No matter the reason, the population of the Vikings moved and grew as they raided, explored, and eventually colonized new areas. Wherever they settled, the Vikings used the same settlement and farming methods as they did in their home countries. There is a good example of this at Kvivik, on the Island of Streymoy.
Full Answer
Where did the Vikings settle in North America?
The best known Viking settlement in North America is L’Anse aux Meadows in present-day Newfoundland, or what the Vikings called Vinland. The Vikings established at least two settlements in southern Greenland: the Eastern Settlement and the Western Settlement.
What was the settlement pattern of the Vikings?
The Vikings who established homes in the lands they conquered during the 9th-11th centuries AD used a settlement pattern that was based primarily on their own Scandinavian cultural heritage. That pattern, contrary to the image of the Viking raider, was to live on isolated, regularly spaced farmsteads surrounded by grain fields.
What happened to the Vikings in Greenland?
The Vikings, a group of seafaring Norse people from mainly Denmark, Sweden and Norway in Scandinavia, established settlements in Greenland in the late 10th century (map below). These settlements were occupied for about 500 years before disappearing somewhat mysteriously in the middle of the 15th century.
What happened to the Vikings in the 10th century?
Viking decline in Scandinavian Islands Vikings conquered and spread their way of life to many of the islands around Northern Europe in the 9th and 10th centuries. These islands included those around present-day England and Scotland and all the way West to Greenland.
What happened to the Viking colonies?
Nothing happened to them. After the Viking age, the Northmen continued living their lives in the Scandinavian countries, and in the settlements created during the Viking age, such as Iceland and Greenland. The end of the Vikings occurred when the Northmen stopped raiding.
What settlements did the Vikings have?
They settled in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Iceland, Greenland, North America, and parts of the European mainland, among other places.
Where did the Vikings build their settlements?
The Vikings who invaded western and eastern Europe were mainly pagans from the same area as present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. They also settled in the Faroe Islands, Ireland, Iceland, peripheral Scotland (Caithness, the Hebrides and the Northern Isles), Greenland, and Canada.
What did Viking settlements look like?
They lived in long rectangular houses made with upright timbers (wood). The walls were made of wattle (woven sticks, covered with mud to keep out the wind and rain). Viking houses were often one room homes with a cooking fire in the middle. The smoke escaped through a hole in the roof.
Where was the largest Viking settlement?
Hedeby was the second largest Nordic town during the Viking Age, after Uppåkra in present-day southern Sweden, The city of Schleswig was later founded on the other side of the Schlei. Hedeby was abandoned after its destruction in 1066....Timeline.based on Elsner1066Traditional end of the Viking Age14 more rows
Why did the Vikings disappear?
While there is still some mystery about exactly what happened to the last Vikings in Greenland, the basic causes of their disappearance are clear: their stubborn effort to subsist by a pastoral economy, environmental damage that they inflicted, climate change, the withering of their trade and social links with Europe, ...
What ended the Viking Age?
793 AD – 1066Viking Age / Period
Who wiped the Vikings?
His son, Cnut the Great, held the throne until he died in 1035. The Viking presence in England was finally ended in 1066 when an English army under King Harold defeated the last great Viking king, Harald Hardrada of Norway, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, near York.
Why were the Vikings so successful?
Experts in the element of surprise One of the reasons for this was the Vikings' superior mobility. Their longships – with a characteristic shallow-draft hull – made it possible to cross the North Sea and to navigate Europe's many rivers and appear out of nowhere, or bypass hostile land forces.
Is there any Vikings left?
Today, the inhabitants of Greenland and Iceland are the descendants of the Vikings who initially settled the islands, which were unpopulated at the time. Today, the area of France known as Normandy is named for the Norse men – the Vikings – who invaded and eventually settled down there.
What did the Viking grow?
Typical crops included grains such as barley (a staple crop throughout the Norse lands), rye, and oats. In the most southerly regions, wheat could be grown, a luxury crop. Depending on the local climate and soil conditions, vegetables such as beans, peas, cabbage, and onions could be grown.
