Vikings

Photo from the Ribe VikingeCenter. Follow the link to see other images.

New Vikings exhibition opens at National Museum of Scotland:

When we think of Vikings, the first image that springs to mind is of ferocious, bearded warriors rampaging across Europe, leaving burning buildings and weeping villagers in their wake. But now a new exhibition aims to shed light on the lives of this fascinating people, dispelling more than a few myths and stereotypes along the way – and revealing how women had a far more significant role in the Viking world than most of us will have been aware of until now.

There are no horned helmets in the exhibition, though, as this was an item the Vikings never actually wore. Similarly, the term 'Viking' was actually an activity rather than a term for the people themselves. Men and perhaps even women and adolescents, would go out 'on a Viking', which could be the sort of pillaging raids that we commonly think of, but could also refer to a more peaceful trading expedition.

 Reconstructions of various items of Anglo-Saxon and Viking bonework.
Buckles, strap-ends, combs, cloak pins, needles and needle case.

The majority of Vikings were mainly farmers and traders, who, far from their bloodthirsty image, valued their appearance and personal hygiene. The discovery of fine-tooth combs designed to be hung from a belt, ear spoons, glass mirrors and even tweezers suggests that the Vikings were an image-conscious lot. The Vikings were, it seems, a far more innovative and developed society than we've been previously led to believe.

"[It] wasn't just male warriors travelling around conquering new land," says Maria Jansén, Director of the Swedish History Museum. "It was much more trade-based, and not everyone was a Viking. The word 'Viking' was more like something you did once in your life, or someone you called a Viking when he was doing something in particular. You can see here that most of the men during the Viking age were actually farmers, and the farm and the home was a central point of life in the Viking age."

 Viking-Era push keys.

"At the farm the woman had a very important role to play. For example, the aristocratic females would wear keys as brooches to symbolise the power of opening the farm. You couldn't use them, they were merely symbols of the power that she ran the farm." Recent archaeological finds show that these women ruled the households, were able to become extremely rich and powerful in their own right, and were buried with their jewellery and finery to join the afterlife.

Lindholm Høje (Lindholm Hills, from Old Norse haugr, hill or mound) is a major Viking burial site and former settlement situated to the north of and overlooking the city of Aalborg in Denmark.

The life and times of Viking children revealed that they had "a really tough life" (Maria Jansén, Director of the Swedish History Museum). A large sword was discovered alongside a skeleton in a grave. Scientists initially thought it was a warrior, but tests revealed the body belonged to a boy between the ages of eight and 13, suggesting children trained in combat from an early age.

How Vikings killed time
What Vikings really looked like