Vikings 0531034127, 9780531034125

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THE CIVILIZATION LIBRARY Published in the United States by Gloucester Press in 1979 All rights reserved Originated and designed by Charles Matheson and produced by The Archon Press 70 Old Compton Street London W IV 5P A First published in Great Britain 1979 by Hamish Hamilton Children’s Books Ltd Garden House 57-59 Long Acre London WC2E9JL Printed in Great Britain by W. S. Cowell Ltd Butter Market, Ipswich

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Clarke, Helen. Vikings. (The Civilization library) Includes index. SUMMARY: A history of the Vikings and a discussion of their daily life. 1. Northmen—Juvenile literature. [1. Vikings] LLapperJvan. II. Title. III. Series. DL65.C58 1979 948.02 79-12583 ISBN 0-531-03412-7

THE CIVILIZATION LIBRARY

V IK IN G S Helen Clarke Lecturer in Medieval Archaeology University College, University of London

Illustrated by Ivan Lapper

Gloucester Press • New York •Toronto • 1979 Copynght ©The Archon Press Ltd 1979

Until the end of the eighth century a . d ., Scandinavia was a peaceful region, hardly noticed by the rest of Europe. Then, suddenly, the pagan Vikings burst out of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway to attack Christian Europe. The horror of the raids are described for us by churchmen— the only people who could read and write at that time. The first Viking raid on England took place in the south in Wessex about 789. At first the people thought the ships belonged to merchants. But the travelers were Viking pirates who looted and murdered. After a raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne in 793, the attacks increased. People fled in terror when they sighted Viking longships. The name Viking probably means “people who come from inlets and creeks,” but it came to mean seagoing pirates. It was applied to Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes. The Danes traveled mainly south to raid southeaskEngland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and northern France. The Norwegians sailed west to Scotland, the Northern Isles, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. The Swedes looked east across the Baltic Sea to Russia and beyond. Then there was a change. Vikings began to settle Labroad as colonizers. A new phase of the Viking Age began.

The fury of the Northmen “ From the fury of the Northmen, oh Lord, deliver us!” So prayed the Saxon monks when the pagan Vikings descended savagely on their undefended monasteries. For two hundred years the monasteries had built up for the glory of God collections of richly decorated and valuable objects. The Vikings fell upon these, melting down the gold and silver or taking precious objects back to their homes. This stone (above) from Lindisfarne illustrates the Viking raid of 793. Britain did not suffer alone. Scotland, Ireland, Frisia (in the Low Countries), and France as far south as the Loire felt the Viking fury.

Norway Farms lay on the narrow coastal strip of level land beside fjords, or inlets which cut deep into the countryside (below).

Sweden In this country of lakes and pine forests, most people lived in the center and the south wherethere was agricultural land.

Denmark Denmark was low-lying. Forest areas were cleared for farming and raising animals to feed the growing population.

A harsh land The Vikings’ own lands were harsh. Most people depended on raising sheep, goats, and cattle, and, in Denmark, farmmg the land. But the people gamed only a poor living. As the population began to increase, more land was needed. So, in the ninth century many Scandinavians went “ a-Viking,” first to raid and then to colonize foreign lands, Society in Viking-Age Scandinavia was strictly • * -r-i ^ i i ^ r , , divided into classes. The lowest class was that oi the slave (praell, or thrall) used as labor on the farms. Some slaves were born in Scandinavia,’ but manyJ were people captured r r r in raids on western Europe. The next class was that of the free peasant or karl. j i j i j i i i r* The karl either owned land or worked the land of an aristocrat, or jarl. The jaris ruled areas of the countryside in almost complete independence. Above the jaris were the kings, ever more powerful as the Viking Age advanced.

* The |aw A Publlc assembly of all free court of ,aw There were ioca, Things and Things that rePresenteb large areas. There thejaris. The beautiful and efficient weapons that survive show how important warfare and com bat were to the vikings, if a person was killed in a fight like

the ^ eashcT n bel?w’the T"h,ng

would decide on the punishment, Often, money had to be paid by the offender to the relatives of the man he had killed, but he could aiso be banished,

At home Inside the house The rectangular, smoke-filled room was divided into sections by wooden posts that supported the roof. The hearth was in the center. The areas next to the walls were often built up with earth to form raised benches that were lined with wood or stone. These were used as beds at night, piled with straw, cloth, and furs. In the daytime the bedding was cleared away and the benches were used as working spaces.

