Sea-faring depicted invading England. Illustration from the 12th century Miscellany on the Life of St. Edmund () The period from the earliest recorded raids in the 790s until the in 1066 is commonly known as the Viking Age of Scandinavian history. Vikings used the and for sea routes to the south. The were descended from Vikings who were given overlordship of areas in northern France—the —in the 10th century. In that respect, descendants of the Vikings continued to have an influence in northern Europe.

Likewise, King, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, had Danish ancestors. Two Vikings even ascended to the throne of England, with claiming the English throne in 1013–1014 and his son becoming king of England 1016–1035. Geographically, a Viking Age may be assigned not only to Scandinavian lands (modern Denmark, Norway and Sweden), but also to territories under dominance, mainly the, including, the administrative centre of the remains of the Kingdom of, parts of, and. Viking navigators opened the road to new lands to the north, west and east, resulting in the foundation of independent settlements in the,, and;;; and, a short-lived settlement in, circa 1000.

Feb 10, 2013. Don't let the thread title confuse you. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is an amazing game. One of my favorites, and probably a favorite of everyone who's.

The Greenland settlement was established around 980, during the, and its demise by the mid-15th century may have been partly due to. The Viking took control of territories in and -dominated areas of Eastern Europe; they annexed in 882 to serve as the capital of the. As early as 839, when Swedish emissaries are first known to have visited Byzantium, Scandinavians served as mercenaries in the service of the Byzantine Empire.

In the late 10th century, a new unit of the imperial bodyguard formed. Traditionally containing large numbers of Scandinavians, it was known as the Guard. The word Varangian may have originated in Old Norse, but in Slavic and Greek it could refer either to Scandinavians or Franks.

The most eminent Scandinavian to serve in the Varangian Guard was, who subsequently established himself as king of Norway (1047–1066). There is archaeological evidence that Vikings reached, the centre of the. The Norse regularly plied the with their trade goods: furs, tusks, seal fat for boat sealant, and.

Important trading ports during the period include,,,,,, and. Generally speaking, the Norwegians expanded to the north and west to places such as Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, and Greenland; the Danes to England and France, settling in the Danelaw (northern/eastern England) and; and the Swedes to the east, founding Kievan Rus'. Among the Swedish runestones mentioning expeditions overseas, almost half tell of raids and travels to western Europe. According to the Icelandic sagas, many Norwegian Vikings also went to eastern Europe. In the Viking Age, the present day nations of Norway, Sweden and Denmark did not exist, but were largely homogeneous and similar in culture and language, although somewhat distinct geographically. The names of Scandinavian kings are reliably known only for the later part of the Viking Age.

After the end of the Viking Age the separate kingdoms gradually acquired distinct identities as nations, which went hand-in-hand with their. Thus the end of the Viking Age for the Scandinavians also marks the start of their relatively brief Middle Ages.

Travels of the Vikings Colonization of Iceland by Norwegian Vikings began in the ninth century. The first source that Iceland and Greenland appear in is a papal letter of 1053. Twenty years later, they are then seen in the Gesta of Adam of Bremen. It was not until after 1130, when the islands had become Christianized, that accounts of the history of the islands were written from the point of view of the inhabitants in sagas and chronicles.

The Vikings explored the northern islands and coasts of the North Atlantic, ventured south to North Africa and east to Russia, Constantinople, and the Middle East. They raided and pillaged, traded, acted as mercenaries and settled wide-ranging colonies. Early Vikings probably returned home after their raids. Later in their history, they began to settle in other lands.

Vikings under, heir to, reached North America and set up short-lived settlements in present-day, Newfoundland, Canada. This expansion occurred during the. Viking expansion into continental Europe was limited. Their realm was bordered by powerful cultures to the south. Early on, it was the, who occupied, located in what is now Northern Germany. The Saxons were a fierce and powerful people and were often in conflict with the Vikings.

To counter the Saxon aggression and solidify their own presence, the constructed the huge defence fortification of in and around. The Vikings soon witnessed the violent subduing of the Saxons by, in the thirty-year in 772–804.

