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Vikings were not savage barbarians bent on destruction, but rather a very civilized people who had a very structured and organized military. They were civilized people in the middle ages that engaged in trade, exploration, and colonization. They founded many cities on three different continents, several of which are still occupied. The Vikings were very civilized and had a very unique way of life.
They were travelers and settlers, traders and conquerors. Over the span of about 400 years, the Vikings explored and discovered many places. Among these places are Greenland, Iceland and even North America. Several of their original settlements still remain. These include Dublin, Ireland; York, England; Iceland; and Kiev, which became the basis for the Russian empire.
They were master shipbuilders and built ships superior to any other ships of that day. Their high quality ships were a major factor in their extensive exploration and helped them with their raids and conquering. The Vikings traded with many countries, some as far away from Scandinavia as the Middle East. Vikings first appeared in England as raiders in the 790 s pillaging small churches and monasteries.
A few years past and raids became more frequent. Farms and small villages were also being pillaged and by 926, just over a hundred years later, the Vikings were receiving regular tribute from western France and much of England. Vikings would kill regardless of age and sex and only rarely did anyone survive their raids. If there were a survivor, they would be taken back with the raiders and sold as slaves. They developed a systematic and orderly way of organizing their raids.
They would start at the mouth of a river on the ocean and raid villages and monasteries just a few miles from the coast. Then they would work their way up the river and systematically pillage every town within about twenty miles from the river. This goes to show that raids were not random. They were systematically planned out and executed with precision.
The Vikings soul reason for raiding and pillaging was for personal acquisition of wealth. Late in the eighth century land became scarce because of a mini ice age. Weather became bad, which killed crops, and the little farmland that they had become frozen. There was also massive overpopulation and the little food that was produced and imported was barely enough to support the growing population of the Norsemen. That was all a major factor in exploration, settling, and pillaging. The Vikings were very inventive and resourceful on the battlefield.
They would use nature to their advantage like hiding in trees or trying to take the high ground. When in defensive positions the Vikings made shield walls similar to the Roman tortoise by lining up in a straight line and put their shields up touching end to end. The front line would be the shield bearers which all had swords or axes. Behind them were the auxiliary troops or skirmishers which all had spears or bows and arrows. The skirmishers would shoot or throw their weapons at an oncoming enemy to soften up their lines and bring down their morale while being protected from projectiles by the front line. Once the enemy got close enough, the front line would charge at the oncoming enemy and fight hand-to-hand.
Vikings used intimidation as a major factor in winning their battles. They would go berserk in battle. An insane enemy is often a very hard opponent to defeat or even protect yourself against. All battles were fought on foot.
Horses were very rare to be seen in combat, and even if horses were used, it would have been by a king or someone else with very high social standing. Especially in times where people were very superstitious, a crazed warrior was a sign of the devil and was probably possessed by demons. All men were required to join the military when they came of age. Their military was very organized. The Vikings were very strategic in devising their attacks, counter-attacks, and defenses. The Vikings favorite weapons were the axe and sword, but spears, bows and arrows, and knives were also commonly used.
Swords were made by welding strips of metal together and then hammered and tempered into the shape and strength desired. They were not forged with fire like most other swords of the day. There was an abundance of high carbon iron in the mountains of Norway, which helped in the Vikings superior weapons. A common myth about Vikings is that they wore horned helmets. A horned helmet has yet to be found by archaeologists, so as far as anyone knows, Vikings never wore horned helmets of any type. 316
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