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
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
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
The religion of Norse Gods originated in ninth century AD from the Northern Germanic tribes. The Norse God religion comprises the pre-Christian beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people. The Scandinavian people wrote most of the Norse Mythology in Iceland, this so called Norse Mythology is a set of religious stories viking told to each other. The religion never really had a name, people just knew it as a tradition.The religion of Norse Gods is a very different view of the world than that of…
Words 657 - Pages 3
Religion has played a crucial role in society and to people, in their search for meaning, especially the perplexing questions in life. This emphasis on Religion was particularly predominant in ancient societies such as the Vikings and Aztecs. In these societies, religion was their way of life. Not only did religion answer the perplexing question in life such as how humanity came to be, how to live good and what is after death, it also gave societies a way appease their gods. Hence, giving them a…
Words 947 - Pages 4
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
and its islands (i.e. England, Scotland). Due to their reputation for brutality, non-monotheistic belief 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…
Words 2773 - Pages 12
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
One reason for the Scandinavian to go “a-Viking” was that they believe most people were not going to have life after death, because of this all someone had after they died was their reputation and "good name" so they were expected to fight with bravery and courage. “The greatest test of a man was to fight to the bitter end, even in the face of certain defeat and death.” (Viking Raids) They also believe that one's death was set in stone and nothing can be done to change that fact, so there was no…
Words 284 - Pages 2
The Vikings lived in a vast land, where the weather was their ruler, and ultimate deciding factor in a grand amount of decisions the Vikings had to make, and the most important factor, at least to some, was how they governed their society. People in Scandinavia had to live near water for survival, since the climate was extreme there was very little game, therefore Vikings heavily depended on fishing for food. They were also scarcely spread out throughout Scandinavia because, besides the fact that…
Words 966 - Pages 4