Interesting Facts About Vikings and the Viking Age

Vikings were feared all throughout Europe during the Viking Age. From the 8th century till the 10th, Vikings would explore Europe, raiding and claiming lands. Their kingdom would expand from Greenland to modern Scandinavia, as well as Europe and the United Kingdom. For interesting facts about Vikings, just carry on reading:

• Almost all of the information we currently have about Vikings and their culture is written by their enemies.
• One of the reasons Vikings began to raid, was because there was a baby boom right before the Viking Age. Since many men were landless, they resorted to raiding to make a name for themselves and earn a place in Valhalla
• Vikings were pagan and followed the Norse Gods: Odin, Thor, and Tyr.
• In fact, the days of the week are named after Nose Gods
• Odin or Woden= Wednesday
• Tyr = Tuesday
• Thor = Thursday
• Frigg (Frigga) = Friday
• The Viking age came to an end when Vikings stopped raiding after the Norwegian King Haraldr was killed during battle when trying to reclaim a part of England.
• Vikings didn’t identify themselves as Vikings but as Norse men. The term Viking was brought up in the 19th century.
• Vikings were very keen on hygiene. They would wash at least once a week and it’s been discovered in excavation sites that they had grooming tools like combs, handcrafted ear cleaners, razors, and tweezers.
• Norse men believed that brave warriors would go to Valhalla, their equivalent of Heaven. Their funerals were designed around ensuring that their brave warriors would reach the heavenly kingdom and were allowed to enter. So they would be buried in ships that would serve as their transport vessels, in that ship they would have weapons and valuable goods to pay for safe passage. In the end, the ship would be burned and sent into the water.

Viking culture has become very popular nowadays, there’s even an acclaimed TV show called Vikings. Their stories of adventure, famed brutality yet understanding of basic human rights will continue to fascinate people for centuries to come. If you wish to read more about adventure, head to our online library www.loadity.com.