
century of the Roman Empire, span- cally short-lived, however. In the late
ning the 400s A.D., tribal peoples from eighth century a new source of may-
across northern Europe began migrat- hem and insecurity appeared, this one
ing. Searching for new lands, economic centered in Scandinavia, the region
opportunities, and often simply booty, now encompassed by Denmark, Swe-
they steadily invaded, overran, and ab- den, and Norway. Marauding bands of
sorbed the empire’s outlying provinces. raiders from those lands descended on
As a result, in the year 476 that realm Europe. They had various names, in-
officially ceased to exist. cluding Norse, Norsemen, and North-
This was only the beginning of the men. But they were (and still are) better
bedlam, disorder, and instability Eu- known as the Vikings.
rope was destined to suffer. “With the The Viking raiders typically struck
collapse of the Roman Empire,” British quickly and with overwhelming force.
Museum scholar David M. Wilson re- They stole, pillaged, and frequently mur-
marks, “the movements [of peoples] dered with abandon. These raiders struck
became almost frenetic. Huns, Goths, fear into the hearts of people in many
8 ■ The Vikings
A band of Viking raiders loots a European village, spreading destruction and fear.
Surviving Evidence for the Vikings ■ 9

lands, stretching from England and Ire- other modern experts naturally would
land in the west, across Europe, to what like to know as much about them as pos-
are now Russia and Iran in the east. In the sible. That information comes from a
two and a half centuries that followed— wide array of sources, which fall into
the so-called Viking Age—people of di- two general categories. The first consists
verse cultures and languages had reason of surviving medieval writings of vari-
to express sentiments like those of an ous types. A few of these are histories or
anonymous medieval Irish chronicler. at least earnest attempts to record im-
Even if there were a hundred “loud, un- portant events on a regular basis.
ceasing voices from each tongue,” he The chief example is The Anglo-Saxon
said, Chronicle, which English scribes began
compiling circa A.D. 890 at the request of
they could not recount or narrate . . . their ruler Alfred the Great. Separate en-
what all the Irish suffered in com- tries were made for years both before
mon, both men and women, laity and and after that date. Most of these entries
clergy, old and young, noble and ig- are short and lack detail, but they are
noble, of hardships and of injuring helpful in establishing the major annual
and of oppression, in every house, events affecting England and its vicinity.
from those valiant, wrathful, purely The first mention of the Vikings appears
pagan people [the Vikings] because in the entry for the year 787. The chroni-
of the greatness of their achievements clers called them Northmen, Danes,
and of their deeds, their bravery, and and/or heathens (non-Christians), as the
their . . . strength, and their venom, term Viking had not yet been coined. In
and their ferocity.2 that year, the Chronicle says, “came first
three ships of the Northmen from the
The Written Sources land of robbers. The [local sheriff] then
Eventually, the Vikings faded from rode [to the shore to meet them] . . . ; for
view as they were absorbed into the he knew not what they were; and there
populations of dozens of medieval was he slain. These were the first ships
kingdoms. But their impact, both dur- of the Danish men that sought [to rob
ing and after the Viking Age, cannot be and invade] the land of the English na-
overstated. Through raiding, conquest, tion.”3 Later entries recorded other incur-
trade, colonization, and intermarriage, sions (invasions) by the Scandinavian
they changed forever the face of Europe raiders, including one for the year 794,
and several lands bordering it. Indeed, which also mentions some Viking ships
much of today’s world is the result of capsizing in a storm:
the deeds and influence of the Vikings
a thousand years ago. In the meantime, the heathen
Because the Vikings’ impact was so armies spread devastation among
large and consequential, historians and the Northumbrians [residents of
10 ■ The Vikings
This page of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, dating from the mid-eleventh century, mentions
a battle fought between the Vikings and English.
northeastern England] and plun- near him or speak to him, indeed
dered the monastery of King Everth they have no contact with him for
at the mouth of the Wear. There, the duration of his illness, especially
however, some of their leaders were if he is socially inferior or is a slave.
slain; and some of their ships also If he recovers and gets back to his
were shattered to pieces by the vi- feet, he rejoins them. If he dies, they
olence of the weather [and] many bury him, though if he was a slave
of the crew were drowned.4 they leave him there as food for the
dogs and the birds.5
Some other surviving written sources
from that period take the form of per- The Sagas
sonal memoirs or travelogues. The sto- Among the more important written
rytellers and writers of these tracts often sources about the Vikings are the Ice-
provided valuable information about the landic sagas, a collection of stories writ-
everyday lives, habits, and exploits of ten by various authors in Norse-
specific Vikings or of Norsemen in gen- inhabited Iceland not long after the close
eral. One of those storytellers was him- of the Viking Age. Consisting of prose
self Norse—Ohthere (or Ottar), who with sections of poems sometimes em-
dwelled in Norway in the late 800s. In bedded in the text, they deal with Scan-
his account he talks about the difficulties dinavian and German heroes, most of
of farming in the far north and describes them Vikings. Many of the sagas have
how he hunted walruses for their pre- mythological and/or highly romanti-
cious tusks, which he traded, along with cized elements. Yet many others feature
other items, in Scandinavian markets. He long sections based on real people and
also tells about a side trip he took to ex- incidents, including battles, political al-
plore the little-known lands lying north liances, marriages, and voyages of ex-
of Norway, near the frozen Arctic. ploration. “These stories paint a vivid
Of particular interest among these picture of the Vikings,” writes archaeol-
personal accounts is that of an early ogist Richard Hall, “not only in Iceland,
tenth-century Muslim traveler named but across a vast territorial sweep from
Ibn Fadlan. Describing the Vikings who [eastern North America] to Byzantium
had settled in what is now Russia, he [on the Black Sea’s southern shore].
recorded for posterity a number of Classic accounts of the deeds of heroes,
Norse customs, including their rather or epic tales of love, passion, greed, and
insensitive treatment of sick people: honor, they are a vital part of the Iceland
[and Viking] legacy.”6
When one of them falls ill, they That these stories were a liberal mix of
erect a tent away from them and real events and some exaggerations and
cast him into it, giving him some fabrications was freely admitted by the
bread and water. They do not come greatest of the Icelandic storytellers—
12 ■ The Vikings
Exploring the Far North
Norwegian Viking trader Ohthere recited an account of some of his travels, including a brief
voyage to the region lying north of his homeland. Referring to himself and companions in
the third person, he said:
H e was determined to find out . . . how far this country extended northward, or
whether any one lived to the north of the waste. With this intent he proceeded
northward along the coast, leaving all the way the wasteland on the starboard [the
vessel’s right side], and the wide sea on the backboard [the vessel’s left side], for
three days. He was then as far north as the whale-hunters ever go. He then contin-
ued his voyage, steering yet northward, as far as he could sail within three other
days. . . . He sailed thence along the coast southward, as far as he could in five days.
There lay then a great river a long way up in the land, in to the mouth of which they
entered. . . . All the land to his right during his whole voyage, was uncultivated and
without inhabitants, except a few fishermen, fowlers, and hunters, all of whom were
Finlanders; and he had nothing but the wide sea on his left all the way.
Amanda Graham, “The Voyage of Ohthere from King Alfred’s Orosius,” Yukon College, 2001. http://ycdl4
.yukoncollege.yk.ca/~agraham//nost202/ottar.htm.
Snorri Sturluson. A thirteenth-century cording to what has been told me.

historian and poet, he composed the Some of this is found in ancient fam-
Heimskringla, a collection of sagas about ily registers, in which the pedigrees
the kings of Norway who reigned from of kings and other personages of
about A.D. 850 to 1177. In his preface high birth are reckoned up, and part
Snorri writes: is written down after old songs and
ballads which our forefathers had
In this book I have had old stories for their amusement. Now, al-
written down, as I have heard them though we cannot just say what
told by intelligent people, concern- truth there may be in these, yet we
ing chiefs who have held dominion have the certainty that old and wise
in the northern countries, and who men held them to be true.7
spoke the Danish tongue [as well as
Norwegian]; and also concerning Perhaps the most talked-about Viking
some of their family branches, ac- sagas in the past few decades have been
Erik the Red’s Saga and the Greenlanders’ Modern excavations of that settle-
Saga, which describe Viking voyages ment took place from 1900 to 1915, 1930
from colonies in Greenland to nearby to 1939, and 1959 to the present. Im-
North America. At one time these were pressively, these have yielded more
thought to have dealt mostly with leg- than 340,000 artifacts, including houses,
endary events and deeds. Beginning in clothing, pottery and other craft goods,
the 1960s, exciting physical evidence iron tools, coins, ships from the harbor,
confirming these voyages was discov- and skeletons and grave goods from
ered in Newfoundland. Today these sto- more than 350 human burials. So many
ries, though not taken completely at face well-preserved objects have been found
value by experts, are viewed as quasi- that in 2005, experts felt confident in be-
historical documents. ginning on-site construction of several
exact copies of the town’s original
The Evidence from the Dirt houses.
The physical evidence from Newfound- Another important archaeological
land—consisting of vestiges of the site where Viking history and culture
Viking colony of Leifsbudir (now called have come to life is in northeastern
L’Anse aux Meadows)—is a prime ex- England. In the early 800s that region
ample of the second major category of was occupied by the small English
surviving information about the Vikings. kingdom of Northumbria. In 867 a
It consists of archaeological remains, or large group of Vikings captured its
artifacts—in a sense the evidence taken biggest town, Eoforwic, and changed
from the dirt. Included are the remnants its name to Jorvik (pronounced yor’-
of houses, ships, tools, swords and other wik). The town flourished as a Norse
weapons, grooming items, clothing, stronghold for two more centuries. In
coins, wood carvings and other art, and the ages that followed, Jorvik became
actual human remains. York, one of England’s leading cities.
A great deal of Viking archaeological By the twentieth century the old Viking
evidence was uncovered in the twenti- ruins were buried beneath the modern
eth century. Besides that at L’Anse aux streets. But in 1976 excavations began
Meadows, one of the most famous ex- in a section of town called Coppergate.
cavations (archaeological digs) was of Since that time the digs have unearthed
the town of Hedeby, on the southern a huge array of artifacts, among them
edge of Jutland (the large peninsula houses, barrels, jars, combs, jewelry,
making up most of modern Denmark). and seeds and other surviving rem-
A trading center that flourished from nants of the foodstuffs consumed by
the eighth through the eleventh cen- the Viking inhabitants. “Together with
turies, Hedeby was the largest Norse more durable relics of stone, metal,
town during the Viking Age, with per- bone and pottery,” one modern ob-
haps a thousand or more residents. server points out,
14 ■ The Vikings
These sod houses at L’Anse aux Meadows, in Newfoundland, are replicas of the ones the
Vikings erected there more than a thousand years ago.
these discoveries have made it pos- lichen the Vikings used to dye cloth
sible for the Jorvik Center in Copper- and the precise weave of the clothes
gate to create a detailed picture of life and socks they wore. One of the
in early medieval times. The Center’s most complete and rare finds at
pictorial reconstructions [of daily Jorvik was a 10th century sock, knit-
life] are all based on sound archaeo- ted from wool on a single needle. . . .
logical evidence, right down to the In addition, experts have recreated
the facial appearance of the town’s ing to light and life. More and more, Hall
inhabitants based upon skulls re- says, the discovery of new evidence “has
trieved from the cemetery near the brought virtually all aspects of Viking
site where the Viking Age cathedral life within the archaeologists’ view.”
may have stood.8 Coupled with ongoing studies of the
written records, this inflow of new
As excavations continue at these and knowledge allows historians “to unlock
other sites across Scandinavia, England, the world of the Vikings,”9 whose ex-
and mainland Europe, the Viking Age ploits profoundly shaped late medieval
and its inhabitants are increasingly com- European civilization.
16 ■ The Vikings
Chapter One
Viking Origins and

Early Raids
A
t some unknown date in the and silver crosses, cups, and other ob-
ninth century, an Irish monk jects, along with expensive gifts donated
was undergoing the then mun- by worshippers of all walks of life.
dane duty of copying a Christian man- So it was at St. Cuthbert’s in June 793.
uscript. Suddenly he felt motivated to One of the holiest and richest shrines in
scribble some words in the margin of the British Isles, this church on the tiny
the page he was working on. These island of Lindisfarne, off Britain’s eastern
words, in the form of a rhyming cou- coast, became the unlucky target of the
plet, survived the centuries and read: first major Viking raid in Christian Eu-
“There’s a wicked wind tonight, wild rope. After the attackers had looted the
upheaval in the sea. No fear now that island’s buildings and made their escape,
the Viking hordes will terrify me.”10 a shocked Christian scholar named Al-
This message by a fearful churchman cuin, who lived in the nearby mainland
acknowledged a painful reality of that town of Eoforwic (York), writes:
time and place. Only in inclement
weather, when the open sea was too dan- Never before has such terror ap-
gerous for sailors, were the coasts of Ire- peared in Britain, as we have now suf-
land and nearby lands safe from the fered from a pagan [non-Christian]
Viking menace. Indeed, the monk must race. Nor was it thought possible that
have been particularly afraid because for such an inroad from the sea could be
a long time these scary raiders paid spe- made. Behold the Church of St. Cuth-
cial attention to Christian churches and bert, spattered with the blood of the
monasteries. This was partly because priests of God, despoiled of all its or-
these places were known to possess gold naments. A place more venerable
Viking Origins and Early Raids ■ 17
This aerial view shows the ruins of St, Cuthbert’s, on the island of Lindisfarne, the first major
Christian shrine despoiled by Viking raiders in the eighth century.
[dignified and respected] than any churches. The fact is that in those days
other in Britain has fallen prey to European Christians of various stripes
pagans.11 periodically conducted similar pirate
raids; however, as a rule they refrained
The charge that these raiders were from assaulting churches and monas-
pagans at first seemed to derive from teries, hence the particular disdain for
the fact that they wantonly attacked the newly arrived pagan foreigners.
18 ■ The Vikings
Out of the Northern Mists to have been a noun that described men
The victims of Lindisfarne and other ini- who went “i viking,” or became in-
tial targets of the raids had two burning volved in raiding or piracy. “In this
questions. First, who were these seem- sense,” University of Lancaster scholar
ingly godless foreigners; and second, John Haywood explains,
where had they come from? It did not
take long to identify them as Scandina- most Viking-age Scandinavians were
vians, hailing from the largely barren and not Vikings at all, but peaceful farm-
cold lands in Europe’s northernmost ers and craftsmen who stayed qui-
reaches. etly at home all their lives. For many
Why, then, did they come to be called others, being a Viking was just an oc-
Vikings instead of Scandinavians, or per- cupation they resorted to for long
haps Norwegians or Swedes? Searching enough to raise the money to buy, or
for the derivation of the term Viking, otherwise acquire, a farm and settle
modern scholars found an old Norse down. [Nevertheless] the wider use
word (that is, a word in Old Norse, the of “Viking” is too well established to
Germanic language spoken in Scandi- insist on using the word only in the
navia in those days)—vikingr. It appears narrow meaning of “pirate.”12
Saxo Describes Jutland
In his History of the Danes, twelfth-century Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus said the
following about the geography of Jutland, Denmark’s main peninsula:
D enmark is cut in pieces by the intervening waves of ocean, and has but few portions of
firm and continuous territory; these being divided by the mass of waters that break
them up, in ways varying with the different angle of the bend of the sea. Of all these, Jutland,
being the largest and first settled, holds the chief place in the Danish kingdom. It both lies
foremost and stretches furthest, reaching to the frontiers of Teutonland [Germany], from con-
tact with which it is severed by the bed of the river Eyder. Northwards it swells somewhat in
breadth, and runs out to the shore of the Noric Channel (Skagerrak). In this part is to be found
the fjord called Liim, which is so full of fish that it seems to yield the natives as much food as
the whole soil.
Saxo Grammaticus, History of the Danes, Northvegr Foundation. www.northvegr.org/lore/saxo/

000_14.php.

Whatever later ages came to call the is that once they did emerge from the
residents of medieval Scandinavia, in- northern wilds, the region of extreme
cluding those who went out raiding, northwestern Europe became one of
scholars would also like to know how their main stomping grounds. It in-
they rose to such prominence and mili- cluded Britain, Ireland, and the islands
tary and economic success. But ex- lying north of them, including the Shet-
tremely little is known about them lands and Iceland, all lying directly
before they suddenly burst out of Eu- west of Scandinavia.
rope’s northern mists in the late eighth The first known European to explore
and early ninth centuries. One certainty that larger region was the late-fourth-
Viking Homelands
20 ■ The Vikings
century B.C. Greek sea captain Pytheas. fleets. The shape of their ships dif-
After crossing what is now the English fers from the normal in having a
Channel, he headed slowly northward prow at each end, so that they are
between Britain and Ireland and always facing the right way to put
rounded Scotland. Then he investigated into shore. They do not propel them
the Orkney and Shetland islands lying with sails, nor do they fasten a row
north of the British Isles. He may have of oars to the sides. The rowlocks
later reached Thule, or Iceland, and are movable [and] can be reversed,
some experts think he managed to cross as circumstances require, for row-
the Arctic Circle before huge blocks of ing in either direction.14
ice forced him to turn back. Pytheas’s
book about his travels has not survived. Roman Cultural Influences
But four centuries later, in the first cen- Modern archaeologists have shown that
tury A.D., famous Roman naturalist these early Swedes, like other Scandina-
Pliny the Elder read it. He writes: vians of the period, were mostly farm-
ers who raised livestock and/or grew
The parts of the Earth that lie at the crops using rudimentary plows and
poles have continuous daylight for other tools. They also supplemented
six months at a time and continu- their diets by hunting and fishing. Cul-
ous night for six months when the turally speaking, they were backward
sun has withdrawn in the opposite compared to the contemporary Mediter–
direction towards midwinter. Pyth- ranean civilizations of Greece and
eas of Massalia writes that this hap- Rome. For that reason, the highly cul-
pens in the island of Thule, six days tured Greeks and Romans lumped
[by boat] north of Britain.13 them together with other Germanic
tribal groups whom they collectively re-
By Pliny’s day, a few Roman traders ferred to, unfavorably, as “barbarians.”
had ventured into Scandinavia itself. One major mark against the early
And his contemporary, Roman historian Scandinavians in Greco-Roman eyes
Tacitus, briefly mentions that area’s resi- was that, at the time, those northern Eu-
dents in one of his own treatises. Most ropean folk had no towns or cities.
memorably, he singles out the Swedes, Rome had a million residents, and
whom he calls the Suiones. He pays par- many other towns in its realm had pop-
ticular attention to their ships, which ulations in the tens or hundreds of
were clearly the forerunners of Viking thousands. But all Scandinavians then
vessels, the main difference being that dwelled either on their remote rural
the earlier versions had no sails: farms or in very small villages of no
more than a couple hundred people.
They [the Suiones] are powerful, not Other reasons the early Scandinavians
only in arms and men but also in appeared primitive to the Roman world
were that they as yet had no written art. Occasionally they even at-
laws, no literature, and no formal tempted to reproduce Roman rep-
schools. resentational art in their own idiom
While the Romans looked down on [personal style]. Provincial Roman
the residents of Scandinavia, the re- statues were copied [and] Roman
verse was not the case, in part because designs formed the basis for the
of Rome’s more advanced culture. lively art [of early Scandinavia].15
Some of the artistic styles of the early
Scandinavians were original to their A clear example of Rome’s artistic in-
own lands. However, they could not fluences on early, and ultimately later
help but be culturally influenced by the Scandinavian art is the zoomorphic artis-
strongest, most widespread, and most tic style embraced by both the Vikings’
envied culture of that era—that of immediate ancestors and the Vikings
Rome. In the first few centuries A.D., the themselves. Zoomorphic artistic motifs
Roman Empire stretched across all of are built around representations of ani-
southern Europe and also included mals. Over the years, Roman coins,
Britain, North Africa (including Egypt), medallions, drinking cups, and other
and large sections of the Middle East. artifacts decorated with animal motifs
In many ways Rome was the envy of (and often made of gold) made their
and cultural model for the known way, via trade, into Scandinavia. The lo-
world. For that reason, the tribal soci- cals adopted these artistic ideas, produc-
eties of what would later become Den- ing their own artistic works in the
mark, Norway, and Sweden often zoomorphic style. These included medal-
borrowed artistic, clothing, and jewelry lion-like artifacts called bracteates, along
styles from the Romans. (Often this with rings, brooches, belt buckles, sword
happened indirectly, through contact hilts, drinking cups, ship prows, and
with the Germanic tribes who dwelled other ornamental objects.
in the lands sandwiched between Scan-
dinavia and Roman territory.) Accord- Economic Expansion
ing to Wilson: In the first few centuries A.D., in which
Roman civilization was culturally influ-
The shapes and designs of the arm- encing Scandinavia from afar, Rome it-
rings, brooches and gold pendants self was in a steady state of political
worn by [early Scandinavian] men decline. During those centuries, as well
and women, and the forms of some as in the three centuries that followed
of the pottery which was used for the empire’s collapse in the late 400s, the
both cooking and storage, were Scandinavians were growing more pop-
based to some extent on Roman ulous, more politically stable, and better
models. Roman ornamental motifs off economically. “Although never free
were incorporated into their own from internal trouble,” Wilson explains,
22 ■ The Vikings
This first-century B.C. embossed silver sculpture, showing the Celtic fertility god Cerunnos,
was influenced by Roman artistic styles.

