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  • Vikings (Norwegian and Danish: Vikinger; Swedish and Nynorsk: Vikingar; Icelandic: Víkingar), from Old Norsevíkingr

    • Germanic Norse seafarers

    • speaking Old Norse language,

    • raided and traded from their Scandinavian homelands across wide areas of northern and central Europe, as well as European Russia, during late 8th to late 11th centuries.

  • facilitated by advanced seafaring skills, characterised by the longship

  • activities extended into the Mediterranean littoral, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

  • extended phases of (primarily sea- or river-borne) exploration, expansion and settlement, Viking (Norse) communities and polities were established in diverse areas of north-western Europe, European Russia, the North Atlantic islands and as far as the north-eastern coast of North America.

  • wider dissemination of Norse culture, introducing strong foreign cultural influences into Scandinavia itself, with profound developmental implications in both directions.

History

Viking Age

  • period from the earliest recorded raids in the 790s until the Norman conquest of England in 1066 = Viking Age of Scandinavian history.

  • used Norwegian Sea and Baltic Sea for sea routes to the south. 

  • Important trading ports: Birka, Hedeby, Kaupang, Jorvik, Staraya Ladoga, Novgorod, and Kiev.

  • archaeological evidence that Vikings reached Baghdad. regularly plied the Volga with their trade goods: furs, tusks, seal fat for boat sealant, and slaves.

Viking expansion

  • explored northern islands and coasts of North Atlantic, ventured south to North Africa and east to Russia, Constantinople, and the Middle East.

  • [raided and pillaged, but also engaged in trade, settled wide-ranging colonies, and acted as mercenaries.

  • expansion into continental Europe was limited. bordered by Saxons, often in conflict with the Vikings

Motives

  • Charlemagne "used force and terror to Christianise all pagans", leading to baptism, conversion or execution, and as a result, Vikings and other pagans resisted and wanted revenge.

  • penetration of Christianity into Scandinavia led to serious conflict dividing Norway for almost a century.

  • exploited a moment of weakness in the surrounding regions. decline in the profitability of old trade routes.

Culture

 

  • generally a non-literate culture that produced no literary legacy

  • had an alphabet and described themselves and their world on runestones

 

Literature and language

  • write inscriptions in runes, usually very short and formulaic. 

 

Runestones

  • could read and write

  • used a non-standardized alphabet, called runor, built upon sound values. 

 

Burial sites

  • burial practices were varied, from dug graves in the ground, to tumuli, sometimes including so-called ship burials.

  • most of the funerals took place at sea. involved either burial or cremation, depending on local customs. items buried with the dead give some indication as to what was considered important to possess in the afterlife

 

Ships

  • many types of Viking ships, built for various uses; best-known type longship.

    • intended for warfare and exploration, designed for speed and agility, and equipped with oars to complement the sail, making navigation possible independently of the wind

    • long, narrow hull and shallow draught to facilitate landings and troop deployments in shallow water

    • facilitated far-reaching expeditions, but the Vikings also constructed several other types of ships.

  • knarrwas

    • dedicated merchant vessel designed to carry cargo in bulk

    • broader hull, deeper draught, and a small number of oars (used primarily to manoeuvre in harbours and similar situations)

  • Viking innovation = 'beitass', spar mounted to the sail that allowed their ships to sail effectively against the wind

  • common for seafaring Viking ships to tow or carry a smaller boat to transfer crews and cargo from the ship to shore

  • Ships = integral part of the Viking culture.

    • facilitated everyday transportation across seas and waterways, exploration of new lands, raids, conquests, and trade with neighbouring cultures.

    • major religious importance. People with high status were sometimes buried in a ship along with animal sacrifices, weapons, provisions and other items

 

Everyday life

Appearances

  • three classes recognisable by appearances.

    • Jarls = well groomed with neat hairstyles; expressed wealth and status by wearing expensive clothes (often silk) and well crafted jewellery like brooches, belt buckles, necklaces and arm rings

    • Karls expressed similar tastes and hygiene, but in more relaxed and inexpensive way.

