Returning to Blogger
My inner nerd decided to make a reappearance recently. I have been doing a lot more research and I have been stalking up on a whole lot of more information on these amazing Scandinavians! I have also been very bored and felt like something was missing from my life. Of course, I try to find tings to do but nothing quite quenches my thirst for knowledge like history does. Enjoy this little ramble on Vikings Superiors!
Viking Kings
Like many other ancient societies, the Vikings had social classes. The highest social class they had were Kings or Earls. This social class was more regional than national. Iceland was the only country that didn't have Kings or Earls: though, the other Norse countries did.They had rule over the Norse country until towards the end of the Viking era, other Kings from larger countries came to power. These Kings were not view as sacred or special, just exceptional men who had the ability to lead and fight. This title of course was nothing like the Royal family of England. This title could be inherited or traded if the successor had more support. The show Vikings, on the History channel, depicts the Earls to be ruthless and power hungry until Ragnar requests to fight the Earl. Ragnar would be considered a Karl. A Karl is a middle classed freeman who owned land and farmed. Above that were the Jarls. They often were rich men who lived in halls and had refined tastes. a Karl could become a jarl if they became famous within their settlement and or became rich. In other cases one would not be able to change their social class by any means. At the very bottom were the þræll, these people include slaves and bondsmen. The slaves were usually from a recent raid and the bonds men could have many reasons to be at the bottom. One reason being they committed a crime and had to work for someone above them until their punishment was lifted.
There of course are many subclasses but these are just the main ones. I hope you found this informational!
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| King Harald Bluetooth Statue |
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