“the Scandinavians were building up a themselves. This led to increasing eco-
self-confident civilization of their own nomic expansion, which in turn stimu-
between A.D. 400 and 800.” And that civ- lated more population growth.
ilization “reached its full-blooded matu- In Denmark, that growth was further
rity with the Viking adventure.”16 fueled by two other factors. One was
Several factors contributed to this that the area’s soil was rich enough to
continuing upsurge in the fortunes and support a fair amount of crop produc-
capabilities of Scandinavia’s early peo- tion, making food more plentiful there
ples. First, the generally substandard than in Norway and Sweden. Also,
soils of much of their region forced fishing in the Baltic Sea around Den-
them to turn to shipbuilding and the mark’s large island of Zealand was
sea to make a hefty portion of their liv- particularly plentiful and financially lu-
ings. Their maritime activities included crative. Twelfth-century Danish histo-
fishing and hunting seal and walrus rian Saxo Grammaticus, who penned a
and, to an even greater degree, trade. history of his people, writes:
Over time, producing and acquiring a
wide range of trade items made many [Facing Jutland] on the east [is] Zea-
Scandinavians better able to support land, which is famed for its remark-
Living with Limited

Usable Land
University of York scholar Julian D. Richards supplies this concise description of the rather
limited usable lands available to the Vikings of Norway:
N orway took its name from the sheltered sea route down its western coast, the
Norvegur, or “North Way.” The coastline is indented by countless fjords [long,
narrow channels, often lined with cliffs]. Measured in a direct line it is 3,000 kilome-
ters [1,860 miles], but its real length is 20,000 kilometers [12,400 miles]. Mountains
arise directly from the western coast and the Viking age population was confined to
narrow ledges and small plains at the heads of the fjords, where communities devel-
oped in relative isolation, each with its own traditions and culture. More than half of
the country lies at altitudes above 600 meters [1,968 feet], but there are just a few fer-
tile areas of gentle slopes where population is concentrated. . . . Even today, agricul-
tural land accounts for only 3 percent of the surface area [of Norway].
Julian D. Richards, The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 15.
24 ■ The Vikings
able richness in the necessaries of life. were also influenced by ongoing Ger-
This latter island, being by far the man social and political developments,
most delightful of all the provinces including the formation of warrior
of our country, is held to occupy the bands, each led by a strong chief. The
heart of Denmark, being divided by warriors remained loyal to their chief as
equal distances from the extreme long as he guided them to exploits that
frontier; on its eastern side the [Baltic] enriched them. According to Haywood:
sea breaks through and cuts off the
western side of Skaane [Scania, or Military expeditions to win plunder
southern Sweden, then a part of Den- and tribute [money or valuables paid
mark]; and this sea commonly yields to acknowledge submission] created
each year an abundant haul to the a very competitive, predatory soci-
nets of the fishers. Indeed, the whole ety where success in war was the key
sound is apt to be so thronged with to power and status. It also led to the
fish that any craft which strikes on concentration of power in fewer and
them is with difficulty got off by hard fewer hands and to the merging of
rowing, and the prize is captured no tribes, either voluntarily to wage war
longer by tackle, but by simple use . . . or because a weaker tribe had
of the hands.17 been conquered by a stronger. It was
probably in this way, for example,
that the Danes emerged as the dom-
Emergence of a inant people of southern Scandinavia
Predatory Society by the 6th century.18
Another factor in the growing strength
and versatility of Scandinavian civiliza- As more Scandinavians copied this
tion was the emergence of more martial, model and became increasingly mili-
or aggressive and warlike, elements of taristic, they began building large-scale
society. In this the Scandinavians got fortifications in their lands. Archaeolo-
their cue, in a sense, from what was gists have found evidence for at least
happening with their distant cousins, fifteen hundred such defenses built be-
the Germanic tribes living in the lands tween A.D. 400 and 600. They may have
north of the Alps and south of Den- been intended not only for local secu-
mark. Prolonged trade and cultural rity but also to delineate and defend
contact with Rome had steadily en- small local chiefdoms or kingdoms that
riched the Germans in all manner of started to appear toward the end of this
goods, from gold to textiles to weapons. period. At least ten of these early politi-
In the 300s and 400s small bands of cal units developed, mostly along the
Scandinavians began raiding the Ger- coasts. One was in east-central Sweden,
manic lands to acquire some of this loot. around a site called Gamla Uppsala.
The Danes and other Scandinavians Another appeared in Denmark in the
Chiefs of the Scandinavian kingdom centered at Gamla Uppsala were buried beneath
these earthen mounds, which today are tourist attractions.
700s, possibly centered at Ribe (Den- growing political power of Scandina-

mark’s oldest town), in southwestern vian kings encouraged chieftains to
Jutland. bolster their waning status in the home-
Small trading centers were built to land by seeking the large and instant
facilitate exchanges of goods among rewards that could be gained in lucra-
these chiefdoms, some of which would, tive overseas ventures.”19
centuries later, become the medieval
nations of Denmark, Sweden, and Nor- The Viking Menace
way. These centers increasingly became Thus, steady increases in population, in-
personal power bases for strong, enter- creased trade, the growth of forceful mil-
prising warrior-chiefs who wanted to itary cliques, and the rise of small
get rich and make names for them- kingdoms all contributed to the develop-
selves at the same time. Some evidence ment of an economically and militarily
shows that, in Hall’s words, “The ever- stronger and more robust Scandinavian
26 ■ The Vikings
society. It was perhaps inevitable that ing from the 790s to about 834, had sev-
some sectors of this society would even- eral factors in common. First, they were
tually seek to expand their opportunities relatively small—usually consisting of
by venturing beyond their homelands. ten or twelve ships at most. Second, the
And their excellent command of ships raiders almost always confined their ne-
and seafaring, which had developed farious activities to the coasts of the
over the preceding centuries, made this lands they plundered, at first consisting
expansion both possible and enticing. mainly of Britain, Ireland, Francia
The overall result was the sudden (France), and Frisia (northwestern Ger-
burst of Viking raids that began at Lind- many). Also, the incursions were nearly
isfarne in 793. These early attacks, last- always brief and of a hit-and-run nature.
A squadron of Viking warships passes by a rugged coastline on its way to raid

European settlements.

This approach was designed to frustrate the Christians’ god was not omnipo-
local military forces, which usually had tent but vulnerable, and not superior
no idea where the attacks would occur to the gods of Scandinavia.20
and were therefore unable to rush to the
rescue in time. Finally, most of the early Viking raids
In addition, a large percentage of the occurred in the warmer months, when
targets were churches and monasteries, seafaring was easier and safer, and the
and not only because these places pos- ships returned to Scandinavia in the
sessed accumulated wealth. The early winter. This gave the residents of
Vikings may have been uncultured, but coastal northeastern Europe a welcome
they were often quite canny and clever breather from the ongoing and fright-
in political and military matters. A num- ening Norse threat. In time, however,
ber of modern experts suggest, as one of such respites became a thing of the
them puts it, that past. A new phase of the Viking menace
was about to begin, one in which spo-
this was a deliberate targeting of the radic raiding would be replaced by ma-
sites which provided the religious jor attempts at conquest and settlement.
and ideological underpinning of Some Vikings were no longer content
west European Christianity. [It was] simply with tiny pieces of the European
an attempt, in other words, of a form pie. Much to the horror of the inhabi-
of psychological warfare, with the tants of inland areas who thought they
aims of undermining the west Euro- were relatively safe, the part-time at-
pean belief system and showing that tackers became full-time invaders.
28 ■ The Vikings
Chapter Two
Viking Conquests
and Expansion
Y
ear after year, Christian church- victims was that the vast majority of
men and members of their flocks the assaults were brief. The raiders typ-
alike recited the Latin words A ically struck, gathered their loot, and
furore Normannorum libra nos, Domine! then departed, leaving the local sur-
which in English means “From the fury vivors to regroup and rebuild. Some-
of the Northmen deliver us, O Lord!”21 times the Vikings came back and hit the
This or similar anxious phrases echoed same target again, as in the case of
across western Europe throughout the Iona, which suffered at least four raids
initial period of Viking incursions— in that period (in 795, 802, 806, and
from the 790s to early 830s. 825). Still, the pirates could at least be
Hundreds of raids occurred in these counted on to return each winter to
years. Among the more infamous were their homelands, which lay far away to
those on the Colmcille monastery on the the east.
Scottish island of Iona and the church on
Lambey Island, in eastern Ireland, both Ominous Changes
in 795. These attacks were ruthless and in Tactics
brutal, to be sure. In a later raid on Iona, This situation soon changed. In the
Viking warriors slaughtered eighty-six early 830s the Viking raiders started al-
monks without mercy on the beach ad- tering their tactics in ominous ways.
joining the monastery. (The nearby wa- First, the number of yearly attacks in-
ters are still called the Bay of the Martyrs creased markedly. So did the size of the
in honor of the fallen churchmen.) raiding parties, as many Viking fleets
Yet despite such horrors, what seemed grew in size to as many as thirty to
a small saving grace for many of the thirty-five ships, and in the decades
Viking Conquests and Expansion ■ 29
This modern reconstruction shows the Viking longphort, or fortified coastal base, on the
island of Zealand, in medieval Denmark.
that followed a few had as many as a launched up the Rhine River in Ger-
hundred vessels. many and the Loire and Seine rivers in
Even more disconcerting for the vic- France.
tims, the raiders’ ships began sailing far Next, in the late 830s and early 840s,
upstream on the larger, navigable rivers, many Viking raiders ceased returning to
which allowed them to ravage inland ar- Scandinavia each winter. Instead, they
eas. In Ireland in 836, for instance, a built longphorts, fortified coastal bases,
Viking fleet moved up the Shannon on the shores of Germany and France
River and sacked the important and later Ireland and Scotland. Raiding
monastery at Clonmacnoise, in the is- parties spent the winter at such bases, al-
land’s heartland. Similar forays were lowing them to get an earlier and easier
30 ■ The Vikings
start in the next raiding season. The tells how “under the security of peace,
tremendous advantage this gave the and the promise of money, the [Viking]
Vikings can be seen by what happened army in the night stole up the country,
when such overwintering began in Eng- and overran all Kent eastward.”23 In the
land in 850 or 851. The Anglo-Saxon years that followed, more and more Eng-
Chronicle recorded that “The heathens lish and other European lands fell to the
now for the first time remained over invaders.
winter in the Isle of Thanet.” Thanet is Modern scholars have frequently de-
located near the tip of Kent, in southeast- bated about why some Vikings resorted
ern England, a strategic spot where the to the conquest and settlement of foreign
raiders were able to take the time to lands. Those scholars generally agree
amass a huge force for their coming cam- that it was not because the small amount
paign. According to the Chronicle: “The of decent farmland in Scandinavia could
same year came three hundred and fifty no longer support the growing popula-
ships into the mouth of the Thames tion. Instead, such conquests appear to
[River]; the crew of which went upon have been a way for some of the more de-
land, and stormed Canterbury and Lon- termined and competing Viking leaders
don, putting to flight Bertulf [a local to create their own power bases outside
king], with his army, and then marched the homelands. As Hall points out, the
southward over the Thames into Surrey conquered lands
[to conduct more raids].”22
Most disquieting of all was when large were arenas where ambitious and
Viking groups decided to forego ordi- successful warriors with only a rel-
nary raiding and pursue large-scale con- atively low social standing in their
quest and settlement. This happened in homeland could escape those con-
many parts of western Europe, most no- straints, dramatically improve their
ticeably at first in southeastern England. fortunes, and become their own
In 865, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle re- masters. The careers of some lead-
corded, the Viking forces wintering at ers suggest that they were not mere
Thanet “made peace with the men of opportunists, but were prepared to
Kent, who promised money.” Paying assault target after target in dogged
such money, essentially a bribe to guar- pursuit of a territory over which
antee that the intruders would not pil- they could exert control.24
lage the countryside, was becoming a
common tactic among the Vikings’ vic- Targeting the Franks
tims. The English called it “Danegold,” a Whatever their motives may have been,
reference to the fact that many of the from the early 800s on, the Vikings em-
raiders were Danes. In any case, the ployed a mix of aggressive tactics
Vikings took the money and then double- against foreign lands, including large-
crossed the “men of Kent.” The Chronicle scale raids, the creation of winter bases,
All Five Brothers Dead
In their wide-ranging forays into foreign lands, the Vikings took enormous risks, and some-
times they suffered equally large setbacks. A surviving rune inscription tells about the deaths
of five brothers from a single Swedish family:
T he good farmer Gulle had five sons. At Fyris fell Asmund, the unfrightened war-
rior; Assur died out east in Greece [i.e., the Byzantine lands]; Halvdan was in [a]
duel slain; Kare died at [Dundee?]; dead is Boe, too.
Quoted in Howard La Fay, The Vikings. Washington, DC: National Geographic, 1972, p. 79.
and invasions and attempts to set up Dorestad, an important trading city in

small kingdoms, as local circumstances what is now the Netherlands. And
seemed to warrant them. A clear exam- seven years later another raiding party
ple of this mixed approach can be seen in sailed up the Seine and attacked Rouen
the way the Vikings targeted the Franks (now in France). In 843 Nantes, on the
throughout much of the ninth century. Loire, was looted, and the Vikings set
The early medieval Franks were the up a permanent base near the mouth of
direct forerunners of the French, Bel- that river. A similar base appeared a
gians, Dutch, and western Germans. few years later on the island of Oissel,
During the Viking Age, large Frankish in the Seine.
kingdoms covered much of what are Meanwhile, another band of Vikings
now France, Belgium, the Netherlands, attacked Paris in 845. Charles the Bald,
and Germany. Some early Viking raids ruler of the western Frankish kingdom,
occurred along the Frankish coasts, paid them 7,000 pounds (3,157kg) of sil-
from the mouth of the Seine River ver to go away, the first of thirteen
northward to Frisia, between 799 and Danegolds paid by Frankish leaders be-
820. Many of the attackers were driven tween that year and 926. But these pay-
away because Frankish coastal de- ments failed to keep the Vikings out of
fenses were strong and well organized. the region. Some of them established a
But as happened in England, Ireland, small kingdom centered on Dorestad in
and elsewhere, the raids on the Franks 850, and individual raids continued in
sharply increased in intensity in the the next two decades. A French monk
830s. In 834 a Viking fleet sacked of that period lamented:
32 ■ The Vikings
A contemporary artist captures the teamwork and raw energy displayed by Viking warriors
as they attacked Paris in A.D. 845.
The number of ships grows. The end- creased in size and became known as
less stream of Vikings never ceases the “Great Army” (or “Great Fleet”). In
to increase. Everywhere the Chris- the years that followed it marched
tians are victims of massacres, burn- northward, southward, and westward,
ings, plunderings. The Vikings fighting battles and gaining control of
conquer all in their path. . . . Rouen large swaths of territory. In 866, The Anglo-
is laid waste . . . Paris, Beauvais, and Saxon Chronicle says, “a large heathen
Meaux taken, Melun’s strong fortress army” arrived. Led by three chiefs—
leveled to the ground, Chartres oc- Ivar the Boneless, Halfdan, and Ubbi—
cupied . . . and every town besieged.25 the invaders “fixed their winter-
quarters in East-Anglia, where they
Though these raids took a toll, the were soon horsed [able to move over
Vikings eventually encountered stiff re- land].” The Vikings first went north
sistance in the Frankish lands. In the and invaded Northumbria, where two
860s a number of local noblemen organ- local rival claimants for the throne tem-
ized defensive forces and delivered the porarily patched up their differences
intruders a series of sound defeats. And and faced the enemy together. “Having
the same thing happened later. The collected a vast force,” the English lead-
Vikings attacked Paris again in 885, but ers fought the invaders at York. But
a local ruler, Count Odo, drove them “there was an immense slaughter of the
away from the Seine region four years Northumbrians [and] both the kings
later. They then tried to conquer Brit- were slain on the spot.”26
tany, in western France, but were foiled With York firmly in their control, the
there as well. Vikings pushed back into East Anglia
and defeated and killed its ruler, King
Assaults on England Edmund. Mercia fell to the intruders
Although some attacks on Frankish soon afterward. That left only Wessex,
lands continued to occur in the years that the last unconquered English kingdom,
followed, the difficulties the Vikings en- to stand alone against the advancing
countered there often motivated them to horde. The Vikings entered Wessex in
turn their attentions elsewhere. England 878. At first they were successful, and
was a prime example. At the time, it was the local king, Alfred, fled with his fol-
not a unified country but rather a collec- lowers into some impassable marshes.
tion of small kingdoms, including East A formidable character in his own
Anglia in the east; Northumbria (includ- right, Alfred built a fortress there from
ing York) in the north; Mercia in the mid- which he struck at the invaders in a se-
dle; and the strongest, Wessex (including ries of sneak attacks. Finally he deci-
London), in the south. sively defeated them, forcing them to
The large Norse force that had ap- leave his kingdom. With great relief, the
peared on Thanet in 865 rapidly in- anonymous person then in charge of
34 ■ The Vikings
King Edmund, ruler of East Anglia, is slain by Vikings. Eventually, the English regrouped,
struck back, and defeated the invaders.
the chronicle asserted: “The enemy had Edward the Elder, aided by his capable
not, thank God, entirely destroyed the sister Aethelflaeda (a bold and skilled
English nation!”27 military leader), launched one campaign
In 886 Alfred signed a treaty with after another against the Vikings. The
Viking leaders, who pledged to stay out siblings, joined by Edward’s own son
of Wessex and remain in a large Norse Athelstan, eventually succeeded in cap-
occupation zone stretching across east- turing all of the Danelaw. The last Norse
ern England. The zone became known holdout was a colorful warrior-chieftain,
as the Danelaw. Erik Bloodaxe, an exiled king of Norway
The English in Wessex were not con- and the final ruler of the Viking kingdom
tent to see their fellow Anglo-Saxons suf- of York. When he was killed in an am-
fer under Viking rule, however. After bush in 954, the way was open for the
Alfred died in 899, his son and successor rise of a true English nation.
Wessex Resists the Vikings
As recounted in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in the mid-890s a large Viking army entered
Wessex and threatened London. King Alfred blockaded the Lea River, forcing many of the
invaders to abandon their ships and depart.
I n the summer [there] went a large party of the citizens [of Wessex] and also of other
folk, and made an attack on the work of the Danes [i.e., Vikings]; but they were
there routed. [Then] the king [rode] by the river and observed a place where the river
might be obstructed, so that they [the Vikings] could not bring out their ships. And
they did so. They wrought two works [barricades] on the two sides of the river. [The
Vikings had to abandon their ships and depart]. Then rode the king’s army westward
after the enemy. And the men of London fetched the ships; and all [the ships] that
they could not lead away they broke up; but all that were worthy of capture they
brought into the port of London.
James Ingram, trans., The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Online Medieval and Classical Library. http://omacl
.org/Anglo/part2.html.
Discouraged by English resistance a Viking fleet of more than a hundred

