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Who Were the Vikings? ... ” (1)
The Vikings lived about one thousand years ago in the lands that we now call Iceland, Lapland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. To most people the Vikings were raiders that got in their longboats and sailed somewhere and then went from town to town killing and pillaging. This is not completely true, because the Vikings were also great adventurers. ... But not to say that the Vikings weren’t fierce warriors, because they were great warriors that won almost every early battle. ...
The Vikings had many reasons for leaving their homeland and living up to being the great adventurers that they were. One reason to leave was that the land that the Vikings were living in was becoming over populated, such that one family couldn’t own as much land, as he would like. ...
The majority of Vikings spent very little time away from home on raids. ... Still other Vikings worked as merchants, traveling far and wide to trade their goods. ...
Viking Lifestyle
The growing population of Vikings in towns such as Birka in Sweden, Ribe and Hedeby in Denmark, and Kaupang in Norway prospered for the trading that took place along this string of cities. The trading flourished even though Danish and the Norwegian Vikings were raiding all the cities over in Europe. ... The houses of the Vikings were not very fancy and usually consisted of one room. Some of the Vikings built their houses out of materials like stones, which were readily available. ... To solve the problem of not having trees to use to build their houses the Vikings used the stones that were cut off the cliff sides and mountains. ... The Vikings also made walls of logs that were laid down on their sides with notches in the ends. ... Normally the houses of the Vikings did not have windows in them, but in some cases they would use thin animal membranes that were translucent to let light in. ... But the turn of the tenth century the Vikings were using wax candles that were imported from the European continent. A Vikings home must have smelled of wood smoke, and of damp earth, of burning seal oil, of the bread, ale and roasting meat served around the hearth. And during the winter it must have smelled like livestock because the Vikings would bring their livestock into the shelter and warmth of their home. ... The way the Vikings started a fire was by striking steel against flint or quartz to make a spark and then they fueled the fire with branches, bark, logs, or, where there weren’t very many trees, peat moss or turf was used. ... The plates and bowls the Vikings used were made out of clay or wood. It is still not known if the Vikings used forks and knives.
Bread was the main staple food for Vikings. ... The bread had to be eaten quickly before it hardened because the Vikings did not use leavening. ... On the barren coasts of Greenland the Vikings depended on seal, fox, marten, reindeer, polar bear, and artic caribou. The Vikings also ate whale and seal meat along with game birds, honey, eggs, and wild fruits such as apples, plums, and berries. ... When there was a famine or food shortage, the Vikings had to survive on tree bark, wild nuts, and seaweed. When the Vikings would set out on a long sea voyage they would stock their ship with salted meat, fish, water, milk, and of course beer.
The Vikings brewed their own beer and prepared mead, it was a strong alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey with water, often with added spices. ... But the Vikings would still treat each other well in each other’s homes. ...
In battle, the Vikings would also use spears, axes, and bows and arrows. ... The leather would be lightweight and protect from small things such as a mosquito biting the Vikings head. ...
In areas where iron was not plentiful the Vikings would use bones of animals to make their tools and weapons. ... There have been findings that the Vikings used bone in northern Greenland in the applications mentioned above.
Viking Sports and Games
The Vikings spent many long winter nights inside their houses telling traditional
stories that were passed down for many generations, and playing games.
Approximate Word count = 3517
Approximate Pages = 14.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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