Vikings - who are they?

Hello all,

I've heard yet another meaning of the word Viking, as fjord-men, from one of my books.

I believe Vinland (L'Anse au Meadow) was meant to be a permanent settlement. I have a National Geographic article that talks about nine structures, one of which measured 70 by 55 feet (that is 3850 square feet!). The settlement existed for more than 3 years, it was Thorfinn Karlsefni who was determined to make it permanent. It seems that the Vikings were always short of land and that unrest in the homeland would constantly leave them no option except for spreading further and further.

Amazing, they plundered some Italian coastal towns, passed by Byzantium (on land!), sailed down the Volga, and even traded with Baghdad.

And is it not ironic that Hrolf promised to protect France from further Norse attacks?

Zheng-ru



Edited by Zheng-ru - 28-Feb-2007 at 23:13

Originally posted by Zheng-ru Also, if anyone is interested, I built a model of a Viking stave church, I could post some pictures.

Yes Knights, that was me.

Here are some photos...

(the Vikings were not just barbaric raiders )











I tried to make it as accurate as I could. This one is about 12 cm wide and 17 cm long.

There is a piece of wall that is crooked, it is actually intentional, it can be removed to examine the inside staves better. Also, I decided not to put a roof on it.

- Zheng-ru

Edited by Zheng-ru - 02-Mar-2007 at 19:44

You are right, the Norwegian stave churches were first built in the 11th century, after the Viking onslaught.

Thanks very much, Northman.

Maybe I am wrong, I thought they were first built in the 11th century though.

Here is the Borgund stavkirche from Laerdal, http://folk.uio.no/nilsroar/laerdal/laerdal.html and a diagram from stavechurch.org:












Edited by Zheng-ru - 02-Mar-2007 at 22:17

They were built as soon as Christianity appeared. The stave technique was hardly a new invention, and it is believed the temples to the old gods were built with the same technology. In fact the Borgund church can be considered the peak of that type of architecture, since after 1150 stone started to replace wood in church buildings. Though stave churches were still built in the 16th century, they were an exception and usually very small.

Ah, thanks for the information, Northman.

- Zheng-ru