 

Farming and cuisine

  • diverse cuisine, with lots of different ingredients. Meat products of all kinds (cured, smoked and whey-preserved meat, sausages and boiled or fried fresh meat cuts) prepared and consumed. plenty of seafood, bread, porridges, dairy products, vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts. Alcoholic drinks like beer, mead, bjórr (a strong fruit wine) and, for the rich, imported wine, were served.

  • livestock = Icelandic horse, Icelandic cattle, plethora of sheep breeds, Danish hen + Danish goose. beef, mutton, and pork with small amounts of horse meat. get out the marrow. brawn and trotters.

  • Seafood: Whales and walrus, seals oysters, mussels and shrimps, cod and salmon, herring

  • Milk and buttermilk as cooking ingredients and drinks. from cows, goats and sheep. fermented milk products like skyr or surmjölk, butter and cheese.

  • Food often salted and enhanced with spices, some imported like black pepper, others were cultivated in herb gardens or harvested in the wild. Home grown spices = caraway, mustard and horseradish, ordill, coriander, and wild celery, thyme, juniper berry, sweet gale, yarrow, rue and peppercress

  • collected and ate fruits, berries and nuts. Apple (wild crab apples), plums and cherries, rose hips and raspberry, wild strawberry, blackberry, elderberry, rowan, hawthorn and various wild berries. Hazelnuts, walnuts

  • grains of rye,barley, oat and wheat. used for making porridges, various forms of bread. Flax for oil extraction, food consumption and production of linen. 

 

Sports

  • widely practised and encouraged. involved weapons training and developing combat skills. spear and stone throwing, building and testing physical strength through wrestling, fist fighting, and stone lifting. mountain climbing. running and jumping for sport, jumping from oar to oar on the outside of a ship's railing as it was being rowed. Swimming - diving, long-distance swimming and a contest in which two swimmers try to duck one another. art of knife juggling.

  • Skiing and ice skating

  • Horse fighting

  • knattleik. ball game akin to hockey.

  • Hunting

 

Games and entertainment

  • set aside time for social and festive gatherings

  • board games and dice games. several types of taflgames; hnefatafl, nitavland the less commonkvatrutafl. chess. 

  • storytelling, skaldic poetry, music and alcoholic drinks, like beer and mead, contributed to the atmosphere. Music was considered an art form and music proficiency as fitting for a cultivated man. instruments including harps,fiddles, lyres and lutes.

Weapons and warfare

 

  • all free men were required to own weapons and were permitted to carry them all the time.

  • arms were indicative of a Viking's social status:

    • wealthy Viking had complete ensemble of helmet, shield, mail shirt + sword

    • typical bóndi (freeman) more likely to fight with spear and shield, most also carried seax as utility knife and side-arm.

  • Bows used in opening stages of land battles and at sea, but considered less "honourable" than melee weapon.

  • relatively unusual for the time in their use of axes as a main battle weapon. elite guard of King Cnut -- armed with two-handed axes that could split shields or metal helmets with ease.

  • warfare and violence motivated and fuelled by beliefs in Norse religion, focusing on Thor and Odin, the gods of war and death.

    • sometimes engaged in a disordered style of frenetic, furious fighting known asberserkergang, leading them to be termed berserkers.

      • tactics may have been deployed intentionally by shock troops

      • berserk-state may have been induced through ingestion of materials with psychoactive properties, such as the hallucinogenic mushrooms, Amanita muscaria, or large amounts of alcohol.

Trade

  • established and engaged in extensive trading networks throughout the known world

  • profound influence on the economic development of Europe and Scandinavia

  • Except for major trading centres of Ribe, Hedeby and the like -- unfamiliar with use of coinage, based on bullion economy. 

    • Silver = most common metal in economy by large, circulated in the form of bars, or ingots, jewellery and ornaments.

  • Traders carried small scales to measure weight very accurately, very precise system of trade and exchange, even without regular coinage

 

Goods

  • organized trade covered everything from ordinary items in bulk to exotic luxury products.

