Vikings facts for kids
The Vikings were a group of people from Scandinavia (Northern Europe). They were famous as great sailors and warriors. From the 700s to the 1000s, they traveled across Europe in their special long ships. They attacked and then settled in places that are now Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.
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Who Were the Vikings?
The people from the far north, who we now call Vikings, were first noticed by the Romans around 100 BC. This was when tribes like the Cimbri and Teutons moved into southern Gaul (modern-day France). The Romans thought these war-like tribes came from Jutland (a part of Denmark). But the Romans also suspected there was a bigger threat further north. Even after the Western Roman Empire fell, this northern group remained strong.
The Frankish Empire, which took over in Gaul, became more and more aware of the northern people. As the Carolingian Empire grew into northern Germany, they met the Danish people. This is when the Vikings first appeared in written history. The first recorded Viking raid in the west happened at Lindisfarne in 793.
It's not fully clear why the Vikings suddenly started raiding. One popular idea is that their population grew too large, and there wasn't enough food for everyone. The first raiders didn't seem to want to leave Scandinavia permanently. They would loot places and then go back home. These quick attacks were possible because Vikings were amazing boat builders. They made flat-bottomed boats that were perfect for sailing up rivers, where many rich monasteries were located, ready to be plundered.
Different Viking Groups
There were three main groups of Vikings. They took different paths, though sometimes their routes overlapped:
- Danes raided England, Gaul (France), and followed the Atlantic coast of Europe south into the Mediterranean all the way to Italy.
- Swedes went east into the Baltic Sea. They followed the Volga and Dnieper Rivers south to the Black Sea. One group, called the Rus', started a settlement called Kiev. They named it Russland, which later became Russia.
- Norwegians raided England but preferred Ireland and Scotland. They also traveled to Greenland and, around the year 1000 AD, landed in a place they called Vinland (North America).
Vikings in Europe
Europeans were very scared of the Vikings. This was because of their strong weapons, fast attacks, and harsh fighting methods. They were known for treating women, children, and monks badly in the places they attacked. When Vikings came to England, the English kings sometimes paid them to leave. These payments were called Danegeld. But the Vikings often took the money and still fought. From the 9th century until 1066, Danish and Norwegian Vikings ruled large parts of England. This ended when the French Duke of Normandy, who became King William I of England, conquered the country.
Viking longships could float in water as shallow as 4 feet (1.3 meters). This meant they could sail far up rivers and land deep inside a country. For example, they sailed up the River Shannon in Ireland and built a harbor 60 miles (100 km) from the coast.
The leaders of Viking raids changed over time. In the 800s, raids were often led by men who might have been exiles from their own lands. Later Viking raids, in the late 900s and early 1000s, were led by Kings. Some early leaders tried to become kings with the riches they stole from Europe and Russia. Some succeeded, but most did not.
In Russia and the Mediterranean
The people living east of the Baltic Sea called the Vikings "Rus'". The Vikings who settled in Kiev created the first Russian state. Vikings who served the Byzantine Emperors were called Varangians. They became the Emperor's personal bodyguards, known as the Varangian Guard.
Viking Exploration
The Vikings traveled through Russia, the Mediterranean Sea, southern Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern Asia. Some Vikings sailed across the Atlantic Ocean by way of Iceland and Greenland. They may have explored parts of North America. The remains of a Viking settlement have been found at L'Anse-aux-Meadows, Newfoundland.
Archaeologists used radiocarbon dating to figure out how old the settlement was. Their tests showed dates ranging from about AD 700 to about AD 1000.
Viking Language
Many English words and place names came from the Scandinavian and Viking language, also called Norse. For example, the words skirt and shirt both came from the word skyrta, which meant a tunic. Over time, as English changed, these words took on their separate meanings. The word skin came from the Norse word skinn. Some place names in areas the Vikings conquered are still used today.
Viking Religion
The Anglo-Saxons called the Vikings pagans. The Vikings worshiped many gods. Viking gods belonged to two main groups in Norse mythology: the Aesir or the Vanir. The Aesir were gods of war and rulers of Asgard. Odin was their leader. The Vanir were wise gods skilled in magic. They lived in Vanaheim. The Vanir could also predict the future.
There was a war between the Aesir and the Vanir. When it ended, the god Njord and his children Freya and Freyr came to live in Asgard.
The pagan Vikings met Christianity from the start of the Viking Age. They were surrounded by Christian countries. Early Christian missionaries were sometimes made into slaves or killed. When Vikings raided, they often brought Christian slaves back to Scandinavia. They called Christians "Cross-men" because of the cross in their worship. In response, many Vikings started using Thor's hammer as their religious symbol.
When Vikings settled in Christian areas, they often converted to Christianity. There are still Headstones in England with both a cross and a hammer. Perhaps they thought it was better to be safe, or that more gods were better. As some Vikings changed from raiding to trading, they found that pretending to be Christian was helpful.
Scandinavia, their homeland, was slower to become Christian. But by the mid-11th century, most of Norway and Denmark had converted. Sweden became Christian by the mid-12th century. Overall, Scandinavia and the people of the Baltic Sea were the last in Europe to accept Christianity.
The Viking religion also influenced Christianity. The pagan celebration of Yuletide became Christmas, along with the custom of the Christmas tree. Priests blessing fields took the place of pagan fertility rites of spring meant to ensure a good harvest. Some Norse people kept their "farm gods" even after becoming Christian, just to be safe.
Santa Claus owes much of his story to the Norse god Odin. With his snow-white beard, Odin traveled the mid-winter sky on his eight-footed steed Sleipnir, visiting his people with gifts. He became Father Christmas. When combined with the Christian Saint Nicholas, they became Santa Claus.
Vikings in Stories and Plays
In the late 1800s, Richard Wagner and other artists in the Romantic period created operas and artwork about old Germanic culture. They liked the Vikings because they were different from Greeks or Romans. They came up with the idea of Vikings wearing fur clothes and helmets with wings or horns. They also imagined them drinking from hollowed-out animal horns. Some ancient Germans did wear helmets with horns, but real Vikings did not. Wagner and his partners dressed actors in the opera Ring des Nibelungen to look like ancient Germans. This was to make the audience feel that modern Germans came from medieval Vikings.
Related Pages
Images for kids
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Norwegian fjord
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Europe in 814. Roslagen is located along the coast of the northern tip of the pink area marked "Swedes and Goths".
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Travels of the Vikings
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Blar a' Bhuailte, site of the Vikings' last stand in Skye
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One of the few surviving manuscript leaves from the Heimskringla Sagas, written by Snorri Sturluson around 1260. The leaf tells of King Ólafur.
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A reconstructed Viking house in Iceland.
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A reconstructed Viking Age long house, at Fyrkat, Denmark.
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A large reconstructed chieftains longhouse at Lofotr Viking Museum, Norway.
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Reconstructed town houses from Haithabu (now in Germany).
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Typical jewelry worn by women of the Karls and Jarls. Ornamented silver brooches, coloured glass-beads and amulets.
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Everyday life in the Viking Age
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Rook, Lewis chessmen, at the British Museum in London
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The scales and weights of a Viking trader. Used for measuring silver and sometimes gold. From the Sigtuna box.
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Cities and monasteries ransacked by Vikings
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A modern reenactment of a Viking battle
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Viking long ships besieging Paris in 845, 19th century portrayal
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Tim Kirk's cover painting for Robert E. Howard's Tigers of the Sea fits precisely the popular, instantly recognizable image of a Viking ship
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Magnus Barelegs Viking Festival
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Viking helmets
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See also
In Spanish: Vikingo para niños
