The Viking influence on history?

Open classification: culture, nationality, history, Europe, Viking

catalogue

* ? brief introduction

* ? politics

* ? life

* ? culture

* ? fight

* ? trade

* ? Pirate footprints

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English: Viking

Swedish: Vikingarna

brief introduction

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The Middle Ages is a wild era, which not only refers to the decline of humanities, but also the emerging countries, each relying on force to compete for the territory of the former Roman Empire. Celts, Franks, Vandals, Saxons, all established their own countries, and of course the Vikings.

Vikings lived in northern Europe more than 0/000 years ago, and now they live in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. At that time, Europeans called it Northman more, which literally translated into northerners, that is, northerners. Viking is their self-naming. In the Nordic language, the word has two meanings: first, travel, and then plunder. Their voyage covers the whole of Europe, with the Red Sea in the south, North America in the west and Baghdad in the east. But the first time they appeared in front of the local people, they robbed and plundered as pirates.

Aside from archaeological achievements, we can learn about the fragments of Viking life from their own stories. The earliest stories, history and poems were not written in words, but passed down from generation to generation through oral singing. It was not until about A.D. 1 100 that the vikings living in Iceland had their own unique characters, which were recorded on the skin of animals, or on wooden blocks, bones and stones. This kind of writing is composed of several simple curves, called runes. At first, it has 26 letters, and then it gradually evolved into 16 letters. We can also find vikings from contemporary records. But some victims, such as monks in monasteries, are not objective in their descriptions.

politics

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Viking social system includes three classes:

Jar: princes are mostly lords and hereditary nobles;

Carl: Free man, the main force of the army, the samurai class;

Thrall: It's the lowest slave.

But this division is not absolute. A free man may become a slave if he loses all his land. Slaves can also become free men, serve their masters faithfully and get the chance to be redeemed.

Nobles and freemen hold regular meetings to decide major events and settle disputes. They call this kind of meeting.

At the earliest time, the king was the biggest aristocrat. He made almost all the major decisions, so that the tribal Council was only responsible for some local affairs. But in Iceland, because there has never been a king, the tribal Council decides everything, and all the nobles and freemen on the island have to participate. It is held in a place regularly every year for two weeks.

A long time ago, I read a book called Children of the Earth written by Jean Ole. At that time, I was surprised how this aunt could write such a detailed prehistoric style (good book, good book! Highly recommended! )。 The tribes in the book meet in one place every two years to complete a series of festivals, trade, consultations and competitions, probably referring to the Nordic tradition.

It is well known that the Vikings unconditionally accepted all the decrees of the king and Congress. Violators will be expelled from the tribe, which is called banning. This is not what the outlaw meant. This time, the exiles could not cultivate any land, nor could they accept anyone's help. They can only live in caves and live in hiding.

life

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Vikings lived a family life, and their parents, children, grandparents and nephews lived under one roof. They are loyal to each other. When a family member is bullied, the whole family will go to the tribal Council to demand justice. If a person is killed, his family may ask for money or land compensation. If the tribal Council thinks they really have the right to make such a request, and the murderer's family has paid the compensation readily, then everything will be the same; However, if the family members of the deceased feel that the judgment is unfair, they will kill a member of the other party privately, so they will avenge themselves, and endless feuds may become an additional tradition of ancient families.

Whether a woman wants to get married or not is up to the whole family, but she has the right to choose one from the list. After marriage, she kept her former property and was responsible for looking after the land at home when her husband was away. Divorce is simple. The couple made a statement explaining the reasons for their divorce before a notary. Some reasons seem ridiculous, such as the husband complaining that his wife always wears pants instead of skirts.

Children live with their elders until they grow up and go out to join another family. Before that, boys learned farming, combat skills and navigation, as well as making tools and weapons; Women learn to spin and make butter and cheese.

Most vikings are professional farmers at ordinary times. They live in the country. In the wilderness, there is no concept of a big town, only several important ports such as York and Boca, and more vikings and their families live on small farms. According to the recorded or excavated sites, we can demobilize the houses of that year and find that all the farms are almost the same. The main building is a rectangular house. If elegant, some independent huts will be added as animal pens and manual workshops, where farmers can make their own tools and weapons.