  • Imported goods from other cultures:

    • Spices from Chinese + Persian traders, met with the Viking traders in Russia. used homegrown spices and herbs like caraway, thyme, horseradish andmustard, but imported cinnamon

    • Glass = much prized. often made into beads for decoration, have been found in their thousands

    • Silk = important commodity obtained from Byzantium + China. used to illustrate status such as wealth and nobility

    • Wine imported from France and Germany as drink of the wealthy

  • Exported goods:

    • Amber. worked into beads and ornamental objects, before being traded. 

    • Fur (pine martens, foxes, bears, otters and beavers)

    • Cloth and wool. skilled spinners and weavers and exported woollen cloth of a high quality.

    • Down, used for bedding and quilted clothing.

    • Slaves. captured many people, sometimes sold as slaves to Arab merchants in exchange for silver.

    • weapons, walrus ivory, wax, salt and cod. hunting birds.

  • Goods traded within the Viking world itself, as well as goods such assoapstone and whetstone (used for sharpening weapons, tools and knives)

    • extensive medieval trade with oxen and cattle (need for leather and meat).

    • Wool to produce warm clothing + for sails. organized textile productions in Scandinavia

    • Artisans and craftsmen were supplied with antlers from organized hunting with large-scale reindeer traps in the far north. used as raw material for making everyday utensils like combs.

The King

  • highest member of Viking political system

  • maximum number of powers

  • many rights and privileges

  • clever hunter. believed to have magical abilities. 

  • appointed his/her staff ; made laws that were to be followed by the rest of people

The Chieftain

  • second in power and position.

  • lived his life in luxury, very wealthy.

  • skilled in many areas of work such as war, farming, fishing, riding horses etc.

Hauld

  • freeholder who owned farms, was involved in farming

The Leiding

  • tenant  who rented/leased a farm from hauld and gave payment in form of food

Farmer

  • free man who had all the rights and privileges

  • tended to the farms; made a number of goods such as spun thread, looms, built houses, ploughed fields + carts and fences

The Loysing

  • The loysing/bondsman = slave who had been freed by his/her owner.

  • still dependent on owner in some ways

  • was allowed to win his/her freedom by displaying hardwork.

Three social classes existed in Norse society. Mechanisms existed such that a person could move himself from one class to another.

 

  • jarls, noble class

    • distinguished by wealth, measured in terms of followers, treasure, ships, and estates.

    • eldest son of the jarl was on fast track to becoming next jarl <-> by gaining enough fame and wealth, karl could become jarl.

    • power of a jarl depended upon goodwill of supporters.

    • essential task: uphold security, prosperity, and honor of followers.

  • vast majority = middle class = karls

    • freemen + land owners

    • farmers, smiths, and plain folks

    • usually lived in clusters of two or more buildings, typically longhouses supplemented by barns and workshops.

  • þræll

    • ​slaves (booty from a raid)

    • bondsmen (could not pay his debts --> obliged to become bondsman and work until debt was paid

    • Icelandic law: someone convicted of theft to be handed over as a slave to the victim of the theft

 

 

 

many gradations in position + substantial variations in class structure.

 

Kings and earls = regional (rather than national) rulers.

  • title could be inherited, or could be conferred by prominent supporters / leader of military forces

  • Kings not sacred or special --> viewed as exceptionally able and imperious men.

    • hirðmaðr, follower of king or earl. inner circle of men who surrounded king + supported him in all his endeavors

  • king: expected to be generous not only with food and drink, but with clothes and weapons and gifts. expected to maintain his own and his followers' honor against outsiders. had to lead. required to be strong fighter, daring, crafty, and hard (fought hand to hand beside his men). had to be good public speaker, cheerful and inspirational, able to inspire and buoy his men.

 

class of free men

  • highest = goði, local chieftain

    • carried legal and administrative responsibilities. priest for Norse pagan religion?

    • Every freeman required to choose goði to support

    • office = goðorð, mostly hereditary

      • allegiance was voluntary, so goði who neglected to look after people under authority --> find himself without any supporters and goðorð up for grabs.

