It began with the sacking of the monastery at Lindisfarne in 793 and ended in 1066, at the Battle of Stanford Bridge where King Harald Hardråde was killed. These two bloody events mark the opening and closing of an era in Nordic history which featured dramatic social change. The Viking Era.

The part of history know as the "Viking Age" is considered to have started in the year 793. This was the year of the first large Viking raid. It occurred at the monastery of Lindisfarne on the north-east coast of Britain.

Reasons and prelude to the Viking Age

At the beginning of the 6th century large changes took place in the Lake Malar Area of Sweden Suddenly a Svea power appeared which was strong enough to wage war against the Gutar.

Piracy was all very well for yielding sporadic bursts of wealth but only trade could yield a regular income. The achievement of the Scandinavians as traders rather than raiders proved the more enduring

The Vikings were a great trading people. From Sweden and Norway, trading routes were opened throughout Europe, following rivers and coasts in their longships.

Gift giving was an important part of the Jul feat also. Usually a single gift would be given to the host by each guest. Those lowest on the social ladder would give their gifts in the early part of the feast, within the first three days. This pattern would be followed until the guest of highest rank gave his gift on the last night of the feast.

The bed too is richly decorated and can be taken apart for purposes of transport. Tents and "camp beds" seem to have been normal accessories when travelling by ship.

This page is dedicated to the Vikings. There's so much to tell about them, and this is only a brief description about our famous forefathers. Nevertheless, I hope you will find this page interesting and informative.

Vikings! The word conjures up images of wild, barbaric, sea faring men, intent on setting their mark on their less warlike neighbours with fire and sword. From the land of ice and giants, they swept across Europe like a forest fire pillaging and destroying all in their path.

The Viking farmer used an "ard" to plow the fields. This was a very simple kind of plow, which merely eased up the top soil enough for him to spread the seed properly. To the end of the Viking Age some had more sophisticated plows. This had two wheels in front and a plank to turn the top soil at the back end of the plow.

Throughout North-West Europe, the common people lived on farmsteads which were handed down from father to son. Each farmstead supported an extended family, with up to three generations living together. The more prosperous also employed servants, who lived on the farmstead and depended on the family for their food and shelter.

We made this site to give you a better background of the social society during the Viking Age, primarily to get better understanding of all the happenings in this time period. We encourage you to read it all carefully before you move on to the special sites about Viking culture. You may print it if you like.

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Approximate Word count = 2176
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)