At home most Vikings were simple farmers. The loot brought back from summer raiding may have been used to pay for clearing more land or for luxuries like spices and wine from abroad. Slaves who could be put to work on the farms were important loot. The Viking farmhouse was a simple building. The hearth in the middle of the floor provided light and heat for warmth and cooking. The smoke from the wood fire rose through a hole in the roof. Meals, usually of stewed vegetables and meat, were prepared in iron pots, stone bowls, or pottery containers that could be hung over the fire. Pottery could also be imbedded in hot ashes. Meat could be stewed, roasted on a spit, or buried with hot stones in a pit by the hearth. Mead, a kind of beer brewed at home, was the usual drink, but richer families drank wine imported from France or Germany. Both wine and mead were kept in wooden barrels bound with iron hoops. Drink was served in drinking horns or beakers of horn or wood. The house was the center of all domestic activity. The most important of these was the spinning and weaving of woolen cloth. Wool was spun by hand, dyed with colors taken from plants, rocks, or earth, and woven into cloth. Houses today The Black Houses o f the Hebrides continue a Viking tradition. They consist o f one long room with thick stone-and-turf walls and roof of thatch or turf. /fir T~

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Viking ships In Norway and Denmark no settlement was far from the sea, and in Sweden most inland travel was also by water. The Vikings designed ships that were much more advanced than others in Europe. They built ships with sails, and this gave them an enormous advantage over the ships of other countries, which had oars alone. Viking ships had oars as well as sails so they could be independent of the wind. The ships were designed to withstand very rough seas like the waters of the Atlantic, and yet their shallow draft allowed them to sail inland along rivers, and to land on beaches. Solid oak keels made the boats strong enough to carry the tall pine masts and big, square sails. Attached to the keel were overlapping oak planks (called strakes) which formed the hull. The strakes were joined together by iron nails. The strake at the waterline was thicker to

Dragon ships Brightly painted dragon figureheads decorated most Viking longships. The longship was an oceangoing warship with a sail and oars. It held seventy or eighty men. These were the ships that .terrorized the people o f western Europa. W f e

Master craftsmen Vikings built all sorts of ships, from merchantmen to small coastal vessels. The ship being repaired here is a smaller version of the longship. The picture is based on the elegant Oseberg ship with its high prow. It belonged to a Viking princess. The ship was found in a burial mound in Oslo Fjord in 1903.

strengthen the hull. One of the upper strakes was pierced with holes for oars. Then the hull was shaped by ribs lashed to the strakes. Beams running across the width of the ship supported the deck planks. A heavy piece of timber, the keelson, was laid on the keel. Above this was the “ mast fish,” a piece of oak with a socket in it for the mast. The hull was waterproofed by plugging the gaps between the strakes with animal hair and a coat of pitch. With these beautiful and efficient ships, the Vikings sailed great distances. They usually stayed close to the coast by day and camped on the beaches at night. But their growing skill in navigation and shipbuilding soon enabled them to sail into the open seas. They traveled to Iceland, Greenland, and America across the stormy Atlantic Ocean.

Towns and trade Hedeby Hedeby existed for 200 years. It began as an unwalled settlement. An earth-and-wood wall with three gateways—north, south, and west—was built in the tenth century. To the east was the harbor, defended by a wooden palisade. From the center of town, a small stream flowed into the harbor. Wooden houses stood in small, fenced plots on wood-paved streets. Merchants and craft workers lived in the houses. Craft workers made bowls, combs, beads, shoes, jewelry, and so on for the inhabitants and for export by foreign merchants who visited the town.