The Saxon defeat resulted in their forced christening and the absorption of Old Saxony into the. Fear of the led the Vikings to further expand Danevirke, and the defence constructions remained in use throughout the Viking Age and even up until 1864. The south coast of the Baltic Sea was ruled by the, a federation of Slavic tribes loyal to the Carolingians and later the. The Vikings—led by —destroyed the Obotrite city of on the southern Baltic coast in 808 AD and transferred the merchants and traders to Hedeby.

This secured their supremacy in the Baltic Sea, which remained throughout the Viking Age. Motives The motives driving the Viking expansion are a topic of much debate in Nordic history. One common theory posits that 'used force and terror to Christianise all pagans', leading to baptism, conversion or execution, and as a result, Vikings and other pagans resisted and wanted revenge. Professor Rudolf Simek states that 'it is not a coincidence if the early Viking activity occurred during the reign of Charlemagne'. The penetration of Christianity into Scandinavia led to serious conflict dividing Norway for almost a century. Viking settlements and voyages Another explanation is that the Vikings exploited a moment of weakness in the surrounding regions.

England suffered from internal divisions and was relatively easy prey given the proximity of many towns to the sea or to navigable rivers. Lack of organised naval opposition throughout Western Europe allowed Viking ships to travel freely, raiding or trading as opportunity permitted. The decline in the profitability of old could also have played a role. Trade between western Europe and the rest of Eurasia suffered a severe blow when the fell in the 5th century.

The expansion of Islam in the 7th century had also affected trade with western Europe. Raids in Europe, including raids and settlements from Scandinavia, were not unprecedented and had occurred long before the Vikings arrived. The invaded the British Isles three centuries earlier, pouring out from during the, before the settled there. The and the did the same, embarking from mainland Europe. The Viking raids were, however, the first to be documented in writing by eyewitnesses, and they were much larger in scale and frequency than in previous times. Vikings themselves were expanding; although their motives are unclear, historians believe that scarce resources were a factor. Vikings wanted to loot the wealthy and become the dominant class.

While doing so, they enslaved many and solved them across the sea. [ ] The 'Highway of Slaves' was a term used to describe a route that the Vikings found to have a direct pathway from Scandinavia to Constantinople and Baghdad while traveling on the Baltic Sea. With the advancements of their ships during the ninth century, the Vikings were able to sail to Russia and some northern parts of Europe. End of the Viking Age During the Viking Age, Scandinavian men and women travelled to many parts of Europe and beyond, in a cultural diaspora that left its traces from Newfoundland to. This period of energetic activity also had a pronounced effect in the Scandinavian homelands, which were subject to a variety of new influences.

In the 300 years from the late 8th century, when contemporary chroniclers first commented on the appearance of Viking raiders, to the end of the 11th century, Scandinavia underwent profound cultural changes. The site of the Vikings' last stand in By the late 11th century, royal dynasties legitimised by the (which had had little influence in Scandinavia 300 years earlier) were asserting their power with increasing authority and ambition, and the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden had taken shape. Towns appeared that functioned as secular and ecclesiastical administrative centres and market sites, and monetary economies began to emerge based on English and German models. By this time the influx of Islamic silver from the East had been absent for more than a century, and the flow of English silver had come to an end in the mid-11th century.

In Denmark and Norway with the establishment of dioceses during the 11th century, and the new religion was beginning to organise and assert itself more effectively in Sweden. Foreign churchmen and native elites were energetic in furthering the interests of Christianity, which was now no longer operating only on a missionary footing, and old ideologies and lifestyles were transforming. By 1103, the first archbishopric was founded in Scandinavia, at, Scania, then part of Denmark. The assimilation of the nascent Scandinavian kingdoms into the cultural mainstream of European Christendom altered the aspirations of Scandinavian rulers and of Scandinavians able to travel overseas, and changed their relations with their neighbours. One of the primary sources of profit for the Vikings had been slave-taking.