What did Vikings smoke?
The Vikings throughout Scandinavia used pipes and the herb angelikarot was commonly smoked in Norway. In later years, chalk and iron pipes were mass-produced for sailors in Norway.
Did Vikings have settlements in England?
From around 860AD onwards, Vikings stayed, settled and prospered in Britain, becoming part of the mix of people who today make up the British nation. Our names for days of the week come mainly from Norse gods – Tuesday from Tiw or Týr, Wednesday from Woden (Odin), Thursday from Thor and so on.
Did Vikings have cities?
The Viking Age's early towns, such as Birka in Sweden, Kaupang in Norway, Haithabu and, in part, Aarhus in Denmark, grew out of previous market places. Some emerged slowly out of a need for steadily greater and all-year-round activity.
Where are the Viking settlements?
The two Viking settlements in southern Greenland, known as the Western and Eastern Settlements (Kintisch, 2016).
What did the Vikings rely on?
The Vikings had to rely more heavily on what they caught from the ocean for food and less on their farms. This is evidenced by the ratios of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in bones found in Norse graveyards. Terrestrial animals have different ratios of these isotopes than marine animals, and these ratios are passed on to the people that eat them. The bones show that over time, the Norse ate more marine protein, and less terrestrial protein.
What happened?
These settlements were occupied for about 500 years before disappearing somewhat mysteriously in the middle of the 15th century.
Why did the value of ivory fall?
The value of ivory plummeted. The Vikings likely originally settled in Greenland to hunt walruses for ivory tusks, which they sold back in Norway. In the 14th century, ivory from Russian walruses and African elephants, which was cheaper and easier to obtain, flooded the market, causing the prices of Greenland ivory (image below) to fall, destabilizing a large part of the Viking economy.
What causes cold spells?
Evidence for the cold spells comes from calcium carbonate deposits in lake sediment cores. Biotic activity, such as photosynthesis and the formation of shells in mollusks and other organisms, results in the precipitation of calcium carbonate. During warmer periods, biotic activity is increased, so more calcium carbonate is deposited. The opposite is true for colder periods.
How did the Black Death affect Greenland?
While the plague did not actually reach Greenland, it killed about half of Norway’s population, and because Greenland relied heavily on Norway for imported goods, this affected Greenland too .
What caused the Little Ice Age?
The changes in climate were part of the onset of the Little Ice Age, a period of widespread cooling and a drop in average global temperatures from around 1300 to 1850. Natural fluctuations in atmospheric pressure, known as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), may have also been responsible for bringing cold and dry air to Greenland at this time.
Where is the Viking Village?
The Viking Village at Avaldsnes in western Norway.
Who settled Iceland?
While there is some archaeological evidence of pre-Norse settlement, Iceland was first settled significantly by Norsemen from modern-day Norway.
Who lived in these communities?
Men, women and children lived in settlements throughout Scandinavia. Typically these were along the coast of the sea or a fjord. This is where the land was most suitable for farming, along with good opportunities for fishing and transport.
Where is Borre in Norway?
Another important site in modern-day Norway is Borre. The Borre burial mounds are evidence of a significant settlement here in south-east Norway, close to the Oslofjord. Today, the Midgard Viking Centre is a popular tourist attractions.
Where is the first viking king?
Avaldsnes. On the west coast of Norway, Avaldsnes was home to Norway's first viking king, Harald Hårfagre. Known as Harald Fairhair in English, he is believed to be the first person to unite Norway's kingdoms under a single crown. Today, the area plays host to the Nordvegen History Centre and a Viking Village.
What were the early towns built for?
Beyond farming communities, the early ‘towns' were primarily built for trade. These would be partly marketplaces, and partly points for import and export.
Where did the Norsemen live?