The Vikings were not only farmers, pirates, and warriors, they were traders and craft workers, too. About a . d . 800, long-distance trade in luxury goods began to increase. Trade routes stretched from the British Isles in the west to Baghdad and beyond in the east. Silk, spices, and, above all, silver were carried along the rivers of Russia to the Baltic Sea and then to new market centers in Scandinavia. Thousands of silver coins, many from Byzantium and the Arab world, have been found in Scandinavia. They were prized by the Vikings for their silver, not their face value, as the Vikings did not yet use coins. Viking exports included precious furs, amber, iron objects such as sword blades, walrus ivory, and slaves. The market centers began to develop into towns at the beginning of the ninth century. In Sweden, the town of Birka (on an island in Lake Malar) dominated eastern

trade. In Denmark, Hedeby (or Haithabu) grew to be the largest Scandinavian town of the Viking Age. It housed merchants from the British Isles, the Low Countries, France, the Baltic lands, Russia, even Arabia— and craft workers in wood, bone, amber, leather, and metal. There were smaller market centers, too, like Kaupang in eastern Norway (where farmers traded local products), and Paviken on the island of Gotland (a shipbuilding center). In the tenth and eleventh centuries, a second generation of Viking towns appeared, particularly in Denmark (Aarhus, Viborg, Lund). Unlike the earlierJ towns, these towns survive to tke present day.

Units of trade Vikings did not use coins at this time, but imparted coins were often choppedjinto small pieces ghts for purchase.

__________y __________ Forging swords and spears The weaponsmith made swords and spears (and also axes which were both weapons and tools). Swords and spears were made of iron by a method called pattern­ welding. Thin rods of iron containing varying amounts of carbon and phosphorus were welded onto the surfaces of a simple iron core. Then cutting edges of good steel were welded on, and the whole weapon polished and ground to show up the pattern on the surface and sharpen the edges. This method produced strong, flexible, beautiful-looking weapons. Some were inlaid with names, patterns, or symbols to bring the owner good luck in battle.

Folding scales Scales or balances for weighing precious metals were carried by merchants on their travels along the trade routes of the Viking world. They could be folded and packed in a case. Scales like these have been found in the Viking towns of Birka and Hedeby.

Cauldrons and gridirons Cauldrons for cooking were made of sheets of iron rivited together. An iron rim was fastened around the top and a handle attached to it. Gridirons made of iron strips coiled into a spiral may have rested on the fire and been used for grilling meat.

Padlock The locking mechanism was a curved iron shackle with strips called leaf springs at the end. The lock was opened by inserting a key in the T-shaped slot and pushing up to press the leaf springs together. Then the whole mechanism could be lifted out.

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Arts and crafts Viking craft workers were skilled in making weapons, jewelry, and objects for everyday life. Some lived in towns like Hedeby which had specialized quarters for them and a market where they could sell their wares. Others traveled around the countryside from farm to farm, making new things, or repairing old. The blacksmith and carpenter in particular often traveled in this way, and one man might do both trades. The jewelry worn by Viking women and the weapons carried by Viking men were often decorated with elaborate animal patterns. The animals were stylized rather than realistic, and the designs so closely intertwined that it is often difficult for us to interpret the designs today. A great deal of Viking Age art was carved in wood, but most of this has not survived. We rely on work in materials like bronze, silver, iron, ivory, and horn to show us the art of Viking Age craft workers.

Bone, horn, and antler These materials were used to make spoons, knife handles, equipment for spinning, weaving, and sewing, and, above all, combs. A narrow strip o f deer antler formed the back of the comb. Teeth were cut from plates o f antler and joined to the back by bronze pins. Combs were made from antlers of the plentiful red deer.

Woodworking Woodworkers used iron tools like axes to cut down trees, iron wedges to split them, and adzes to shape the wood. They used iron chisels, drills, and spoon bits to decorate their work. Simple objects like the bucket {left) were often undecorated, but the bed, sleigh, and an animal-head post from a royal ship are elaborately decorated.

In search of new lives In ninth-century Scandinavia it became difficult to feed the growing population. So the more adventurous Vikings went to find new lands across the seas. Norwegians and Danes began to settle in western Europe, often winning land by force. From about a . d . 800, the Norwegians sailed farther west—to the Shetland Islands (about a forty-eight-hours sail from Norway), the Orkneys, the Hebrides, and the west coasts of the British Isles. Often they landed in uninhabited areas where they could settle without bloodshed in a place that looked much like home. In about 870, Norwegians began to sail even farther, to discover new lands—Iceland, Greenland, and North America. Other Vikings traveled south as far as Spain and the Mediterranean. However, they did not settle there. Their most southern colony was Normandy, granted to them by the French king in return for peace.

