Who were the Vikings and what was their life like?

Who Were the Vikings and What Was Their Life Like?

Were the Vikings really as fierce and merciless as everyone

commonly believes? Imagine being back in the Viking era.

The sky is blue, the ocean waves gently lapping onto the

beach near the longhouses' of the Viking settlement are

light blue and crystal clear. The boys are helping their

fathers plow the fields. All the girls are helping their

mothers, who are doing various chores around their houses.

Several girls are sweeping the dirt floors of their

longhouses, others are doing wash in a spring. The dogs are

chasing the cats around the longhouses. There is a tower

atop a lofty hill near the ocean. The appointed guard

distinguishes several specks on the horizon of the water.

After a little while, he perceives that they are indeed

ships. But are they trading ships? No, they are sleek,

speedy Viking longboats with their fierce dragon head

carvings on the bow.

Viking sailors reached the White Sea to the east a...

English: An illustration of Vikings on a boat.

A modern reenactment of a Viking battle

Speedily the lookout raises the alarm

and the town is thrown into disarray. The women and

children flee to the fortified longhouse near the tower.

Grabbing their weapons, the men and boys run to the gate of

the town to oppose the invaders, although they know full

well that resistance is futile. The Vikings land, and the

townspeople with weapons are quickly slaughtered by the

elite drugged Viking warriors known as the Berserks. The

Vikings plunder the town, dragging away the women and

children for slaves, while killing some for fun. The common

misconception of Vikings is based only on this type of

scenario. Nobody ever considered what kind of home these

men returned to across the immense seas. Based on this and

only this picture, many believe that this was the life of

the Vikings. Mainly raiding and in...