One of the most common meals for Vikings was fish. Even in the summer, they would hang up fish and dry them before eating. Vikings loved blonde hair and even found ways to dye and lighten their hair so it would appear more blonde. So the Vikings were not permanently defeated – England was to have four Viking kings between 1013 and 1042. The greatest of these was King Cnut, who was king of Denmark as well as of England. A Christian, he did not force the English to obey Danish law; instead he recognised Anglo-Saxon law and customs. He worked to create a north Atlantic empire that united Scandinavia and Britain. Unfortunately, he died at the age of 39, and his sons had short, troubled reigns.

The culture we call the Vikings was known by many names by many different people. The Irish called them Dubgail and Finngail (dark and fair foreigners), the Germans called them Ascomanni (ashmen), the Gaels knew them as Lochlannach (lake people), while the Arabs, Byzantines, and Slavs named them the Rus' (either from the word for "rowing" or the Swedish region of Roslagen) or Varangians (sworn men). Safe to say, the Vikings got around. The diet of a Viking heavily depended on where they lived and their social standing. Vikings of a higher position in society regularly ate meat and seafood, where lower standing individuals were more likely to eat more vegetables, essentially living off their farms. Watch a video about the Vikings Eric the Red and his son Leif Ericson, who explored areas of Greenland and North America The Vikings explored more of their world than any of their contemporaries, resulting in interactions—whether through trade or pillaging and plunder—with over 50 different Middle Age cultures. [3]

22. Blondes Have More Fun

The word is a verb: Or at least, it was! The term ‘viking’ is believed to have originally referred to the act of raiding. Only over time did its usage change to refer to the Norsemen doing the raiding.

The Vikings were raiders from Scandinavia who, during the period now called the Viking Age, terrorized coastal Europe for hundreds of years. Thanks in part to some fanciful representations, Vikings have a very specific image today—one that is sometimes accurate, and sometimes way off. Many stories of Viking brutality are disturbingly true, but their culture was far more nuanced than many people would assume. Grand stone buildings, such as Westminster Abbey, replaced the wooden Anglo-Saxon structures after the Normans invaded in 1066.

18. They were very into physical activity

Great trading settlements included Jorvik; Novgorod and Kiev in modern day Russia; as well as Birka in Sweden; Kaupang in Norway and Hedeby in Germany (then Denmark). Trades routes stretched at least as far as Constantinople (Istanbul – then called Mikkelgard by Vikings) and Jerusalem. After the Anglo-Saxons, came the vicious Vikings! Join the National Geographic Kids gang as we learn to live like a Scandinavian sea-warrior, in our ten fierce facts about the Vikings… Viking facts A Viking’s most treasured weapon was his sword. They were handed down generations via inheritance, were often named and could be inscribed with runes by talented smiths to magically increase their power. The biggest house in the village belonged to the chief, which was large enough to house him and all his warriors – and sometimes even the oxen, too! It was a long hall with a stone fire in the middle, and hunting trophies and battle armour hung from its walls. There were tiny windows and a hole in the roof to allow smoke to escape. Anglo-Saxon place names Alfred's grandson, Athelstan, became the first true King of England. He led an English victory over the Vikings at the Battle of Brunaburh in 937, and his kingdom for the first time included the Danelaw. In 954, Eirik Bloodaxe, the last Viking king of York, was killed and his kingdom was taken over by English earls. See Egils Saga. Later Viking raids and rulers