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We call no man master Many Icelandic settlers were chieftains and their followers from southwest Norway. They moved from their homeland to escape the new king, Harald Fairhair. By about 900 a .d ., Harald had the whole of Norway under his rule. Before that time, the chieftains had had kinglike power themselves. They did not want to lose their independence to a king. So when they reached Iceland, they set up a republic and a parliament, the Althing. It met at Thingvellir every summer. The settlers remained independent from Norway until the thirteenth century.

Settlement in Iceland Sagas—the medieval histories and legends of Iceland—tell us about settlement of the island by Vikings. Ingolf, a Norwegian, first settled there around 870 at IngolfshofSi (“ Ingolf's head"), south of modern Reykjavik. Soon other Norwegians followed. We know some of their names from a record called Landnamabok ("The Book of Settlements”). The settlers found a country that seemed rich and inviting. There were pastures "dripping with butter,” land for growing crops, birch forests for fuel and building, and large deposits of iron ore in the lakes and bogs.

Rollo and Normandy In 911 Rollo, a Danish chieftain, and his army were given Normandy by Charles the Simple, king o f France. Rollo had to promise to defend the land entrusted to him, and he had to pay homage to Charles. Rollo was supposed to kneel and kiss Charles's foot. Instead he reached down and dragged the king's foot up to kiss it. The gesture was in character. The Danish Vikings of Normandy did not even like to admit that one of their own number ruled over them, let alone a foreign king. When they were asked to point out their leader, they cried, "We are all equal.”

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The settlement of Britain Battle The Vikings were professional fighting men. They made their living as “soldiers” plundering villages for horses and cattle during the summers, and they were splendidly equipped and trained. The Anglo-Saxon soldiers, on the other hand, were drawn from among the peasant followers of the king and his lords. They fought from personal loyalty, and once their own leader was killed they were likely to desert. They were farmers, more interested in harvesting than fighting.

The earliest Viking settlements in Britain were in the north and west. At the beginning of the ninth century, Norwegians settled near the coasts of the islands and on the mainland of Scotland. They also colonized Ireland and the Isle of Man. In Ireland they built strongholds around the coast. These were the forerunners of the modern towns of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, and Wexford. The strongholds were used as bases for attacks against the native Irish and also for raids on the west coasts of England and Wales. On the Isle of Man, the Vikings mixed more with the Celtic Christian population and adopted their religious beliefs. The Vikings came to these places first as pirates, but they soon became peaceful farmers and fishermen. They continued to live as they had in Norway, building the same types of houses, growing the same kinds of crops, and speaking the same language as their relatives at home. Their language, known as Old Norse, was the ancestor of m o d e r n Norwegian. Danish, and Swedish.

In the south and east, England was split into many kingdoms ruled by Anglo-Saxon kings. Here, Danish Vikings raided from time to time. Then, by the middle of the ninth century, the Great Army of the Danes invaded. By 870, the whole of Anglo-Saxon England, roughly north and east of a line from London to Chester, was under Danish control. It seemed that the whole of England might be overrun by the victorious Danes.

Danelaw

Alfred the Great Alfred, the Anglo-Saxon king of Wessex, ruled from 870 to 899. Although at first he had to hide from the Danes, he soon assembled an army and began a campaign that secured his own kingdom. Then, with an improved Anglo-Saxon army and a fleet, he was able to confine the Danes to the area of the Danelaw.

The British Isles The shaded areas show the extent of Viking settlement.

In 878, the Anglo-Saxon king, Alfred, raised an army in Wessex and fought victoriously against the Danes. In 886, a treaty between Alfred and the Danes allowed the Danes to occupy legally the area of England that they had already taken by conquest. This area came to be known as the Danelaw because it was ruled by Danish laws and customs. Danish soldiers there became farmers and mixed with the Anglo-Saxon population. They settled down and married Anglo-Saxon wives and became more AngloSaxon than Viking. At the end of the tenth century, Vikings from Denmark and Norway began another series of raids on the east and south of England. The Anglo-Saxon king, Ethelred the Redeless (or “ Unready”), tried unsuccessfully to bribe the attackers to stay away by paying them huge sums of money called Danegeld. Anglo-Saxon silver coins

have been found in all three Scandinavian countries, showing that Swedes and Norwegians were with the Danes and that all of them took Danegeld home as loot. At last, in 1013 Svein Forkbeard, king of Denmark, led an invasion of England and forced Ethelred to flee. Danes ruled this Anglo-Danish empire, under Knut (Canute) and others, until 1042 when England was ruled again by an Anglo-Saxon—Edward the Confessor. Even after this, the Vikings continued to raid England. In 1066, the Anglo-Saxon king, Harald Godwinsson, was defeated by a Norman, William the Conqueror, at the Battle of Hastings. As Normandy was a Viking kingdom, the Norman invasion was in fact the last successful colonizing raid by a Viking fleet.

