Viking Settlements: How the Norse Lived in Conquered Lands
- Viking Settlement Characteristics. A model Viking settlement was located in a place near the coastline with reasonable boat access; a flat, well-drained area for a farmstead; and extensive grazing areas ...
- Landnám and Shieling. ...
- Farmsteads in the Faroe Islands. ...
- Toftanes: an Early Viking Farm in the Faroes. ...
- Other Viking Settlements
- Sources. ...
Where did people live in the Vikings?
During the Viking age, most people lived in the countryside around the world and that was of course also the case for the people in Scandinavia. These people lived in small villages that consisted of six to seven farms.
What were Viking settlements made out of?
Structures in Viking settlements—dwellings, storage facilities, and barns—were built with stone foundations and had walls made of stone, peat, sod turfs, wood, or a combination of these materials.
Why did the Vikings settle in Scotland?
The Vikings settled northern Scotland especially heavily, mostly due to the fact that it was both close to Norway and a convenient jumping-off point for raids in England and Ireland. [32] The Norse found and conquered lots of already-thriving settlements there in the ninth century, subjugating the local populations. [33]
What were some of the Viking settlements in Denmark?
Viking settlements in Denmark. 1 Ribe. Ribe is believed to be the oldest town in Denmark. In addition, historians had long believed that Ribe played an important role during the ... 2 Jelling. 3 Hedeby/Haithabu.
Did Vikings have settlements?
The first permanent settlement of Vikings in North America—a seaside outpost in Newfoundland known as L'Anse aux Meadows—has tantalized archaeologists for more than 60 years.
What were Viking settlements called?
DanelawThe areas the Viking settled in were known as Danelaw. It covered an area roughly east of a line on a map joining London and Chester. The Saxons lived south of the line.
What did Vikings houses look like?
Vikings lived in elongated, rectangular structures called longhouses. Across the Viking world, most houses had timber frames but, where wood was scarce, stone and turf were also used as construction materials. The walls were often made of wattle and daub or timber planking, with a grass roof.
What did the Vikings do in their settlements?
They made settlements in the north, and on the Shetland and Orkney Islands. Vikings also settled on the Isle of Man and often raided Wales, but few made homes there. In Ireland, the Vikings founded the city of Dublin. The Vikings built their houses from local material such as wood, stone or blocks of turf.
What was the biggest Viking settlement?
Hedeby/Haithabu Located just south of the modern border with Germany, Hedeby was said to be one of the largest Viking settlements. During the 10th century, one traveller described it as: “a very large city at the very end of the world's ocean.”
Did Vikings sleep sitting up?
Beds were most likely lined with straw and animal skin. However, some historians believe that the Vikings actually slept sitting up with their backs against the wall given the limited and confined space that was available on the benches.
How many rooms did most Viking houses have?
one room homesViking houses were often one room homes with a cooking fire in the middle. The smoke escaped through a hole in the roof. Animals and people lived in the same building. The animals lived in a byre at one end of the house and the people lived at the other.
Were Viking houses warm?
Viking longhouses would seem noisy, dirty and smelly to us, especially if animals sheltered in one end. However, to the Vikings, they were no doubt crowded, but also warm, cozy and comfortable.
How would you describe a Viking village?
They had thick walls made from wood and mud and the roofs were layered with thick turfs of grass or thatched with branches and reeds. In Scotland, the houses were often built from stone because there were less trees and wood was harder to come by.
Where were the Viking settlements in England?
They founded the cities of Dublin, Cork and Limerick as Viking strongholds. Meanwhile, back in England, the Vikings took over Northumbria, East Anglia and parts of Mercia. In 866 they captured modern York (Viking name: Jorvik) and made it their capital.
What were the characteristics of a Viking settlement?
A model Viking settlement was located in a place near the coastline with reasonable boat access; a flat, well-drained area for a farmstead; and extensive grazing areas for domestic animals.
When did the Vikings establish their homes?
K. Kris Hirst. Updated July 03, 2019. 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.
How long was the Viking longhouse?
This longhouse was 20 meters (65 feet) in length and had an internal width of 5 meters (16 ft).
What were the main resources of the Norse?
Marine resources exploited by Norse colonists included seaweed, fish, shellfish, and whale.
What were the main fuels used in the Norse church?
Fuels used by the Norse for heating and cooking included peat, peaty turf, and wood. In addition to being used in heating and building construction, wood was the common fuel for iron smelting .