and victories, many Vikings turned ships left the base on the Loire and ap-
their attention to Ireland, which was proached the northern shores of the
more vulnerable. Norse raids in Ireland Iberian Peninsula (now occupied by
had done severe damage in the early Spain and Portugal). Defenders of the
800s, but they had noticeably tapered Christian kingdom of Galicia and
off in the late years of that century. In Sturias rallied and repelled the attack-
the 900s Viking fleets once more sailed ers, who then sailed southward to the
up Irish rivers and raided deep inland. Muslim kingdom of Cordoba. There
they sacked Lisbon and Cadiz and
From the Mediterranean sailed up the Guadalquivir River and
to the Caspian captured Seville before being defeated
While Viking fleets assaulted the Eng- by a local Muslim army.
lish, Franks, Irish, and other western In 857 another Viking fleet from the
Europeans in the mid-800s, Norse ad- Loire, this one with sixty-two ships,
venturers moved on to southern and passed through the Strait of Gibraltar
eastern Europe and well beyond. In 844 and entered the Mediterranean Sea.
36 ■ The Vikings
The marauders ravaged the coasts of Greek-ruled Byzantine Empire centered
Morocco (in North Africa) and the in Constantinople, on the southern rim
Balearic Islands. Three years later they of the Black Sea. The local Slavic peo-
reached Italy, where they sailed up the ples called these eastern Vikings the
Arno River and sacked Pisa and Fiesole. Rus (from which the name Russia de-
On their way home they were defeated rives). These were the Vikings whom
by Spanish Muslims once again, and the Muslim traveler Ibn Fadlan ob-
fewer than a third of the original pirate served up close and wrote about.
vessels made it back to the Loire. As had happened in western Europe,
The Norse were no less active in east- vigorous trade proved a prelude to
ern Europe and western Asia. By 830 raiding and attempts at conquest.
they had explored the major compo- Sometime in the 850s or 860s a group of
nents of Russia’s vast river system, in- Rus established a permanent base near
cluding the easily navigable Volga, the site of the later city of Novgorod in
Dnieper, Lovat, and Dvina rivers. They northwest Russia. Not long afterward,
also established strong trade contacts they traveled down the Dnieper River
with Arab states south of Russia and the and captured the hilltop town of Kiev,

the present-day capital of Ukraine. Over time most of the Rus settled
Kiev became the capital of a large Rus down as farmers and blended with the
kingdom that eventually stretched local Slavs. A few, however, remained
from Finland in the north to the Black more traditional Viking warriors. Known
Sea in the south. The Rus also tried but as the Varangians, or “ax-bearers,” they
failed to capture Constantinople and at- became an elite force within the Byzan-
tacked and looted the Muslim lands sit- tine army—the Varangian Guard, charged
uated around the Caspian Sea. with protecting the Byzantine emperors.
38 ■ The Vikings
Cloaks, Axes, and Tattoos
Impressed by the Vikings he met in what is now Russia, Muslim traveler Ibn Fadlan de-
scribes their physical characteristics:
I have never seen more perfect physiques than theirs—they are like palm trees, are
fair and reddish. . . . The [Viking] man wears a cloak with which he covers one half
of his body, leaving one of his arms uncovered. Every one of them carries an axe, a
sword, and a dagger and is never without all of that which we have mentioned. Their
swords are of the Frankish variety, with broad, ridged blades. Each man, from the tip
of his toes to his neck, is covered in dark-green lines, pictures [tattoos] and such like.
Each woman has, on her breast, a small disc, tied around her neck, made of either
iron, silver, copper, or gold, in relation to her husband’s financial and social worth.
Quoted in James E. Montgomery, “Ibn Fadlan and the Rusiyyah,” Cornell University Library. www.library
.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/montgo1.pdf.
The kind of fierce, well-

armed Viking warrior
witnessed by Ibn Fadlan
in Russia is well-illustrated
in this colorful modern
rendering.
It became a matter of tremendous pres- Stockholm, Sweden: “Ragnvald let the

tige to serve as a Varangian Guard. The runes be cut. He was in Greece [i.e.,
great pride felt by so many Vikings who served in Constantinople]. He was the
served in that capacity was captured in a leader of the host [the Varangians].”28 Like
message carved on a boulder found near members of the U.S. Secret Service who
famously pledge to “take a bullet” for the The Norse penetrations into western
president they guard, the Varangians Asia were part of a larger pattern of ex-
came to be known for their willingness to ploration, expansion, exploitation, and
die for the emperors. In the early 1100s naked conquest. During the Viking
the Byzantine princess and scholar Anna Age, people of Scandinavian birth or
Comnena described the legendary loy- lineage attacked or settled in what are
alty of the Varangians: now England, Ireland, France, Belgium,
the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Por-
[They] bear on their shoulders the tugal, Morocco, Italy, Greece, Poland,
heavy iron sword [and] they regard Russia, Armenia, and Iran, among
loyalty to the emperors and the pro- many others. The speed of this burst of
tection of their persons as a family expansion and the audacity of its per-
tradition, a kind of sacred trust and petrators awed both the natives of these
inheritance handed down from gen- lands and all future generations. In Wil-
eration to generation. This allegiance son’s words, Viking civilization “had
they preserve inviolate [never vio- risen like a star to its zenith—an object
lated] and will never brook [tolerate] of wonder and fear to the world of the
the slightest hint of betrayal.29 succeeding millennium.”30
40 ■ The Vikings
Chapter Three
Viking Warriors
and Ships
T
he Norse fought on both land raids on western Europe. Also, their
and sea, but no matter where ships were fast and their leaders bold
they fought, Viking warriors and aggressive. And many of their op-
were essentially foot soldiers, or in- ponents, particularly those who had
fantrymen. They utilized basically the never actually seen or fought them be-
same armor and weapons whether fore, were put off by the fact that the
fighting in a field or on the deck of a early Vikings were pagans, which
ship. Their equipment was not unusual added to their scary image as primitive
for its day. In fact, the frequent success wild men of the north.
of Viking fighters did not derive from Still another psychological factor that
some specialized weapon or other un- reinforced the image of the fierce Viking
usual device; rather, the vast majority of warrior was a series of legends about
these warriors used the same armor invincible Norse fighters called berserk-
and weapons as most other medieval ers. These were supposedly men who,
European soldiers. Also, there is little or just prior to battle, entered into trance-
no evidence that Viking fighters were like states and thereafter fought with a
any more skilled with these weapons mindless ferocity that made them un-
than other warriors of the age. stoppable. (This is the source of the
What made Viking warriors differ- English word berserk, meaning violently
ent, and quite often feared, was their out of control.) In his Ynglinga Saga,
reputation for bravery and fierceness. Snorri Sturluson describes the charge of
This status was built partly on the bru- some berserkers, who “rushed for-
tal hit-and-run tactics and general lack wards without armor, were as mad as
of mercy they employed in their initial dogs or wolves, bit their shields, and
Viking Warriors and Ships ■ 41
42 ■ The Vikings
were strong as bears or wild bulls, and
killed people at a blow, but neither fire
nor iron told upon [could harm] them-
selves. These were called Berserker.”31
Most modern experts think that the
berserkers’ trances and invincibility
were legendary and literary exaggera-
tions. Nevertheless, some Viking war-
riors did call themselves berserkers and
thereby helped to perpetuate the fear-
some reputation of Norse fighting men.
A Warrior’s Defensive Gear

Viking soldiers did not represent major
nation-states like the Roman and Byzan-
tine empires, so they did not wear offi-
cial, standardized uniforms. However,
most Vikings dressed in similar fashion,
with variations based on family tradi-
tion, personal taste, or financial means.
To protect the upper body, average war-
riors donned jerkins (tight jackets with-
out sleeves or collars) made of quilted
linen or leather, sometimes with small
metal plates sewn into them.
Those who could afford it wore mail,
sometimes called chain mail, which was
more expensive to buy or make. It con-
sisted of rows of iron rings or scales ei-
ther riveted or sewn together to form a
heavy protective shirt. Such shirts were
sometimes called byrnies. Mail was
both flexible and strong, but it was by
The well-trained, highly militaristic

Vikings could strike almost anywhere
without warning. Here, they swarm
ashore at Tynemouth, in eastern England.

A modern reenactor shows off a Viking warrior’s standard defensive gear, including helmet,
chain mail, and shield.
44 ■ The Vikings
no means foolproof, for while it could sealskin. He wore a cape or cloak, fur-
deflect a sword’s or an arrow’s glancing lined in the winter, that he pinned at
blow, it could not stop a vigorous direct one shoulder or, in some cases, one hip.
thrust or puncture by such weapons.
To protect the head, Norse fighters Offensive Weapons
wore helmets. However, it is largely a and Tactics
myth that they used double-horned hel- The chief offensive weapons of Viking
mets like those so often portrayed in soldiers were the sword, ax, spear, and
Hollywood movies. Most Viking hel- bow and arrow. By the start of the
mets were actually conical in shape, as Viking Age, battle-axes had mostly
explained by noted archaeologist James gone out of style in central and south-
Graham-Campbell: ern Europe. The Scandinavians still
used them, however, and the Vikings
You may search among the contem- reintroduced them to the rest of Europe
porary illustrations of Viking war- for a time. Viking spears were most of-
riors from Iceland to Sweden and ten made of ash-wood; those meant for
almost all will be found to show throwing were thin and fairly light,
men with pointed heads. A simple while those intended for thrusting were
conical cap, most probably of leather thicker and heavier.
. . . seems to have been the normal In the vast majority of cases, a
protection for the head of a Viking Viking’s favorite weapon was his
warrior. The most complete find of sword. Most Norse swords were single-
an iron helmet is from the grave of edged in early times, but double-edged
a tenth-century Norwegian Viking swords eventually came into wide use.
and consists of a simple rounded These weapons were often “treated
cap, made in several pieces, with a
spectacle-like guard for the eyes and
Pictured is an array of offensive Norse
nose.32
weapons, including spears and battle-axes.
Another important defensive device
was the shield. Most commonly it was
round and about 3 feet (1m) in diame-
ter, with a large metal nub, or boss, pro-
truding from the center of the front.
Such a shield was constructed of wood
and covered with a sheet of tough
leather. Some evidence suggests that
the warrior decorated it with designs of
his own choosing. His boots were also
fashioned of tough cowhide, or else
Special Prearranged Battles
One unusual aspect of warfare among opposing Viking groups was fighting in a so-called
“hazelled field,” described here by Ian Heath, an expert on medieval warfare:
T he hazelled field [was] a specially chosen battlefield, fenced with hazel branches
on all sides, where a battle was fought at a prearranged time and date by mutual
agreement of the protagonists [opposing sides]. Once challenged to fight in a hazelled
field, it was apparently a dishonor to refuse, or to ravage your opponent’s territory
until after the battle had been fought. . . . The latest reference to such a hazelled field
that I am aware of dates to 978, when Earl Hakon Sigurdsson of Norway defeated
King Ragnfrid (one of Erik Bloodaxe’s sons) in a field marked out with hoslur [hazel
branches].
Ian Heath, The Vikings. Oxford, Eng.: Osprey, 2001, pp. 32, 45.
with a certain amount of reverence,” tion, such as a raid. But they were even
scholar Ian Heath points out, more formidable in the more formal set-
ting of a pitched battle. The number of
especially in the case of old swords fighters Viking leaders fielded for such
that had been handed down from battles was usually in the hundreds and
generation to generation or looted only occasionally a few thousand.
from burial mounds. A certain mys- Such a unit could do serious damage
tique clung to such weapons, which when it employed its most common of-
were usually given high-sounding fensive tactic—the shield-wall. This
names such as “Byrnie-biter,” “Long- was a massive formation in which the
and-sharp,” and “Golden-hilted.” soldiers stood in ranks (rows), one be-
The very best swords were imported hind the other. Usually there were five
from the Frankish kingdoms, though or more ranks, with the better-armed
Viking craftsmen usually fitted them men stationed in the front two ranks.
with ornate hilts and grips of metal, These men raised their shields, which
bone, horn, and walrus ivory.33 were touching, or even overlapping,
and marched forward at the enemy.
These weapons were effective enough Only after they had made contact and
when used on an individual opponent in sent their opponents reeling backward
an informal, spontaneous military situa- did they break ranks and fight individ-
46 ■ The Vikings
ually. The ninth-century Oseberg tapes- arranged his army, and made the line of
try, excavated in southern Norway in battle long, but not deep. He bent both
1904, shows part of such a shield-wall. wings of it back, so that they met to-
And one is mentioned in King Harald’s gether; and formed a wide ring equally
Saga—a part of Snorri Sturluson’s Heim- thick all round, shield to shield, both in
skringla—in the section describing the the front and rear ranks.”34
battle of Stamford Bridge, against an Thus, the Vikings fought almost exclu-
English army: “Then King Harald sively on foot. Unlike the Franks, who
The ranks of a medieval Viking shield wall are accurately reproduced by modern reeanctors.
Such formations often had five or more ranks.

were known for their cavalry units One, the threttensessa, had twenty-six
(horse-mounted fighters), the Norse oars (thirteen on each side). Longships
rarely, if ever, trained horses for use in with forty to fifty-six oars were called
battle. Most often, Heath says, “they snekkja. And those having still more
used horses simply as a means of in- oars were known as skei or drekar
creasing their mobility during their raid- (“dragons”). The building of one of
ing expeditions. They either rounded up these large dragons in about the year
horses for this purpose in the vicinity of 1000 is mentioned in King Olaf Tryg-
their encampment, or took those of a de- gvasson’s Saga:
feated enemy after a battle.”35
Thorberg Skafhog was the man’s
The Sleek, Fast Longships name who was the master-builder
The Vikings were far more comfortable of the ship; but there were many
in ships than they were on horses. In others besides,—some to fell wood,
fact, in the Viking Age their ships were some to shape it, some to make
among the finest in Europe and quite nails, some to carry timber; and all
literally made their successes in trade, that was used was of the best. The
raiding, warfare, and exploration pos- ship was both long and broad and
sible. These vessels evolved from the high-sided, and strongly timbered.
large rowboats mentioned by the first- In the evening the king went out,
century Roman historian Tacitus in his and Thorberg with him, to see how
descriptions of the Scandinavians of his the vessel looked, and everybody
day. He made the point that they had said that never was seen so large
no sails. Archaeologists unearthed the and so beautiful a ship of war. . . .
remains of some boats of this type in a The king called this ship Serpent the
bog in southern Denmark in the 1800s. Long. [It] had thirty-four benches
Called Nydam ships (after the town in for rowers [on each side]. This ship
which they were found), they were pro- was the best and most costly ship
pelled strictly by oars and were suitable ever made in Norway.36
mainly for travel on rivers and along
local coastlines. A slightly larger warship, with thirty-
Later, improved construction and the five rowers on a side, was constructed in
addition of masts and sails resulted in 1062 by the Viking leader Harald (Sig-
the sleek, fast vessels that allowed the urdsson) Hardrada. He called it the Great
Vikings to range far and wide across Dragon. Naming these vessels after pow-
Europe and well beyond. The general erful animals, both real and mythical,
Norse term for such a ship, which ben- was the standard custom. The object was
efited from a combination of sail and to underscore the power of the ships
oar power, was langskip, or “longship.” themselves. Other examples included
A number of different types existed. Fjord Elk, Surf Dragon, and Oar Steed.
48 ■ The Vikings
The Better Shipbuilder
In this excerpt from the saga of Norway’s King Olaf, the shipbuilder Thorberg Skafhog sees
that the king’s new ship is being poorly constructed and points it out by sabotaging the work:
E arly next morning the king returned again to the ship, and Thorberg with him.
The carpenters were there before them, but all were standing idle with their arms
across. The king asked, “What is the matter?” They said [that] somebody had gone from
stem to stern and cut one deep notch after the other down the one side of the planking.
[The king] said, “The man shall die who has thus destroyed the vessel.”. . . “I can tell
you, king,” said Thorberg, “who has done this piece of work. . . . I did it myself.” The
king said, “You must restore it all to the same condition as before, or your life shall pay
for it.” Then Thorberg went and chipped the planks until the deep notches were all
smoothed [and] the king and all present declared that the ship was much handsomer on
the side of the hull which Thorberg had chipped, and bade him shape the other side in
the same way; and gave him great thanks for the improvement. Afterwards Thorberg
was the master builder of the ship until she was entirely finished.
Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla, Project Gutenberg. www.gutenberg.org/files/598/598-h/598-h.htm#

2H_4_0204.
Construction of a Longship piece of wood running lengthwise

The manner in which Viking ships were along the bottom of the hull. Joined to
built can be seen by examining the re- each end of the keel was a piece of
mains of some that have been excavated wood that curved upward, becoming
in the past two centuries. the prow in the front and the stern in
Perhaps the most famous is the so- the rear. Meanwhile, along the central
called Gokstad ship, found in Norway section of the keel a number of wooden
in 1880. The hull was made of oak, se- ribs curved upward. The hull boards, or
lected for its hardness and stability, strakes, were attached to these ribs.
while the planks making up the deck, Each strake overlapped the one below
the mast, and the oars were made of it, a method called “clinkering.”
pine. To cut and fashion these wooden The deck area of the Gokstad ship
parts, the builders used metal axes and featured deck planks held together by
saws, sharp knives, and chisels. iron nails. There were also wooden
The initial construction step was to benches for the rowers and a pine mast
carve the keel, the spinelike, T-shaped 33 feet (10m) high. Evidence shows that
The famous Gokstad ship, discovered in 1880, was partially reconstructed in the Viking Ship
Museum in Oslo, Norway.
the sail was 36 feet (11m) across and sight of land. According to Haywood:
made of white wool with sewn-on red
stripes. When this sail was in use, it Though they lacked the magnetic
likely allowed the vessel to attain a compass, the Vikings possessed a
speed of up to 20 knots (23 miles per simple sun compass which could
hour; 37km/h). Probably the sail was locate north with tolerable accuracy
employed mainly for voyages in the in clear weather. Viking navigators
open sea, while the oars were used could also use the stars to judge lat-
mostly for travel along the coastlines. itude, a great aid to navigation if
Navigation was of course easiest the latitude of the destination was
along the coastlines, where captains known. [In addition] navigators
and crews could use sightings of vari- would have been heirs to a stock of
ous landmarks on shore for guidance. orally transmitted practical knowl-
It was a very different story when they edge of sea and weather condi-
were out in the open sea and out of tions.37
50 ■ The Vikings
Longships in Battle together, creating a large floating plat-
Although Viking longships were em- form. The chief strategy was to land
ployed for ordinary travel and for voy- one’s warriors on the enemy’s platform
ages of exploration, they are perhaps and defeat that enemy in hand-to-hand
most famously known for their use in fighting. If victory was achieved, the
warfare. Their most common wartime winners cut the opposing ships loose
application was ferrying warriors to and either sank them or kept them for
and from the sites of land-based raids their own use.
or battles. However, longships also took A few such sea battles were described
direct part in sea battles, mostly fought in the Icelandic sagas. The following pas-
between rival Viking groups. sage from King Olaf’s saga in Sturluson’s
Because they were essentially foot Heimskringla describes the climax of the
soldiers, Norse fighters sought to make battle of Svölder, which occurred in the
their sea battles as much like land bat- western Baltic Sea circa 1000. Olaf, then
tles as possible. To this end, once the ri- king of Norway, led a fleet of eleven ships
val groups had reached the site of to oppose an alliance of foes, including
combat, each side lowered their sails the kings of Denmark and Sweden, who
and lashed several of their own vessels had at least seventy ships. The attackers,
Viking ships clash in a battle fought between rival groups of Norse. Such encounters featured
a great deal of hand-to-hand combat.

