Sample Research Paper # 2

The Importance of Viking Ships in the Expansion of Their Culture

The year was 793ce. The morning was foggy and hushed. The monks at Lindisfarne were getting ready to face the day. Prayers had been said, and the meal had been set out. Suddenly a dark shape coalesces from the fog. It is the head of a dragon and behind the head, one of the most feared objects in Medieval history. The Viking longship!!!  The Vikings plunder the monastery and scatter the monks. Among the items lost was an original “Gospel” that was illustrated in the classic Celtic manner.

This is one of the stories that typifies the Vikings. Were they all like that? Were they just barbarians or did they contribute to the world more than just bloodshed? How did their influence change the world, and by what means were they able to accomplish  that? Hopefully some of these questions will be answered soon.

The first thing we want to look at is, who were the Vikings? Although some of them were warriors and sailors who raided when it was most profitable, most were farmers and fishermen with a penchant for trade. They came from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. They opened up most of the western world from the Black Sea to Canada. They founded cities, served in Imperial courts, ruled countries, and of course, raided the coastal and river villages. Some became famous, some became infamous, and some were immortalized.

The “Golden Age” of the Vikings was from about 800ce to 1100ce. This was when most of the settling, raiding and so on occurred. This is also the period that is most often told about in the sagas. The saga was a story that was written down c. 1250ce. and told about the lives of everyday folks put through some often extraordinary circumstances. Wether it was a feud, battle, or even legal issues, the sagas reported them. The sagas differed from their contemporaries in Europe in that they were not about courtly life or the aristocracy. The fact that they talked about everyday people was what set them apart. Though they did often mention the old gods, they relied mainly on the natural talents and abilities of the characters. Many of the main characters in the sagas had major flaws. Some were liars, some were outlaws, some were cruel, and some were just bad people. Some of the different types of sagas are: “The Saga of the Greenlanders”, about the founding of Greenland, and the discovery of America; “The Saga of the Volsungs”, about the slaying of the dragon Fafnir by Sigurd,(which inspired J.R.R Tolkien to write “ The Lord of the Rings” and the composer Wagner to write “The Ring Cycle” which is where we get “The Flight of the Valkyries”.), and “The Saga of Ref the Sly” about Ref, the champion, who defends the weak, and helps those in need.

So, why didn’t the Vikings stay in Scandinavia? There are several reasons for going abroad. The soil was thin, and the farming season was short. Since they could not farm year round, they turned to fishing, and in time they became pretty good at seafaring. This lead to exploration and eventually to trade and conquest.

Another reason to move, was the fact that the land just couldn’t handle the population. With all the people living in close proximity, tempers could flare over the simplest things. Therefore, some folks were forced to move. This combination of overpopulation and exile, propagated the expansion of the culture. Wherever the people would go, they would take their culture and heritage with them. Another reason people left Scandinavia, was the fact that they chafed under the rule of the kings. They felt that the kings were getting to powerful, and didn’t want anything to do with them. They figured that they could rule themselves better than a monarchy.

Still one more reason to leave Scandinavia was the fact that you could get rich if you went abroad. The word “Viking” is Norse for “piracy”. If the people that the Vikings were going after were too strong to fight, they would trade with them. If not, too bad for them. Some of the worlds major cities started out as Viking trading posts. Dublin, Ireland is one of these. So is the country of Iceland. In fact, Iceland had influence on the entire arctic and was the key to the western settlements in Greenland. During the Golden Age, the Viking farmers would all come together under their jarls, or chiefs, and would feast, fight and gamble. Then when that was over they would go on the raiding trips. Most of the ships were owned by the jarls, and the crews were the peasants that worked their land.

If you wanted, and you were of Swedish descent, you could work for the Emperor in Constantinople. The entire imperial guard was comprised of Vikings. They were known as the Varangian Guard. One of the most well known of the Varangian Guards was Harald Sigurdson. He acquired a lot of wealth, then went back to Norway and became a powerful king. In 1066 he tried to take control of England from another Viking king, Harald Godwinson(II). King Harald of England, won the battle with Harald of Norway, but died at the battle of Hastings. The victor of that battle was William the Conqueror, another king of Viking ancestry. Williams great-great-great-grandfather was King Rollo. Rollo was a Norwegian king that, in 911ce, persuaded King Charles the Simple of France to give his people some land in exchange for protection. This land became known as Normandy, and that is what it is called today.

Some Vikings settled along the Volga and Dnieper rivers in what is now Russia. They established trading posts in cities like Kiev, and in 860ce, even attacked Constantinople, where they would later become the Varangian Guards. The area around Kiev became known as Kievan Rus. “Rus” being the Fennic for “Swede”. These Vikings laid the foundation for the emergence of the Russian state.  The princes that ruled there were of Scandinavian descent. They ruled over a Slavic people, and some were powerful. Prince Vladimir, the Kievan Russian, and Byzantine Emperor Basil II were the key people that introduced Christianity to the East.

