The Vikings

In Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, lived the people we call the Vikings. Their countries were poor, and they had to work hard, farming the land and fishing, just to make a living and have enough to feed their families.

The soil was poor in Denmark, and so the crops were limited. Although Sweden had richer soil, much of it was covered with forest. Norway was often wet in summer and icy cold in winter, making a farmer’s life very challenging.

The farm always went to the eldest son when the father died, and the younger sons had to leave and make a living as best they could. Sometimes they went searching for land on the lower slopes of the mountains, where there were few farms. Other times, they joined a group of young men sailing across the sea to find new land where they could settle down. Many of them became pirates and raiders, sailing around the coasts of Britain and Europe, looking for towns and villages to burn and rob.

At first, only a few of the most daring Vikings went on these raids across the sea, but they brought back strange tales. One party of raiders landed on the tiny island of Lindisfarne, off the coast of Britain. They attacked the monastery there, killing the monks and carrying away all the treasure. When they returned, they told how these Britons were foolish enough to store their treasure in big stone buildings, guarded only by men with bald heads and no weapons.

More and more Vikings began to join the raiding parties. Several ships would land on the coast, and then the crews would attack the nearest village or monastery they found, killing and burning, and taking away everything of value they could find. Then they sped back to their ships and sailed quickly away before anyone could stop them.

It was easy for them to make these surprise attacks and escape. They had long, narrow ships, about seventy feet long. At its widest part, in the very middle, the ship was only fifteen feet wide. It was pointed at both ends, so it could creep up narrow, winding rivers and be rowed out again backwards very quickly if the Vikings were attacked.

It was cold and wet in a Viking ship, as there was no shelter in rough weather. The Vikings sat on benches along the sides of the ship. In the ship’s side, there were holes through which the oars were placed. The Vikings had to row their ships, but they would put up a square sail when the wind helped them. These ships took them to many places. One Viking, named Leif Ericson, landed on the shore of a new country that no one had been to before. It was so pleasant that he called it Vinland, or Wineland. It was probably North America.