The early longhouse had only one or two rooms, and all family members worked and lived in one room. Live with the animals raised. Such a house is generally 20 meters long and 6 meters wide. Toilets are also bathrooms, and Nordic people like to take steam baths. Right opposite the entrance, there is a fire pit where the whole family cooks or warms up. This room is also a storage room. Wooden benches are fixed on every wall, where you sit during the day and sleep at night, and all kinds of sundries are piled up below. Every family has one or two high-backed chairs, and only the head of the family is qualified to sit, or there are any particularly distinguished guests. The Vikings had no concept of a bed, except that they had seen the kings of the world.

The long house is dark and damp, with no floor and mud stepping on it. In the cold places in the north, there are few trees, but few stones. The vikings used straw bricks to build walls, that is, they burned a little mixture of grass and soil. They called it turf. This kind of brick is warm in winter. Some people use wooden boards to make a wall inside the brick wall, leaving a distance between them to prevent the wooden boards from being damp and rotting. A longhouse usually has two doors and few windows. If there is, it is a simple hole. Windows that can be opened and closed freely are redundant decorations for them. All the lighting comes from the door, and the small hole above the stove is used to smoke. Candles are used for night lighting, but they are made of animal fat. If you light them in a closed room, you can imagine their taste.

Women are spinning and weaving in the house. All clothes are handmade at home, and skilled housewives will add more decorations. They spin wool or hemp into thread and then weave cloth. Dyed with vegetable juice in different colors, without bright colors such as yellow, black, green, brown, blue and red. , and the vikings like this eye-catching. Finally, cut the cloth into clothes. The whole process is complicated and long, and everyone has few clothes, and the things they wear can be used for several years. In fact, everyday Viking clothes are comfortable, and they don't pay attention to style, let alone fashion, so that their clothes have not changed at all for hundreds of years.

Most farms are small and run by individual families. Bigger farms need more labor. Farmers can hire landless freemen or buy slaves. This ancient farming method has not changed much so far: sowing in spring and harvesting in late autumn. Animals that can't stay for the winter are slaughtered in autumn when they are fattest, and the meat is preserved by smoking, waxing and pickling. Another identity of farmers is pirates, and looting and farming alternate. Pirates go out twice a year. After spring sowing or autumn harvest, his wife will take his place and do everything at home. The weather in winter is always terrible. Nordic people hide in the house to repair tools, sew clothes, make hides, and prepare for next year's ships to go to sea.

At that time, the ruins of their homes and Viking garbage dumps (well preserved to this day) revealed their diet structure. Vikings lived mainly on meat and fish. They raise pigs, chickens, geese, ducks, cows and sheep to get meat, milk and eggs, and occasionally hunt and fish. They grow rye and barley for bread, cabbage and onions for seasoning, garlic and cress. They drink beer, milk and a kind of mead made of wooden cups or hollow horns. Eat two meals as usual every day, breakfast at around 8 am and dinner at around 8 pm. The whole family get together and cook with wooden pots and pans. Vikings ate with knives and spoons, but no forks.

culture

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Vikings believed in many gods, men and women, and different gods held different aspects of daily life. They appear everywhere from time to time so that the right thing can happen at the right time and place.

Therefore, according to the ancient legend, all the gods live in a place called Asgard, which is equivalent to heaven. There is naturally a hell in the underground world, called Neverheim. Pirates firmly believe that if a person dies with honor, his soul can enter Varhala, the holy land of Asgard in the kingdom of heaven, where the heroes of the warriors drink, sing and tell legends. If you are born a soldier and die in bed, you only deserve to go to hell.

From this point of view, the Vikings thought that death was just a trip to another world, so they piled a lot of funerary objects in the graves of the dead for them to offer flowers on the way. There are food and clothes, tools and weapons. What's more, if the deceased is a king or a great hero, the deceased's warships will be buried with him. This is the famous "pirate funeral".

Vikings believed that animals were also buried with divinity, so they divided animals into good and evil and believed in the existence of ghosts. Goblins and trolls also come from Viking mythology. Vikings believed that some people could predict the future. They call these prophets fortune tellers. These hermits live in remote villages and are supported by admirers from all directions.