Where was Shieling practiced?
Shieling, the Scandinavian system of pasturage, was practiced in upland stations where livestock could be moved during summer seasons. Near the summer pastures, the Norse built small huts, byres, barns, stables, and fences.
What did the Vikings make?
Vikings were very handy around the house, making their own cloth, bread and games too.
Why was the sea important to the Vikings?
The seas were very important for Viking life and fishing provided a big part of the Viking diet. Living near the sea had other benefits. The Vikings were excellent sailors and it was easier for them to travel by boat than by land. This was very important as the Vikings also often had to travel great distances to trade.
What was Viking food called?
A favourite Viking delicacy was was rotten shark meat. Shark flesh was left to dry and go off for four months to create a stinky dish called hákarl.
Why were houses built in Scotland?
In Scotland, the houses were often built from stone because there were less trees and wood was harder to come by.
Who looked after the farming?
While the men were raiding, it was the women and children who looked after the farming.
Why were the Vikings the first to settle?
In places that the Vikings were the first sizable group to explore and/or settle, these were the quest for fame, prestige, and honor; the desire for the level of personal freedom that one can only find in a sparsely-populated area with no pre-established government; and the ability to take advantage of virgin natural resources.
Why did the Vikings settle in the lands they explored?
In places that the Vikings were the first sizable group to explore and/or settle, these were the quest for fame, prestige, and honor; the desire for the level of personal freedom that one can only find in a sparsely-populated area with no pre-established government; and the ability to take advantage of virgin natural resources.
What did the Norse call the sheep islands?
The Norse named the islands the Færeyjar , “Sheep Islands.” The islands were treeless, so the settlers built their homes out of turf and rock. The islands’ economy was heavily dependent on livestock and harvesting the products of the sea, particularly fish, whales, and birds. [2]
What were the Vikings driven by?
In places where the Vikings conquered existing populations, they were driven by political ambitions, the desire for wealth through tribute and the control of trade, and, as in newly-inhabited lands, the ability to make a name for oneself. [1]
What were the Vikings' accomplishments?
As impressive as the Vikings’ accomplishments as raiders and warriors were, their accomplishments as explorers and settlers were equally magnificent. The Vikings ventured far from their homelands in Scandinavia and became the first Europeans to discover Greenland and even North America (which they called “Vinland”) – roughly 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Along the way, they became the first people to establish sizable settlements in Iceland and other North Atlantic islands, and also colonized the territories their warriors conquered throughout northern Europe. These explorations and settlements have had a decisive impact upon these places that persists even today.
How many ships set sail for Greenland in 985?
[15] Erik’s persuasion was successful, and in the summer of 985, twenty-five ships set sail for Greenland.
Which conquest had the deepest impact on the British Isles?
The Viking conquest with the deepest and longest impact was that of the British Isles. [29] The Scandinavians who migrated to England, Scotland, and Ireland forever changed the character of those countries. Perhaps this should be unsurprising given the sheer extent of Viking rule in these places. By the late ninth century, the Norse controlled virtually all of England besides Wessex, and large swaths of Scotland and Ireland as well. [30]
What did the Vikings bring to Europe?
So, in fact, you could argue that the Vikings brought a huge amount of economic dynamism and trade through this informal empire, this network, that by that stage stretched across western Europe.
Why have we forgotten rivers?
We’ve forgotten now, because our rivers are shallow and encroached on, we’ve built embankments and dykes, but rivers in the past were mighty highways that ran through this country .
Who destroyed the Church of Mercia?
It was then effectively wiped from the history books having been totally destroyed by the Vikings, who then stayed there.
Why did the Vikings travel?
And because the environment could be very different than it is in Scandinavia, they would often adapt their houses to the surrounding area.
How many people could live in a Viking longhouse?
In fact, these longhouses had so much room that 30-50 people could live here, including their slaves (A slave is called ”Træl” in Danish) and animals. Viking longhouse at Trelleborg, Denmark Photo: by Schorle. A longhouse was on average 30 meters long and 8 meters wide in the middle.
Why are Viking longhouses curved?
The truss framework also gave the walls the curved shape that we all know, because some of the weight from the roof was pushed out on some of the posts that supported the roof. Inside a Viking longhouse. The longhouses were not easy to build, it was very time-consuming and demanded a lot of manpower.
What animals did the Vikings have?