  • land-owning farmers

    • supported goði <> counted on them for support when needed

    • some farmers more prominent than others (family ties with other powerful farmers, size of farms and wealth, or number of supporters)

    • freedom of speech and liberty. right to bear arms, have a voice in public affairs, enjoy full benefit of law. T

  • Merchants

  • being "legal" in Icelandic society = having residence

  • far more people than arable land for them to own. --> many freemen not land owners.

    • farmhands, worked for farm owner in exchange for room and board

    • servant-women performed farm chores required of women.

    • Fishermen

    • tenants, ran the farm for absentee owner and paid annual rent

    • Slaves who had been freed = nominally freemen, but status was low.

      • If freed slave died without heir, inheritance would revert to slave's original owner

      • Once tainted by slavery, no man's honor could ever be completely clean.

      • children of freed slaves were completely free (<-> four generations later)

    • paupers and vagrants. no residence, could not be charged. poor not allowed to marry. free to take the property of vagrant without penalty

    • Slaves

      • ​hardly any rights at all

        • chattel

        • could inherit nothing, leave nothing. could take no part in any business transaction.

        • only relation with rest of society was through master

        • put to death when no longer capable of working, due to old age, disease, or injury

      • could accumulate property (with care buy their freedom) could marry, were permitted to take vengeance for interference with wives.

      • cowards who were easily panicked, unreliable, stupid and foul

      • large proportion of trade. booty from raids. Baltic countries, east, lands to the west

      • were necessary for running farm. could not be permitted advantage in number (revolts)

      • worked alongside hired workers on family farms,

      • slaves as concubines

      • normal price for male slave = 12 ounces of silver, female slave = 8 ounces

  • portion that did not fall into any of three classes --> outside of society (own choice / punishment imposed by law)

    • beggars and tramps

    • magicians, witches, and seeresses

    • outlaws 

  • divided into the three socio-economic classes of Thralls, Karls and Jarls. 

    • Thralls = lowest ranking class, slaves. Slavery = vital importance to Viking society, for everyday chores, large scale construction, trade and economy. used as servants and workers in the farms and larger households of the Karls and Jarls and they were used for constructing fortresses, fortifications, ramps, canals, mounds, roads and similar hard work projects. despised and looked down upon. New thralls either the sons and daughters of thralls or captured abroad.

    • Karls = free peasants. owned farms, land and cattle + engaged in daily chores like ploughing the fields, milking the cattle, building houses and wagons. employed thralls to make ends meet. 'bonde' or free men.

    • Jarls = aristocracy. wealthy and owned large estates with huge longhouses, horses and many thralls.servants took care of most of the daily chores, while Jarls engaged in administration, politics, hunting, sports, paid visits to other Jarls or were abroad on expeditions. 

  • many intermediate positions. social mobility. 

  • communities of félag in both the civil and the military spheres, to which its members (called félagi) were obliged. could be centred around certain trades, common ownership of a sea vessel or a military obligation under a specific leader (drenge; warrior). official communities within towns and villages, the overall defence, religion, the legal system and the Things.

  • Women: relatively free status. 

    • right to inherit property from a deceased man.

    • in absence of male relatives, unmarried woman with no son could inherit property + position as head of the family from deceased father/ brother = Baugrygr, exercised all rights afforded to the head of a family clan (right to demand + receive fines for slaughter of family member) until she married, by which her rights were transferred to her husband.

    • after age of 20 -- unmarried woman (maer and mey) reached legal majority, right to decide place of residence, regarded as own person before the law.

      • exception to independence: right to choose a marriage partner (normally arranged by the clan) 

    • ​Widows -- same independent status as unmarried women.

    • married woman could divorce her husband and remarry.

    • socially acceptable for a free woman to cohabit with a man and have children with him without marrying him, even if that man was married: frilla.

      • no distinction made between children born inside or outside of marriage: both right to inherit property after their parents, no "legitimate" or "illegitimate" children.

    • religious authority, active as priestesses (gydja) and oracles (sejdkvinna); active within art as poets (skalder) and rune masters, merchants and medicine women.

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