viking history Flashcards
(41 cards)
how has arch transformed our knowledge of the vikings
- correct literary bias
- funerary arch
- settlements and everyday life
- trade and connectivity
- religious and cultural change
- landscape and envrion
correct literary bias how
- Archaeology provides independent, physical evidence, allowing historians to:
o Verify or contradict literary sources.
o Reconstruct daily life, economy, religion, and social structures.
o Explore regions and aspects overlooked or misrepresented in texts.c
correct lit bias from what
- Much early knowledge came from:
o Medieval chronicles (e.g. Annals of Ulster, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle): hostile, depict Vikings as violent pagan raiders.
o Icelandic sagas (13th–14th c.): romanticised, post hoc narratives shaped by Christian and Icelandic cultural agendas.
funerary arch
- Cremation and inhumation coexisted, reflecting diverse religious beliefs, even before conversion
ship burials and grab goods- demonstrate hierarchybeliefs and gender roles
funerary- burials
o Oseberg burial (Norway, c. 834):
Two elite women buried with a lavish ship, sledges, tapestries, and animals.
Indicates high-status female agency and ritual complexity.
o Gokstad (c. 900, Norway): male warrior burial with weapons, ship, and horses.
o Birka grave (Sweden) (reanalysed via DNA in 2017): high-status female warrior buried with weapons and game pieces — challenges assumptions about gender roles in Viking society
settlements and everyday life
- Excavations at towns show the Vikings were traders, craftspeople, and urban settlers, not just raiders:
- rural viking settlements
- trelleborg type fortresses
urban settlers
o Ribe (Denmark), Hedeby, Birka: early emporia (market towns) with evidence of metalworking, glass bead production, and wide trade networks.
o Dublin: founded by Norsemen in 841 — excavations show complex urban development, shipbuilding, and craftsmanship.
o Jorvik (York): rich finds (e.g. Coppergate dig) include leather shoes, loom weights, antler combs — indicates continuity of everyday life and urban organisation.
rural settlements
in Iceland and Greenland also reveal:
o Farmsteads, longhouses, turf constructions.
o Adaptation to new environments (e.g. Norse Greenlanders’ reliance on marine hunting and imported timber).
trellebrog type fortresses
- Series of geometrically planned circular fortresses:
o E.g. Trelleborg, Fyrkat, Aggersborg, Nonnebakken. - Built under Harald Bluetooth in late 10th century.
fortress features
o Symmetrical ramparts and longhouses arranged in strict quadrants.
o Military organisation and centralised power.
o Often near rivers or coasts — enabling control of territory and trade.
* Evidence of a state apparatus and possibly Christian royal authority.
o
trade connectivity
- Archaeology has revealed Viking networks stretching from:
o North America (L’Anse aux Meadows) to the Middle East (Arabic dirhams in Scandinavia). - example
example trade connectivity
o Glass beads from India, Islamic silver coins, Byzantine silks.
o Viking hoards (e.g. Silverdale Hoard, Galloway Hoard) show wealth accumulation, tribute, and participation in the early medieval bullion economy.
galloway hoard- silk from Byzantium, glass beads rock crystal pendant and rare Carolingian vessel with Christian iconography
silverdale hoards- isa
lamic dirhams, Frankish coinage , vimking age coin airedeconut
arch traces of christianisation
church remains
- cross marked stones/runestoens
- burials
christianisation church remains
greenland brattahlid
jorvik
jorvik church
o Christian churches and cemeteries emerge in the 10th century under Anglo-Scandinavian rule.
o St Mary Bishophill Junior shows architectural continuity from Anglo-Saxon to Viking periods.
church remains christianisation Greenland
o Excavations at Brattahlid, the estate of Erik the Red, revealed:
o A small turf church (Þjóðhildarkirkja) built shortly after the conversion of Greenland (c. 1000 AD).
o Indicates adoption of Christianity by Norse settlers under political influence from Norway.
transitionary object
Jelling Stones (Denmark)
o Erected by King Harald Bluetooth (c. 965).
o One side features Christian iconography (a crucified Christ).
o Inscription declares Harald “made the Danes Christian”.
o Located between two burial mounds and a church — visual symbol of religious transition.er
merging of christian
o Many Swedish runestones include:
o Pagan-style decoration and runic script.
o Explicitly Christian phrases (e.g. “May God help his soul”).
o Example: Sö 101 (Södermanland) — mix of traditional Norse design and Christian blessing.
christian burials
without grave goods
Norway
repton
norway burials
(10th–11th c.)
o Increasing numbers of Christian-style burials (east–west, no goods, crosses carved on gravestones) in sites like Skíringssal (Kaupang) and Oslofjord region.
repton burials
Derbyshire, England)
o Viking burial site dated to the late 9th century.
o Mass grave (possibly from the Great Army), but nearby individual burials show Christian orientation(east-west alignment, absence of grave goods).
o Coexistence of pagan and Christian rites at same site.
landscape and environment
land use and agri
animal bones- zooarcheoogy
- climate change
land use and agri
o Pollen cores (e.g. in Norway, Iceland, Orkney, Shetland) show:
o A decline in forest cover due to clearance for pasture and fields.
o Increase in cereal pollen (especially barley), indicating small-scale farming.
o In Iceland, this intensifies around 870 CE, aligning with settlement.
o 📍 Iceland: Soil erosion evidence (e.g. at Hveragerði and Mývatn) indicates overgrazing and deforestation after Viking settlement — contributing to long-term environmental degradation.
anime bones
Zooarchaeology)
* Finds in York, Dublin, Hedeby, and Greenland show mixed subsistence economies:
o Cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats raised alongside fishing and wildfowling.
o In Greenland, Norse settlers relied increasingly on seal and caribou, especially as climate worsened.
