30 amazing facts about Vikings
30 amazing facts about Vikings
The Vikings - although they call Scandinavia their home, these experts in Ancient Norse seas have done everything from exploration, trade, colonization and looting.
During their time, they instilled fear in most of Europe, and even parts of the Middle East.
Given their surprising amount of influence, it's no wonder they are still famous to this day for the imprint they left behind!
Check out 30 unbelievable facts about Vikings that will shock you!
The Vikings never wore helmets with horns!
The word "Viking" means "a pirate attack" in the ancient Nordic language.
The Viking era lasted for less than 300 years from AD 900 to 1066.
The Vikings are known to have excellent hygiene.
Due to the Norse religion, it is believed that warriors went to extraordinary realms after death, so burying the dead in boats is common to help reach the afterlife.
Original skateboards were developed 6,000 years ago by Scandinavians.
The majority of Vikings spent their time growing barley, rye, and oats, as well as raising cattle, goats, pigs and sheep on farms just big enough to feed their families.
Due to the beauty ideals of Nordic culture, brown skinned Vikings (usually men) would bleach their hair.
The Vikings never called themselves Vikings and they didn't think of themselves as a united group.
The Vikings practiced Norse theory, the heads of their gods were Odin and Thor.
500 years before Christopher Columbus "found" the coast of the Americas, the Vikings landed in what is now Canada around AD 1000.
Compared to other cultures, Viking women have more rights than most women.
It is difficult to gather information about the Vikings, as they never wrote down their own history.
There are four main classes of Nordic society: Kings, Jarls, Karls and Thralls.
The Vikings entered the war in a state of hypnosis-like fury known as berserker.
20% of English words are from Old Norse.
Some Vikings kept pets - from cats, dogs, falcons, peacocks and bears.
Only 80% of Viking children survive after age 5.
There is a secluded valley in Sweden, where the old dialect of the Norse Vikings is still spoken.
The Bluetooth symbols are an ancient word of the Vikings - they represent the short name Viking King.
Greenland was discovered by the Vikings centuries before the Inuit arrived.
There was an ancient Viking king who took Christmas so seriously that his subjects were forced to drink alcohol during the holiday.
When the Vikings get together to make laws and settle disputes, it's a meeting called "Article".
One of the Viking kings once reigned as King of England for 5 weeks.
In order to know how badly the wound was in battle, the Viking woman would feed an injured warrior a broth with strong onions.
The Viking's most prized weapons were their long swords.
The Vikings were known for their impressive boat building skills of their time.
Some Viking Runes are just a form of graffiti, such as "Tholfir Kolbeinsson carved these runes on."
Poetry is said to be a gift from Odin.
Iceland's national sport is Glíma, which is a Scandinavian martial art used by the Vikings.
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