VIKINGS

WHO ARE THE VIKING PEOPLE?

• North men or "Norse" men
• Danish, Norwegian, Swedish warriors
• Farm people turned warriors
• Common folk

WHO ARE THE VIKINGS

• Seafarers
• Burned, raided and pillaged
• Traveled across Europe in boats

WHERE ARE THE VIKINGS FROM?

• Homelands in Scandinavia
• Travelled all across the northern Europe
• Cold, rough conditions

CLOTHES

• peoples in northern Europe wore similar clothing
• Most finds of Viking-era fabric are from grave goods
• men wore a tunic across the chest with a skirt
• Down below were trousers
• Women wore a long shift with a suspended overdress

CLOTHES

• outer garment for the man's upper body was the kyrtill, the over tunic
• It was constructed from wool
• was constructed using surprisingly complicated patterns
• complexity results in a garment that doesn't restrict movement
• Loose sleeves for more freedom of motion

CLOTHES

• The tunic was pulled on over the head
• Tunics of all but the poorest people were decorated with braid
• The tunics of the wealthy were more decorated
• braid was woven from brightly colored wool
• Silk was also used to trim a tunic

FOOD

• Norse people primarily ate food raised on their own farms
• meat from cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, goats and poultry
• cereals, such as barley, rye, oats, and (rarely) wheat
• dairy products such as milk from cows, sheep, or goats, as well as cheese and butter
• vegetables, such as peas, beans, cabbage, onions, and an assortment of herbs

WEAPONS

• all free Norse men were required to own weapons
• permitted to carry them at all time
• arms were also indicative of a Viking's social status
• beautiful weapons were an important way to display wealth
• Usually have a spear, javelins, sword, shield, battle axe

WEAPONS

• very richest might have a helmet
• armour was limited to the nobility and their professional warriors
• average farmer had a spear, shield, and an axe or a large knife
• Some would bring their hunting bows to use in the opening stages of battle

SYMBOLS

• Triple Horn of Odin is a stylized emblem of the Norse God Odin.
• This symbol consists of three interlocked horns
• horns involve stories of Odin, recalled in traditional Norse rituals
• Most stories involve the God’s quest for the Odhroerir
• a magical mead brewed from the blood of the wise god Kvasir

SYMBOLS

• Runes are a Norse alphabet developed around 200 BCE
• characters used for magical purposes
• The word ‘rune’ literally means a ‘whisper’ or ‘secret.’
• there have been as many as thirty three runic characters
• Runes have been used as a divinatory device

LANGUAGE

• Old Norse
• North Germanic language spoken by vikings
• The Proto-Norse language developed into Old Norse by the 8th century
• Old Norse was divided into three dialects
• Old East Norse, Old West Norse, and Old Gutnish

NORMS

• generally non-literate culture
• three socio-economic classes
• Thralls, Karls and Jarls

NORMS

• Thralls
• lowest ranking; slaves
• slavery was a very important part of society
• servants and workers on farms

NORMS

• Karls
• free pesants
• owned farms, land and cattle and engaged in daily chores
• employed thralls to make ends meet
• Other names for Karls were 'bonde' or simply free men

NORMS

• Jarls
• the aristocracy of the Viking society
• They were wealthy and owned large estates
• The thralls or servants took care of most of the daily chores
• when Jarls died, their thralls would be killed sacrificially

VALUES

• vikings were pagans
• they didn't mind the spread of Christianity
• Christian churches were both wealthy and poorly defended
• they were easy targets for plunder
• vikings even sometimes adopted Christianity

VALUES

• Vikings=pirates?
• Vikings sailed around Scandinavia robbing people
• They were culturally okay with the idea of stealing
• it was part of their society

REFRENCES

• wikipedia.com
• Hurstwic.org
• Manaraefan.co.uk
• History.com