The medieval Church held that Christians should not own fellow Christians as slaves, so diminished as a practice throughout northern Europe. This took much of the economic incentive out of raiding, though sporadic slaving activity continued into the 11th century. Scandinavian predation in Christian lands around the North and Irish Seas diminished markedly. The kings of Norway continued to assert power in parts of northern Britain and Ireland, and raids continued into the 12th century, but the military ambitions of Scandinavian rulers were now directed toward new paths. In 1107, sailed for the eastern Mediterranean with Norwegian crusaders to fight for the newly established, and Danes and Swedes participated energetically in the of the 12th and 13th centuries. Culture A variety of sources illuminate the culture, activities, and beliefs of the Vikings.

Although they were generally a non-literate culture that produced no literary legacy, they had an alphabet and described themselves and their world on. Most contemporary literary and written sources on the Vikings come from other cultures that were in contact with them. Since the mid-20th century, archaeological findings have built a more complete and balanced picture of the lives of the Vikings. The archaeological record is particularly rich and varied, providing knowledge of their rural and urban settlement, crafts and production, ships and military equipment, trading networks, as well as their pagan and Christian religious artefacts and practices. Literature and language. Main article: There have been several archaeological finds of Viking ships of all sizes, providing knowledge of the craftsmanship that went into building them. There were many types of Viking ships, built for various uses; the best-known type is probably the.

Longships were intended for warfare and exploration, designed for speed and agility, and were equipped with oars to complement the sail, making navigation possible independently of the wind. The longship had a long, narrow hull and shallow draught to facilitate landings and troop deployments in shallow water. Longships were used extensively by the, the Scandinavian defence fleets. The longship allowed the Norse to go Viking, which might explain why this type of ship has become almost synonymous with the concept of Vikings. The longship facilitated far-reaching expeditions, but the Vikings also constructed several other types of ships.

The Vikings built many unique types of watercraft, often used for more peaceful tasks. The was a dedicated merchant vessel designed to carry cargo in bulk. It had a broader hull, deeper draught, and a small number of oars (used primarily to manoeuvre in harbours and similar situations). One Viking innovation was the ', a spar mounted to the sail that allowed their ships to sail effectively against the wind.

It was common for seafaring Viking ships to tow or carry a smaller boat to transfer crews and cargo from the ship to shore. Ships were an integral part of the Viking culture. They facilitated everyday transportation across seas and waterways, exploration of new lands, raids, conquests, and trade with neighbouring cultures. They also held a major religious importance. People with high status were sometimes buried in a ship along with animal sacrifices, weapons, provisions and other items, as evidenced by the buried vessels at and in Norway and the excavated ship burial at in Denmark. Ship burials were also practised by Vikings abroad, as evidenced by the excavations of the on the Estonian island of.

Well-preserved remains of five Viking ships were excavated from in the late 1960s, representing both the longship and the knarr. The ships were scuttled there in the 11th century to block a navigation channel and thus protect, then the Danish capital, from seaborne assault. The remains of these ships are on display at the. Typical jewellery worn by women of the Karls and Jarls: ornamented silver brooches, coloured glass-beads and amulets The three classes were easily recognisable by their appearances. Men and women of the Jarls were well groomed with neat hairstyles and expressed their wealth and status by wearing expensive clothes (often silk) and well crafted jewellery like, belt buckles, necklaces and arm rings.

Almost all of the jewellery was crafted in specific designs unique to the Norse (see ). Finger rings were seldom used and earrings were not used at all, as they were seen as a phenomenon.

Most Karls expressed similar tastes and hygiene, but in a more relaxed and inexpensive way. Farming and cuisine The tell about the diet and cuisine of the Vikings, but first hand evidence, like, and garbage dumps have proved to be of great value and importance. Undigested remains of plants from cesspits at Coppergate in York have provided much information in this respect. Overall, archaeo-botanical investigations have been undertaken increasingly in recent decades, as a collaboration between archaeologists and palaeoethno-botanists. This new approach sheds light on the agricultural and practices of the Vikings and their cuisine. The combined information from various sources suggests a diverse cuisine and ingredients.

Meat products of all kinds, such as, and -preserved meat, sausages, and boiled or fried fresh meat cuts, were prepared and consumed. There were plenty of seafood, bread, porridges, dairy products, vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts.

