Vikings Influence On Society
Introduction
The Vikings were vicious people living in Scandinavia. The raids by the Vikings first began around in c.790 in England but these lead to further raids over the years in other English and European countries; they were finally defeated in 1066 by King Harold Godwinson. The Vikings impact on the people can on the whole be seen as destructive with people’s properties being destroyed, belongings being stolen, villagers being captured and even some killed. But it also saw the exploration of trade, new skills, farming and craft as well new language, traditions, beliefs and cultural influences.
Raid
The Vikings were well known for raiding villages and monasteries. During these raids the Vikings would often enslave and sometimes even kill people. There is evidence of this in Source 14 which says “They killed some monks and took others away in chains. Some of the Monks were chased away, …show more content…
There lay an ox and a man by its side; a child and a horse found a common grave; women and fowl stained each other with blood. Everywhere dead bodies” Mothers in particular would have felt such despair having their babies snatched from them. These babies hadn’t even had a chance to live a life at all, they were innocent, helpless. It saddens me to think of how those poor mothers felt.
The Vikings have long been perceived as extremely violent people. Evidence that this was probably true can be seen in Source 4 where its illustrated that the Vikings were burning down innocent people’s homes. People’s livelihood gave as quick as that. The villagers not only feared for their lives and those around them but worried for the safety of their homes and all that they earned. Raids would have created a permanent state of fear and worry for the poor people exposed to them.
The Vikings were vicious people living in Scandinavia. The raids by the Vikings first began around in c.790 in England but these lead to further raids over the years in other English and European countries; they were finally defeated in 1066 by King Harold Godwinson. The Vikings impact on the people can on the whole be seen as destructive with people’s properties being destroyed, belongings being stolen, villagers being captured and even some killed. But it also saw the exploration of trade, new skills, farming and craft as well new language, traditions, beliefs and cultural influences.
Raid
The Vikings were well known for raiding villages and monasteries. During these raids the Vikings would often enslave and sometimes even kill people. There is evidence of this in Source 14 which says “They killed some monks and took others away in chains. Some of the Monks were chased away, …show more content…
There lay an ox and a man by its side; a child and a horse found a common grave; women and fowl stained each other with blood. Everywhere dead bodies” Mothers in particular would have felt such despair having their babies snatched from them. These babies hadn’t even had a chance to live a life at all, they were innocent, helpless. It saddens me to think of how those poor mothers felt.
The Vikings have long been perceived as extremely violent people. Evidence that this was probably true can be seen in Source 4 where its illustrated that the Vikings were burning down innocent people’s homes. People’s livelihood gave as quick as that. The villagers not only feared for their lives and those around them but worried for the safety of their homes and all that they earned. Raids would have created a permanent state of fear and worry for the poor people exposed to them.