The Vikings

The Vikings

The Viking Age lasted traditionally from the late eighth century to the eleventh century. The Vikings came mostly from Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
 
They were involved in trade and they established new settlements in many different places: Island, Greenland, Faroe Islands to name a few. Famous cities like Dublin, Cork and Limerick in Ireland, were founded by the Vikings.

The Vikings are more often remembered for their violent raids, which caused extreme horror in many places throughout Europe.

The first Viking raid that has been recorded in Britain was at Lindisfarne on June 8, 793 A.D. Lindisfarne is an island off the coast of north-east England. England had by that time been introduced to Christianity. The monastery on the island was a center for evangelizing in north England.

The Vikings slaughtered many; they drowned others in the ocean and took some with them as slaves. The Norse pagans stole most of the treasures in the church. This extremely violent raid was a shock. The Christians in England were appalled.

Sadly this was just the first of many vicious raids.

Most of  the raiding Vikings had no scruples what so ever. This can be somewhat explained by their belief and worship of the Aesir, the gods of Asgard. The Vikings believed they had no say as to how long they would live. The three Norns who resided under Yggdrasil had the power to decide the life span of every living being. They spun the thread of life. The Norns decided on what day every human would die.

The Vikings also believed that the courageous men who died during a battle would spend their afterlife with Odin or Freyja. The Valkyries would come and fetch brave warriors who died in battle and bring them to Asgard. The goddess Freyja received half of all the dead warriors and the chief god Odin received the other half.

There was no paradise for those who tried to live in harmony or the “do-gooders”. Anyone who did not die in battle was sent to live with Hel. She ruled the world of the dead. Her territory was a depressing and gloomy place.

There was yet another place the Norsemen could end up spending their afterlife. This place was reserved only for those who drowned at sea.

The ocean god was named Aegir. He was married to Ran. Ran had a net and with that net she would catch anyone who drowned. They would spend their afterlife with Ran and Aegir at the bottom of the ocean. Ran loved gold. Everyone who brought gold with them would be secured good treatment in their afterlife should they drown at sea.
 

Vikings who brought back riches from their travels received a high social status in their living life. It seems it may have been a win-win situation for Vikings going on bloody and cruel raids.

If they died during the fights, they most probably would avoid spending their afterlife with Hel. Instead they would enjoy an afterlife with either Odin or Freyja. If they survived and managed to bring home treasures they would be rewarded an admired by their fellow Norsemen while constantly climbing the social latter.

 
It must be told that not all Norsemen were fierce warriors. There were those who traveled with the only intent of trading merchandise. Some of these tradesmen settled in new counties peacefully and intermarried with the locals.



Others were adventures who established new settlements in unpopulated places. When Harald I (also known as Harald Finehair) became king of Norway in 872 A.D. many fled to Island to escape the new harsh laws imposed by the king.