Who Were the Vikings?

  The term Viking is a general name to describe the people of Scandinavia from the ninth to eleventh centuries. As if, we called the French or the Spanish Pirates. A name for profession. The Scandinavians were people made up of farmers, explorers -hunters-, fishermen, and merchants. Vikings were mainly men. As seamen and warriors, they chose this way of life to prove themselves men. They mainly raided neighboring kingdoms and churches nearby.
  Vikings were masters of the sea. They traveled on Dragon boats. The name of these boats is fairly self explanatory. Though, as their raids became more and more frequent they became greedy people. The raids soon turned into a tradition and they had many boys and men lining up to join the raids. When they would go on raids they often searched and took livestock, coins, weapons, thralls, treasures, spices, works of art and raw materials. Though, they didn't actually want these things that they stole. They felt obligated with their power to take these things, anyway.

Viking Dragon Boat

  As many associate with them, their horned helmets weren't actually apart of their "armor"! They saw it as extra weight to what they were already carrying. Their clothing was mainly hand made and woven by the women of their settlements. Men typically wore tunics that were tight fitting at the chest but had a broad skirt. They also wore either tight or loose trousers depending on the occasion and season. In addition to the tunic and trousers they wore a cloak to keep warm. The outer layer of a man's tunic was called a kyrtill, often made of wool and made with complicated patterns. The style of tunics and under tunics were limited, trousers however, varied very much, from fabric to stitching. Some were tight, others baggy. Some had built in socks, others had heel straps. All in all, Vikings trousers had no fly and no pockets. Meaning both men and women had to find other ways to carry their belonging with them. Many Vikings wore puttee leg wraps to gather excess fabric by the ankles.

  Women typically wore clothing made with the same fabric as men but the clothing was ankle length. The neck was closed by a brooch. Over that dress she would wear a shorter woolen dress suspended by straps and intricate metallic brooches, this type of overdress was called a hangerock. Though, these also varied in size and shape.

Description above

Beads made of glass or ember were often strung in between the brooches. Women also carried everyday items with them suspended from their belts, brooches, or pouches. These everyday items consisted of keys, scissors, needles, a knife, whetstone and much more depending on the woman. Some women wore shawls, cloaks and coat-like covers. Shawls and cloaks were much more common and often fastened with a tri-lobed brooch.

Tri-lobed brooch

Of course the Vikings had much more to who they were including language, cuisine, weaponry and traditions. Next week, I will explore the Viking cuisine. This week was as informative as any other! Please leave your thoughts in the comments and I hope you read my next update on "Viking Cuisine"!