Bergen, Norway was an extremely busy and prosperous port. The Norwegians traded with the Germans, and the folks from Iceland, the Shetland islands, the Orkney islands, and from England. They were able to get wine from Germany, and they sent out dried fish and butter. From the islands they received linen, flax, honey, and the like.

Going the other direction, we encounter England, Ireland, and Scotland. In 865ce, the Vikings from Denmark attacked and conquered East Anglia, in England and settled in the town of York. They ended up conquering three of the four English kingdoms, and ruled them for close to one hundred years. This was known as the “Danelaw”. This shows that the Vikings were not just “barbarians”, but could also function as able leaders, and magistrates. The Vikings also had outposts in the Orkney islands, the Shetland Islands, and in Ireland. These were major supply and trade posts for the Atlantic. In Ireland they not only founded Dublin, but they also used Limerick, Cork, and other cities for trading posts.

We now come to Iceland. Iceland was settled first by farmers that wanted more land. Then the others came. The dissatisfied jarls and the social outcasts. They were heading for a better life, much like the pioneers of America did in the mid to late 1800's.   One of the interesting things about Iceland, was the lack of a ruler. Their government was set up so that there was no king, or executive branch of government. This meant that there was no one to make sure that the laws were followed. This “Commonwealth” worked for a while, but eventually failed. They held to the idea of “wergeld”, which was the prices paid for compensation for damages to persons or property. If someone hurt your family, then it was up to you to do something about it. Revenge was a big thing to the Viking people as a whole. The men would meet once a year at a gathering called an “althing”. During these meetings, the laws would be read by the “Lawspeaker” to the “Law Council”. Also they served as a social gathering, and a festival. The system worked until 1262 when, in order to keep from total chaos, they appealed to the King of Norway to take control of the island.

A man from Norway named Erik the Red  had escaped to Iceland with his dad Thorvald. They were accused of killings some men, and were exiled from Norway. On Iceland, Thorvald died, and Erik set up a farm. There was a fight between Erik and one of the other farmers, and Erik killed the other man. This made him an outlaw in Iceland as well as Norway, and since he couldn’t go anywhere else, he went west. He settled in Greenland, and the settlement lasted for about five hundred years, ending about the time of Columbus. Erik had a son named Leif, who was an adventurer. He went and joined the king of Norway, where he was commissioned by king Olaf Tryggvason to convert all of Greenland to Christianity. This was extremely hard, considering the founder, Erik, was a very hard man and much opposed to Christianity. On his way back to Greenland, he got blown off course, and saw a land that has been sighted before by another man blown off course. That man was Bjarni Herjofsson, who tells the others in Greenland. Bjarni, however, didn’t stop and check the place out. He just sailed back to Greenland. Leif, on the other hand, does check the land out. He finds that the land has self-sowing grains, grapes, and maple trees. On his way back from this new land, he rescues a crew from a ship that has gone down. Thus he acquires the nickname “Leif the Lucky”. The captain of the boat is named Trorir, and he ends up dying back in Greenland.

Leif’s brother Thorvald, then explores the lands that Leif saw. However, he ends up dying in a skirmish with the natives, or “skraelings”. His sister joins up with another expeditionary group, and they actually stay for a while in the new land. But, she isn’t the best person in the world. She ends up killing some of the other explorers, and impresses the natives when, during a raid, she bares her breast and slaps it with a sword. The natives run off, not knowing what to think.

Many see the end of the Viking age at about this time. The Vikings are converting to Christianity, some forcefully, and the pagan ways are going by the wayside. The Vikings went from raiding to trading. The last great fleet of Viking ships was in 1066 when William the Conqueror invaded England. There were still raids after that time, but they were not in the mass amounts that were present during the war. In one thirteenth century text, a Norseman explains the importance of looking good. Not only washing and wearing good clothing, but also “keeping up appearances” so to speak. He mentions going to church, being honest with the customers, and minding your manners. This is a far cry from the yelling and screaming raiders that he descended from. It also shows adaptability, not only in business, but in daily life as well.

Now a question arises. How did the Vikings cross the storm swept Atlantic, and at the same time infiltrate the rivers? They did this in the types of ships that they built. We know that there were several different types of ships that they used. The basic ship was “clinker built”. This means that they started with a keel, or center beam, and then added the side boards. These boards overlapped the one under them, and were held together with iron nails. Then the cracks were sealed with chalking. Attached to both the keel and the boards were ribs of wood. This made the ships flexible, and allowed for easy maneuvering. The ships also had only one mast, and the sail was usually made out of wool.

