Vikings PDF

Migration period 4th to 8th centuries AD, preceding Viking Age Decline of Western Roman Empire, Included Goths, Vandals, Huns, Franks, Angles, Saxons, Lombards, Slavs Foundation of medieval Euro kingdoms, blending Roman / "barbarian" traditions Population pressures, attraction to former...

Migration period 4th to 8th centuries AD, preceding Viking Age Decline of Western Roman Empire, Included Goths, Vandals, Huns, Franks, Angles, Saxons, Lombards, Slavs Foundation of medieval Euro kingdoms, blending Roman / "barbarian" traditions Population pressures, attraction to former Roman territories Laying groundwork for the medieval period and Viking Age 5th-century massacre at fort in Öland, Sweden Massacre Evidence: 26 individuals, including men, women, children, who suffered violent deaths, indicating a sudden and brutal attack Unburied Bodies: Victims' bodies left unburied within fort, offering a unique snapshot of the event and its immediate aftermath Artifacts: High-quality artifacts, gilded silver brooches and Roman glass, suggesting inhabitants were affluent and engaged in trade Migration: Imported goods and fort's strategic location imply that Öland was hub for migration and exchange during Greenland’s Vikings may have vanished because they ran out of water Climate Change Impact: Sediment cores from Greenland indicate a drying trend during Norse occupation, affecting water for agriculture and livestock Agricultural Challenges: Droughts reduced hay production, essential for feeding livestock through winters, leading to food shortages Adaptation Limitations: Norse adapted by seal hunting, but drying climate strained their agricultural practices beyond sustainable limits Broader Implications: Vulnerability of human societies to climate variability, emphasizing need for sustainable resource management Here’s what you need to know today Neil Price: “New worlds are made through ambition and effort, with a measure of risk, sometimes with violence, and often by accident. They can be shaped by the many or by the few (often at the expense of the rest.)”. Later Viking age (AD 900 – 1050): economic foundations Labor requirements for ships and sails: raiding for enslavement Later Viking age (AD 900 – 1050) Created / maintained through new tech and econ relations Golden age of the sheep farmer Longships: Faster, shallower draughts, better handling Introduction of the sail (700s) – Important, but not the sole trigger Two person years (10 hr days) to make one sail Sheepscape Ladby ship (archaeological site in Denmark) Crew: 32 Thickly-lined linen fabrics (remember the sheep) Year’s work of 30 people to equip one crew Viking fleets of 200 ships Equipping crews req’d reorganization of economy Millions of sheep  Timber, sail, and labor Skuldelev 2 ship (Dublin) 2,650 person days to build ship 2 km rope, 120 sq m sail Access to forested land managed and controlled by elites Laborers: Primarily enslaved women Raiding: In part FOR slaves Enslaved women work in appalling conditions in weaving huts Cities in the Vikings Age Constantinople (Istanbul): Early medieval pop. 500,000 London: Roman city of Londinium abandoned 450 Nearby Lundenwic becomes major port city 680 Viking assaults 851, 886, 994 Northern England: Danelaw King Alfred the Great refounded London in 886 Vikings: No large cities Market town: Ribe (Pop: 8,000): defensive moat, market Multi-lingual communities blamenn – blue people No denigrating epithets based on skin color