Who were the Vikings?

Who were the Vikings? The term Viking comes from the old Norse and is used to refer to Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, sailed the seas and explored new lands across Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic.  The period of the Vikings lasted from the 8th to the mid 11th century AD. 
One of the Vikings claim to fame is their longships. A long ship is  characterised as a graceful, long, narrow, light wooden boat with a shallow draft hull designed for speed. A typical longship could travel about 5-10 knots (9-19 km/h)

Typical Longship

Vikings originated from Scandinavia(Denmark, Norway Sweden) but were also located in Finland and Iceland.  Why did they venture from their homelands? Was it the cold weather? Maybe! There have been many theories put forward to why they left home. Some historians believe Vikings left home to search for a more fertile land as Scandinavian  land was of poor quality. Some historians believe Vikings left home for a thirst for wealth hence raiding of monasteries, abbeys and churches. Or maybe a group of Vikings got lost and ended up in England?! It is not quite certain why they left but all of the above theories may be results.

Scandinavia 

Viking were pagans who worshipped a variety of Gods and Goddesses. Central to their religion were two groups of gods, the Aesir and the Vanir. The gods lived in Asgard, a kingdom that was connected to mortal Earth(known as Midgard) by a rainbow bridge known as Bifrost.  The pantheon included Odin, the primary god, Thor, the hammer-wielding god of thunder and Frajya the goddess of fertility and beauty.There were also evil giants, dark elves and dwarves. The gods were destined to fight against the giants and evil forces in a battle known as Ragnarok. Norse prophecy predicted that the gods would lose this battle, allowing Asgard, Midgard and the entire universe to collapse into darkness and chaos. They later converted to Christianity. 
Warriors who died nobly could end up in Valhalla, a sort of warrior heaven where everyone gets to fight alongside Odin, die and feast and do it all again the next day. They were escorted to Valhalla by Valkyrie, a sort of warrior angels who assisted Odin. Viking society was patriarchal with women holding no power. 
When wealthy or powerful Vikings died, their body may have been cremated on a longship along with their possessions, or may have been entombed in a narrow, large earthen chamber. In either case, pets and sometimes slaves were sacrificed and buried or cremated along with their master. There is some evidence that Vikings offered ritual human sacrifices in religious ceremonies. 

Viking warrior 

Once Vikings had developed their longships it was not long afterwards that they began exploring new lands.  The majority of Vikings sailed down western Europe but have explored Asia and the North Atlantic. The Vikings first began to explore and raid Scotland, England and Ireland. The first Viking raid was in 793 AD when they raided Lindisfarne monastery in Northumberland off the north east coast of England. They also arrived in the Shetlands, Orkney's, the Hebrides  and the Isle of Man. The Vikings first arrived in Ireland in 795 AD when they raided Rathlin Island. During this period of Irish history, Ireland was known as the Isle of Saints and scholars. The many monasteries possessed many riches. The Vikings soon began raiding and pillaging  the rich monasteries across Ireland. They soon settled across Ireland, England, Scotland, France and Spain. Some Vikings discovered new lands. Eirik the Raude better known as "Eric the Red" discovered Greenland. It is believed he may have been the first European to discover America but did not reach land. 

Eric the Red

 Viking facts:

• Vikings drank out of their enemy's skulls (when they killed them!) 
• They did NOT have horned helmets.
• They dyed there clothes and hair.
• There version of hell is ice, not flames.
• They had a strong economy.
• Some of modern English is derived from old Norse, e.g  love is derived from lufu meaning affection. 
• They were the first to use magnetic compasses.