Vikings

The Vikings were a group of people from Scandinavia who were feared for their skills at sea and the raids on neighboring England. The soil in Scandinavia was mostly rocky and the Vikings had trouble growing crops in the soil. So for food, they had to raid cities to get gold, food, and slaves. They also looked to the sea and made many trade routes and founded new countries.

The Vikings were expert sailors and ship builders. The Vikings carved animal heads on the front of their ships to scare away the evil spirits of the sea. Some popular animals were the serpent and the dragon. The ships had a single square sail to be propelled in the ocean by the wind. When the Vikings were sailing through rivers or lakes, they would use oars to navigate. They could also use oars to make quick attacks on the ocean by speeding their boats up. Each of the boats contained 32 oars and one tiller in the back of the ship. To protect themselves when rowing, they put their shields on the side of the ship so they couldn't be hit with arrows or stones. The warships were called Karus and would be used to raid neighboring shores and towns. They used the sun and the stars to navigate their boats. They created trade routes across Europe and out into Greenland. They were the first ones to give the directions on a boat. They called the front the stem, and the back was called the stern.

There were many evolutions of Viking boats. First was the Hjortspring boat. Next was the improvement in the Nydam ship. The Vikings ended out the improvements with the Kvalsund ship.

Viking Longships

The early Vikings worshipped gods in temples. They made sacrifices to their gods and asked for help in battles and for a successful growing season. Their gods included the following:

The Vikings worshipped these gods until they started to settle in parts of England and Europe. Converted to Christianity by the monks, they started worshipping according to the Catholic faith.

During the fall, winter, and spring the Vikings were farmers and traders. They grew barley, rye, wheat, and oats. They also grew cabbage, peas, and onions. For meat they raised geese, chickens, pigs, sheep, and cattle. The Vikings lived in large houses made of straw, stone, and turf. In the Viking society, the men were farmers, sailors, and carpenters. The women in the society were either merchants or worked at the market. For entertainment, the Vikings played football, went swimming and rowing, and wrestled. The Vikings also played chess, which was brought from Arabia by the Scandinavian traders. When the Vikings traded with other villages they used a different ship from the longships. This ship was slower with an open place in the middle for the cargo to be stored. These ships carried from 130 to 140 people. When a Viking man died the villagers burned him in his ship. When women died, they buried them in a grave and wrote their occupation on their tombstone.

Erik the Red- This Viking was exiled from Scandinavia because his dad killed their neighbor and from Iceland for killing a clan's chief. He also was the founder of Greenland.

Lief Eriksson- An adventurer, he was the son of Erik the Red and founded Vinland or North America.

Rollo- He was a the leader of the Danish Vikings and settled in Norselaw in present day Normandy, France.