The Norsemen made their mark in northern Europe and beyond. Come with us on a tour of the best-known Viking settlements. Thanks in part to a slew of TV shows, Viking culture has never been more popular. While the battle scenes are mostly fantasy, many are curious about the depiction of everyday life.
Where did the Vikings come from?
The Vikings were a group of Norse people from Scandinavia (mostly Denmark, Sweden and Norway) who were heavily dependent on the ocean for food and other resources. The term “Viking” refers to the act of raiding that these people undertook as they conquered and settled Europe, the British Isles, Russia, Iceland, Greenland and North America during the 8th through 11th centuries. The Vikings were not united by a certain race, but instead by the fact that they were not Christian, unlike most other Europeans at the time.
What happens when volcanic activity decreases?
Therefore, a decrease in volcanic activity means a decrease in the potential for global cooling. The 8th through 11th centuries had an unusually low amount of major explosive volcanic eruptions.
How do sediments record past climate?
Lake sediments record past climate through the accumulation of sediment and other material from the local environment. Specifically, researchers measured oxygen isotope concentrations in the exoskeletons of chironomids, a species of lake fly trapped and preserved in the sediment. Oxygen isotope concentrations vary depending on precipitation and temperature, so they are an important tool in studying variations in climate.
What were the causes of the Vikings?
There is, however, no general agreement among historians about the causes of the Viking expansion beyond Scandinavia. Instead, historians identify a number of different causes during specific phases of the Viking expeditions as well as in specific regions of Scandinavia. Some of the key causes identified include over-population, climate change, internal political strife, the desire for honour and loot, and politics abroad.
What were the main causes of Viking migration?
In 13th-century Icelandic literary sources, however, a significant force contributing to the Viking migration was not population pressure or climate change, but rather royal tyranny or escape from other forms of internal political strife. Royal tyranny, in fact, may have been a significant motivation for Norwegian migration during the reign of King Harald Sigurdsson, or Harald the Ruthless, during the 12th century. In King Harald’s Saga, from Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla, for instance, Sturluson describes the harsh action King Harald takes against farmers who withheld their dues and taxes and supported his enemies during a rebellion: “So the king had the farmers seized; some of them he ordered to be maimed, others killed, and most of them deprived of all their possessions. All those who could escape fled.” Internal political strife may have had an impact on other Scandinavians as well, such as the Danish during the reign of King Godfred in the early 9th century.
What were the factors that contributed to the Viking invasion?
Henry R. Loyn also suggests that population pressure combined with climate change may have played an important role in one specific phase of the Viking invasions. Although the Viking Age as a whole is thought to have been a warm and dry period, Scandinavia experienced a cold spell from c. 860 to c. 940, which corresponds to an important period of Viking settlement in Britain. This climate change, making already difficult living conditions even harsher in the North, combined with population pressure from an earlier period of prosperous farming and milder climate, may well have contributed to the first phase of the Viking expansion, in particular, the Norwegian colonization of the British Isles and the islands of the North Atlantic.
What were the factors that contributed to the expansion of the Vikings?
Political upheaval outside of Scandinavia may also have contributed to the Viking expansion. The Frankish kingdom in particular, as it expanded northwards after c. 770, may have been a contributing factor in the Danish expansion beyond Scandinavia. The politically unstable Frankish empire, characterized by continual feuding of successor princes, became an easy target for the Viking attackers. Once the Vikings were able to penetrate the empire, they began to settle on the Continent and established a powerful kingdom in Normandy. The Vikings also took advantage of political instability in Ireland and England in a similar fashion.
What was the main driving force behind the Norse invasions?
Honour and Loot. Other literary and archaeological sources, namely scaldic poems and rune stones, identify honour and loot as the main driving forces behind the Norse invasions. Viking expeditions in search of honour and booty would have allowed men who had lost their fortunes to regain their wealth and status.
Where did the Vikings live?