Vikings like to listen to stories and poems. For a long time, they recorded history in this way. Every tribe has people who specialize in recording such stories and writing new legends. It obviously takes a long time to remember these lengthy stories. In the long winter, the vikings hid in their houses and told stories handed down by their parents.

Professional artists or bards travel around and attend festivals three times a year, as well as weddings and banquets. Singing and dancing are always needed on this occasion, and the storyteller will get some form of gift, ring or necklace. Their stories may be a little exaggerated for people today. Someone killed a wild boar the size of a house. A housewife milks 1000 cows every day. The logic of the Vikings is this: the merit worth describing is not what you did, but what you can do.

It takes great courage and perseverance to listen to Viking songs. An Arab traveler who has been to Denmark said, "I have never heard such a frightening roar." A group of wild dogs can roar like their voices, but not as dissolute as them. "

Nordic people like to play word games, and their shaka is full of figurative compound words, which are used to refer to something without directly mentioning the name. For example, swords are called battle condiments, which has puzzled archaeologists for a long time. They also like to do crossword puzzles, and the exchange of various crossword puzzles is an important part of the influx of culture, just like the jokes we see on BBS today.

fight

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Vikings liked all kinds of competitive games since childhood. They take part in equestrian, weightlifting, rowing, sailing and swimming competitions. The annual tribal meeting is also the Nordic Olympic Games. Wrestling is the most popular sport, with an open field and a sharp boundary pillar in the middle. Both competitors have cornered each other.

In addition, they also tried archery, skiing and skating. All these competitions are aimed at training stronger soldiers. This is true even for games played indoors in winter. Board games handed down from Arabia always revolve around offensive and defensive skills.

Vikings are tough fighters, and they are few in number, so they have to rely on careful planning and surprise attacks. In the battle, they showed unusual fanaticism and were not afraid of death, so people turned pale when they talked about pirates.

Their assault is often divided into two parts: one is to throw spears and launch rockets from a long distance; Then cut it at close range with a sword and a tomahawk.

When they met at sea, the pirates followed the ancient tradition and tied the ships together without saying a word. Put a springboard in the bow and go on stage one by one in turn. Everyone who walks on the springboard is faced with such a fate: either kill everyone in the other side or die in the battlefield, and the companions behind will avenge themselves. If you are afraid, you can turn around and jump into the sea. No one will chase deserters, but those who give up their combat qualifications are no different from the dead, and even their families will ignore his existence from now on.

Therefore, the first soldier in the bow is usually the most elite soldier. They were topless in the battle, making a rough roar and enjoying the battle to their heart's content. They know that the springboard under their feet is soaked with the blood of their ancestors, and their descendants will stay where they are. Anger made the vikings look powerful and terrible. This soldier is called Berserker Berserker. No one knows why this primitive battle inspired such amazing humanity. The story of Berserker has been handed down from generation to generation.

Those who survived the battle shared the victory generously. The first king of the Vikings was Harold, nicknamed Fine Hair, and his territory was Norway today. One summer, he set out to fight against pirates who robbed his territory. He fought for so long that he had to spend the winter in orkney (an island in northern Scotland) and occupied Scotland, Shetland and hebrides by the way.

The following spring, when the team returned to Norway, the king gave the new territory to Count Rogenwald, who lost his only son in the expedition. Rogenwald ceded his territory to Count Seager because he saved his life in the battle. There is a port named after Siger today.

trade

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Viking farm produces almost all daily necessities, from tools to clothes, and lives a self-sufficient life. With the passage of time, people who are good at making certain musical instruments gradually become specialized craftsmen. They set up shops everywhere, but the blacksmith shop is always on the edge of town because the stove is in danger of catching fire.

Musical instruments made by craftsmen are more decorative. They make tools, weapons and jewels. Viking's jewelry is well-known so far, and the production process is very complicated. Brooches are usually made of white wax, cast in silver or bronze, polished and inlaid with colored gems or jewels. Amber and dyed pebbles can be made into necklaces. Jet and turquoise are made into dice and chips for playing chess. Vendors coming and going rushed to the state and attacked the government. Well, they should rush to town and sell these beautifully made jewels in the county.