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Knut the Great When his father, Svein Forkbeard, died in 1014, Knut had to fight to keep the English throne. But once established, he ruled firmly but justly until his death in 1033. He sent the great fleet back to Denmark and treated England as his kingdom, not as a colony. He established an international reputation as a strong European leader.

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Adventures in the west Hunting in the far north Greenland was unfriendly country. Much o f the interior was covered with glaciers, and the only land suitable for settlers was on the south and west coasts. Even there it was impossible to grow crops, and the Greenlanders relied on raising cattle and sheep for most of their livelihood. But the sea was rich in fish, seals, walrus, and whales. Whales were driven from the open sea into inlets where they were killed with spears and harpoons. Whalebone, fur from seals, and ivory from walrus tusks were exchanged for the goods needed for survival— mainly com and timber from Iceland and Europe.

Strong, seaworthy vessels and great skill in navigation enabled the Vikings to sail far westward across the Atlantic. Iceland was colonized during the ninth century. Toward the end of the tenth century Erik the Red fled there from Norway “ because of some killings.” About 980, he had to leave Iceland, too, most likely for the same reason. He sailed west and discovered Greenland. There were probably Eskimo in northern Greenland at this time, but the Vikings settled unoccupied land to the south. Erik encouraged others to come from Iceland, and three groups of farms were founded in Greenland and known as the East, West, and Middle Settlements. From Greenland it was only a short voyage to the land that is now Canada. Leif Eriksson, son of Erik the Red, first landed there. Excavations at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland reveal traces of the Vikings, but there is little evidence that they lived there for long or explored farther than the coasts of Newfoundland.

Driven from Vinland by Indians The first Viking settlers in Vinland (on the island of modern Newfoundland) called the Indians “ Skraelings.” The word may have meant “ uglies” or “screechers.” At first the Vikings traded with the Indians, but after three winters, trouble broke out between them, and after sev^ralbjoody battles, the Vikings wer€driven out of ^ Vinland, never to return. .' ' -

East to Byzantium The Vikings’ chief interest in the East was trade. Boats carrying furs, walrus ivory, and slaves from Sweden sailed across the Baltic Sea to the Gulf of Finland. Then the great rivers of Russia took them to the lands bordering the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. They returned laden with the luxuries of the East: silk, spices, and silver. Two main routes were used. The western one traveled the Volkhov and Dnieper rivers to the Black Sea and finally to Byzantium. (This is modern Istanbul, and was known in Old Norse as Mikligardr.) The eastern route followed the Volga River to the Caspian Sea. Baghdad could then be reached by camel train across the desert. Towns grew up along the western route to control trade and to shelter the Vikings traveling with their wares. The modern cities of Novgorod, Kiev, and Smolensk are a few of the towns thought to have been founded by the Vikings. Vikings were called Rus or Varangians in the early histories of Russia. In 860 or 862, three Rus brothers are supposed to have gone to the East at the request of the native Slavs, “ to restore order and rule over them.” One of the Rus, named Rurik, settled in Novgorod and took control of the surrounding countryside. From then on it was known as the “land of the Rus” (and later, Russia). Rurik was the first of a dynasty of Viking descent that ruled in cities such as Novgorod and Kiev until the eleventh century. Thus grew a tradition of close contact between Russia and Scandinavia. Some of the Swedish Vikings who traveled in the East went as mercenary soldiers to the court of the Byzantine emperor. They formed his bodyguard and were known as the Varangian Guard. To some they were known as “ax-bearing barbarians.” The Swedish Vikings, both merchants and warriors, have left evidence of their travels. Excavations have uncovered some wooden buildings, some objects of Scandinavian type, some carved runes (letters of the Norse alphabet), and some “grave goods” including Viking swords and jewelry. Grave goods were objects placed in Viking graves, probably to help the dead in the next world. In Sweden itself, runes of the tenth and eleventh centuries tell of travelers who died in Greece (Serkland to the Vikings) and in the cities of Russia.