Who Were the Vikings? The term ‘Viking,’ meaning “one who fights at sea” or “warfare at sea” in West Nordic, is still used today to describe the peoples of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden who attacked, looted, traded with, and ultimately settled in western and eastern Europe, as well as the Scandinavians who adventured to Iceland, Greenland, ...
Why is the term "viking" inaccurate?
The term is actually an inaccurate label for the inhabitants of these Scandinavian countries during the Viking Age because it implies uniformity between the peoples of these regions. The inhabitants of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were unique groups of people who had different motives for expanding beyond Scandinavia.
What happened to the Vikings?
The fate of the Vikings cannot be told in a single story. The Norsemen did not disappear in a moment, but faded over time. Multiple factors contributed to their demise and decided their destiny, especially the rise of Christianity and the decline of slavery in Northern Europe.
How did the Vikings affect their families?
As a result, the Vikings’ labor force, particularly on Scandinavian farms, diminished and so too did the goods they produced. This put strain on Viking families. Sons had to do more work because forced labor was in decline. [5] The Viking way of life was proving unsustainable. Their movement could be powered for only so long before their ways would retreat and die.
What did the English missionaries do in Scandinavia?
Many English missionaries in particular helped plant and establish new churches in Scandinavia. They taught Viking converts the bible, baptized them, and trained leaders for churches. The decline of the Vikings looked different in each Scandinavian country. The Vikings were religious people.
How did Christianity impact Norway?
Christianity’s impact on Norway was permanent. Norwegian churches continued to grow, helped by English missionaries. By the later part of the 11th century, Norway was divided into parishes with priests. In 1152, Norwegians themselves began to oversee Norway’s churches, instead of Englishmen and Frenchmen.
Why did the Christian missionaries try to break through?
The top reasons included: The rise of Christianity: Christian missionary efforts initially met resistance in Northern Europe, but because of religious zeal and financial support , the Christianity eventually broke through and Scandinavia was never the same.
What is the most sensational manifestation of Scandinavian history and civilization as it is recorded in other Scandinavian sources?
The most sensational manifestation of Scandinavian history and civilization as it is recorded in other Scandinavian sources, that is, the Viking Movement, the excursus abroad, was grinding to a halt. [6]
What was the center of the Swedish church?
The center of the Swedish church was Uppsala. The cathedral built there was constructed over a pagan holy site, which has symbolic meaning. The old Norse religion lay in rubble and to a significant degree, the Viking way of life along with it. By the 12th century, Christianity’s roots were planted and growing in Sweden, thereby establishing it in Scandinavia.
Where were the Norse settlements located?
Stable Norse settlements were located along the coast, typically among large, open flatlands. This geography provides ready access to the sea and ample farmland for animals and crops.
What did the Newfoundland settlers eat?
There is evidence of hunting that suggests they ate a diet of caribou, wolf, fox, bear, lynx, seal, whale, walrus, and a variety of birds and fish.
Where was the only Norse settlement in North America?
In 1960, archaeological evidence of the only known Norse site in North America (outside Greenland) was found at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland. Before the discovery of archaeological evidence, Vinland was known only from the sagas and medieval historiography. The 1960 discovery further proved the pre-Columbian Norse exploration of mainland North America. L'Anse aux Meadows has been hypothesized to be the camp Straumfjörð mentioned in the Saga of Erik the Red.
Where is Vineland in the Vikings?
Vinland, Vineland or Winland ( Old Norse: Vínland) was an area of coastal North America explored by Vikings. Leif Erikson first landed there around 1000 CE, nearly five centuries before the voyages of Christopher Columbus and John Cabot. The name appears in the Vinland Sagas, and presumably describes Newfoundland and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence as far as northeastern New Brunswick (where the eponymous grapevines are found). Much of the geographical content of the sagas corresponds to present-day knowledge of transatlantic travel and North America.
How many men did Thorhall take?