Vikings kept trade with many regions, and archaeologists also found many products and coins from other regions from the tombs in northern Europe. However, they prefer silver. Businessmen carry scales with them and use silver blocks as weights. Stone carvings and legends record their travels:

In 860 AD, vikings along the Volga River came to Russia (which was not named at that time). They made a deal with the local Slavs, from Novograd south to Polga along the river, exchanging slaves for honey and fur; Then follow the Volga River into the Caspian Sea, change to camels, and come to Baghdad to trade silk and spices.

Another trade route is along the Dnieper River to Kiev, into the Black Sea, and to Istanbul, which is rich in wine, silk and fine jewelry. Vikings were very good sailors and shipbuilders. Comparatively speaking, ships from other countries can't go to the open sea, and the design is very heavy. Viking ships are light in weight, narrow in hull and shallow in draft, and can sail in all rivers in Europe.

Vikings built or repaired their ships in winter, usually outdoors, and occasionally set up a shed. The hull and paddle are made of oak, and the mast is made of pine, which can bend moderately in strong wind. Firstly, the whole log is processed into a dragon bone to ensure the strength. The curved head and tail are processed separately, and then fixed at both ends of the keel with nails. Then put a beam on the keel to complete the outline of the whole ship. Cover the side of the ship along the contour. The whole board is wedged layer by layer, and the upper layer just covers the edge of the lower layer. The top layer of the mask was cut with many small holes, and five-meter-long wooden paddles protruded from the holes. Finally, the floor is paved, the mast is installed, and the metal weather vane is installed at the top of the mast. The paddle is installed on the right side at the rear of the hull. A net made of hemp rope is hung on both sides of the sail to prevent the sail from being torn in the strong wind. This kind of boat is the most common, with a total length of about 20 meters.

The sailors carry a small box with them, which contains clothes and weapons. Sit on it when paddling, but seldom paddle. They are good at sailing. At the fore and aft of each ship, there is a cabin for storing food, which stores butter, cheese, beer, fresh water, meat, apples and dried chestnuts. In addition, there are all kinds of cooking utensils, sails and tents for landing.

They slept on the boat in fur coats and clothes. Ships can also make a fire to cook and use boxes full of sand to make stoves. At sea, they use the sun, moon and stars as direction signs. When the weather is bad, I also use a compass, a simple magnetized iron piece.

During the Viking's long journey, this ship was their mobile home. The mast can be lowered and the sail is a good tent. Pirates even carried ships from one river to another like Argo heroes. Because water transportation is more labor-saving and can carry more people and equipment.

When they can't take a boat, they ride horses along the postal road of ancient Rome, or they can go out by skiing and skating in winter. Roller skates are made of whale bones and tied to deerskin soles. Sleigh can transport the sick and the weak, or a lot of equipment. Anyway, they hate walking because it is slow and heavy.

There are many theories about why vikings have been traveling. Some people think that this is our nature, and the more recognized view is that they are looking for arable soil. There is an unwritten rule in northern Europe that after the head of a family dies, the eldest son inherits the family business, and other sons must leave their brothers and form their own families when they grow up. In this way, with the increase of population, the cultivated land in northern Europe was even less, so the vikings migrated around the world to find a good place to open up farms.

Pirate footprints

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Vikings, also known as Germans by the Romans, were the last barbarian tribes that threatened Europe. Separated from their homes in Scandinavia, they will cross the ocean in a dragon boat (named after carving the dragon head on the bow and stern of this boat) and suddenly attack. They will raid first and then plunder, and retreat before any large resistance can attack, but their actions gradually become bolder. Later, they even occupied and settled in important areas of Europe.

As pagans, they will not hesitate to kill priests and plunder the property of the church. Most people fear their ruthlessness and cruelty. They are like demons from hell. At that time, they were outstanding craftsmen, sailors, explorers and businessmen.

Viking's hometown is Norway, Sweden and Denmark. They and their descendants once controlled most of the Baltic Sea, inland Russia, Normandy, Britain, Sicily, southern Italy and parts of Palestine. They discovered Iceland in 825 (Irish monks have been there) and settled in 875. In 985, they colonized Greenland again. There is strong evidence that 500 years before Columbus discovered the New World, they had arrived in Newfoundland and explored parts of North America.

In the 6th and 7th centuries A.D., the vikings began to raid the east coast of the Baltic Sea and then settled down. By the end of the eighth century, they fled from today's Russia to the river, launched a long-term invasion, and built fortresses along the way for defense. They ruled Kiev in the 9th century and attacked Constantinople in 907 with 2,000 warships and 80,000 troops. However, they were successfully bought by the Byzantine emperor on the most favorable trade terms.

The Vikings first attacked the West in the late 8th century. The Danes attacked and plundered the famous island monasteries on the northeast coast of England, which began to become a trend. With the increase of the scale and frequency of the surprise attack on Britain, France and Germany, it gradually became an invasion. They also used colonization as a base for their continued attacks. The Viking colony in northwest France is commonly known as Normandy (from the name of the Nordic people), and the people living there are called Normans.

In 865, a large number of Danish troops invaded Britain and have been controlling most of Britain for two centuries. Before 1066, Canut was one of the last kings of Britain, and he ruled both Denmark and Norway. In 87 1 year, another huge fleet went upstream from the Seine and attacked Paris. They besieged the city for two years, and were finally bought by huge cash rewards and allowed to plunder the western part of France without resistance.

In 9 1 1 year, the French king made the Viking leader of Normandy a duke, in exchange for their conversion to Christianity and stopping the invasion. Since the establishment of the Principality of Normandy, there have been many outstanding warriors, including William I who conquered Britain in 1066, Robert Gisquet and his family who seized Sicily from Arabs in 109 1, and King Botvin I of the Kingdom of Jerusalem founded by the Crusaders.

Since 780 AD, Vikings have been going out more and more. They need more trade markets and plunder points. They mainly steal livestock and grain and never let go of any valuable treasure. They attacked quickly, succeeded and left quickly. Residents in the vicinity suffered greatly, and they regarded Viking as barbarians and cold-blooded fighters.

In 789 AD, a group of Vikings looted Dorset, and England has been harassed ever since. The local people bravely fought against the robbers, but more often, they paid a ransom and called Danegeld (today's tax in Denmark is not called tax, it is called Danegeld) to let the disaster leave quickly. But money doesn't always solve the problem. There are several pirates. One king left and another leader came to power. Viking pirates are rampant in areas with weak defense.

When the great Alfred was in power in Wessex (the king was not an emperor at that time, so a great name should be added after his name), he reached an agreement with the main Viking tribes to allow them to settle in the southeast of England, called Danelaw (today's Danish law calls it Danelaw). Even so, the fragile peace is broken from time to time because both sides want more land.

A large number of pirates means that robbery will never stop. Even after the King of Norway and the King of Denmark, Ghani, took over England, his territory was often harassed by Swedish pirates. The powerful monarch also had to pay the ransom.

The only exception was 1066, when William Ⅰ the Conqueror set foot in Britain with Normandy soldiers, and his violence even made pirates afraid, so the locals spent a relatively quiet year under the lash of foreigners.

Scotland is closer to northern Europe. The Orkney Islands were occupied by vikings in 795 AD, and then the coastlines of Scotland and Ireland were controlled by pirates. They established a trade route with Norway here, and based on this, they further developed westward.

Scotland is a Norwegian world, living in peace. Ireland is much more complicated. Norwegians, Danes and Irish pirates are not friendly characters, so large-scale battles often break out. It was not until 902 AD that Norway temporarily left Ireland. The reason for this is that they made a comeback in 9 17 and occupied Dublin as a trading port.

It was not until 1 100 that Dublin was taken over by the Normans. But as we all know, Normans are descendants of Danish pirates in France.

Although the North Sea was devastated, the Vikings crossed Gibraltar and continued to ravage the Mediterranean coast. Doing business with a powerful opponent makes you a thief in the face of the weak.

These lawless people even rob monasteries, because monasteries always store a lot of food and treasures, and monks will not fight back. The vikings on the European coastline became a nightmare for the whole of Europe, and only Spain and France were spared.

In 844 AD, the Spanish Arab army organized a successful anti-landing in Có rdoba. Since then, the Iberian peninsula has been calm, and only friendly Viking businessmen have traded wine and slaves.

