![]() Elsewhere, the nonmilitary colonization of the Orkney Islands, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland was clearly accomplished by the Norwegians. The exact ethnic composition of the Viking armies is unknown in particular cases, but the Vikings’ expansion in the Baltic lands and in Russia can reasonably be attributed to the Swedes. Learn about the barbaric lifestyle and savvy trading practices of the Vikings See all videos for this article Their burning, plundering, and killing earned them the name víkingr, meaning “pirate” in the early Scandinavian languages. ![]() These bands would negotiate the seas in their longships and mount hit-and-run raids at cities and towns along the coasts of Europe. During the Viking period the Scandinavian countries seem to have possessed a practically inexhaustible surplus of manpower, and leaders of ability, who could organize groups of warriors into conquering bands and armies, were seldom lacking. At home these Scandinavians were independent farmers, but at sea they were raiders and pillagers. The Vikings were made up of landowning chieftains and clan heads, their retainers, freemen, and any energetic young clan members who sought adventure and booty overseas. These pagan Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish warriors were probably prompted to undertake their raids by a combination of factors ranging from overpopulation at home to the relative helplessness of victims abroad. Viking, also called Norseman or Northman, member of the Scandinavian seafaring warriors who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the 9th to the 11th century and whose disruptive influence profoundly affected European history.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |