Monday 16 June 2008

V for Vikings.




"We sailed our ships
to any shore
that offered the best
hope of booty'
we feared
no fellow on earth,
we were fit, we fought
in the battle-fleet."


Probable causes of Viking expansion.
Viking society was based on agriculture and trade with other peoples and placed great emphasis on the concept of honour both in combat (for example, it was unfair and wrong to attack an enemy already in a fight with another) and in the criminal justice system.
It is unknown what triggered the Vikings' expansion and conquests, although it coincided with the Medieval Warm Period (800 – 1300) and stopped with the start of the Little Ice Age (about 1250 – 1850). The lack of pack-ice would have allowed Scandinavians to go "a-Viking" or "raiding.


It is important to bear in mind that not all the Norse arriving in the British Isles came as raiders. Many arrived with families and livestock, often in the wake of the capture of territory by their forces. DNA analysis shows that a major part of the ancestry of English people in northern East Anglia, eastern Yorkshire and in the Lake District is Scandinavian in origin, presumably from colonists around this time. The populations then merged over time by intermarriage into the Anglo-Saxon population of these areas. Many words in the English language are from old Scandinavian languages, showing the importance of this contact. One of these words is the word "mail" which is "mål" in Norwegian, meaning speech or lanquage. Black mail meant :as soon as Vikings started talking, it meant giving money.


Facts:
The jury of English common law was a direct outgrowth of Viking ideas about community obligations and sworn investigations, both vital steps in building a civil society.

Queen Elisabeth II is of Viking descent, because William the Conqueror was a French Viking

Look at http://mrsnesbittsplace.blogspot.com/ for other great posts

45 comments:

mrsnesbitt said...

ascinating post!
We are quite near to York, or Yorvik in it's Norse Name. I often took pupils to the site, a fascinating if romantic aspect of our history.

Dx

Kjersti said...

Nice V-choice. The vikings was not very kind.. I am glad we are not like that any more.

Reader Wil said...

So you might be of Viking origine too! Thanks for the visit!

Reader Wil said...

Kjerstis Hjørne, no the Scandinavians are the nicest people in the world now. Very honest and hospital( gjestfri).Tak for besøk!

Rune Eide said...

I thought about using Viking myself, but found it to be a bit obvious for a Norwegian. I might also have been carried away...

Very nice of you to mention the concept of honour and the start of a jury-like system. Remnants of its original form can still be found in the UK on the Island of Man. Also, Touring Scotland and Northern England can be fun if you now a bit about Norse names.

However, as far as I know, we consider the Viking age as such to have ended in 1066 with the battle at Stamford Bridge. After that came the Scandinavian Middle age, although other forms of expansion continued.

Oups - I better stop now!

ArneA said...

Being a Viking or at least have some of them as my ancestors from before 1000 pc,
I have to choose another V for Wednesday

kjpweb said...

Good use for todays "V". I'm still searching...
Cheers, Klaus

Reader Wil said...

No, no RuneE go on please! Vikings have always interest me! The idea that the British Empire was ruled by a descendant of the Viking William the Conqueror is great! So the Viking empire was the greatest of all empires, imagine!

Reader Wil said...

Arnea, I had bought some books about Vikings and one of our Danish friends told us a lot about the way they built their ships. That was very clever! Oh there is so much to tell....

Reader Wil said...

Good luck Klaus!

Juliana said...

excelent choice for v theme.

thanks drop at my abc post

Reader Wil said...

Thanks Juliana!

Janice Thomson said...

Excellent and fascinating post for the "V" theme. This was much enjoyed Wil.

Reader Wil said...

Coming from you I am very happy with this comment, Janice!

Unknown said...

Nice choice and great V post.

Reader Wil said...

Thanks John!

Andree said...

Someday I will travel to the ancient Viking outposts in Canada. These people fascinate me — thank you for the information.

http://meeyauw-pad.blogspot.com/2008/06/abc-wednesday-v-is-for-virginia.html

Gordon said...

A fascinating and informative post.

Reader Wil said...

Thanks Andrée! I should also like to find the traces of the old Vkings.

Reader Wil said...

Gordon thanks and I like the planes on your blog!

Jane Hards Photography said...

They came to my islland too and left their mark in many place names. Very good, interesting choice.

me ann my camera said...

This is a wondeerful bit of history and as a child in school the vikings were one of my favourite studies! Thanks for having visited my 'vlinder' pictures!

Bear Naked said...

V for Viking --of course.
Very interesting.

Reader Wil said...

babooshka, can you give me some examples of Viking names?

Anonymous said...

What a good V post. I enjoyed it.

Reader Wil said...

Thanks " me ann my camera"! Your blogs are all lovely!

Reader Wil said...

Hi bear naked, thank you for the visit!

Reader Wil said...

Thanks Judy, you've taken great photos on your blog. I wish you a great holiday!

Neva said...

What a great "V"! I love reading stories about the Vikings....some not so nice but some are really interesting....I love the part about Viking woman being able to chose their own husband....very forward thinking for that time I think! I think I have Viking ancestory but then wouldn't we all of English descent? too cute. Love your blog!

Reader Wil said...

Thank you Neva. Yes we all are a mixture of Celts, Vikings, Saxons and who knows more.

Kim said...

Great choice for V, I would have never thought of that. Thanks for stopping by my blog, and have a vonderful day :)

Rose said...

A very interesting and informative post! I didn't realize William the Conqueror was of Viking descent. The Vikings often get such a bad rap, but I think they're fascinating.
Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Katney said...

Youhave provided a lot of interesting information about the Vikings. I am especially intrigued by the photo below that is shaped like a building with grass on top. Is it a building but I don't see the doors or windows?

Reader Wil said...

Thanks Kim have a wonderful day too!

Reader Wil said...

Yes Rose as soon as they were assimilated they became more concerned about their fellow countrymen.

Reader Wil said...

Katney it is a building made of turf, because there was no timber on iceland and later on Greenland.

Suburbia said...

'V'ery interesting post for V!

Paulie said...

Vital information about Vikings. Fascinating!

Rena said...

So interesting! I've always been fascinated by past civilizations.
I like the use of slide shows throughout your blog. (Love the tired one!)

Marvin said...

Thank you for the very interesting and informative series of Viking posts.

Reader Wil said...

Thank you Suburbia,Paulie, Rena and Marvin!

bly guy said...

THANK you for visiting me!! And the old Viking blood is rushing through our ancestral veins! Husband is Nordic/Irish and I'm some amount of Irish, so it all fits! Very lovely V post!

Reader Wil said...

Thanks bly guy! Your blog is great! But that's because you had viking ancestors. The vikings were great story tellers.

Dina said...

Wil, today I returned to your slideshow and watched it in leisure, savoring every picture.
That's the way it is with your posts, they cannot be zipped through in 60 seconds.
I've never seen so many things of the Vikings. How exciting and amazing they are!
Thank you for this!

Reader Wil said...

Hi Dina thanks for your visit, kind words and comments!