The Vikings: Adventurers, Raiders, And Settlers

The Vikings

Adventurers, Raiders, and Settlers Come and take a journey back into time where worlds collide, armies rise, and kingdoms fall. Perhaps the biggest clash of worlds has to be the Viking world versus eighth century Europe. The term Viking often has a negative connotation associated with it. This is because the Vikings were viewed as bloodthirsty savages that went around and destroyed everything in their way. But, Viking life was not just about raiding and killing, they also had efficient ways of governing and devising war strategies, which allowed them to become skillful at warfare, this skill allowed them to conquer a large portion of England and other places in Europe, once they conquered an area the Vikings would settle in

They were originally trapped between seas, fjords, rivers, and lakes. So they were forced to become seafaring people. They became skilled at building boats and ships, turning their barriers into highways. “Boats and ships became central to society” (Williams 34). This was because they were the only way in and the only way out of the Viking world. The merchants, traders and warriors relied on the farmers for the produce and food to survive on the open seas. “A Viking farmstead raised crops of oats, barley, rye and cabbage to supplement the haul from the sea, and it raised flocks of geese and herds of cattle, goats, sheep and pigs to provide both food and raw materials” (Wernick 21). These goods would provide the merchants, traders and warriors with food, tools and clothing. The Vikings also had a rather sophisticated legal system for such a barbaric land in the 8th

Just like in modern day court, he could plead either guilty or innocent. He also had to plead his case by having witnesses who could vouch for his honesty and character. This is because “honor and daring, valor, strength and agility” (Wernick 27) were valued by the Vikings. At the request of the accused or commanded by the judges, he could under-go trial by ordeal. Trial by ordeal always began on a Wednesday when the judges would order the accused to hold hot stones or metal for a few moments. Then the wounds were bandaged and the court would adjourn until Saturday. On that day, they would remove the bandages and the wounds would be examined. Robert Wernick in his book The Vikings describes how the judges looked at the