Ships with Perfect Bottoms
In the early 1890s, a group of modern Viking ship enthusiasts constructed a replica of the
Gokstad ship, a medieval vessel discovered a few years earlier. They named the replica the
Viking and sailed it across the Atlantic Ocean. The ship’s captain, Magnus Anderson, later
wrote:
W e often had the pleasure of darting through the water at speeds of 10 and some-
times even 11 knots [11.5 to 12.6 miles per hour]. Whether the old Norsemen
used their ships in the same way as this is hard to say, but it does not seem unlikely
that they used the ships for all they were worth. It seems absolutely certain that in
those days too they wished to travel as fast as possible. Why else should they have
taken the trouble to improve the structure until it was so perfect that not even the
shipbuilders of our time can do better as far as the ship’s bottom is concerned. The
fact is that the finest merchant-ships of our day . . . have practically the same type of
bottom as the Viking ships.
Quoted in David M. Wilson, The Vikings and Their Origins. London: Thames and Hudson, 2001, p. 78.
having defeated Olaf’s fleet and taken all lant few of Olaf’s crew must take
his ships, boarded his flagship, the Ser- refuge on the quarter-deck. Around
pent, and attempted to capture the king: the king they stand in [a] ring. Their
shields enclose the king from foes,
Now the fight became hot indeed, and the few who still remain fight
and many men fell on board the Ser- madly, but in vain.38
pent. . . . So many men of the Serpent
had fallen, that the ship’s sides were Such maritime encounters among
in many places quite bare of defend- the Norse proved to be the height of
ers; and the earl’s men poured in all naval warfare in Europe’s early me-
around into the vessel, and all the dieval era. It was not until well after the
men who were still able to defend the close of the Viking Age that the advent
ship crowded aft to the king, and ar- of naval artillery (cannons aboard
rayed themselves for his defense. ships) made sea battles more destruc-
[One witness recalled that] the gal- tive and lethal.
52 ■ The Vikings
Chapter Four
Viking Families
and Home Life
M
ost modern depictions of the practicable. The ships had to be
Vikings show them dressed built, equipped, and provisioned.
in war gear and engaged in Supplies had to be accumulated for
raids or other violent activities. Few the winter months, and so had the
portray their towns, homes, and fami- commodities required to make up
lies back in Scandinavia, where most the cargoes of the traders. No true
were farmers, craftsmen, merchants, picture of the Vikings and their
and/or traders who rarely or never achievements can be gained with-
went to war. Indeed, evidence indicates out some understanding of their
that the vast majority of Vikings had economic [and social] background
largely peaceful lives and occupations. in Scandinavia.39
Very much like most people today, their
main priority was to create economi- Typical Houses
cally prosperous and comfortable The center of economic and family life in
homes for themselves and their fami- early medieval Scandinavia was the
lies. As one historian puts it, through- home, which in many cases was quite
out the Viking Age large and comfortable. From the stand-
point of both looks and construction,
there remained at home in Scandi- houses differed considerably from one
navia farmers, hunters, fishermen, region to another. In those days, for in-
and trappers who led the same lives stance, Denmark had large stands of
as their forebears. It was those who hardwood forests, so the locals took ad-
stayed at home who provided the vantage of this fact and built their homes
resources that made the voyages primarily from hardwood boards and
Viking Families and Home Life ■ 53
posts. Farther north, in Norway and Whatever the manner of their con-
Sweden, people had access to vast pine struction, most houses in the Viking
forests. The pine trees often had very lands had similar interiors. Usually, a
straight trunks. And because pine is a house had a big central hall, or living
soft wood, they were easy to cut, so log room, which University of Wisconsin
cabins similar to those in the early Amer- scholar Kirsten Wolf describes this way:
ican frontier became common. In time
the Vikings settled Iceland, which, unlike The fire was on a slightly raised,
Scandinavia, had few forests. As a result, stone-lined hearth. [The] fire was fed
the Icelanders came to build their houses with peat or wood kept outside the
from field stones and mounds of earth. house. . . . Some houses had a small
Some Viking farmers chose still another oven or roasting pit against the wall
approach to house construction, called instead of, or in addition to, an open
wattle-and-daub. They first dug a pit. hearth. The ovens were made on a
Around its edges they raised the walls, framework of wattle and shaped like
which consisted of wattle (interwoven a dome. [Meanwhile] raised plat-
tree branches) smeared with daub (clay, forms along the walls of the house
plaster, or dung). The ceiling was com- served as seats and beds close to the
posed of thatch, thickly interwoven fire, though for sleeping accommo-
branches and straw. dation some houses had built-in
These modern reconstructions of Viking houses employ the wattle-and-daub technique,

topped by roofs of thatch.
A reconstructed interior of a Viking house includes wood paneling and several raised
platforms, the latter used for sleeping, storage, and work-benches.
closets, which provided at least some chambers, used either as workrooms or

privacy. Presumably, these platforms private bedrooms, attached to the main
were covered with furs, skins, or one. However many rooms a house had,
woolen blankets. [The] walls appear it had few or no windows so as to keep
to have been wainscoted [paneled warmth from escaping. As a result, a typ-
with wood], and in some houses the ical home must have reeked from a com-
panels were adorned with incised bination of smoke from the hearth,
carving or woven hangings or tapes- burning fat from oil lamps (the only
tries.40 source of light besides the hearth), hu-
man body odors, and animal fur and
Usually the raised platforms in a dung (because people often kept their
house were the only furniture, though animals in the house in cold weather).
some of the larger, richer homes had in- The smell of human wastes was fortu-
dividual beds and/or chairs, along with nately not part of the mix, as members of
wooden chests for storage. These bigger the family relieved themselves in small
houses also featured two or three extra wooden outhouses situated outside.
An aerial view of reconstructed sod houses at L’Anse aux Meadows shows the type of outer
fence that Norse farmers typically used to coral their goats, cattle, and other livestock.
Farming and Trade and sheep. In Denmark, by contrast,

A good many Viking houses were lo- farmers had these same animals, but in
cated in towns, which were most often addition they had enough good land to
built near the seashore or along rivers or grow large amounts of rye, barley, oats,
fjords (long, bay-like inlets from the sea). peas, cabbage, and beans. Meanwhile,
But many other homes were erected on most Scandinavians continued to sup-
farms, which dotted the landscape wher- plement their diets with hunting and
ever Viking groups settled. The kind of fishing.
farming in which these groups engaged Although many Norse were farmers
depended on the area in which they of one sort or another, making a living
dwelled. In Norway and Sweden, where from farming alone was often difficult.
small pockets of arable land were widely With the exception of parts of Denmark,
separated by mountains, glaciers, and rich, arable land was scarce in Scandi-
fjords, few crops were raised. The chief navia, and the climate was frequently
economic activity was livestock raising harsh for a large portion of the year. So it
(or animal husbandry). Nearly everyone was common to supplement one’s farm-
in these regions raised cattle, pigs, goats, ing activities with other economic activi-
56 ■ The Vikings
ties. Raiding was one option that some There is a port to the south of this
men took, of course. But far more chose land, which is called Sciringes-heal.
to engage in some form of trade. [A] man could not sail [there] in a
One such farmer-trader whose exploits month, if he watched into the
have survived in written accounts was night, and every day had a fair
Ohthere (or Ottar), a local chief who wind; and all the while he shall sail
dwelled in Halogaland, in northern Nor- along the coast; and on his right
way, in the late 800s. In an account he hand first is Island, then the islands
passed on to others, he explained that he which are between Island and this
had no more than twenty cows, twenty land. Then this land continues
sheep, and twenty pigs. His soil, which quite to Sciringes-heal; and all the
he plowed using a horse, was poor, so he way on the left is Norway. To the
hunted reindeer and walrus and traded south of Sciringes-heal a great sea
bear and otter skins to help make ends runs up a vast way into the coun-
meet. Like the Vikings who went raiding, try, and is so wide that no man can
Ohthere was in large degree dependent see across it.41
on the sea because to exchange his goods
he periodically had to sail to small trad- Ohthere traded animal hides, furs, and
ing centers scattered across Norway and meat, along with whatever other valuable
Denmark. Describing some of these trav- products he could get his hands on. Other
els and the landmarks he looked for, he part- or full-time Viking traders dealt in
wrote: the products of various crafts, among
Viking Drinks
A mong the most popular drinks of the Scandinavian Vikings were milk (from
both cattle and goats) and whey. The latter is the liquid left over when milk cur-
dles and the solids are strained out. Whey could be drunk by itself or mixed with other
liquids. The Norse also drank alcoholic beverages, including wine, ale, and beer, usu-
ally served in wooden cups, silver bowls, or hollow cattle horns. An old Viking proverb
about beer has survived and says: “Praise not the day until evening has come; a woman
until she is burnt; a sword until it is tried; a maiden until she is married; ice until it
has been crossed; beer until it has been drunk.”
Quoted in Brookstone Beer Bulletin, “Beer Quotations.” http://brookstonbeerbulletin.com/beer-quotations.

them metalworking (including making independent and commanded a certain
swords, axes, and jewelry), tanning, amount of respect and social power
woodworking, and shipbuilding. Still within the community. Of several no-
others traded precious metals such as sil- table women described in the Icelandic
ver and gold and, when they were avail- sagas, the most famous example is that
able from foreign raids, slaves. of Unn (sometimes called Aud) the
Deepminded, wife of a Norse king of
Women and Marriage Dublin. In about the year 900 her hus-
However a Viking man supported his band and son were slain in battle, and
family, that family was most often nu- she was left in charge of several grand-
clear. That is, like average modern fam- children. Feeling that they were not
ilies, it consisted of a father, mother, safe in Ireland, Unn decided to move
and their children. Extended families them to Iceland. According to the Lax-
featuring grandparents, aunts, cousins, doela Saga:
and so forth were far less common in
Viking society. “The reason,” Wolf She had a ship built secretly in the
points out, is that “the average life ex- forest. When it was finished, she
pectancy was somewhere between 30 made the ship ready and set out
and 40 years at most, and only a small with substantial wealth. She took
percentage of people lived long enough along all her kinsmen who were
to enter the role of grandparent.”42 still alive, and people say it is hard
As a rule, the father, husband, or to find another example of a
other chief male present was the head of woman managing to escape from
a Viking household. When he was away such a hostile situation with as
trading or raiding (or was deceased), much wealth and as many follow-
however, his wife or mother assumed ers. It shows what an outstanding
control of the family. Even when the woman Unn was. [Later] she trav-
leading male was in the house, the aver- eled through all the valleys of Brei-
age Viking woman was frequently as dafjord [in western Iceland] and
tough, capable, and hardworking as he took as much land as she wished.43
was. She raised the children, cleaned,
made the family clothes, cooked the The fact that Unn went on to claim a
meals, and instructed her daughters in large tract of vacant land in Iceland and
how to perform these duties. Moreover, later divided it up and gave parcels to
it was not unusual for women to grab various relatives is revealing. It shows
weapons and fight alongside the men that under certain circumstances Norse
when their community was in peril. women could own and bequeath land
Indeed, evidence suggests that many just as men could. It is unknown how
Viking women, especially widows whose many women were as assertive and ca-
sons were already grown, were quite pable as Unn, but most scholars agree
58 ■ The Vikings
Modern reenactors, clad in authentic outfits, engage in some of the typical duties performed
by Viking women, including food preparation and yarn-spinning.

with Wolf’s speculation that “the re- the girl’s father for her maintenance in
sourcefulness and independence exhib- the marriage). The wedding consisted of
ited by Unn and others may well have a feast that took place at the groom’s
been fostered by the many responsibili- house or bride’s father’s house.
ties with which women were left when
their husbands were away on trading Varied and Nutritious Foods
voyages and military expeditions.”44 Whether at a wedding feast or an ordi-
One social area in which women did nary daily meal, the foods consumed by
not have much say was marriage. In the members of Viking families were
Viking society marriage was a largely so- both varied and nutritious. One com-
cial and legal contract in which romantic mon staple was bread made from barley
love played little or no role. A typical or wheat. A mention of such bread ap-
marriage was arranged. The suitor or his pears in a Norse poem, the Rigspula,
father (or both) approached the bride’s along with other hearty food items:
father and made the arrangements, in-
cluding those regarding the dowry Then took Mother a figured cloth,
(money or other valuables supplied by white, of linen, and covered the
Always Be Polite
This speech, preserved in the medieval Norwegian document titled The King’s Mirror, is
by a Norse father instructing his son on how to be civil in certain situations. Here, the fa-
ther cites the polite rules of marketplaces and other places where large numbers of people
gathered.
W hen you are in a market town, or wherever you are, be polite and agreeable;
then you will secure the friendship of all good men. Make it a habit to rise early
in the morning, and go first and immediately to church. . . . When the services are
over, go out to look after your business affairs. If you are unacquainted with the traf-
fic of the town, observe carefully how those who are reputed the best and most promi-
nent merchants conduct their business. You must also be careful to examine the wares
that you buy before the purchase is finally made to make sure that they are sound and
flawless. And whenever you make a purchase, call in a few trusty men to serve as wit-
nesses as to how the bargain was made.
Laurence M. Larson, trans., The King’s Mirror. www.mediumaevum.com/75years/mirror/sec1.html#V.
60 ■ The Vikings
board [table]; thereafter took she a The now famous and often spectacu-
fine-baked loaf, white of wheat and lar “Viking funerals” involving crema-
covered the cloth. Next she brought tion inside full-sized ships were reserved
forth plenteous dishes, set with sil- for noted warriors or leaders. In the year
ver, and spread the board with 922 the Muslim traveler Ibn Fadlan wit-
brown-fried bacon and roasted birds. nessed such a funeral staged for a Viking
There was wine in a vessel and rich- chief on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Fad-
wrought goblets. They drank and lan said that the dead man’s body was
reveled while day went by.45 placed on a raised platform on a Viking
ship. Then the kinfolk erected a canopy
The “roasted birds” mentioned in the over the platform for ten days while they
passage included chickens, ducks, and finished making and sewing his funeral
geese. The Vikings enjoyed a wide range garments.
of other meats as well, among them In the meantime, a female slave be-
pork, lamb, goat, deer, elk, rabbit, bear, longing to the dead man was selected to
seal, and whale. (Oil from the seals was be sacrificed along with him. “On the
also used as fuel for lamps and as an al- day when he and the slave-girl were to
ternative to tar in weatherproofing boat be burned,” Fadlan wrote, “I arrived at
hulls.) the river where his ship was. To my sur-
Fruits and vegetables were frequently prise, I discovered that it had been
on the menu, too, when seasonally avail- beached and that four planks of birch
able. They included onions, cabbage, and other types of wood had been
peas, garlic, cherries, plums, wild apples, erected for it. Around them wood had
elderberries, and blackberries. The prin- been placed in such a way as to resem-
cipal food sweetener in the Viking lands ble scaffolding.”46
was honey. Then an old woman called the “angel
of Death” led the slave girl to the ship,
Viking Burials had her drink some special alcoholic
The responsibilities of the heads of brew, and took her inside the canopy.
Viking households included not only Fadlan continued:
supplying a roof over family members’
heads and feeding them but also ensur- They laid her down beside her mas-
ing that they had proper funerals. The ter and two of them took hold of her
dead in Norse society were either cre- feet, two her hands. The [old woman]
mated (burned) or inhumed (buried), placed a rope around her neck in
depending on custom in local areas. Af- such a way that the ends crossed one
ter the body or ashes were covered over another and handed it to two of the
with earth, the grave site was marked men to pull on it. She advanced with
by a mound, one or more stones (some- a broad-bladed dagger and began to
times carved), or wooden posts. thrust it in and out between her ribs,
Climax of a Viking Burial
In his detailed account of the customs of the Vikings he encountered in Russia, Muslim trav-
eler Ibn Fadlan describes the funeral of a Viking chief. This excerpt tells what happened after
the body of a slain slave girl was placed near that of the chief on the funeral pyre.
T hen the deceased’s next of kin approached and took hold of a piece of wood and
set fire to it. . . . He ignited the wood that had been set up under the ship after they
had placed the slave-girl whom they had killed beside her master. Then the people
came forward with sticks and firewood. Each one carried a stick the end of which he
had set fire to and which he threw on top of the wood. The wood caught fire, and then
the ship, the pavilion, the man, the slave-girl and all it contained. A dreadful wind
arose and the flames leapt higher and blazed fiercely . . . it took scarcely an hour for
the ship, the firewood, the slave-girl and her master to be burnt to a fine ash.
Quoted in James E. Montgomery, “Ibn Fadlan and the Rusiyyah,” Cornell University Library. www.library
.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/montgo1.pdf.
At the height of the funeral of a Viking chief, the ship containing his body is set afire by his kins-
men and followers.
62 ■ The Vikings
now here, now there, while the two for well-to-do Vikings did occur some-
men throttled her with the rope un- times. The remnants of one such cere-
til she died.47 mony were uncovered in 1903 at
Oseberg, Norway. They remain a testa-
Finally, they burned the ship with the ment to a medieval individual who de-
two bodies in it. Archaeologists have sired to leave life as boldly and
confirmed that such elaborate funerals colorfully as he had lived it.