Thorhall took only nine men, and his vessel is swept out into the ocean by contrary winds; he and his crew never returned. Thorfinn and Snorri, with Freydis (plus possibly Bjarni), sailed down the east coast with 40 men or more and established a settlement on the shore of a seaside lake, protected by barrier islands and connected to the open ocean by a river which was navigable by ships only at high tide. The settlement was known as Hóp, and the land abounded with grapes/currants and wheat. The teller of this saga was uncertain whether the explorers remained here over the next winter (said to be very mild) or for only a few weeks of summer. One morning they saw nine hide boats; the local people ( Skrælings) examined the Norse ships and departed in peace. Later a much larger flotilla of boats arrived, and trade commenced (Karlsefni forbad the sale of weapons). One day, the local traders were frightened by the sudden arrival of the Greenlanders' bull, and they stayed away for three weeks. They then attacked in force, but the explorers managed to survive with only minor casualties, by retreating inland to a defensive position, a short distance from their camp. Pregnancy slowed Freydis down, so she picked up the sword of a fallen companion and brandished it against her bare breast, scaring the attackers into withdrawal. One of the local people picked up an iron axe, tried using it, but threw it away. The explorers subsequently abandoned the southern camp and sailed back to Straumsfjord, killing five natives they encountered on the way, lying asleep in hide sacks.
What is the origin of the name "Vinland"?
Vinland was the name given to part of North America by the Icelandic Norseman Leif Eríksson, about AD 1000. It was also spelled Winland, as early as Adam of Bremen 's Descriptio insularum Aquilonis ("Description of the Northern Islands", ch. 39, in the 4th part of Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum), written circa 1075. Adam's main source regarding Winland appears to have been king Svend Estridson, who had knowledge of the "northern islands". The etymology of the Old Norse root vin- is disputed; while it has usually been assumed to be "wine", some scholars give credence to the homophone vin, meaning "pasture" or "meadow". Adam of Bremen implies that the name contains Old Norse vín (cognate with Latin vinum) "wine" (rendered as Old Saxon or Old High German wīn ): "Moreover, he has also reported one island discovered by many in that ocean, which is called Winland, for the reason that grapevines grow there by themselves, producing the best wine." This etymology is retained in the 13th-century Grœnlendinga saga, which provides a circumstantial account of the discovery of Vinland and its being named from the vínber, i.e. " wineberry ", a term for grapes or currants (black or red), found there.
Where is Vinland located?
Karlsefni and his men subsequently find "vín-ber" near the Wonderstrands. Later, the tale locates Vinland to the south of Markland, with the headland of Kjalarnes at its northern extreme. However, it also mentions that while at Straumfjord, some of the explorers wished to go in search for Vinland west of Kjalarnes .
What does "vin" mean in the Old Norse language?
Old Norse vin (from Proto-Norse winju) has a meaning of "meadow, pasture". This interpretation of Vinland as "pasture-land" rather than "wine-land" was accepted by Valter Jansson in his classic 1951 dissertation on the vin-names of Scandinavia, by way of which it entered popular knowledge in the later 20th century. It was rejected by Einar Haugen (1977), who argued that the vin element had changed its meaning from "pasture" to "farm" long before the Old Norse period. Names in vin were given in the Proto Norse period, and they are absent from places colonized in the Viking Age. Haugen's basis for rejection has since been challenged.
Where did the Norse explorers find grapes?
The southernmost limit of the Norse exploration remains a subject of intense speculation. Samuel Eliot Morison (1971) suggested the southern part of Newfoundland; Erik Wahlgren (1986) Miramichi Bay in New Brunswick; and Icelandic climate specialist Pall Bergthorsson (1997) proposed New York City. The insistence in all the main historical sources that grapes were found in Vinland suggests that the explorers ventured at least to the south side of the St. Lawrence River, as Jacques Cartier did 500 years later, finding both wild vines and nut trees.
