The Scandinavian Vikings were a group of people who lived on the Scandinavian Peninsula which encompasses modern day Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. The Vikings were known for their strength and brutality in combat, and they were feared by civilizations and kingdoms all across Europe. These strangers from the north were often looked upon as savages and were thought of as the embodiment of Dark Age barbarism. While it may be true that the Norsemen were quite brutal in combat; it would be a mistake to think of them as mindless animals who commit to nothing but destruction (Stock Page1). Despite the belief that the Vikings were a savage and brutal people, most Vikings were simple farmers. They kept cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, horses, and they grew crops such as barley, oats, and rye. They often lived in wooden homes with thatched roofs, however, where wood was not as common, they would build their homes out of turf and stone instead. Viking houses and buildings were usually long and rectangular, and, although they did not have chimneys, they were built with holes to release the smoke from indoor fires. Rooms were often gloomy since there were no windows and the only light would have come from the fire, oil lamps, and candles (Parker page 1-2).
The people of this time often busied themselves by doing things such as cooking,
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This meant that the use of ships was the the most efficient, and was sometimes the only way for settlements to interact with each other. The use of ships for fishing, transport, and warfare was so deeply ingrained into Norse culture that the Vikings became unparalleled by all European people in the art of shipbuilding. Their natural comfort on the seas was what allowed the Vikings to strike fear into the hearts of European settlements. (Stock