The Vikings had many different kinds of animals such as sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle, but they also had pets such as cats to help kill the rodents such as mice. In the early Viking age, we start to see that the houses become bigger and wider than it was in the iron age, and the Viking longhouse is a good example of that.
Why was hospitality important in the Viking Age?
In the Viking age, hospitality was very important to the people because you never really knew who the wanderer who knocked on your door really was. The God Odin was known to travel around Midgard, but merchants and other travelers could also turn up at your doorstep.
What was the main building on a farm?
On a farm like this the main building was typically the longhouse, here, the family sat and enjoyed their meals, rested, and slept. Next, to the longhouse, there could be other buildings such as barns, stables, or workshops.
Where did the slaves stay in the house?
The people living here would in general stay in the western part of the house, while the animals together with the slaves would stay in the eastern part of the house.
How did the Vikings live?
The Vikings lived at a time when all people were focused on survival. Everyone had to get enough food to survive, and they had to provide themselves with shelter. For the average Viking, food and shelter were the main focuses from day-to-day. Vikings who participated in raids were a small minority in the larger group.
What is the Viking culture?
Today, many people think of Vikings as a brutal culture consisting of hulking blonde men who raided villages and slaughtered everyone in their path. This larger-than-life persona also encourages the belief that Vikings were especially cruel in warfare.
Why did the Vikings use lye?
In addition to bleaching their hair, lye helped them stay clean and kept parasites and bacteria from growing on their bodies. Vikings cared about their appearance just as much as modern people. Vikings Participated in Slavery. The slave trade was a huge part of the Viking economic system.
What weapons did the Vikings use?
Especially during a raid, smaller, less cumbersome weapons were more common. Swords, spears and knives were common weapons of choice, and some Viking tribes even used bows and arrows during raids.
Why did the Vikings pillage the world?
It wasn’t their goal to colonize the whole world or to spread the Viking culture. They usually pillaged for economic reasons, and they sold or used the goods and the people they took.
Why were Viking ships so cool?
Storytelling was also important to them. If that’s not enough, the wildly cool Viking ships are a great reflection of the culture's appreciation for creativity. Bows and sterns on ships often had intricate figureheads, such as dragons and curls. Vikings Had Great Hygiene.
Why is King Harald considered the king of all Vikings?
Because King Harald’s death was such a significant moment in the history of the Vikings, he is often mistakenly viewed as the king of all Vikings. In reality, King Harald was the King of Norway. He was both a Norwegian and a Viking, and the two were not mutually exclusive. No One Called Them Vikings.
How long did the Norse settlements last?
The Norse settlements on the North American island of Greenland lasted for almost 500 years. L'Anse aux Meadows, the only confirmed Norse site in present-day Canada, was small and did not last as long.
When did the Norse settle in North America?
The Norse colonization of North America began in the late 10th century, when Norsemen explored and settled areas of the North Atlantic including the northeastern fringes of North America. Remains of Norse buildings were found at L'Anse aux Meadows near the northern tip of Newfoundland in 1960. This discovery aided the reignition ...
Why did the settlements in North America not become permanent?
Settlements in continental North America aimed to exploit natural resources such as furs and in particular lumber, which was in short supply in Greenland. It is unclear why the short-term settlements did not become permanent, though it was likely in part because of hostile relations with the indigenous peoples, referred to as the Skræling by the Norse. Nevertheless, it appears that sporadic voyages to Markland for forages, timber, and trade with the locals could have lasted as long as 400 years.
What was the most important work about North America and the early Norse activities there?
The most important works about North America and the early Norse activities there, namely the Sagas of Icelanders , were recorded in the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1420, some Inuit captives and their kayaks were taken to Scandinavia.
What did the Norse do in Greenland?