Charles, the "simple-minded" French king, first paid the ransom honestly, and later learned from the British practice to make Rollo, the biggest pirate leader, the Grand Duke of Normandy. It should be noted that this man was William Ⅰ the Conqueror's great-great-grandfather, and his descendants finally became the king of England in 1066.

The Norwegians left their hometown and sailed west in search of a new home. They came to Iceland in 860 AD, and the monks who once lived here fled in panic. In 920, they came to settle in Greenland, but the climate there was getting colder every year, so they couldn't grow crops. Finally, all the vikings left the frozen island at 1500.

Later generations have been looking for evidence that the Nordic people have been to America. It is said that 1898 unearthed a Nordic stone carving in the United States, which was later proved to be a fake of 1958. 1965 found the Viking nautical chart with a detailed outline of the American coast, which was later proved to be forged. Until 1969, a stone arrow was finally found in a maritime robbery in Denmark, and it was confirmed by inspection that it was indeed an American product. These pirates have indeed been to North America.

With the spread of Christianity in continental Europe, Vikings gradually changed their beliefs with money or swords. Religion finally made them give up the practice of making a living with their fists, and wandering pirates settled in various places. Where are their survivors today? Besides the Nordic countries, let's look at Ibn. Fedra, an Arab traveler's record:

"Russians live on an island in the lake. They plundered nearby Slavic villages and sold prisoners to towns in the lower reaches of the Volga River. "

The indigenous people in the Volga River basin are Slavs. After years of continuous fighting between tribes, some people went to Northern Europe to invite powerful mercenaries and leaders. So the Varanji people from Scandinavia ended the dispute, and a large number of Viking immigrants poured in, which were called Russians and Russians by the locals. It was not until 882 AD that Archduke Oleg established the State of rossland, and called the country where they lived Russia, which is today's Russia.

For centuries, Scandinavian people have lived by grazing, farming and fishing. In the 6th and 7th centuries, they began to trade in Russia and other places along the Baltic Sea. Driven by some unknown reasons, they suddenly began to invade the European coast in the late eighth century. This may be because they are surprised by the wealth they encounter when doing business, or they perceive the weaknesses of the southern races, or it may be because new navigation and shipbuilding technologies enable them to sail long distances or move quickly. In 793, the pagan Vikings attacked the monastery in Lindisfen, which was built by Irish monks on the island opposite the northeast coast of England.

Viking warships are fast and shallow, allowing vikings to attack quickly from the sea and rivers. Due to the lack of roads in the ninth century, vikings were able to concentrate in wealthy towns or monasteries; They can land quickly and subdue any resistance, taking prisoners and plunder before any organized troops arrive. People living on the coasts and rivers of Germany, France and Britain are very afraid of these invaders. The central governments in these areas fell into popular resentment because they were unable to resist the lightning invasion. People began to turn to the nobles who built castles in the local area for asylum, which strengthened the influence of nobles in the local area and weakened the authority of the king.

With the development of the ninth century, the vikings became bolder. Larger Viking races joined forces to carry out actual attacks, far exceeding previous attacks. They plundered important cities including Hamburg, talaka and Rouen. They settled in islands outside Britain, Ireland (Dublin), Iceland and parts of Greenland. The Danes occupied and ruled the eastern half of England for about a century. Other forces went upstream along the Seine and surrounded Paris for two years until they collected donations and looted supplies. Another nation ruled the Russian region west of Kiev and attacked Constantinople from the Black Sea. They invaded Muslim Spain and went deep into the Mediterranean.

In the 10 century, the French king ceded part of his territory (Normandy) and was ruled by ancient Norwegians or Normans. ) Buy back peace from the Vikings and make their leader the Duke of France. The normans also converted to Christianity according to the agreement. Norman became an extraordinary group in the Middle Ages, once conquered England and established the first largest European kingdom. Other normans also conquered Sicily and most of Italy, and established the Crusader Kingdom in Palestine.

The Viking invasion stopped at the end of the tenth century, partly because they stopped listening to pagan warrior values after becoming Christians. In addition, Scandinavia was divided into several kingdoms, and the new rulers focused on managing the land they already owned. In addition, Viking colonists were also assimilated by the surrounding cultures of Russia, France and Britain. However, the European samurai culture, which was developed in response to the Viking threat, subsequently found a new way out in the holy land in the eastern Mediterranean.