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The Varangian Guard The bloodthirsty Viking raiders of the ninth century were the ancestors of Vikings who served as soldiers of the Byzantine emperor in the tenth and eleventh centuries. They went first as small, independent bands. For a price, they were willing to fight against the enemies of Byzantium in Crete, southern Italy, and elsewhere in the eastern Mediterranean. But by about a .d . 1000 , they had become organized into the famous Varangian Guard. They were the crack soldiers of Byzantium and emperor’s bodyguard, and they were feared all over EuroDe.

Kings, jarls and skalds

The battle-ax The ax was the symbol of the Viking warrior. This beautiful ax from Mammen in Jutland (Denmark) has an inlaid silver pattern of a lion entwined with foliage. At court The king and his hird traveled from one royal farm to another, feasting and drinking, and listening to the songs and poems of the skalds.

A Viking king had to be a fearless warrior. He was supported by a group of picked fighting companions called the hird who were richly rewarded for their loyalty. The king had the final say in matters of law and also acted as a sort of priest—an intermediary between his subjects and the gods. Next in power were the jarls (earls or lords). They ruled almost like kings over parts of the country. They often seemed to feel independent of the king himself. Battles and feuds among the jarls were common. The king’s court was wherever the king happened to be at any time. Followers who traveled with him might include his hird, the loyal jarls and their families, and the skalds, or poets. Skalds were important members of society. They were paid professional men who served kings or jarls. They composed poems in praise of the brave deeds of their employers, and acted as entertainers at banquets. The sagas preserve some of their stirring tales of gods and heroes.

Royal fortresses Danish archaeologists have found four fortresses like this one at Trelleborg in Sweden. Surrounded by a circular bank and ditch, their geometrical plan gives them a very military look. They were probably built to control the areas of the countryside around them—rather like later castles.

Religion Runes The letters of the Viking alphabet are called runes. Runes are symbols invented in the lands outside the Roman Empire at about the time of Christ. Some of the Viking runic letters were copied from letters o f other alphabets, and some were made up. In Viking Scandinavia, the runic alphabet had sixteen letters and is known as the futhark (from the sounds of its first six letters). Runes were probably carved mostly in wood, but we know most about them from rune-stones, found mainly in Sweden where there are more than 3,000. These stones are either tombstones or stones set up to mark roads and bridges. They are often beautifully carved, usually with a slender snake forming the border. The letters were originally picked out in black, red, and white paint. The stone below was raised by a Viking named Guve in memory of his son, Olav, “A young man active and able. He was killed in Estonia.” The stone is from Vastergotland, Sweden.

The Vikings worshiped many gods, the three most important being Odin, Thor, and Frey. Odin, leader of the gods, was god of kings, earls, and warriors; Thor, with his hammer, was popular with the common people; Frey was the god of fertility. Many tales were told about the gods. Most religious ceremonies seem to have taken place in the open air with feasting and the sacrifice of animals. The Viking heaven was called Valhalla. This was where the gods lived and where great and brave warriors would go after death. To ease the journey to Valhalla, a rich Viking might be buried in a boat or wagon or in a wood-lined chamber {below) with horses and weapons beside him. Food and drink were also left with him, and sometimes a slave would be sacrificed and laid with his master. A Viking warrior might also be cremated on a funeral pyre with his weapons. The ashes and weapons would then be buried and covered with a mound of earth or stones. Graves were usually close to the farms where the dead Vikings had lived. Perhaps the living thought that the spirits of the dead would protect them and their lands.

Scandinavian stave churches The first churches were built of upright planks (staves). Eleventhcentury churches were small, but later churches were elaborate. Some, like the one shown here, survive in Norway today.

Hammer and cross All three Scandinavian countries became Christian by the twelfth century. Denmark was probably converted by King Harald BlueTooth (940-985). Norway became Christian under king Olaf Tryggvason about a .d . 1000, and King Olaf (1016-1030). King Olaf became a saint of the Catholic Church and is shown below on an Irish carving. Sweden remained pagan until the twelfth century. Pagan beliefs in general disappeared very slowly. The hammer of Thor, worn as a pendant for luck, finally gave way to the Christian cross.