Norse Greenlanders were limited to scattered fjords on the island that provided a spot for their animals (such as cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, and cats) to be kept and farms to be established. In these fjords, the farms depended upon byres to host their livestock in the winter, and routinely culled their herds in order to survive the season. The coming warmer seasons meant that livestocks were taken from their byres to pasture, the most fertile being controlled by the most powerful farms and the church. What was produced by livestock and farming was supplemented with subsistence hunting of mainly seal and caribou as well as walrus for trade. The Norse mainly relied on the Nordrsetur hunt, a communal hunt of migratory harp seals that would take place during spring. Trade was highly important to the Greenland Norse and they relied on imports of lumber due to the barrenness of Greenland. In turn they exported goods such as walrus ivory and hide, live polar bears, and narwhal tusks. Ultimately these setups were vulnerable as they relied on migratory patterns created by climate as well as the well-being of the few fjords on the island. A portion of the time the Greenland settlements existed was during the Little Ice Age and the climate was, overall, becoming cooler and more humid. As climate began to cool and humidity began to increase, this brought longer winters and shorter springs, more storms and affected the migratory patterns of the harp seal. Pasture space began to dwindle and fodder yields for the winter became much smaller. This combined with regular herd culling made it hard to maintain livestock, especially for the poorest of the Greenland Norse. In spring, the voyages to where migratory harp seals could be found became more dangerous due to more frequent storms, and the lower population of harp seals meant that Nordrsetur hunts became less successful, making subsistence hunting extremely difficult. The strain on resources made trade difficult, and as time went on, Greenland exports lost value in the European market due to competing countries and the lack of interest in what was being traded. Trade in elephant ivory began competing with the trade in walrus tusks that provided income to Greenland, and there is evidence that walrus over-hunting, particularly of the males with larger tusks, led to walrus population declines.
What were the Norse trade with?
There is evidence of Norse trade with the natives (called the Skræling by the Norse). The Norse would have encountered both Native Americans (the Beothuk, related to the Algonquin) and the Thule, the ancestors of the Inuit. The Dorset had withdrawn from Greenland before the Norse settlement of the island. Items such as comb fragments, pieces of iron cooking utensils and chisels, chess pieces, ship rivets, carpenter's planes, and oaken ship fragments used in Inuit boats have been found far beyond the traditional range of Norse colonization. A small ivory statue that appears to represent a European has also been found among the ruins of an Inuit community house.
Where did Leif the Red sail?
Using the routes, landmarks, currents, rocks, and winds that Bjarni had described to him, Leif sailed from Greenland westward across the Labrador Sea, with a crew of 35—sailing the same knarr Bjarni had used to make the voyage. He described Helluland as "level and wooded, with broad white beaches wherever they went and a gently sloping shoreline." Leif and others had wanted his father, Erik the Red, to lead this expedition and talked him into it. However, as Erik attempted to join his son Leif on the voyage towards these new lands, he fell off his horse as it slipped on the wet rocks near the shore; thus he was injured and stayed behind.
Who Lived in These Communities?
Viking Settlements in Norway
- On our tour of famous settlements, we start, of course, in Norway. Most of the best-known settlements were situated along the fjord-riddled west coast. This provided easy access to transport, fishing and farming land. But there were also small farms and villages all across the country.
Viking Settlements in Denmark
- Archaeological discoveries have shown us just how important modern-day Denmarkwas during the period.
Viking Settlements in Sweden
- Modern-day Sweden has most of the remaining Viking runestones, along with evidence of significant settlements.
Viking Settlements in Iceland
- While there is some archaeological evidence of pre-Norse settlement, Iceland was first settled significantly by Norsemen from modern-day Norway. Written sources point to Ingólfr Arnarson as the first settler, sometimes around the year 874. Archaeological evidence concurs that mass settlement began around this time, and happened rapidly. As mentioned earlier, genetic evidenc…
Settlements Elsewhere in Europe & Beyond
- Norsemen were active throughout Europe in the 9th century. They raided French towns including Nantes, Paris, Limoges, Orleans, Tours and Nimes. In 844, Vikings raided the Arab-controlled Seville in modern-day Spain, before tackling Pisa in modern-day Italy 15 years later. So frequent were the raids in northern France, the West Frankish King granted the Vikings land by tr…
Where Is Kattegat?
- Some of you may be wondering where Kattegat from TV’s Vikingsis located. Although shot in Ireland and said to be in southern Norway, the place doesn’t actually exist. Kattegat is in fact the name of a strait off the coast of Denmark. The Kattegat links the Baltic Sea to the better-known Skagerrak strait, which in turn leads to the North Sea.
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…
Toftanes: An Early Viking Farm in The Faroes
- Toftanes (described in detail in Arge, 2014) is a farm mound in the village of Leirvik, which has been occupied since the 9th-10th centuries. Artifacts of Toftanes' original occupation included schist querns (mortars for grinding grain) and whetstones. Fragments of bowls and saucepans, spindle whorls, and line- or net-sinkers for fishing have also been found on the site, a…
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…