Chapter Five
Viking Communities
and Culture
V
arious Europeans who suffered society can be seen in the excavated re-
the violence and indignity of mains of towns. Before the advent of
Viking raids and invasions por- the Viking Age, Scandinavia had only
trayed their attackers as barbarians with small villages, but around the year 800
no sense of community, decency, or justice. a few towns—each having between one
Yet the Vikings were far from lawless, an- and two thousand inhabitants—began
tisocial savages. True, some Norse went to appear. One of the earliest, Hedeby,
raiding to acquire easy access to gold, sil- on the southern edge of the Jutland
ver, and other valuables, as well as en- peninsula, was laid out with consider-
hanced reputations, and they often able forethought and orderliness, with
showed little or no mercy to the foreigners streets forming a grid pattern and land
they encountered in the raids. But when plots of more or less standardized size.
they returned to their homes in Denmark, As Graham-Campbell points out, this
Norway, and Sweden, the marauders gen- suggests the existence of both a strong
erally resumed their places in a society central authority and a citizenry used
with well-ordered villages (and eventually to—and willing to follow—set social
towns); social classes and political organi- rules and expectations:
zations; laws, with penalties for those who
broke them; and cultural and economic The fact that the streets were laid
pursuits, including expertise in a wide out at right angles and parallel to
range of crafts and even writing. the [nearby] stream, and that the
building plots seem to have been
Towns and Social Classes regulated in size, indicates a strong
Part of the evidence for the high degree urban control . . . from the begin-
of organization and efficiency in Viking ning of Hedeby’s existence. . . .
64 ■ The Vikings
Houses in Hedeby’s central settle- the problem of muddy feet in rainy
ment were built a little back from, weather. Other examples of communal
but facing, the streets. They were facilities included shipyards and docks,
rectangular, measuring on average barns for food storage, local blacksmith
about 20 feet by 50 feet (6m by forges, and tall mounds of earth and
15m).48 wooden fences to keep the town’s outer
perimeter safe from attack.
The high level of town planning and The physical orderliness of the towns
cooperation among the residents is also and their layout was paralleled to a cer-
shown by various examples of commu- tain degree by a strict pecking order
nity infrastructure and frequent upkeep. within Norse society. At the top of the
The dirt streets were covered by wooden social hierarchy, or ladder of social
planks laid out in long, neat rows. And classes, was the king. Each of the many
somewhat narrower planked walkways small Viking kingdoms that rose and
ran at right angles from the streets to the fell both inside and outside of Scandi-
houses’ front doors. These wooden path- navia in the ninth and tenth centuries
ways not only made walking and pulling had a local strongman with the title of
carts easier but also largely eliminated king. Over time, the richest of these
Modern archaeologists excavate a section of the Norse settlement at Hedeby, one of the chief
trading centers of the Viking lands.
A reconstruction accurately depicts what a large Norse trading center looked like circa
A.D. 800 to 1000.
66 ■ The Vikings
rulers had royal courts with consider- pear before lords with uncovered
able finery, pomp, and rules of protocol. head and ungloved hands, [with]
Although written shortly after the close limbs and body thoroughly bathed.49
of the Viking Age, the Norwegian doc-
ument known as The King’s Mirror cap- Directly beneath the king on the so-
tures some of the royal codes of cial ladder were his nobles, the jarls
behavior: (Old Norse for “earls”). Usually they
were local chieftains and/or men who
[When arriving at court] you came from well-to-do, highly respected
[should] come fully dressed in good families and served in high positions in
apparel, the smartest that you have, local government. Below the jarls, and
and wearing fine trousers and shoes. making up the bulk of Viking society,
You must not come without your were the freemen, or bóndi. They were
coat; and also wear a mantle, the best mostly farmers, merchants, and crafts-
that you have. For trousers always men of average or lower-than-average
select cloth of a brown dye. . . . Your means. They could bear arms and speak
shirt should be short, and all your in local assemblies (groups of citizens
linen rather light. Your shirt should that met on a regular basis to discuss
be cut somewhat shorter than your community matters). Those freemen
coat. . . . Before you enter the royal who became successful traders or
presence be sure to have your hair raiders achieved higher social status
and beard carefully trimmed accord- and had a better chance of obtaining
ing to the fashions of the court when good land than did ordinary bóndi;
you join the same. . . . Now when thus, at least some chance for upward
you seem to be in proper state to ap- mobility did exist in Norse society.
pear before the king both as to dress The lowest rung on the social ladder
and other matters, and if you come was occupied by slaves, or thralls. They
at a suitable time and have permis- became slaves either by being captured
sion from the doorkeeper to enter, in raids or battles or by going bankrupt
you must have your coming plan- and offering to serve a master in order
ned in such a way that some capable to survive. The latter route to slavery
servant can accompany you. [But] do was both the least common and most
not let him follow you farther than shameful and embarrassing one. One
inside the door. . . . Leave your man- could also be born into slavery because
tle behind when you go before the a slave’s offspring was also seen as a
king and be careful to have your hair slave. Slaves could earn their freedom
brushed smooth, and your beard through hard work and loyalty or a va-
combed with care. You must have riety of other ways. But a freed slave, or
neither hat nor cap nor other cover- freedman, still owed certain services
ing on your head; for one must ap- (such as running errands and doing
Viking Communities and Culture ■ 67
various other favors) to the family of handled more important matters, such
his or her former master. as choosing a king if the old one had
died or deciding the region’s defensive
Government, Laws, policies. Of all the Viking lands, only
and Justice Iceland had a national-level assembly
Members of all the social classes, with (the Althing).
the exception of slaves, could take part One of the several functions of a
in some aspect of government. The thing was to deal with legal matters.
king was technically the head of a local First, at some point during the meeting
government and was expected to do an elected official known as the
what was right for the people, includ- Lawspeaker read aloud a portion of the
ing making sure that justice was local laws. (In Iceland it was a third of
served. According to The King’s Mirror: the laws.) Then, a person could come
forward and accuse someone else of
His chief business [is] to maintain wrongdoing. There were no lawyers,
an intelligent government and to police, or other formal legal personnel,
seek good solutions for all the dif- so the accuser prosecuted the case him-
ficult problems and demands which self, and the accused ran his own de-
come before him. And you shall fense. The accuser called witnesses to
know of a truth that it is just as back up his charge. And the accused
much the king’s duty to observe could and often did call a number of
daily the rules of the sacred law and character witnesses to testify that he
to preserve justice in holy judg- was of good character and therefore
ments as it is the bishop’s duty to likely innocent. In a minority of cases,
preserve the order of the sacred the accused endured an ordeal. For ex-
mass.50 ample, he might carry a hot iron from
one point to another, and if he suffered
It would have been difficult for a no burns he was proclaimed innocent.
Norse king to become a ruthless dicta- If the members of the thing found the
tor, because many of his important de- accused guilty, punishment was meted
cisions had to be approved by an out. The Vikings had no prisons like
assembly of freemen. Such an assembly those in modern societies. Instead, con-
was called a thing. Essentially a big victed criminals most often paid a fine.
meeting, it was held in the open air This system not only satisfied the ac-
once, twice, or several times a year, de- cuser, since he received tangible com-
pending on local custom. There were pensation for his losses, it also reduced
small-scale, town-level things, which the level of violence in Norse society.
dealt with land rights, local construc- Any disputes that could not be settled
tion projects, and disputes among in this civilized manner could result in
neighbors. Larger, regional-level things the accuser and accused fighting a duel
68 ■ The Vikings
A woman accuses a man of wrong-doing in a local thing. Dealing with legal disputes was
only one of several communal functions of a Viking thing.
to the death. Another common custom were literate in runes or whether the abil-
(one the justice system sought to ity to read and write was reserved to a
avoid), consisted of the accuser’s fam- small literate class. No formal schools ex-
ily exacting blood vengeance by killing isted in Scandinavia during the Viking
one or more members of the accused Age, so reading and writing must have
person’s family. been passed from parents or other adult
If the local society viewed a crime as relatives to children in the home. What is
particularly heinous, the guilty person more certain is that runic characters have
might be branded an outlaw. Murder, been found on public monuments,
for instance, might result in outlawry weapons, tools, jewelry, and stone mark-
(although sometimes the thing instead ers beside roads and bridges, as well as
imposed a heavy fine for murder). It was in graffiti on tavern walls. (An example
forbidden for anyone to give aid or shel- of the latter is a message from a worried
ter to an outlaw, even a member of his wife to her drunk husband: “Gyda says
own family; also, it was perfectly accept- that you are to go home!”51 These facts at
able for anyone to kill an outlaw on least suggest, as Kirsten Wolf says, “that
sight. In some Viking lands, including they were intended to be seen and read,
Iceland, outlawry was the ultimate pun- and by extension, that a good number, if
ishment. In others, including parts of not the majority, of Viking Age Scandina-
Denmark, a guilty person could receive vians were able to interpret runes.”52
the death penalty. Common forms of ex- In the last years of the Viking Age,
ecution included hanging, burning, especially between 1000 and 1100,
stoning, drowning, and burying alive. when many Norse converted to Chris-
tianity, they adopted the Roman alpha-
Writing and Education bet. For a while, runic characters
Another indication that the Norse were coexisted with the new alphabet. Royal
a civilized people was the fact that both edicts and legal and religious texts
before and during the Viking Age they came to be written in Latin, while
possessed writing. It was at first based everyday writings continued to be ex-
on a rudimentary set of characters called pressed in runes. Once Christianity had
the runic alphabet, which seems to have become the norm, shortly after the end
emerged somewhere in Germany in the of the Viking Age, formal schools began
second century A.D. Initially it featured to appear. Some schools were in monas-
twenty-four characters, or runes. But in teries and others were in private
Scandinavia, by the 800s the number of homes.
runes had been reduced to sixteen. Most
of the characters consisted of vertical or Leisure Activities
diagonal lines to make it easier to carve As has been true of nearly all peoples
them with the grain on wooden surfaces. in history, Viking cultural traditions
It is unknown whether average Vikings were to a considerable degree ex-
70 ■ The Vikings
Glima’s Distinct Movements
Noted modern martial arts researcher and instructor Pete Kautz provides these key facts
about the Viking wrestling style of Glima, which is still practiced in Iceland today:
G lima is traditionally practiced outdoors in appropriate clothing for the weather. In Ice-
land, one of the reasons you might have decided to play a few rounds was just to stay
warm on a cold night! These often cold and slippery conditions are part of what goes into
giving Glima its distinct movement. It would be practiced on the hillsides or in any natu-
ral place that gave shelter, and these were referred to as Glimuholl or literally “Glima Hall.”
The basic idea is to grip your opponent in the proper way, and then force them to touch
their torso or any area above the elbows or knees, to the ground for the best 2 out of 3 falls.
Also, if both of their arms touch the ground it is a fall. If both players fall together it is called
a “brother-fall” and neither player gets the point. Perhaps the most immediately discernible
characteristic of modern Glima is that the participants today wear special leather belts.
[These] belts allow a specific grip to be taken. . . . The belt gives something to grab, and it is
fair to all competitors.
Pete Kautz, “The Gripping History of Glima,” Journal of Western Martial Art, January 2000. http://ejmas
.com/jwma/articles/2000/jwmaart_kautz_0100.htm.
Icelandic wrestlers,
like these photo-
graphed in about
1950, continue to
practice traditional
styles of Glima,
as their Viking
ancestors did.

These Norse runes were found on a stone in Maes Howe, in Scotland’s Orkney Islands.
pressed in the leisure activities in which It appears to have been similar in some
people engaged. These can be conve- ways to chess.
niently divided into indoor and out- The Vikings also enjoyed feasts and
door pursuits. Of the indoor variety, the parties that accompanied them. In
board games were popular, including a addition to plenty of delicious food and
checkers-like game called Morels, intoxicating drinks, including beer, en-
which featured polished stones for tertainment was offered. It might have
playing pieces. Another favorite board consisted of singing and dancing. Often
game was Hnefatafl, or “King’s Table.” young boys staged mock battles with
72 ■ The Vikings
wooden swords and shields while the Of the outdoor activities admired in
adults cheered on the youngsters. Most the Viking lands, those related to fight-
popular of all, however, was story- ing and warfare were especially popu-
telling. Every village had at least one or lar. They included archery tournaments,
two residents, usually middle-aged or spear-throwing contests, and wrestling.
elderly, who knew all the myths about Several wrestling styles were accepted,
the gods and human heroes of old and including one called Glima, which fea-
were skilled in reciting these tales. Oc- tured moves similar to those in modern
casionally, extremely accomplished po- judo, and a cruder kind in which chok-
ets and storytellers called skalds would ing and tripping were allowed. The
entertain the rich, chieftains, and/or the Vikings also played ballgames, the most
royal courts by reciting poetry. Other popular of which was knattleikr. The ex-
poets and storytellers made a comfort- act manner in which it was played is un-
able living traveling from town to town certain, but evidently it was a team
and performing for local audiences. sport in which a player used a bat to hit
Viking Songs
I t appears that the skalds and other Norse storytellers supplemented their recita-
tions with music. This is not surprising considering that most or all Vikings enjoyed
singing and listening to music. Sailors sang songs while rowing ships, for example,
and many farmers sang or hummed tunes while planting or harvesting their crops.
In addition, people of all walks of life sang drinking songs at parties. It evidently did
not matter much to the average Viking whether or not he, she, or a friend possessed
a pleasant singing voice. On the other hand, foreigners exposed to Norse music were
sometimes appalled at what they heard. An Arab merchant who visited Denmark in
the tenth century later recalled: “Never before have I heard uglier songs than those
of the Vikings in Denmark. The growling sound coming from their throats reminds
me of dogs howling, only more untamed.” Of course, that merchant likely did not
hear the finest Viking singers. As for the songs they sang, almost none have survived.
One possible exception is called “I Dreamed a Dream.” It may have originated dur-
ing the Viking Age and passed on orally from one generation to the next until it was
written down in fourteenth-century Denmark.
Quoted in Mogens Friis, “Vikings and Their Music,” The Vikings. www.viking.no/e/life/music/e-
musikk-mogens.html.

Fighting for the Ball
Almost nothing is known about the rules and moves of the Norse ballgame knattleikr. Nev-
ertheless, according to Yngve Skråmm, an expert on Viking culture, the following facts have
been determined about the game:
[Tmore
he players] were divided into teams; the teams were usually two against two though
could take part; a hard ball was hit by a bat; the opponent who didn’t have
the ball caught and threw the ball with his hands; body contact was allowed in the
fight for the ball where the strongest had the best chance to win; the game demanded
so much time that it was played from morning to night; there was a captain on each
team; there were penalties and a penalty box; the playing field was lined; one had to
change clothes for the game; it was played on the ice or grass.
Yngve Skråmm, “Knattleikr,” The Vikings. www.viking.no/e/life/sports/eball.htm.
a ball, and the opposing players tried to more than raiders and pirates. Enemies,
tackle the person who caught the ball. particularly foreign ones, had good rea-
Games with strict rules, along with son to fear the Vikings. But within
well-ordered towns, community as- Norse society, respect for the law, tradi-
semblies and laws, and the vast trade tional authority, property rights, and
networks spanning the Viking lands, fair play were the rule rather than the
demonstrate that the Norse were much exception.
74 ■ The Vikings
Chapter Six
Viking Religion
and Myths
T
he Vikings went through two ba- chose his own god and went his own
sic stages or periods of religious way, calling on different gods in differ-
beliefs and lore, the first pagan, ent circumstances.”54
the second Christian. As a belief system,
Christianity emphasizes set rules of eth- The Norse View of
ical behavior ordained by a single, all- the World
powerful deity and interpreted by a The unique world pictured by the pre-
class of holy individuals (priests) who Christian Vikings, a universe populated
serve that deity. “In Scandinavia before by a large number of gods and other su-
Christianity, however, no one would perhuman beings and monsters, was
have understood this,”53 scholar Julian described in a large collection of myths.
D. Richards points out. The Norse pa- Unfortunately, many of the original
gan faith was more of a way of viewing writings that recorded these tales are
the world and allowing humans to find gone. Most of what is known today
workable ways of surviving in it. In- about Norse mythology comes from a
stead of one perfect god, there were handful of surviving sources. The most
many imperfect gods who, like hu- important is the Prose Edda, a retelling
mans, had to fight to survive in a uni- of the principal myths composed by
verse filled with chaos and uncertainty. Snorri Sturluson in the 1220s.
“There was no strict religious disci- According to these tales, at the center
pline” in the Viking pagan faith, Wilson of the universe lay a gigantic ash tree
explains. “There was no recognized called Yggdrasil. “Its branches reached
doctrine [set of beliefs and rules], no the sky and spread over the earth,”
uniform method of worship. A man wrote the late Magnus Magnusson, a
Viking Religion and Myths ■ 75
The chief resident of Asgard was
Odin, the leader of the main race of
Norse gods, the Aesir. The oldest of
their number, he possessed numerous
powers and roles, including storm
maker, war god, and master magician.
Odin managed to maintain his high po-
sition in part because of these powers,
but also because he could change his
shape at will, which gave him a huge
advantage over most opponents. Odin
also had great wisdom. For that reason,
Vikings of all walks of life lived by and
enjoyed quoting his practical advice,
which was handed down from one gen-
eration to another. Typical was a gem of
Odinic wisdom from the ninth- or
tenth-century document the Havamal,
or “Sayings of the High One”: “Only a
fool lies awake all night and broods
over his problems. When morning
comes, he is worn out and his troubles
An illustration of a mounted warrior graces [are] the same as before.”56 According to
a fourteenth-century copy of Snorri Viking mythology, Odin ruled over an
Sturleson’s Prose Edda. estate in Asgard called Valhalla, the
“Hall of the Heroes,” where the souls of
Viking warriors went. When a hero fell
leading authority on the Vikings. “At in battle, several angel-like female war-
its base lay the Spring or Well of Fate, riors—the Valkyries—guided him to
the source of all wisdom, tended by the Valhalla.
three Norns [equivalent to the Greco- According to the Prose Edda, there
Roman Fates] who decided the destiny were a number of other mighty gods.
of all living creatures.”55 The great tree’s Among them was Odin’s son Thor, a
three major roots led to three realms. warrior deity who could command the
The lowest was Niflheim, the world of elements, including wind, thunder, and
the dead. Further up was Midgard, lightning. Wolf describes him as
where humans lived, and above that
loomed Asgard, the realm of the gods, the defender of the Aesir against
connected to Midgard by a rainbow their natural enemies, the giants
bridge called Bifrost. and giantesses. His weapon was the
76 ■ The Vikings
hammer, Mjollnir, with which he Other important Norse gods in-
held the forces of chaos in check. He cluded Odin’s wife Frigg; Thor’s wife
also possessed a pair of iron gloves Sif; Ty, god of justice; Freyja, goddess of
with which to grasp the hammer love; Loki, the “trickster,” who was part
and a belt. And when he girded god and part demon; and Loki’s daugh-
himself with the belt, his divine ter Hel, who oversaw the ghastly realm
strength was doubled.57 of the dead. (The familiar phrase “go to
The deities Odin, Thor, and Frey are depicted in stately poses on a Norse tapestry made in
Sweden in the twelfth century.
Red-Headed Thor
and His Hammer
A noted scholar of the Norse, H.R.E. Davidson, here describes Odin’s famous son, Thor:
I n the myths, Thor appears as a burly, red-headed man, immensely strong, with a
huge appetite, blazing eyes, and a beard, full of enormous vitality and power. He
could increase his strength by wearing a special belt of might. Other prize possessions
of his were his great gloves, enabling him to grasp and shatter rocks, the chariot drawn
by goats which took him across the sky, and his hammer. This last was regarded as
the greatest of all the treasures of Asgard [the heavenly home of the Norse gods], for
Thor and his ham-
mer formed a pro-
tection against the
giants and the mon-
sters, the enemies of
gods and men.
H.R.E. Davidson, Scandi-

