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Crazy facts about Vikings
For more than three centuries , a shout of " Vikings ! " struck fright in the pith of Medieval Europeans . But the ancient Norsemen were more than blinking looter — they also established elaborate trade road and settled in many of the lands they plundered .
From their " wizardly " navigational tools to their sexy fashion gumption , here are seven wild facts about the Scandinavian warriors .
Skilled Seamen
p > It ’s no secret that theVikingswere amazing crewman . Despite manning lightweight longships that were easily amuse by steer and sea , the Vikings care to cross the Atlantic Ocean repeatedly to finalise Greenland and Iceland . Leif Ericson even hand Greenland and Canada about 500 years beforeChristopher Columbusever set foot in the Americas .
Midnight sun navigators
p > While Medieval sailor boy in the Mediterranean mostly hugged the shoreline to keep their presence , Viking mariners sailed one thousand of mile on the open seas with no clues from land to stay their form . What ’s more , Viking journey dodge the Arctic Circle , meaning they could not rely on the star to navigate in summer , when the sun never sets . To stay oriented in the land of the midnight sun , the expert navigators usedsophisticated wooden sundialsto locomotion along the magnetic north - due south line of latitude . And on nebulous daytime when the Lord’s Day did n’t shine , they may have used " magic crystals " called Viking sunstones that polarized daylight to orient themselves .
Drugged warriors
The Norse sagas recount narration of Berserkers , furious Viking warriors who are whip up into an uncontrollable rage during fight . While these warriors may have " gone possessed " from the bloody spectacle of battle , a 1956 report in the American Journal of Psychiatry proposed that Berserkers ' crazy behavior was the result of drug : specifically abad trip from hallucinogenic mushroomspecies known asAmanita muscaria .
Trade routes
With overpopulation straining resources inScandinavian farming polish , people eventually take to looting their southerly neighbors for slaves and war dirty money . effect ? The terrifying Viking repute was created . Yet these bloody raids were n’t the center of Viking culture — the ancient mariner also set up elaborate trading connection , distributing walrus ivory and icy bear skins from Greenland , silks and spices from Constantinople , and amber from the Baltic throughout Europe and Asia .
Helmet heads
adverse to cartoon line drawing , Viking helmet in all likelihood did n’t have automobile horn or wings . In fact , a rare complete helmet , from a 10th - hundred captain ’s grave in Gjermundbu , Norway , shows a bare iron covering with a under the weather cap and a plain guard around the middle to protect the wearer ’s nozzle . And the lady did n’t decorate demurely either : One subject found thatSwedish Viking charwoman tog provocativelyin rich , colorful robes and wore sparkly metal breastplates , with a brace of broaches placed at the top that showed off the ladies ' material body .
Pagan roots
During much of their chronicle , Vikings werepaganswho believe in a pantheon of Gods , include Odin , his hammer - wielding son Thor , and fertility goddess Freya . The divinity lived in Asgard , an alternative domain plug into to Earth by a rainbowlike bridge called the bifrost . Norwegian divination promise that an epic end - clock time battle called Ragnarök would pass over out the Gods and unleash a cataclysmal flood that destroy the Earth . During the eighth through the eleventh 100 , some of Vikings ' preferred prey were gem - filled , badly defended monastery andmedieval churchesalong the coast of Europe . By the 12th century , most Vikings had convert to Christianity .
Fighting Irish
When Viking pirates invaded Ireland in the ninth hundred , they establish the Norse kingdom of Dublin , shout Dyflin at the time , which they ruled for more than 300 years . Though the rulers seemingly had Viking roots , they bit by bit immix with their Celtic subjects , creating an amalgam polish .
Viking warriors in black and white image
An artist’s impression of a Viking ship.
The researchers, lead by Guy Ropars of the University of Rennes in France, build their own Viking sunstone compass from a calcite crystal. The two beams of light can be seen on the reflective surface inside.
The Amanita muscaria mushroom, which is deep red with white flecks.
Viking ship sailing on the sea.
Viking women’s clothing consisted of a single piece of fabric with a train, an opening in front, and clasps that accentuated the breasts. The apparel is on display at Museum Gustavianum, Uppsala University.
Holy Apostles medieval church under Acropolis, Athens Greece.
Celtic cross in graveyard.
