The Bedinning of Vikings Age

Between A.D. 800 and 1100, the people that lived in northern Europe were known as Danes, Northmen, or Norsemen. Later they became known as Vikings, a name derived from a Norse word for pirate. They were famous and feared pirates and raider. The Vikings were known to be remarkable traders, explorers and warriors. The Vikings were most known for their fighting ability but they were also excellent at trading goods such as slaves and exploring many parts of the world.

They were also well known for their weapon choice but also people knew to be scared of them because they are such fierce warriors and if you are not expecting it can be extremely bad for you Vikings were great traders and were most popular for trading honey, tin, wheat, wool, various types of fur and hides, feathers, falcons, whalebone, walrus ivory, reindeer antler, and amber. The most important stuff to trade was slaves and furs. "They could either sell their slaves in Scandinavia or sail 1500 miles downriver to the markets of Byzantium" (Clare 44). A Rus parked his boat near the marketplace in a town. He kept all of his goods in a large warehouse he built.

He also kept his slaves inside this warehouse. The richest merchants in the Viking age were the slave traders as the slaves had a high trade value. If the trader was wealthy enough he could offer customers up to twelve slaves. a Viking named Hoskuld once paid three marks for a 15-year-old girl because she had a beautiful face. After the trade she informed him she was an Irish princess.

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Vikings were also known to be excellent explorers. They would explore and take over a lot of Britain and the European continent, and parts of todays Russia, Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland. "Nearly 500 years before the birth of Christopher Columbus" (trade in the Viking period, Natmus.dk) Viking sailors left Europe in search of a new land. Their high-powered boat traveled through the rough Atlantic Ocean with their single sail blowing in the wind. After traveling in unfamiliar, rough waters, the Vikings aboard the wooden ship seen new land, dropped their anchor and went to land. 500 years before Columbus claimed to be the first that discovered America, those Viking feet had been the first European explorers to have ever successfully sailed to North American land.

The Eriksson family had a business in exploration in which the father had started. Leif Eriksson, who was born in Iceland around A.D. 970, spent most of his young childhood in desolate Greenland. Around A.D. 1000, Eriksson decided to get a boat and sailed east to where his ancestors lived in Norway. The Vikings' all had different motivations for exploring new settlement and very few of them had the same motives. But few motives stood out as being generally applicable and very strong.

The desire for wealth through honour and the control of trade in newly-inhabited lands and the ability to make a name for oneself in places where the Vikings took over existing populations. The Vikings created something like a sun compass to help find their way. At night they used the stars to help them know what direction the were heading. During the day they found out that if they looked at the sun during sunset it meant they were heading west towards England. But if they head in the direction of the sun during sunrise it meant they were headed in the direction near their home.

The Viking warriors were known across of Europe, and with good reason, the Vikings were violent and vicious in battle and were scared of no man. "To come across the path of one, let alone many Viking warriors could easily spell trouble" (warriors and legends, Viking warriors). The sword, the spear and the axe were the choice of weapons the Vikings chose. The Vikings chose bladed weapons and had no fear in risking their own lives to win the war.

The counties in Scandinavia were separate and fully embracing of their mighty and powerful gods like Odin and Thor When the rest of Europe was in the grip of a Christian and catholic rebellion. The gods Odin and Thor were powerful and violent. The people that encountered their raids said the Viking warriors of the old Norse era were also violent and powerful. The Vikings were able to raid Europe with great speed and made everyone scared while they were there because the were masters of combat with the sword, the axe and the spear.

In conclusion the Vikings were great explorers, traders and warriors. The Vikings were well known for trading slaves and furs. Although they were also good traded other goods such as honey and tin. They were known for finding unique ways of travel such as using the sun for direction as to where they are going. They were great warriors because they used many different weapons and in general most people would be scared to see one group of Vikings let alone a full pack of them without being prepared.

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