Viking Settlement Characteristics
Landnám and Shieling
- The traditional Scandinavian farming economy (called landnám) included a focus on barley and domesticated sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, and horses. Marine resources exploited by Norse colonists included seaweed, fish, shellfish, and whale. Seabirds were exploited for their eggs and meat, and driftwood and peat were used as building materials and fuel. Shieling, the Scandinavia…
Farmsteads in The Faroe Islands
- In the Faroe Islands, Viking settlement began in the mid-ninth century, and research on the farmsteads there (Arge, 2014) has identified several farmsteads that were continually inhabited for centuries. Some of the farmsteads in existence in the Faroes today are in the same locations as those settled during the Viking landnám period. That longevity has created 'farm-mounds', wh…
Other Viking Settlements
- Hofstaðir, Iceland
- Garðar, Greenland
- Beginish Island, Ireland
- Áth Cliath, Ireland
Sources
- Adderley WP, Simpson IA, and Vésteinsson O. 2008. Local-Scale Adaptations: A Modeled Assessment of Soil, Landscape, Microclimatic, and Management Factors in Norse Home-Field Productivities. Geoarchaeology23(4):500–527. Arge SV. 2014. Viking Faroes: Settlement, Paleoeconomy, and Chronology. Journal of the North Atlantic7:1-17. Barrett JH, Beukens RP, an…
What Happened?
How Is This Related to Climate?
- Viking settlements in Greenland were facing several stresses shortly before they were abandoned in the middle of the 15th century, and a changing climate was one of them. The Vikings lived in harsh...
Further Exploration
- Pre-Viking northern European societies also had to deal with a changing climate, and did so by regularly adapting their crop cultivation and livestock farming practices. From around 300 to 800 CE,...
- Communities either relied more on crops or more on livestock for food depending on climate conditions at a given time. During warmer phases, wheat, barley and rye were staple parts of …
- Pre-Viking northern European societies also had to deal with a changing climate, and did so by regularly adapting their crop cultivation and livestock farming practices. From around 300 to 800 CE,...
- Communities either relied more on crops or more on livestock for food depending on climate conditions at a given time. During warmer phases, wheat, barley and rye were staple parts of the diet, as...
References and Additional Resources
- Cooper, L. “What Really Happened to Greenland’s Vikings?” Visit Greenland. n.d. https://visitgreenland.com/articles/what-really-happened-to-greenlands-vikings/.
- Dacey, J. “Food Security Lessons from the Vikings.” Eos. 2021. https://eos.org/articles/food-security-lessons-from-the-vikings.
- Zhao, B., Castañeda, I. S., Salacup, J., Thomas, E. K., Daniels, W. C., Schneider, T., de Wet, G. A…
- Cooper, L. “What Really Happened to Greenland’s Vikings?” Visit Greenland. n.d. https://visitgreenland.com/articles/what-really-happened-to-greenlands-vikings/.
- Dacey, J. “Food Security Lessons from the Vikings.” Eos. 2021. https://eos.org/articles/food-security-lessons-from-the-vikings.
- Zhao, B., Castañeda, I. S., Salacup, J., Thomas, E. K., Daniels, W. C., Schneider, T., de Wet, G. A., and Bradley, R. “Prolonged drying trend coincident with the demise of Norse settlement in south...
- Strickland, A. “The surprising reason why Vikings abandoned a successful settlement.” CNN. 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/24/world/why-vikings-left-greenland-scn/index.html
Who Lived in These Communities?
Viking Settlements in Norway
Viking Settlements in Denmark
Viking Settlements in Sweden
Viking Settlements in Iceland
Viking Settlements in The UK and Ireland
- The British Isles were an early target of Viking explorers. In fact, the attack on Lindisfarne is often perceived as the start of the Viking Age. Norse migrants settled in many islands that are now part of Scotland, including Shetland and the Hebrides. As it was closer to Scandinavia, Shetland attracted families rather than just male settlers who w...
Settlements Elsewhere in Europe & Beyond
Where Is Kattegat?
What Happened?
How Is This Related to Climate?
References and Additional Resources