navian Mythology. New
York: Peter Bedrick,
1986, pp. 59–60.
Unlike the chariots of

ancient Greek gods,
which were drawn by
horses, Thor’s chariot
was pulled by goats,
as captured in this
dynamic early
modern wood-cut.
78 ■ The Vikings
hell” derives from “go to Hel,” mean- special holy places, called ve, were lo-
ing to die in Old Norse.) cated in the countryside, mainly in
One unique attribute of the Norse forests. There, people carved wooden
gods was that the ultimate future both figures of gods and prayed to them.
they and their human counterparts They also took part in the ritual of
faced was terribly hopeless and bleak. sacrifice (blota, which was also the word
Eventually, the Norse myths foretold, for worship in general). This involved
there would ensue an enormous battle the slaughter of goats, cattle, and other
called Ragnarok, or the “Twilight of the animals, whose blood and hides were
Gods.” In this bloody fight, the Aesir thought to please the gods. Sometimes
and their allies, the humans, would a worshiper placed the head, or even
square off against the forces of evil, and the whole carcass, of a dead beast above
the evil ones would win. Both the gods the door of his or her house. This act
and humanity would be destroyed. Yet was intended as a way of giving thanks
in spite of knowing about this grim re- to one or more gods for some beneficial
ality in advance, the gods and humans aid, for example an abundant harvest or
would refuse to surrender and instead success in a raid or battle. Such good
fight on to the bitter end. fortune, the Norse believed, might also
result from the worshiper’s wearing or
Norse Religious Rituals carrying an amulet, an object that peo-
As for how the Vikings worshiped the ple thought held various magical prop-
gods whose gloomy future they shared, erties. Viking amulets were often
not much is known. Following the con- composed of wood or metal and shaped
version of the Norse lands to Christian- like gods or the weapons or symbols of
ity, church officials purposely suppressed those deities.
and eventually destroyed most of the ex- Archaeologists have found both
isting writings that described Scandina- amulets and the remains of sacrificed
vian pagan rituals and/or contained animals in excavated Norse gravesites.
pagan prayers. Over the centuries, there- Some pagan Vikings placed not only
fore, these and many other elements of animals, but also food, weapons, and
the older faith were lost and forgotten. other goods in their graves because
But thanks to the tireless work of archae- they believed in an afterlife. It was
ologists, modern experts have been able thought that the deceased person
to put together an approximate picture of would require these items in the world
pagan Viking worship. beyond. However, not all Vikings ac-
First, rituals took place mostly in pri- cepted the notion of the afterlife. Ac-
vate settings. For instance, a few wor- cording to a number of surviving
shipers congregating in a barn on a accounts, an unknown percentage of
farm belonging to one of them would the population thought that one’s
have been quite common. Also, some earthly life was all there was and that
These stone grave markers were set in place more than nine centuries ago in a Danish
Viking burial ground
80 ■ The Vikings
no soul or other spark of that life sur- become an evil dead walker [zom-
vived death. bie], who might return and harm
Whatever their beliefs about life after the living. Although the dead were
death, all Vikings followed certain ritu- generally regarded as guardians
als when someone died. The custom watching [out for] the family . . .
was for family members or close friends persons who had disgraced them-
to prepare the body for cremation or selves in death became outcast an-
burial. As one modern expert puts it: cestors and would typically roam as
ghosts.58
The first act was usually to close the
nostrils, mouth, and eyes. Often, the Fending Off the Inevitable
body was washed and the head That some Norse did not believe in an
wrapped in a cloth. If the death oc- afterlife, and those that did thought peo-
curred at home, the body was some- ple might return as perverse monsters,
times carried away by a special in a way mirrored the pessimistic view
route to the place of burial. The lat- that all pagan Vikings had about the
ter was a precaution taken if it was bleak future of both their race and their
feared that the dead person would gods. These negative and discouraging
Helpless Before Evil
The Norse viewed Ragnarok, the “Twilight of the Gods,” as the final battle between the deities
and their enemies, a fight the gods would lose. About this seemingly hopeless view of the fu-
ture, the late, renowned mythologist Edith Hamilton wrote:
A sgard, the home of the gods, is unlike any other heaven men have dreamed of.
No radiancy of joy is in it, no assurance of bliss. It is a grave and solemn place,
over which hangs the threat of an inevitable doom. The gods know that a day will
come when they will be destroyed. . . . Asgard will fall in ruins. The cause the forces
of good are fighting to defend against the forces of evil is hopeless. Nevertheless, the
gods will fight for it to the end. Necessarily, the same is true of humanity. If the gods
are finally helpless before evil, men and women must be more so. . . . In the last bat-
tle between good and evil, they will fight on the side of the gods and die with them.
Edith Hamilton, Mythology. New York: Grand Central, 1999, p. 300.

religious views may have developed to lowers decided to try to win the battle of
some degree due to the realities of life Ragnarok even though they knew in ad-
in ancient and early medieval Scandi- vance that they would lose.
navia. The inhabitants of that region, as Such attempts to fend off the in-
well as Iceland and several other lands evitable can also be seen in the famous
the Vikings colonized, experienced Norse myth of Loki’s three monstrous
long, cold, harsh winters. The growing children. They included the huge and
seasons of their crops were fairly brief, terrifying serpent Jörmungandr, the
so food was often scarce. Also, the fearsome goddess Hel, and the fero-
farms and villages where the vast ma- cious giant wolf Fenrir. The Norns, who
jority of Norse lived were frequently could see far into the future, had pre-
separated by many miles, which forced dicted that when Ragnarok came, these
them to deal with much more isolation three monsters would attack Asgard
and loneliness than most people expe- and the human world and bring about
rience today. untold death and destruction. Odin
In the resulting relentless struggle for and Thor seriously considered this
existence, it was perhaps only natural for prophecy and decided to try to alter
the Vikings to develop a certain amount that ordained destiny and bring about
of negativism about life and the world. a more positive future.
In the words of scholar H.R.E. Davidson, To this end Odin gathered an army of
“Their experience of a savage world in valiant warriors, who managed to capture
which kingdoms were constantly set up Loki’s awful offspring—Jörmungandr,
and destroyed, with a background of Hel, and Fenrir. Odin fearlessly grabbed
stormy seas and long cold winter nights, hold of Jörmungandr, the hideous ser-
gave a somber tinge to their picture of pent, and tossed it into the deep sea that
the realm of the gods.”59 encircled Midgard. Odin hoped the ser-
And yet, in stark contrast, these grim pent would drown. Instead, it sank to the
realties at the same time bred an attitude bottom and over time grew even bigger
of defiance among many Norse, a sort of than before. Next, Odin seized Hel, who
gallant refusal to allow fate’s forbidding was horribly ugly and smelled like rot-
hand to hold them completely in its grip. ten flesh. He threw her down into the
This bold, tough approach to life appears depths of Niflheim, the land of the dead.
often in the Vikings’ stories about their Rather than losing her evil powers, how-
cherished gods and heroes. Indeed, says ever, she took charge of that dark realm
Davidson, it “imparted a sturdy vigor to and reshaped it to her own liking.
the figures who people their myths,”60 in Finally, Odin approached the vicious
which strong, fearless characters repeat- and frightening Fenrir. The leader of the
edly refuse to give in to fate. This is won- gods decided it would be best to confine
derfully illustrated by the fact that the the great wolf in Asgard, where he could
Norse gods and their faithful human fol- keep a close watch on it. He ordered his
82 ■ The Vikings
An Icelandic pen and ink drawing from the 1700s depicts the dramatic moment in a popular
myth when Tyr loses his hand to the vicious wolf Fenrir.

“Heaven Is Rent in Twain”
This excerpt from Snorri Sturluson’s description of Ragnarok in the Prose Edda captures
some of the high drama of the predicted final struggle between the forces of good and evil.
T he straight-standing ash [tree] Yggdrasil quivers, the old tree groans, and the [evil]
giant gets loose. . . . Mountains dash together, giant maids are frightened, heroes
go the way to Hel, and heaven is rent in twain. . . . All men abandon their homesteads
when the warder of Midgard in wrath slays the serpent. The sun grows dark, the earth
sinks into the sea, the bright stars from heaven vanish; fire rages, heat blazes, and high
flames play against heaven itself.
Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, trans. Rasmus B. Anderson, Nothvegr Foundation. www.northvegr.org/
lore/prose2/016.php.
blacksmiths to create a formidable iron They insisted on living as if the future

chain and collar to bind Fenrir, but the would be bright rather than hopeless.
monster quickly broke the chain. The
blacksmiths forged other chains, but the The Coming of Christianity
beast merely laughed and shattered It was in large part because the Chris-
them all. Odin eventually acquired a tian worldview offered a much more
magic chain fashioned by creatures positive and hopeful future for both in-
called dark elves and with it was able to dividuals and humanity as a whole that
successfully restrain the giant wolf. the Vikings began to convert to that
However, Fenrir realized that time was faith. The idea that believers would be
on his side. If he waited patiently, he re- rewarded with eternal life in a peaceful
alized, the day of Ragnarok would even- heaven became increasingly appealing.
tually come and somehow he would By the early 1100s a majority of the
find a way to get loose and unleash his Norse were Christians.
vengeance on the gods and humans. More precisely, most were partial
Thus, as the Norns had warned, no Christians. For a while, an undeter-
matter what Odin and the other gods did mined number of Vikings embraced
to try to stop the inevitable from happen- both the new faith and some of the old
ing, it would happen anyway. Yet even pagan beliefs and rituals. Evidence for
knowing this, Odin, and many Vikings this syncretism (melding) of the two
in the real world, too, refused to give up. faiths appears partly in medallions and
84 ■ The Vikings
The coming of Christianity to the Viking lands is commemorated by Gosforth Cross, in
Cumberland, Britain. The cross features several carved scenes from Norse mythology.
other jewelry excavated from Viking century saw remarkable develop-
gravesites. It was common, for exam- ments in the architecture of the stave
ple, to associate the Christian cross church [post-and-beam constructions
with Thor’s famous hammer, Mjollnir, with timber framing]. . . . Stave
and to portray them side by side. In ad- churches were tall, often elaborately
dition, archaeologists found a Norse decorated structures with carved por-
cross with a Christian crucifixion scene tals [entrances], verandas, spires, and
carved on one side and a scene from dragon-headed finials [sculptured or-
Ragnarok on the other. naments], that have an almost orien-
In time, however, the old beliefs faded tal look about them. They must rank
and largely disappeared. More and more as some of the most distinctive mon-
Christian churches came to dot the land- uments of the late Viking Age.61
scapes of Denmark, Norway, Iceland,
and other Viking lands. The first Viking In adopting Christianity, the Norse
churches were small wooden structures performed a complete reversal of atti-
that looked like houses. But by the early tude. Christian churches had once been
1200s very large, multi-storied churches nothing more to them than convenient,
began to be erected. lucrative targets to be ransacked and
“In Denmark and Sweden, wooden looted. But eventually, the descendants
churches were replaced with stone of those raiders came to build their own
from the 11th century onwards,” Hay- churches and in that way became part
wood writes, of a great historical wheel coming full
circle, with the invaders taking their
but in Norway the tradition of build- places in the churches they had once
ing with wood survived, and the 12th destroyed.
86 ■ The Vikings
Chapter Seven
Viking Explorations
in the West
I
n addition to their exploits as raiders, as a people and mastery of seafaring, al-
traders, and settlers, the Vikings were most unavoidable. According to Mag-
accomplished explorers. Nowhere nus Magnusson:
else was this aspect of their achievements
more noteworthy than in the region lying There is an unbroken chain of in-
west of Scandinavia and northwest of the evitable progression between the
British Isles. This was, they found, an discovery and subsequent settle-
enormous area, encompassing several ment of, first, Iceland, then Green-
small island groups, Iceland, Greenland, land, and then Vinland [in North
and the seas surrounding them. But for- America]. The discovery and at-
tunately for them it contained islands, tempted settlement of Vinland were
both large and small, spaced in such a the logical outcomes of the great
way that settling on one island created a Scandinavian migrations that
base from which to explore the one or spilled over northern Europe in the
ones lying farther west. As a result, in the early Middle Ages, the ultimate
space of about a century and a half, reach of the Norse surge to the west.
groups of Vikings island-hopped across It was on the Atlantic seaboard of
the entire North Atlantic region. Eventu- North America that this huge impe-
ally they reached the shores of North tus was finally exhausted.62
America, a full five centuries before
Columbus did. From Scotland to Greenland
Some modern observers suggest that The first stages of this seemingly relent-
this series of discoveries and settle- less westward migration occurred in
ments was, given the Vikings’ boldness the ninth century soon after various
Viking Explorations in the West ■ 87
It was in this magnificent natural setting at Thingvelir, Iceland, that the island’s national
assembly, the Althing, periodically met.
Viking bands began settling parts of Shetlands came under the direct rule of
England and Scotland. Some of the the Norwegian king.
Norse settlers sailed to the Shetland Is- The next step in the migration con-
lands, lying not far off Scotland’s north- sisted of the 190-mile (306-km) hop to the
ern coast. And by the late 800s the windswept, mountainous Faeroe Islands,
88 ■ The Vikings
situated about 400 miles (644km) directly from [Ireland], have lived for roughly a
west of Norway. The first Vikings who hundred years.”63 The soil in the Faeroes
landed there found that the islands were was not suitable for large-scale farming.
not completely uninhabited, as proved by But the land easily supported the raising
a surviving description penned by an of sheep and cattle, which became the ba-
Irish monk in 825: “Some of these islands sis of the local Norse economy there.
are very small. Nearly all are separated Iceland lies about 200 miles (322km)
from the other by narrow sounds. On northwest of the Faeroes, about the
these islands hermits, who have sailed same distance as Britain lies south of
Visible are some of the remains of the Viking village at Hvalsey, in southern Greenland, one of
the last and westernmost Viking settlements ever constructed.

them. So it is hardly surprising that en- three thousand, had a mixed economy.
terprising Norse sailors soon discovered At the time, Greenland was in the midst
and explored the coasts of Iceland. Full- of a warm period that featured much
scale settlement of that highly volcanic milder temperatures than exist there to-
island began around 870, and by 930 day. So some crops, including grains,
nearly all the good grazing lands along could be grown. In addition, the inhab-
the coasts had been claimed. During that itants raised cattle and sheep, hunted
time, a form of national government was walruses and polar bears, and traded
established. As in other Viking lands, lo- with roving bands of the native inhabi-
cal freemen in Iceland gathered at the tants—the Eskimo, or Inuit.
local assemblies, or things, held in settle-
ments spread across the island. They also Leif’s Expedition
formed the Althing, an assembly in Once the Vikings were firmly planted in
which only chieftains could vote. The western Greenland, the stage was set, so
Althing settled disputes among the to speak, for the discovery of North
smaller assemblies and the villages America, parts of which were situated
they served. In time, the Althing began only a few hundred miles due west. That
deciding island-wide policies. In about fateful discovery took place around the
1000, for example, its members agreed year 986. On his way to the Greenland
that Iceland should try to adopt Christi- colonies from Norway, Bjarni Herjolfs-
anity. By that time, the island’s popula- son, a Viking merchant, was blown off
tion was well over thirty thousand. course. One of the most famous Icelandic
Next came the exploration of Green- documents, the Greenlanders’ Saga, states
land, lying only a few hundred miles that Bjarni first landed in Iceland but
west of Iceland. Viking seafarers first found that his father had left for Green-
sighted the larger island sometime in the land. “I want to sail my ship to Green-
early 900s. Initially they thought it was land,” Bjarni told his crew, “if you are
too cold and icebound to support settle- willing to come with me.” Apparently
ments. But between 980 and 983 an expe- they were willing, for they
dition commanded by Erik the Red, who
had been born in Norway and later set- put to sea as soon as they were
tled in Iceland, located an ice-free region ready and sailed for three days un-
in the southwest. He managed to set up til land was lost to sight below the
two main colonies. The first became horizon. Then the fair wind failed
known as the “Eastern” settlement. The and northerly winds and fog set in,
other was the “Western” settlement, ly- and for many days they had no idea
ing some 300 miles (483km) farther up what their course was. After that
the western coast. they saw the sun again and were
These colonies, which soon came to able to get their bearings. They
support a total population of roughly hoisted sail and after a day’s sailing
90 ■ The Vikings
they sighted land. They discussed less.”65 For that reason, he decided not
amongst themselves what country to land. Instead, he pointed his vessel
this might be. . . . They could see eastward and after a few days reached
that the country was not mountain- his original destination, Greenland.
ous, but was well-wooded and with Although Bjarni had not been im-
low hills. So they put to sea again.64 pressed by the unknown lands he had
sighted, other men in the Greenland
Soon afterward, Bjarni and his crew colonies were excited about his discov-
found two more mysterious lands. One eries and wanted to follow up on them.
was flat and forested, the other “high One of these daring individuals was
and mountainous and topped by a gla- Leif Eriksson, Erik the Red’s son. Leif
cier.” Bjarni is said to have remarked, convinced Bjarni to join forces with him
“This country seems to me to be worth- in a new expedition.
Navigating the North Atlantic
Noted American historian Samuel E. Morison penned these words about the efforts of Norse
sailors to navigate in the wide and wild North Atlantic wilderness.
H ow could one cross the Atlantic and return with no compass? The Norsemen
managed it by what through the ages has been called “latitude sailing.” Once
having found the Faeroes [islands], Iceland, and Cape Farwell of [southern] Green-
land, the Norse navigators took the latitude of each place by crudely measuring the
angular height of the North star—and you can do that with a notched stick. So, in
preparing for an Atlantic voyage, they sailed along the coast of Norway until they
reached the presumed latitude of their destination, then shoved off and sailed with
the North Star square on their starboard beam by night. . . . In thick [cloudy] weather
they had to steer “by guess and by God.” When the weather cleared, their crude in-
strument called the “sun shadow-board” was broken out. This was a wooden disk on
which concentric circles were marked.
. . . Floated in a bowl of water to make it level, this shadow-board at high noon
would give a rough latitude, indicating how far the ship was off-course, and enable
her to get on again.
Samuel E. Morison, The European Discovery of America: The Northern Voyages, A.D. 500–1600. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1993, p. 34.

