The Vikings

Medieval History

Where did the Vikings come from?

Celts Romans Saxons Vikings Normans Tudors Victorians WW ll

500 BC AD 43 450 793 1066 1485 1837 1939

Viking Explorers

Toward the end of the 8th century CE, Viking seafarers from what we now call Norway (A), Denmark (B), and Sweden (C) embarked on a series of daring voyages for trade, colonization, and sometimes even plunder. Over the next 250 years, they planted settlements in Europe — from the British Isles (D) and France (E) to Italy (F) and Russia (G). Vikings from Norway, in particular, became the first Europeans, ever, to establish a passage across the Atlantic to North America. They did it in stages, setting up bases, as they went, in the Shetland Islands (H), Faroe Islands (I), Iceland (J), Greenland (K), and — for just a few years — in the place they called Vinland (L).

•Warrior gangs that attached themselves to courts as bodyguards and shock troopsberserker•The depth of water the longships needed to floatdraught•Inlet of the seafjord•A long poem that tells of a hero and his adventuressaga•The hall of the warriors in heavenValhalla•Warrior goddessesValkyrie

Key Terms

Viking BeliefsGods & GoddessesBeliefs and Stories

•the life force, lightning, strength, thunder & thunder storms

Thor

•fertility, prophecy, sex, sexuality (feminine), war, wealth & weather

Freya

•god of death, knowledge, poetry, rune magic, travel, war, warriors, & wisdom

Odin

Important Asar gods

•Odin (also called Woden) – chief of gods, god of battle who ruled Asgard, home of the gods. He is shown as a mysterious one-eyed god•Tyr – god of war•Balder – Odin’s son, god of youth, beauty and goodness•Loki – a troublemaker (Balder and Loki were not friends)

Important Vanir gods

•Mimir – wisest of the Asar, sent as a hostage to the Vanir but was killed•Niord – ruler of wind and god of seafaring•Frey – son of Niord, god of fertility who gave good crops and ensured the survival of the race•Freyja – the daughter who was always attended by cats

Religion and Rituals of the VikingsGods: The Vikings believed in many gods. They thought these gods helped

their crops to grow and helped them in battle. There were two families of gods:

•Tyr’s day•Named after Tyr, god of warTuesday•Woden’s Day•Named after Woden (Odin), chief of godsWednesday

•Thor’s day•Named after Thor, god of thunderThursday•Frey’s day•Named after Frey, god of fertilityFriday

Who are these days of the week named after?

The Vikings made sacrifices to the gods, especially during the three main festivals:

Festivals

Vertarblot• Mid-October,

when sacrifices were made to ensure a good Winter

Jolablot or Midsvetrarblot• Mid-January when

sacrifices were made to ensure good crops

• Sacrifices were always made to Frey

Sigrblot• In April when

sacrifices were made for victories at war

At these festivals people ate horsemeat and drank bowls of wine. Sometimes animals given to the gods were not killed, but were dedicated to the god and the owner could still use the animal.

•Constantinople (Istanbul), Russia, Greenland, Baltic area•Traded in silk, spices, slaves, amber, weapons, glass•Founded trading cities in Scandinavia, Ireland and England (York)•Trade was peaceful

Trade

•France, England and elsewhere•Landed, raided, destroyed and looted along the coastlines

Raids

•Established settlements in Iceland and Greenland•Discovered North America (Vinland)•Established some peaceful settlements or colonies in England, France and Finland.

Colonisation

Viking Contact with other Peoples