Viking Age Research Paper

The Viking age was a period of four hundred years (700 to 1100 AD) and was either part of the late Iron Age or Early Medieval Time. Back then there were no countries or huge kingdoms. The Scandinavian Peninsula was divided into a bunch of smaller kingdoms or realms, each with its own king or chief. There are three types of vikings. Merchants- History does not have much to say about merchants, but we knew they were trading iron and fur and were not alone and unarmed. As a matter of fact, they probably went with a big group and were well armed and were also willing to attack any village or town when there was an opportunity. Differences between merchants and buccaneers may have not been clear at this time. Merchants started traveling all over Europe and
Asia and even America. Varyags- From an old Norse word meaning “sworn”, and they were a natives looking for jobs abroad. They reached as far as Constantinople where they were enlisted as guards of East Roman Emporer. Proof is written in stone inside the Hagia Sofia where vikings carved their names in the runic alphabet. The “real” vikings- The infamous warriors and robbers. They were drifting around as robbers or pirates and were often engaged in any of the numerous wars between the Nordic province and other provinces. Vikings traveled up along rivers that led to the Baltic Sea where Germany and Poland is near and then pulled their ships on land to continue along the great Russian river that then led down to Caspian and Black Sea where Ukraine, Turkey, and Greece were. Some documents also said that there were expeditions all the way to France and England, but many people doubt this. Vikings were also the founders of Russia and found it by traveling down the river. This is described in manuscripts from the twelfth century found in Ukraine monasteries. Around 700 AD, the shipbuilders in Scandinavia had perfected the viking ship. It was an open, long, and narrow ship with shallow depth and it could be propelled with sails and oars. A viking ship is strong and trustworthy. It isn’t as stiff as ships usually are, being built on a non flexible frame it will twist and turn in quick movements and bend over big waves.
It sounds scary, but viking ships were very safe and well suited for long journeys. Swedish ships sail east and south most of the time. The reason for this is because only 25% of Sweden’s coastline turns west to the North Sea, while the remaining 75% turns east and south to the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea is not the end though. Viking ships could travel up any shallow river because the ship was so light and strong that it could be pulled many miles on land, over logs, to get to the next waterway, lake or river. Swedish vikings were also settlers. The difference between settlers and land robbers was noticeable, so there was no worry at all. They were known to be settling in Russia and Ukraine as early as the eighth century or maybe even earlier. East of the Baltic region was known as rus-a-finnish-(word for Sweden or Swedish). If that part of history was banned during the Soviet Era, It is a historical fact that vikings created the first Russian states being the Navgorod, Republic, and the Kiev Polity. The Viking Era is an important part of Swedish history for these many
reasons.