This authentic modern replica of Leif Erikson’s ship, the Icelander, is on display to the
public in Keflavik, Iceland.
The voyagers made it to at least three Saga says. They called the tiny village
locations in northeastern North Amer- Leifsbudir, or “Leif’s Camp.” The same
ica. The first—the mountainous place document claims that a few days later,
with the glacier that Bjarni had seen on while exploring the area, one of the
his earlier trip—they named Helluland, men, named Tyrkir, made a crucial dis-
or “Flat Stone Land.” The consensus of covery. “I have some news,” Tyrkir
modern experts is that it was Canada’s said. “I found vines and grapes.” Leif
Baffin Island. Next, they reached a asked, “Is that true?” And Tyrkir told
heavily forested region that Leif named him, “Of course it is true. Where I was
Markland, meaning “Woodland.” This born there were plenty of vines and
was probably Labrador, also in what is grapes.”66 According to the story, the
now eastern Canada. finding of the grape vines inspired Leif
Two days after departing Markland, to call the place Vinland.
the explorers came to a country where
it seemed that the winters were mild Where Was Vinland?
and the rivers filled with salmon. In later ages, particularly in the twenti-
“They decided to winter there and built eth century, the exact location of Vin-
some large houses,” the Greenlanders’ land became hotly debated. The first
92 ■ The Vikings
Among the possible locations of Vinland are Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, and Narragansset
Bay, in Rhode Island, both shown in this map of southern New England.
question that scholars wanted to an- of a medieval Norse settlement at

swer was where Leif had erected his L’Anse aux Meadows, in northern
camp, Leifsbudir. The answer seemed Newfoundland. As explained by Amer-
to come in 1960, when Norwegian ex- ican historian Samuel E. Morison,
plorer Helge Ingstad and his archaeolo- among numerous other Viking artifacts
gist wife, Anne, uncovered the remains the Ingstads found
two great houses closely correspon- and exchanging tales about their
ding to the Norse dwellings earlier former adventures.67
uncovered in Greenland. The big-
ger is 70 feet long and 55 feet wide. The Ingstads were able to date the
The floors were of hard-pressed site to about the year 1000, exactly
clay, the walls of turf, and the roof when the sagas said that Leif’s expedi-
of timber, covered with sod. There tion occurred. So they and other schol-
is a central hall with a fire-pit in the ars became convinced that L’Anse aux
center, and a little ember-box of flat Meadows was Leifsbudir. However,
stones in which coals were kept many were not so sure that Leif’s set-
alive during the night. Around the tlement was also Vinland. “Here is the
fireplace are raised-earth benches stumbling block,” Morison says. “Wild
which the Norsemen doubtless cov- grapes cannot possibly have grown as
ered with polar bear and other far north as L’Anse aux Meadows.
skins. One can imagine Leif and his Their utmost coastal limit in historic
[followers] lounging there at night times has been southern Nova Scotia,
The Earth Is Round?
Some evidence suggests that at some point the Vikings realized the Earth is a sphere, though
their explanations for that fact were often convoluted and flawed. In the following excerpt
from a thirteenth-century Norwegian document, a father gives one of these explanations to
his son.
I f you take a lighted candle and set it in a room, you may expect it to light up the en-
tire interior, unless something should hinder, though the room be quite large. But
if you take an apple and hang it close to the flame, so near that it is heated, the apple
will darken nearly half the room or even more. However, if you hang the apple near
the wall, it will not get hot; the candle will light up the whole house; and the shadow
on the wall where the apple hangs will be scarcely half as large as the apple itself.
From this you may infer that the earth-circle is round like a ball and not equally near
the sun at every point. But where the curved surface lies nearest the sun’s path, there
will the greatest heat be.
Laurence M. Larson, trans., The King’s Mirror. www.mediumaevum.com/75years/mirror/sec1.html#V.
94 ■ The Vikings
and they are not really abundant until himself was badly wounded and soon
you reach southern New England.”68 afterward died.
It appears, therefore, that the build- Thorfinn Karlsefni, a Viking mariner
ing of Leifsbudir and the finding of the who lived in Iceland, led the next voy-
grapes occurred in two separate places, age to North America. Hoping to plant
and the author of the saga later mistak- a permanent colony, he brought along
enly assumed they were the same place. more than sixty men, five women, and
Most archaeologists now agree with a large number of sheep and other ani-
Richard Hall, who suggests that Leif’s mals. Thorfinn found Leifsbudir, and he
village may well have been “an explor- and the others wintered there. During
ers’ and exploiters’ base, a way-station their stay, his pregnant wife had a child,
from which to range out in search of a boy named Snorri, who had the dis-
valuable natural resources that could be tinction of being the first known person
brought back [to the main camp] for of European stock born in the Americas.
storage.”69 If that is true, Vinland was Thorfinn had no less trouble with the
probably located farther south, maybe natives than Thorvald had. At first the
in Maine, Cape Cod (in Massachusetts), two peoples traded peacefully with each
or Narragansett Bay (in Rhode Island). other, but it was not long before they
came to blows. Several people were
Voyages Long Forgotten killed on both sides. Probably the contin-
Wherever Vinland really was, scholars uing danger these natives posed was the
are more certain that Leif’s expedition primary reason that in the spring,
was not the last Norse venture to North Thorfinn made the decision to abandon
America. The Icelandic sagas claim that the mission and return to Greenland.
three or four more voyages to that re- Poor relations with the Native Ameri-
gion took place between 1000 and 1030. cans was not the only reason that the
Leif’s brother Thorvald was in charge of Vikings eventually gave up on colonizing
one of these voyages. He had the second North America. Evidence shows that the
Viking encounter with Native Ameri- climates of both Newfoundland and
cans (the first being between the Green- Greenland were rapidly growing colder.
landers and Eskimo). Thorvald and his Also, the Greenlanders came to realize
followers called them “Skraelings,” that most of the natural resources they
meaning “wretches.” “They were small had found in North America could be im-
and evil-looking,” Thorvald claimed, ported more cheaply from Norway.
“and their hair was coarse. They had In addition, living in Greenland was
large eyes and broad cheekbones.”70 For a difficult struggle in and of itself. The
reasons that remain unclear, Thorvald small habitable sections of that island
and his men attacked the first natives lacked the resources, both natural and
they saw, and that led to at least two human, to maintain, in addition to it-
bloody battles. In the last one Thorvald self, a large colony lying hundreds of
A modern painting depicts one of the battles between Vikings and American Indians
mentioned in the Norse sagas. The Vikings called the Indians “Skraelings.”
miles away. And sure enough, in time tuguese explorer, Gaspar Corte-Real,
the Vikings largely vacated Greenland, reached Greenland in 1500, he thought
too. The last recorded contact between he was the first European person to see
Iceland and the Greenland settlements it. It was he who named it “Terra
was in 1410, and those few Viking farm- Verde” (Portuguese for Greenland).
ers who stubbornly refused to leave the Gaspar and his crew certainly had no
larger island died not long after that. inkling of the once great era of Viking
By that time the vast majority of Eu- westward exploration. As scholar Irwin
ropeans had completely forgotten that Unger puts it, “As far as Europe was
those faraway Scandinavian colonies concerned, it was as if the Norse dis-
had ever existed. And when a Por- coveries had never been made.”71
96 ■ The Vikings
Epilogue
The End of the

Viking Age
Assimilation and
T
he vast majority of modern histo-
rians estimate the year 1066 as Conversion
the end of the Viking Age. They Indeed, the assimilation (the process of
realize, of course, that the Vikings did one cultural group being absorbed into
not suddenly disappear from the histor- another) of large numbers of traditional
ical scene in a single year. Rather, that Viking warriors into the very kingdoms
date is cited because it marked the last and peoples they had once attacked and
large-scale Norse military foray, led by looted was the principal reason for the
the last great Viking warrior-adventurer eventual disappearance of old-style
—Norway’s Harald (also Sigurdsson) Norse culture. And the rise of the Nor-
Hardrada. As it turned out, 1066 be- mans was a prime example.
came more famous as the year in which In the late 800s increasing resistance by
the Normans, under William the Con- local Frankish leaders and armies largely
queror, invaded England and won the foiled the efforts of the Vikings who had
Battle of Hastings. This was no coinci- been attacking France. In 892 these
dence, as the two events were closely Vikings turned their attention to raiding
related. The Normans, hailing from Britain and began using northwestern
northwestern France, were themselves France as a base for those attacks. In 911
former Vikings, whose recent absorp- their leader, Rollo, made a deal with the
tion into European society was another Frankish monarch Charles the Simple.
pivotal marker of the waning of the Rollo agreed to give Charles his alle-
Viking era. giance and to convert to Christianity, and
The End of the Viking Age ■ 97

in return Rollo became a Frankish noble and other old-style Viking ways were
with control over large tracts of land and no longer necessary.
thousands of Frankish peasants.
Charles’s main intention was to make Their Physical and
these converted Norse a buffer that Cultural DNA
would blunt any further Viking raids on While these religious and cultural con-
France. And this worked. The Vikings in versions were occurring throughout Eu-
northwestern France permanently set- rope, a handful of Viking leaders tried to
tled down, and although that region be- maintain their traditional Norse identi-
came known thereafter as Normandy, or ties and ways. The most famous and in
“Northman’s land,” they rapidly blended many ways most colorful example was
with the local Franks. Within two gener- the last great Viking, Harald Sigurdsson.
ations Normandy’s residents of Scandi- Over time, his violent, cold-blooded, old-
navian stock thought of themselves as style Viking tactics earned him the nick-
Franks, not as Vikings. name of Hardrada, meaning “ruthless.”
The same process was underway in The half brother of a former Norwegian
other parts of Europe and beyond. In king, as a young man he became in-
Russia in the 900s, for example, Viking volved in civil strife in Norway and even-
settlers steadily absorbed local Slavic tually fled to Russia. There he worked as
names and culture. And by 1050 or so, a mercenary soldier for various local Rus
as Haywood says, “the Rus were thor- princes and also served for a few years as
oughly Slavic in character.”72 one of the prestigious Varangian Guards
In Russia, as in France and other ar- in Constantinople.
eas, a key part of the process of assimi- In 1045 Harald returned to Norway
lation was conversion to Christianity. and became joint ruler with King Mag-
On the one hand, abandoning their pa- nus. Two years later Magnus died, leav-
gan beliefs and rituals in favor of Chris- ing Harald sole ruler.
tian ones made the converted Vikings After many years of fruitless at-
culturally more like their former ene- tempts to defeat the king of Denmark
mies. On the other hand, switching to for mastery of Scandinavia, in 1066
Christianity made it easier for Norse Harald decided to invade England and
leaders to control their subjects. This amassed between 240 and 300 ships
was because they could now claim that and more than 10,000 soldiers for that
their rule was divinely inspired and or- purpose. He won a major victory that
dained by God. Also, as Christians, year at Fulford, near York.
these rulers could more easily make But five days later he was disastrously
deals with existing European Christian defeated and killed (by an arrow to the
kingdoms. In these ways, the Scandina- throat) at nearby Stamford Bridge by
vian upper classes gained new ways of England’s King Harold Godwinsson. The
acquiring wealth and prestige. Raiding Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded:
98 ■ The Vikings
Harald Sigurdsson, last of the great Viking rulers, is killed in the battle of Stamford Bridge, in
1066.
Thither came Harold, king of the that William of Normandy was landing
English . . . against them beyond the troops in southern England, he raced
bridge; and they closed together his exhausted men southward. Nine-
there, and continued long in the day teen days later, Harold lay dead on the
fighting very severely. There was field of Hastings. The irony was that, af-
slain Harald [the] king of Norway ter crushing the last great Viking army
[and] a multitude of people . . . both near York, the English king was himself
[Northmen] and English. . . . Some overcome by soldiers whose great
[Northmen] were drowned, some grandfathers had been Vikings.
burned to death, and thus variously And the victors of Hastings subse-
destroyed; so that there was little quently contributed their physical and
left, and the English gained posses- cultural DNA to the steadily rising Eng-
sion of the field.73 lish nation. In this and similar ways, the
Viking heritage melded with and be-
Harold’s stunning victory turned out came inseparable from the greater her-
to be a hollow one, however. Hearing itage of Europe itself.
The End of the Viking Age ■ 99

Notes
Introduction: Surviving Vikings. Washington, DC: National
Evidence for the Vikings Geographic, 1972, p. 74.
1. David M. Wilson, The Vikings and 11. Quoted in Henry Loyn, The Vikings
Their Origins. London: Thames and in Britain. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-
Hudson, 2001, p. 65. Blackwell, 1995, pp. 55-56.
2. Quoted in James H. Todd, trans., Wars 12. John Haywood, The Penguin Histori-
of the Gaedhil with the Gaill. London: cal Atlas of the Vikings. New York:
Longmans, Green, 1867, pp. 51–52. Penguin, 1995, pp. 8-9.
3. James Ingram, trans., The Anglo- 13. Pliny the Elder, Natural History, ex-
Saxon Chronicle, Online Medieval cerpted in Pliny the Elder: Natural His-
and Classical Library. http://omacl tory: A Selection, trans. John H. Healy.
.org/Anglo/part.html. New York: Penguin, 1991, p. 34.
4. Ingram, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 14. Tacitus, Germania, in Tacitus: The
5. Quoted in James E. Montgomery, Agricola and Germania, trans. Harold
“Ibn Fadlan and the Rusiyyah,” Cor- Mattingly. New York: Penguin,
nell University Library. www.library 1986, p. 138.
.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/mont 15. Wilson, The Vikings and Their Ori-
gol.pdf. gins, p. 11.
6. Richard Hall, The World of the Vikings. 16. Wilson, The Vikings and Their Ori-
London: Thames and Hudson, 2007, gins, p. 65.
p. 8. 17. Saxo Grammaticus, History of the
7. Snorri Sturlusun, The Chronicle of Danes, Northvegr Foundation. www
the Kings of Norway, Project Guten- .northvegr.org/lore/saxo/000_14.php.
berg. www.gutenberg.orgfiles/598/ 18. Haywood, The Penguin Historical At-
598-h/598-h.htm#2H_PREF. las of the Vikings, p. 20.
8. Brenda R. Lewis, “Jorvik: the Viking 19. Hall, The World of the Vikings, p. 67.
City of York,” TimeTravel-Britain 20. Hall, The World of the Vikings, p. 67.
.com.www.timetravelbritain .com/
articles/towns/jorvik.shtml. Chapter Two: Viking
9. Hall, The World of the Vikings, p. 11. Conquests and Expansion
21. Quoted in La Fay, The Vikings, p. 8.
Chapter One: Viking Origins 22. Ingram, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
and Early Raids 23. Ingram, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
10. Quoted in Howard La Fay, The 24. Hall, The World of the Vikings, p. 95.
100 ■ The Vikings
25. Quoted in James Graham-Campbell, http://ycdl4.yukoncollege.yk.ca/~
The Viking World. New York: Ticknor agraham//nost202/ottar.htm.
and Fields, 2006, pp. 31-32. 42. Wolf, Daily Life of the Vikings, p. 8.
26. Ingram, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 43. Ornolfur Thorsson, ed., The Sagas of
27. Ingram, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. the Icelanders: A Selection. New York:
28. Quoted in La Fay, The Vikings, p. 53. Viking, 2000, pp. 278-279.
29. Quoted in Rene Chartrand et al, The 44. Wolf, Daily Life of the Vikings, p. 13.
Vikings: Voyagers of Discovery and Plun- 45. “The Song of Rig,” from “The Elder
der. Oxford, Eng.: Osprey, 2006, p. 56. Edda,” Internet Archive. www.archive
30. Wilson, The Vikings and Their Origins, .org/stream/elderorpoeticedd01bra
p. 94. yuoft/elderorpoeticedd01brayuoft_
djvu.txt.
Chapter Three: Viking 46. Quoted in Montgomery, “Ibn Fadlan
Warriors and Ships and the Rusiyyah.”
31. Snorri Sturluson, “Ynglinga Saga,” 47. Quoted in Montgomery, “Ibn Fadlan
Heimskringla, Online Medieval and and the Rusiyyah.”
Classical Library. http://omacl.org/
Heimskringla/ynglinga.html. Chapter Five: Viking
32. Graham-Campbell, The Viking World, Communities and Culture
p. 24. 48. Graham-Campbell, The Viking World,
33. Ian Heath, The Vikings. Oxford: Os- pp. 93, 95.
prey, 2001, pp. 50-51. 49. Laurence M. Larson, trans., The King’s
34. Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla, Mirror. www.mediumaevum .com/75
Project Gutenberg. www.gutenberg years/mirror/index.html.
.org/files/598/598-h/598-h.htm#2H_ 50. Larson, The King’s Mirror.
4_0204. 51. Quoted in La Fay, The Vikings, p. 19.
35. Heath, The Vikings, p. 32. 52. Wolf, Daily Life of the Vikings, p. 47.
36. Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla.
37. Haywood, The Penguin Historical At- Chapter Six: Viking Religion
las of the Vikings, pp. 40–41. and Myths
38. Sturluson, Heimskringla. 53. Julian D. Richards, The Vikings: A
Very Short Introduction. New York:
Chapter Four: Viking Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 20.
Families and Home Life 54. Wilson, The Vikings and Their Ori-
39. Graham-Campbell, The Viking World, gins, pp. 15-16.
p. 10. 55. Magnus Magnusson, Hammer of the
40. Kirsten Wolf, Daily Life of the Vikings. North: Myths and Heroes of the Viking
Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2004, p. Age. New York: Putnam, 1986, p. 49.
74. 56. Quoted in Chartrand et al, The
41. Quoted in Amanda Graham, “The Vikings: Voyagers of Discovery and
Voyage of Ohthere from King Al- Plunder, p. 40.
fred’s Orosius,” Yukon College, 2001. 57. Wolf, Daily Life of the Vikings, p. 150.
Notes ■ 101
58. Wolf, Daily Life of the Vikings, pp. 66. Quoted in Magnusson and Palsson,
158-159. The Vinland Sagas, pp. 56–57.
59. H.R.E. Davidson, Scandinavian Myth- 67. Samuel E. Morison, The European
ology. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, Discovery of America: The Northern
1986, p. 8. Voyages, A.D. 500–1600. New York:
60. Davidson, Scandinavian Mythology, Oxford University Press, 1993, p.
p. 8. 49.
61. Haywood, The Penguin Historical At- 68. Morison, The European Discovery of
las of the Vikings, pp. 132–133. America, p. 51.
69. Hall, The World of the Vikings, p. 163.
Chapter Seven: Viking 70. Quoted in Magnusson and Palsson,
Explorations in the West The Vinland Sagas, p. 98.
62. Magnus Magnusson and Hermann 71. Irwin Unger, These United States: The
Palsson, trans., The Vinland Sagas. Questions of Our Past. Boston: Little,
New York: New York University Brown, 2002, p. 5.
Press, 1978, p. 11.
63. Quoted in La Fay, The Vikings, p. Epilogue: The End of the
118. Viking Age
64. Quoted in Magnusson and Palsson, 72. Haywood, The Penguin Historical At-
The Vinland Sagas, pp. 52–53. las of the Vikings, p. 108.
65. Quoted in Magnusson and Palsson, 73. Ingram, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. http://
The Vinland Sagas, p. 53. omacl.org/Anglo/part5.html.
102 ■ The Vikings

Glossary
amulet: An object, either worn or car- langskip: “Longship”; a Viking warship.
ried, thought to have magical properties. longphort: A fortified central military
berserker: A legendary Viking warrior base.
who fought with seemingly inhuman mail (or chain mail): A kind of armor
strength. consisting of a shirt or jerkin made of
blota: Sacrifice, or religious offerings. pieces of metal or with the pieces at-
bóndi: Viking freemen. tached.
byrnie: A mail shirt (see mail). Morels: A medieval board game similar
to checkers.
clinkering: A ship construction method
pagan: Non-Christian.
in which the hull boards overlap.
rune: A letter or character in the me-
cremation: Burning of the dead.
dieval Germanic writing system known
Danegold: A bribe paid to Viking war- as runic.
riors to keep them from attacking.
Rus: Vikings who settled in what is
Danelaw: A large sector of eastern Eng- now Russia.
land taken over by the Vikings in early saga: An epic story; the Icelandic sagas
medieval times. featured Viking heroes, gods, and other
dowry: Money or valuables supplied by important figures.
a bride’s father for her upkeep in her shield-wall: A battlefield formation in
marriage. which fighters stood close together with
Glima: A form of Viking wrestling that their shields touching or overlapping.
resembled modern Judo. skald: A Viking storyteller-singer.
Hnefatafl: A medieval board game sim- skei: A Viking warship with more than
ilar to chess. fifty-six oars.
inhumation: Burial of the dead. snekkja: A Viking warship with forty to
jarl: “Earl”; a member of the Norse no- fifty-six oars.
ble or upper class. strakes: Hull boards on a Viking ship.
keel: The central spine running length- thatch: Thickly interwoven tree branches,
wise along the bottom of a ship’s hull. often used for roofing in medieval
knattleikr: A Viking ballgame that may times.
have featured elements of both baseball thing: An assembly, or meeting, of
and football. Viking freemen.
Glossary ■ 103
thrall: A Viking slave. Vikings performed religious rituals.
threttnessa: A Viking warship with wattle-and-daub: A construction tech-
twenty-six oars. nique common in medieval Europe that
tribute: Money or valuables paid to ac- featured interwoven branches coated
knowledge one’s submission to some- with a paste made of clay or dung.
one stronger. zoomorphic: An artistic style built
ve: Holy sites in the countryside where around images of animals.
104 ■ The Vikings