The settlements of Greenland In Scandinavia and Europe the Viking Age came to an end in the eleventh century. Once the Scandinavian countries became Christian, they also became more closely linked with the rest of Europe, and they developed European styles of art, architecture, and social organization. In Greenland, Viking traditions lived on until much later. But settlers there depended on imports o f grain and timber. As faraway Greenland was forgotten by Norway and Europe, these materials grew scarce. After 1200, the weather grew much colder, and the ice increased. The Eskimos began to press in on the settlements. Faced with a colder climate, lack of food and raw materials, a decline in their numbers, and the end of communications with Europe, the West Settlement was abandoned by 1340. In theJEast Settlement, the last Viking descendants died out about 1500.

Index Alfred the Great, 20 Althing (parliament), 17 Amber, 12,13 America, 11,16 Anglo-Danish Empire, 21 Anglo-Saxons, 18-21 Atlantic Ocean, 10,11,22 a Baghdad, 12, 24 Baltic Sea, 5,12,13,24 Battleax, 15,26 Battles, 18,21,23 Birka (Sweden), 12, 14 British Isles, 12,13,16,18-19, 20 Burial, 10, 28 Byzantium, 12, 24

Glaciers, 22 Gods, 28 Graves, 24,28 Greenland, 11,16,22, 30 Hebrides, the, 9,16 Hedeby (Denmark), 12,13,14,15 Houses, 9,12,18 Iceland, 11, 16,17,22 Indians, 23 Ireland, 5,18 iron, 10,12,14,15,17 Isle of Man, 5,18 Ivory, 12, 15, 22, 24 Jewelry, 12,15, 24

Chieftains, 17 Christianity, 29, 30 Churches, 29 Coins, 12,13,21 Cooking, 9,14 Craft workers, 10,12,13,15 Danegeld, 21 Danelaw, the, 20-21 Danes, 5,16,17,19,20,21 Denmark, 5 6,7,13,20, 21, 29 East Settlement (Greenland), 22, 30 England, 5,18,19,20,21 Erik the Red, 22 Eskimos, 22, 30 Ethelred the Redeless, 20, 21 Europe, 5, 7,10, 16, 22, 30 Farmers, 9,12,13,18, 20 Farming, 6,7,18, 22 Farms, 6,9, 15, 17, 22, 26, 28 Fortresses, 26 France, 5,9,13, 17 Furs, 9, 12, 22,24 Germany, 9,13

Kings, 7,16-21,26, 28, 29 Knut the Great, 21 Language, 18, 24, 28 Law, Viking, 7, 20 Leif Eriksson, 22 Longships, 5,10 Low Countries, the, 5,13 Market centers, 12,13,15 Mediterranean, the, 16, 24 Merchants, 12,13,14,24 Middle Settlement (Greenland), 22 Navigation, 11,22 Newfoundland, 22,23 Norman invasion, 21 Normandy, 16,17, 21 Norway, 5, 6,10, 13,16-18,20, 22, 29, 30 Norwegians, 5,16,17,18,21 Old Norse language, 19,24 Peasants, 7,18 Pirates, 5, 12,18

Raids, 5,7,9,18,20,21 Raising animals, 6, 7, 22 Religion, 18,28-30 Rivers, 10,12, 24 Runes, 24, 28 Russia, 5,12,13,24 Sagas, 17 Sails, 10 Scandinavia, 5,7,12,16,24,28, 30 Scotland, 5, 18 Settlements, 7, 12,16-18, 20, 22, 30 Settlers, 5, 17,22,23, 30 Shipbuilding, 10-11,13, 30 Ships, 10-11, 15,22,24 Silk, 12, 24 Silver, 5,12,13,15,21,24 Skalds, 26 Slaves, 7,9,12,24,28 Spears, 14,22 Spices, 12,24 Spinning, 9, 15 Sweden, 5,6,10,12,24,28,29 Swedes, 5,21,24 Swords, 12,14,24 Thing, the, 7 Thor, 28,29 Tools, 14,15 Towns, 12-13, 14, 15, 24 Trade, trading, 12-13, 22-24 Trade routes, 12,14,24 Valhalla, 28 Varangian Guard, 24 Viking Age, the, 5,7,13,15, 30 Vinland, 23 Warriors, 12,24, 26,28 Weapons, 7, 14,15, 28 Weaving, 9,15 West Settlement (Greenland), 22, 30 Whaling, 22 Women, 9,15