Essay about History of Vikings

Submitted By gare_bear
Words: 755
Pages: 4
Open Document
The term Norse usually refers to the Scandinavian people that lived during the period from the late 8th century to the 11th century. They are better known as the Vikings. Most people think of the Vikings as brutal savages, but they were highly skilled craftsmen and woodworkers. In fact, Vikings are to thank for the political system we have today. The Vikings were the most advanced civilization of medieval Europe, because they practiced a form of democracy, they had three social classes in which a person could move from one class to another, and they relied heavily on livestock and trading with other countries. The Viking’s political system was complicated, but has an important role in the political system of present day America. Though the Vikings spent most of their time exploring and venturing out into the sea, they did have a political system in their homeland. Their government was a basic form of democracy, and is believed to be the primeval form of today’s modern jury system. Although they practiced democracy, they did not consider all men equals. Even though slaves were not considered equal, they did have some rights. In each district, free men would meet regularly in a gathering called a “thing”. Technically, all men, excluding slaves, had an equal voice in the affairs of politics, debates over land, and criminal trials. Simple cases would only require the people present to judge, but for the more important cases, only twelve men would judge the case. However, the wealthier and more powerful people were able to sway others and tended to have more influence than those lacking wealth and power. The Vikings did have a King, but they considered themselves equal to their King, and in some cases the decision made by the people could overrule the King’s will unless the King’s decision seemed to be the more reasonable option. Not only did the Vikings provide a basis for modern democracy, but they even gave their women rights that most women in Europe were unable to delight in due to the belief of society during The Middle Ages.
The Viking society had three classes: slaves, freedmen, and nobles. At the top of the social ladder was the King. The king collected taxes and worked to protect those under his rule. Below the King was a landowning group known as the jarls that would lease their land. Beneath the jarls was the bulk of the culture, better known as the freedmen that were able to voice their opinions in politics. At the very bottom of the social ladder were the slaves. Slaves were able to move up in social ranking by purchasing their freedom, being bought free by a third party, or being freed from their owner as a gift. Once a slave has been freed, they have the same rights and duties as every other free person. Although the women of the Viking culture had lots of freedoms and rights in comparison to other European women at the time, they
Show More

Related Documents: Essay about History of Vikings

Erik The Red Vikings

the Middle ages, Vikings were known as explorers and they would discover new lands. When they would discover a new land, the Vikings would settle there and explore their new land. Some of the lands discovered were by some famous Vikings, one being Erik the red. Not only, did he discover new lands, there were many others that came upon new places. Though, in order to discover, the Vikings would use their well built ships. The ships were outstanding in the way made by the Vikings. On the other hand…

Words 993 - Pages 4

Vikings Achievements

Vikings- Written report Important aspects of daily life as a viking. Vikings were warriors of their time, raiding and colonizing wide areas of Europe during the 9th until the 11th centuries. A lot of vikings were farmers rather than just being warriors. Refer to photo 2 below. They all lived in timber homes, in areas where there is a very low supply of wood they lived in houses made from straw and stone.Refer to the first photo below. Vikings were from scandinavia, places such as denmark, iceland…

Words 661 - Pages 3

Cordero Viking Essay

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Viking Questions Who were the Vikings? Vikings were warriors. They were scandinavian sea­borne nordic­speaking raiders, who raided and traded throughout northern europe and north atlantic. When did the Vikings live? The Viking Age lasted from 750 to 1050 A.D. Where did the Vikings live and travel; where were their long­term colonies? How did they use environmental knowledge in their technological adaptations (ie­ longship) The vikings mainly traveled by boat and lived on the boat or in towns they…

Words 384 - Pages 2

Age Of Vikings

I chose to read the article “The Age of the Vikings” and I was pleased with my decision on this particular reading because I learned a great deal of information on Vikings I never knew. Before reviewing the article my aspect on Vikings was what little knowledge I had gained in school and from different movies I have seen over the years. My understanding on Vikings had me predicting they were only fierce warriors, but after reading the article I further grasped my awareness that there was much more…

Words 710 - Pages 3

Essay on Who Really Discovered America

History Paper Who discovered America? By: Deanne Mastrocola Why is it that American culture today attributes its geographic discovery to a man named Christopher Columbus? Could it be that he was the first European to claim this land as part of an Imperialistic expansion or is it merely out of convenience for the history books? It is known that the American continent was populated by 1000 AD which is long before settlements by Viking fisherman and even longer before the arrival of Columbus…

Words 1253 - Pages 6

Essay on The Viking People Were Not Barbaric Savages

system, and the harshness of their native language, the Vikings were referred to as savages. However, this term does not accurately describe the Viking people (also referred to as Norsemen, meaning men from the north,). The Viking culture was one that was deeply entwined with their religious beliefs, had a definitive system of laws, and had technological advantages over many civilizations of the time. The term savage has been used throughout history to describe people of specific cultures, more recently…

Words 2773 - Pages 12

The Vikings Research Paper

The Vikings The Vikings were fierce strong warriors and traders of the north that came from Scandinavia. The name Vikings had a meaning in the Old Norse language, which meant pirate. They were also a different group of warriors though, as they traveled across sea, and were a mixed race of individuals with no common ancestry history. What set the Vikings apart from the common Europeans was that they were not Christian, they came from the foreign portion of Europe, and they were not known to society…

Words 1367 - Pages 6

The Acceptance Of The Vikings In Today's Society

The Vikings were conquerors. They were thought to be savage and unfeeling, but they had close families and communities and afforded their women the most basic rights that were often denied to women in other civilizations. Vikings have been a popular subject for hundreds of years. People are intrigued with the idea of a horned helmet wearing, savage, sea traveling race that did nothing but eat turkey legs, pillage, and drink mead. It has been thought for a long time that the women of the race…

Words 1619 - Pages 7

Vikings Cultural Traditions

Viking Culture The Vikings’ culture had many traditions that formed to create a collective identity that, in turn, served to shape individual identities. Some cultural influences came from the roles of family members, religion, ceremonies, language and different animal symbols. There was also beautiful craftsmanship that was able to survive centuries for the modern world to see. Though the Vikings culture evolved with every time they plundered a new country, they kept many old traditions. The transition…

Words 1308 - Pages 6

Bible: Viking and Lindow P. Essay

Vikings: How Religion Propelled Warring and Expansion David Whitley Thomas University of Memphis, Sociology of Religion 3860 December 2, 2014 Vikings would be the better term for the North Germanic Tribes, who were some of the most defiant, unpredictable, misunderstood and proud people to rome the medieval landscape. Their influential touch was spread from North America all the way to Black Sea. They terrorized and shaped the medieval Europe throughout most of the third century BCE…

Words 2510 - Pages 11