For More Information
Books Mark Harrison, Viking Hersir: 793–1066
Rene Chartrand et al., The Vikings: Voy- A.D. Oxford: Osprey, 1993. Contains
agers of Discovery and Plunder. Oxford: a great deal of solid information
Osprey, 2006. A collection of long, de- about Norse weapons and warfare.
tailed essays on Viking history and John Haywood, The Penguin Historical
culture, accompanied by stunning Atlas of the Vikings. New York: Pen-
artwork. guin, 1995. A fine brief overview of
Eric Christiansen, The Norsemen in the Viking history, with numerous excel-
Viking Age. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley- lent maps and photos.
Blackwell, 2006. One of the best Ian Heath, The Vikings. Oxford: Osprey,
books about the Vikings, with much 2001. A short but information-packed
up-to-date information. look at Viking history and weapons.
H.R.E. Davidson, Gods and Myths of North- Tony Horwitz, A Voyage Long and
ern Europe. Baltimore: Penguin, 1984. Strange: On the Trail of Vikings, Con-
One of the best general overviews of quistadors, Lost Colonists and Other Ad-
Norse mythology, written by one of the venturers in Early America. New York:
acknowledged experts in the field. Macmillan, 2009. Discusses Norse ex-
Keith Durham, Viking Longship. Oxford: plorations of North America.
Osprey, 2002. Provides much valu- Gwyn Jones, A History of the Vikings.
able information about how Viking New York: Oxford University Press,
ships were constructed and used. 2001. One of the better modern stud-
Robert Ferguson, The Vikings: A History. ies of Viking history, this is extremely
New York: Viking, 2009. A fine syn- well researched and highly detailed.
opsis of the Viking Age and those Magnus Magnusson, Hammer of the
who peopled it. North: Myths and Heroes of the Viking
James Graham-Campbell, The Viking Age. New York: Putnam, 1986. A very
World. New York: Ticknor and Fields, useful examination of the major
2006. An excellent general overview Viking myths and heroes.
of the Vikings and their civilization. Magnus Magnusson and Hermann
Richard Hall, The World of the Vikings. Palsson, trans., The Vinland Sagas.
London: Thames and Hudson, 2007. New York: New York University
One of the better recent studies of the Press, 1978. An excellent translation
Norse, including much data on ar- of the Greenlanders’ Saga and Erik the
chaeological finds relating to Viking Red’s Saga, key documents on the
culture. Also beautifully illustrated. Viking voyages to North America.
For More Information ■ 105

Samuel E. Morison, The European Dis- Web Sites
covery of America: The Northern Voy- Explore a Viking Village (www.pbs
ages, A.D. 500–1600. New York: .org/wgbh/nova/vikings/village.ht
Oxford University Press, 1993. This ml). An excellent site provided by the
award-winning book by a great his- Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
torian contains a long chapter on the containing several videos, each of
Norse transatlantic voyages. which takes the viewer on a journey
Julian D. Richards, The Vikings: A Very through a separate part of a Viking
Short Introduction. New York: Oxford village.
University Press, 2005. Though Secrets of Norse Ships (www.pbs.org/
short, this book contains many use- wgbh/nova/vikings/ships.html). An
ful facts about the Vikings. informative PBS Nova site about the
Ornolfur Thorsson, ed., The Sagas of the construction and uses of Viking
Icelanders: A Selection. New York: ships.
The Vikings (www.viking.no/e/index
Viking, 2000. A large compilation
.html). This site has many links that
containing English translations of
lead to short, readable articles about
many of the Icelandic sagas.
different aspects of Viking life.
David M. Wilson, The Vikings and Their Vikings (www.crystalinks.com/vikings
Origins. London: Thames and Hud- .html). A large site provided by Crys-
son, 2001. A fairly brief but thought- talinks, packed with information
ful and well-written look at Viking about the Vikings. Includes several
culture. helpful maps.
Kirsten Wolf, Daily Life of the Vikings. Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga (www
Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2004. One .mnh.si.edu/vikings). A companion
of the best general studies of every- Web site for an exhibition about
day life among Scandinavians and Viking explorations at the National
other Norse during the Viking Age. Museum of Natural History.
106 ■ The Vikings

Index
A D
Aethelflaeda, 35 Danegold, 31
Afterlife, 79, 80 Danelaw, 35
Alcuin, 17–18 Davidson, H.R.E., 82
Alfred (king of Wessex), 34, 35 Denmark, 24–25, 26
Althing (assembly), 90 archeological excavations in, 14
Amulets, 79 farming in, 56
Anderson, Magnus, 52 Viking burial ground in, 80
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 10, 11, 31, 36, Drinks, 57
99
Anna Comnena, 40 E
Asgard (realm of the gods), 76, 81 Edmund (king of East Anglia), 34, 35
Athelstan, 35 Education, 70
Edward the Elder (king of Wessex),
B 35
Barbarians, 21 England
Behavior, 67 archeological excavations in, 14
Bloodaxe, Erik, 35 Harald’s invasion of, 98–99
Burials/funerals, 61–63, 62 Viking assaults on, 34–36
Byzantine Empire, 37 Erik the Red, 90
Varangian Guard in, 38–39, 98 Erik the Red’s Saga, 13–14
Eriksson, Leif, 91–92
C Eriksson, Thorvald, 95
Cerunnos (deity), 23
Chain mail, 43, 45 F
Charles the Bald (Frankish monarch), Ibn Fadlan, 12, 37, 39
32 on Viking funerals, 61, 62, 63
Charles the Simple (Frankish Faeroe Islands, 88–89
monarch), 97 Family life, 58
Christianity Fenrir (deity), 82, 83, 84
Iceland’s adoption of, 90 Foods, 60–61
Norse belief system vs., 75 France (Frankish kingdom)
Norse conversion to, 70, 84, 86, 98 Viking assimilation in, 97–98
Corte-Real, Gaspar, 96 Viking raids in, 32, 34
Index ■ 107
Freemen (bóndi), 67 I
Frey (deity), 77 Iberian Peninsula, 36
Freyja (deity), 77 Iceland, 87, 89–90
Frigg (deity), 77 house construction in, 54
Icelander (Erikson’s ship), 92
G Ingstad, Anne, 93
Gamla Uppsala, 25, 26 Ingstad, Helge, 93
Germanic tribes, 25 Ireland, 30, 36
Glima (wrestling style), 71, 71, 73 Ivar the Boneless, 34
Godwinsson, Harold, 98
Gokstad (ship), 49–50, 50, 82 J
Goths, 8 Jörmungandr (deity), 82
Government, 68 Justice system, 68, 70
Graham-Cambell, James, 45, 64 Jutland, 19
Gravesites, 79, 80
Great Army (Great Fleet), 34 K
Greenland, 87, 90 Karlsefni, Thorfinn, 95
remains of Viking village in, 89 Kautz, Peter, 71
Viking vacate, 95–96 King Olaf Tryggvasson’s Saga, 48
Greenlanders’ Saga, 13–14, 90, 92 Kings, 65–66
role of, 68
H The King’s Mirror, 60, 67
Halfdan, 34 Knattleikr (ball game), 73–74
Hall, Richard, 12, 26, 95
Hamilton, Edith, 81 L
Hardrada, Harald (Sigurdsson), 97, 98, L’Anse aux Meadows (Leifsbudir), 14,
99 15, 92, 93–95
Hastings, battle of (1066), 99 Laxdoela Saga, 58
Haywood, John, 19, 25, 86 Leifsbudir. See L’Anse aux Meadows
Hazelled field, 46 Leisure activities, 70–74
Hedeby (trading center), 64–65, 65 Loki (deity), 77
Heimskringla (Sturluson), 13, 51 Longphorts (fortified coastal bases), 30,
Hel (deity), 77, 79, 82 30
Herjolfsson, Bjarni, 90, 91–92 Longships, 48, 50, 92
History of the Danes (Saxo in battle, 51, 51–52
Grammaticus), 19 in burials of chiefs, 61
Home life, 58, 59, 60 construction of, 49–50
Houses, 53–55
interior of, 55 M
sod, 56 Magnus (Norwegian king), 98
wattle-and-daub, 54 Magnusson, Magnus, 75, 87
Huns, 8 Marriage, 60
108 ■ The Vikings
Midgard (human realm), 76 Richards, Julian D., 24, 75
Morison, Samuel E., 91, 93–95 Rituals
Music, 73 funeral, 61, 81
Mythology, Norse, 82, 84 religious, 79, 81
gods of, 76–79, 77, 78 Rollo (Viking leader), 97–98
view of universe in, 75–76 Roman Empire
fall of, 8
N Scandinavian culture and, 21–22
Native Americans, 95, 96 Runes/runic alphabet, 70, 72
Navigation, 50 Russia, 37–38, 98
of North Atlantic, 91 Viking trade centers/routes in, 38
routes, 37
Niflheim (world of the dead), 76 S
Normandy (France), 98 Sacrifice (blota), 79
Norns, 76, 82 Sagas, 12–14
North Atlantic, 91 Saxo Grammaticus, 19, 24–25
Norway, 26, 98 Scandinavia
farming in, 56 emergence as predatory society, 25–26
house construction in, 54 farming in, 56
topology of, 24 first churches in, 86
growth of civilization in, 22, 24–25
O harshness of life in, 82
Odin (deity), 76, 77, 84 lack of adequate farmland in, 24, 31
Odo, Count, 34 nations encompassing, 8
Ohthere (Ottar), 12, 13, 57 Roman cultural influences on, 21–22
Olaf (Viking king), 51–52 Shetland Islands, 88
shipbuilder for, 49 Sif (deity), 77
Outlawry, 70 Sigurdsson, Hakon, 46
Sigurdsson, Harald. See Hardrada,
P Harald
Paris, 32, 32, 34 Slaves, 67–68
Pliny the Elder, 21 Social hierarchy, 65, 67–68
Prose Edda (Sturluson), 75, 76, 84 Songs, 73
Pytheas, 20–21 St. Cuthbert, Church of, 17–18
Stamford Bridge, battle of (1066),
R 98–99, 99
Ragnarok (Twilight of the Gods), 79, 81, Storytelling, 73
82, 84 Sturluson, Snorri, 12–13, 51, 75, 84
Ragnfrid (Viking king), 46 Svölder, battle of (c. 1000), 51–52
Religion (paganism), 75–77 Sweden, 25, 26
melding of Christianity with, 84, 86 farming in, 56
rituals of, 79, 81 house construction in, 54
Index ■ 109
T Vikings
Thing (assembly of freemen), 68 archeological evidence of, 14–16
Thor (deity), 76–77, 77, 78, 78 assimilation into kingdoms
Towns, 64 previously raided, 97
Trade, 57–58 Franks targeted by, 31–32, 34
Trading centers, 66 homelands of, 20
at Hedeby, 65 origin of term, 19
in Russia, 38 physical characteristics of, 39
Ty (deity), 77 pre-Christian, world view of, 75–76,
81–82
U as raiders, 8, 9, 10
Ubbi, 34 raids by, 27–28
Unger, Irwin, 96 recognition of Earth as round, 94
Unn the Deepminded, 58, 60 written sources on, 10, 12–14
Vineland, 87
V Vinland, 92, 93, 94–95
Valhalla (Hall of the Heroes), 76
Vandals, 8 W
Varangians, 38, 40, 98 Wattle-and-daub construction, 54, 54
Viking Age, 10 Weapons, 41, 45, 45
end of, 97–99 William of Normandy, 99
Viking raids Wilson, David M., 8, 22, 75
in Eastern Europe/Western Asia, Wolf, Kirsten, 54
37–38 Women, role of, 58, 59, 60
in Mediterranean, 36–37 Writing, 70
110 ■ The Vikings

Picture Credits
Cover, © Stefano Bianchetti/Corbis
© Doug Steley/Alamy, 44
© Ilja Dubovskis/Alamy, 26
© Skyscan Photolibrary/Alamy, 18
Art Resource, NY, 55
Werner Forman/Art Resource, NY, 6 (upper), 50, 76, 77, 85, 88
HIP/Art Resource, NY, 11, 45
Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY, 6 (lower), 23
National Trust Photo Library/Art Resource, NY, 42-43
Battle of Stamford Bridge, 1870 (oil on canvas) by Arbo, Peter Nicolai (1831-92) Private Collection/Photo
O. Vaering/The Bridgeman Art Library, 99
The Funeral of a Viking, 1893 (oil on canvas) by Dicksee, Sir Frank (1853-1928)/Manchester Art Gallery,
UK/The Bridgeman Art Library, 62
The Vikings; The Sea-Warriors by English School, (20th century) Private Collection/Look and
Learn/The Bridgeman Art Library, 9
Edmund king of East Anglia killed by the Danes, Doyle, James E. (19th Century) Private
Collection/Look and Learn/The Bridgeman Art Library, 35
Britain’s First Naval Battle, illustration from “British Battles on Land and Sea,” published by Cassell,
London, c. 1910 (litho) by Forrestier, A. (fl. 1910) Private Collection/The Bridgeman Art Library, 51
Leif Ericsson’s men being attacked by indians by Frey, Oliver (b. 1948) Private Collection/Look and
Learn/The Bridgeman Art Library, 96
The Viking Sea Raiders by Goodwin, Albert (1845-1932) Private Collection/Christopher Wood Gallery,
London, UK/The Bridgeman Art Library, 27
Vikings by Jackson, Peter (1922-2003) Private Collection /Look and Learn/The Bridgeman Art Library,
39
The Norse god Tyr losing his hand to the bound wolf, Fenrir (pen & ink on paper) by Icelandic School,
(18th century) Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark/The Bridgeman Art Library, 83
A Shire-Moot in Saxon times, illustration from "The History of the Nation" (litho) by English School,
(20th century) Private Collection/The Stapleton Collection/The Bridgeman Art Library, 69
Model of the fortress at Trelleborg (mixed media) by Museet ved Trellegorg, Slagelse, Denmark/Ancient
Art and Architecture Collection Ltd./The Bridgeman Art Library International, 30
© Bettman/Corbis, 78
© Russ Hein/All Canada Photos/Corbis, 56
© Rolf Hicker/All Canada Photos/Corbis, 7 (upper)
© Wolfgang Kaehler/Corbis, 15, 89
© Frank Lukasseck/Corbis, 92
© Ted Speigel/Corbis, 54, 65
© Homer Sykes/Corbis, 72
© Frank Zaska/Corbis, 59
Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images, 47
Rischgitz/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, 7 (lower)
Michael Hampshire/National Geographic/Getty Images, 66
Ted Speigel/National Geographic/Getty Images, 80
Paul Popper/Popperfoto/Getty Images, 71
© North Wind Picture Archives, 33, 93
Picture Credits ■ 111

About the Author
In addition to his acclaimed volumes on the ancient world, historian Don Nardo
has produced several studies of medieval times, including Life on a Medieval Pil-
grimage, The Medieval Castle, The Italian Renaissance, The Inquisition, and a biogra-
phy of medieval astronomer Tycho Brahe. He has also produced volumes about
medieval warfare, the King Arthur legends, and the age of exploration. Mr. Nardo,
who in addition composes orchestral music, resides with his wife Christine in Mas-
sachusetts.
112 ■ The Vikings

The World History series examines the eras, events,
civilizations, and movements that have shaped human
history, providing readers with insight into the past and its
many legacies. Vivid writing, full-color photographs and
extensive use of fully cited primary and secondary source
quotations provide a sense of immediacy. Sidebars, time
lines, indexes, and annotated bibliographies, which appear in
every volume, offer a wealth of additional information as well
as provide launching points for further discussion and study.

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The Vikings

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Nardo, Don, 1947-

Printed in the United States of America

400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200

Surviving Evidence for the Vikings ■ 9

Snorri Sturluson. A thirteenth-century cording to what has been told me.

Viking Origins and

Saxo Describes Jutland

Saxo Grammaticus, History of the Danes, Northvegr Foundation. www.northvegr.org/lore/saxo/

Viking Origins and Early Raids ■ 19

Viking Origins and Early Raids ■ 23

Living with Limited

700s, possibly centered at Ribe (Den- growing political power of Scandina-

A squadron of Viking warships passes by a rugged coastline on its way to raid

Viking Origins and Early Raids ■ 27

and invasions and attempts to set up Dorestad, an important trading city in

Discouraged by English resistance a Viking fleet of more than a hundred

Viking Conquests and Expansion ■ 37

The kind of fierce, well-

It became a matter of tremendous pres- Stockholm, Sweden: “Ragnvald let the

A Warrior’s Defensive Gear

The well-trained, highly militaristic

Viking Warriors and Ships ■ 43

Viking Warriors and Ships ■ 47

Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla, Project Gutenberg. www.gutenberg.org/files/598/598-h/598-h.htm#

Construction of a Longship piece of wood running lengthwise

Viking Warriors and Ships ■ 51

These modern reconstructions of Viking houses employ the wattle-and-daub technique,

closets, which provided at least some chambers, used either as workrooms or

Farming and Trade and sheep. In Denmark, by contrast,

Quoted in Brookstone Beer Bulletin, “Beer Quotations.” http://brookstonbeerbulletin.com/beer-quotations.

Viking Families and Home Life ■ 57

Viking Families and Home Life ■ 59

Laurence M. Larson, trans., The King’s Mirror. www.mediumaevum.com/75years/mirror/sec1.html#V.

Viking Families and Home Life ■ 63

Viking Communities and Culture ■ 71

Viking Communities and Culture ■ 73

Yngve Skråmm, “Knattleikr,” The Vikings. www.viking.no/e/life/sports/eball.htm.

H.R.E. Davidson, Scandi-

Unlike the chariots of

Helpless Before Evil

Edith Hamilton, Mythology. New York: Grand Central, 1999, p. 300.

Viking Religion and Myths ■ 81

Viking Religion and Myths ■ 83

blacksmiths to create a formidable iron They insisted on living as if the future

Viking Explorations in the West ■ 89

Navigating the North Atlantic

Viking Explorations in the West ■ 91

question that scholars wanted to an- of a medieval Norse settlement at

The Earth Is Round?

Laurence M. Larson, trans., The King’s Mirror. www.mediumaevum.com/75years/mirror/sec1.html#V.

The End of the

The End of the Viking Age ■ 97

The End of the Viking Age ■ 99

102 ■ The Vikings

104 ■ The Vikings

For More Information ■ 105

106 ■ The Vikings