Photo: Alexis Pantos/KHM, UiO. While excavating a cremation burial site in eastern Norway, archaeologists uncovered a red sandstone boulder bearing a unique inscription. Ongoing research at this Svingerud site revealed that the items this rune stone was buried with date as far back as the first century of the Common Era. That is, this rune stone (now called the Svingerud Stone) and its inscription may go all the way back to the year 1 – the time of Christ and Caesar Augustus, an age when the literate culture of the Romans was hundreds of miles away from Scandinavia. This is big news because:1) it proves that runes were in use in Scandinavia centuries before we previously thought, and 2) the influence...

The first recorded violent contact between Vikings and England was in 789 when a Saxon coastal patrol lost a man in a skirmish with otherwise unidentified Danes. Experts are unsure if this was indeed Viking aggression versus just a misunderstanding at a customs checkpoint. It is widely thought that these Vikings might have been “casing the joint” or scouting for upcoming raids.The first major recorded raid was in 793 when the famous (and wealthy) monastery at Lindisfarne (modern northeast England, then the Kingdom of Northumbria). Many monks were murdered, and a tremendous amount of wealth and captives were carried away. This shocked Europe, for such a brazen attack had come out of nowhere and had targeted a holy shrine off-limits...

793-1066 AD ...or 750-1050 AD? From the late-8th century to the late 11th century, Vikings shook Europe, upending the status quo, building lasting trade networks, and laying the groundwork for many of today's most prosperous nations. The actual dates of the Viking Age and when is started and when it ended depends on who you ask. This should not be a surprise since historians assign labels to time periods using hindsight, and that perspective is always relative. Periods overlap and should be in the context of the place. For example, the year 800 in Europe is in the Viking Age, but it is also in the Early Middle Ages, but the year 800 in China is in the Tang Dynasty. So...

There was not enough arable land in the Vikings' homeland. So they had to diversify to survive, relying heavily on cattle and livestock and fishing their endless coastlines. According to the sagas and material evidence, the Vikings ate their most important meal in the morning and then had a leisurely dinner at night. There was no lunch break for the busy Viking, but they may have snacked on apples, walnuts, or salt fish as they went. Carbohydrates included whole-grain bread, porridges of mixed grains, and barley-based beer. Dairy products from cows and sheep, including butter, cheese, and skyr (a strained yogurt high in protein and low in sugar), were daily staples. The sagas mention Vikings drinking whey – the protein-rich...

The stereotype of Vikings as tall, jacked people with blonde or red hair and piercing blue eyes was probably true for many of them, but not true for all of them. Science (and common sense) tells us that Vikings came in a wide range of hair colors, eye colors, builds, complexions, and other physical characteristics. SizeNumerous eyewitness accounts describe the Vikings as tall. To this day, Denmark and Norway host some of the tallest people in the world based on hundreds of country comparisons. Overall, our ancestors were generally shorter than us today. However, this fact pertains to the High Middle Ages through the 19th century, when social, economic, and adverse climate conditions made it difficult for dense populations to attain...

Vikings were united more by language, beliefs, and culture than by national origin. Vikings spoke a language now known as Old Norse, a northern Germanic language and the descendant of Proto-Germanic. Old Norse is a cousin of Old English, so some words, ideas (and letters) are similar to the English we use today. Norse runes (especially the Elder Futhark, which was being replaced by the Younger Futhark around the beginning of the Viking Age) has many letters that are very similar to our modern English alphabet. Modern Icelandic is today's closest relative:Old Norse was the parent of modern Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish. The modern language most like Old Norse, though, is Modern Icelandic. This continuity is probably due to Iceland's...

Originally, Vikings came from Scandinavia. That is, the lands that are now Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. These countries came about because of the Vikings. Their changing borders eventually coalesced after bloody struggles between numerous Viking Sea Kings.

However, Vikings were people with outward momentum ...

Vikings were maritime traders, raiders, mercenaries, and settlers originally from Scandinavia who took Europe by storm beginning in the Early Middle Ages. They formed a trade network, known as the Northern Arc, stretching from Greenland to the Middle East. They founded and settled in Iceland and Greenland, and there is firm archaeological evidence that they were in North America (Canada) for about 200 years (almost 500 years before Columbus landed in the Caribbean). Many nations of Europe developed through the Vikings’ help or through opposition to their pressure. What’s in a name?Vikings is a broad term that applies to many different tribes and peoples. Vikings included Svear, Geats, Zealanders, Icelanders, Lochlanders, Jutes, Rus, and many more. Their enemies knew them...

Below are links to short answers for the most commonly asked questions on Vikings. These are direct and simple answers on a complicated subject, so they only serve as a starting point for future exploration. We hope you find them helpful. Viking FAQ's: What is a Viking? Where are Vikings from? What language did Vikings speak? What did Vikings look like? What happened to the Vikings? What did Vikings eat?  What did Vikings drink? When was the Viking Age? What does the word Viking mean? When did the Vikings invade England? What did Vikings wear?  What countries where Vikings from? Why are they called Vikings?       About Sons of Vikings Sons of Vikings is an online store offering hundreds...

Vikings shaped three centuries of intense cultural, economic, demographic, and political change. Though the world would transform exponentially in the thousand years since the Viking Age (circa A.D. 793-1066), many of the changes the Vikings brought are still with us. These contributions include countries like Norway, Sweden, Denmark, England, and many more, which took their shape during the crucible of that period. Some of these countries are still ruled by royal families founded by Vikings. Norway Today, Norway is ruled by King Harald V of the House of Glücksburg. Though this dynasty is relatively new, King Harald’s lineage can be traced through a path of matrilineal and patrilineal genealogy all the way back to the first King of Norway, Harald...