The ships that most people think of when talking about Vikings are the “Drakkar” or dragon ships, and the “Snekkars” or serpents. This was a long, wide, and shallow ship. There was no rudder, only an oar that was used to steer. The mast on the longships were not permanently attached to the ship. It could be lowered if need be. They were considered “double-ended” because the bow (front) and the stern (back) were the same. This was an added advantage to the raiding parties, because they could beach the ship, and then when it was time to go, they could just jump in and go. These tended to be between seventy-five to over one hundred feet long, with thirty to eighty oars. They were also about fifteen to twenty feet wide, but only about five feet high in the middle. They could carry quite a few men, and they were built for fast easy attacks. They had dragons on their bows that they removed when sailing in home waters.

Another type of ship was the “Knarr” or “Knorr”. This was the trade and cargo type of ship. It was shorter, wider and deeper than the Drakkar, but it was built in the same fashion. The mast on the Knarr was permanently attached to the ship, and the ships seemed to be made primarily for sailing instead of rowing. This was the main ship for the people of Iceland. They used these ships for transport of goods and people, and was more capable of riding out the rough seas than the longship was. There is a Knarr that was found in Roskilde fjord, Denmark. It is approximately fifty feet long, and fourteen feet wide. It is now on display in Roskilde.

There are many other types of ships that were made by the Vikings. Most were not the longships, but were simple fishing vessels. Some were used as ferries, to cross the fjords, and some were just your everyday boat.

The Vikings valued their ships highly. So much so, that some of the chiefs would be buried in or with their ships. They have been discovered in mounds in Norway, and some of the ships are in really good shape. The Oseberg ship is one of them. It was discovered near Oseberg Norway in 1903, about three miles from the mouth of a small river near the Oslo Fjord. It is seventy feet long from tip to tip, and almost seventeen feet wide in the middle. It is only just over five feet tall in the middle though.  It was used as the burial chamber for a woman, and was filled with all sorts of things. There were animals, tools, chests, and a wagon, all had elaborate carving on them. Also the ship itself was elaborately carved on the bow and the stern. It is one of the most well preserved ships that are around today. The ship has been dated to between 850 and 875ce, which puts it in the beginning of the Golden Age of the Vikings. The ship was excavated, and reassembled and now resides in Oslo.

Another ship that has been discovered is called the Gokstad ship. It was found about fourteen miles south of the other ship, and is actually in better shape than the Oseberg ship. It was found in 1880 and was dated to about 900ce. This ship was in such good shape, that they were able to transport it in only two pieces. It is also residing in Oslo along with the Oseberg ship. The Gokstad ship is longer at seventy-eight feet, but it is the same width as the Oseberg. However the Gokstad is about a foot and a half deeper than the other, at six foot nine inches. The explanation for this is that the Gokstad ship is newer, therefor it has the more advanced features. And also the Gokstad ship belonged to a man, this was accounted for by the large bones found in the ship. Also there were shields in place on the oar holes on the Gokstad ship, along with a dozen horses and six dogs. There were also three boats found in the ship as well. Two of which looked like they had been rigged for sailing. They ranged from thirteen and a half to twenty-five feet long. Also there was a canopy in place over the body of the man. This is not thought of as part of the original ship, although there are places on the ship for something similar. The ship was definitely a sea going vessel. A replica of the ship was made and sailed to Chicago in 1892, and the crew said that it reached speeds of up to ten knots.

Not all funerary boats were buried. Some jarls and kings would be placed on board, along with tools, horses, weapons, and anything else that might be of assistance in the afterlife, then the ship would be set on fire and set adrift.

From the way the ships were made, we can see how the Vikings were so successful. The ships allowed them to go farther up a river and raid villages that other pirates could not. The same ship could also take the crew back across the ocean to the homeland. In this manner, the Vikings amassed quite a bit of wealth. In fact, some coins from Samarkand and even Baghdad have been found in Sweden.

Now that we know what kinds of ships they used, how did they get around? What were some of the types of navigation that were used in the days before the compass? Well, the sun was probably the main means for navigation. If you knew where the sun was, then you knew your directions. This was also true for the moon and stars at night. If you were heading to Norway from Iceland, you needed to keep the rising sun in your face, and the setting sun at your back. Other means of navigation were landmarks, if you were close to land. When they were out to sea, they would often use the migrations of geese, and other water fowl. When they got close to land, more and more land based birds would show up. One of the Vikings favorite birds was the raven. It was seen as Odin’s bird, and always led to landfall.

So, what elements of Viking culture are with us today? Well, there are some days of the week. Wednesday was once “Odin’s (Woden) day”, and Odin was the chief god for the Vikings. Thursday used to be “Thor’s day”. Thor, being the god of the weather, was the god that the Vikings prayed to the most. Another god was Fray. He was the god of harvest, and from him we get the word “Friday.”  There are also many other words in the English language that sound like the Norse. North, South, East and West, all sound like the Norse words.