Alcoholic drinks like,, (a strong fruit wine) and, for the rich, imported, were served. Certain livestock were typical and unique to the Vikings, including the,, a plethora of sheep breeds, the and the. The Vikings in mostly ate beef,, and pork with small amounts of horse meat. Most of the beef and horse leg bones were found split lengthways, to extract the marrow. The mutton and swine were cut into leg and shoulder joints and chops.

The frequent remains of pig skull and foot bones found on house floors indicate that and were also popular. Hens were kept for both their meat and eggs, and the bones of game birds such as the,, wild ducks, and geese have also been found. Seafood was important, in some places even more so than meat. And were hunted for food in Norway and the north-western parts of the region, and were hunted nearly everywhere., and were eaten in large quantities and and were popular fish. In the southern regions, was also important. Milk and were popular, both as cooking ingredients and drinks, but were not always available, even at farms.

Milk came from cows, goats and sheep, with priorities varying from location to location, and fermented milk products like or were produced as well as butter and cheese. Food was often salted and enhanced with spices, some of which were imported like, while others were cultivated in herb gardens or harvested in the wild. Home grown spices included, and as evidenced from the Oseberg ship burial or,, and, as found in at Coppergate in York.,,,, and were also used and cultivated in herb gardens.

Everyday life in the Viking Age Vikings collected and ate fruits, berries and nuts. Apple (wild ), plums and cherries were part of the diet, as were and,,,,, and various wild berries, specific to the locations. Were an important part of the diet in general and large amounts of shells have been found in cities like Hedeby. The shells were used for dyeing, and it is assumed that the nuts were consumed.

The invention and introduction of the revolutionised agriculture in Scandinavia in the early Viking Age and made it possible to farm even poor soils. In, grains of,, and dated to the 8th century have been found and examined, and are believed to have been cultivated locally. Grains and flour were used for making porridges, some cooked with milk, some cooked with fruit and sweetened with honey, and also various forms of bread. Remains of bread from primarily Birka in Sweden were made of barley and wheat.

It is unclear if the Norse leavened their breads, but their ovens and baking utensils suggest that they did. Was a very important crop for the Vikings: it was used for oil extraction, food consumption and most importantly the production of. More than 40% of all known textile recoveries from the Viking Age can be traced as linen. This suggests a much higher actual percentage, as linen is poorly preserved compared to wool for example. The quality of food for common people was not always particularly high. The research at Coppergate shows that the Vikings in York made bread from whole meal flour — probably both wheat and – but with the seeds of cornfield weeds included.

Corncockle (), would have made the bread dark-coloured, but the seeds are poisonous, and people who ate the bread might have become ill. Seeds of carrots,, and were also discovered, but they were poor specimens and tend to come from white carrots and bitter tasting cabbages. The often used in the Viking Age left tiny stone fragments (often from rock) in the flour, which when eaten wore down the teeth. The effects of this can be seen on skeletal remains of that period.

Sports Sports were widely practised and encouraged by the Vikings. Sports that involved weapons training and developing combat skills were popular. This included spear and stone throwing, building and testing physical strength through (see ),, and stone lifting.

In areas with mountains, was practised as a sport. Agility and balance were built and tested by running and jumping for sport, and there is mention of a sport that involved jumping from oar to oar on the outside of a ship's railing as it was being rowed. Was a popular sport and describes three types: diving, long-distance swimming and a contest in which two swimmers try to duck one another. Children often participated in some of the sport disciplines and women have also been mentioned as swimmers, although it is unclear if they took part in competition. King was hailed as a master of both mountain climbing and oar-jumping, and was said to have excelled in the art of as well.

And were the primary winter sports of the Vikings, although skiing was also used as everyday means of transport in winter and in the colder regions of the north. Horse fighting was practised for sport, although the rules are unclear. It appears to have involved two stallions pitted against each other, within smell and sight of fenced-off mares. Whatever the rules were, the fights often resulted in the death of one of the stallions. Icelandic sources refer to the sport of.

A ball game akin to, knattleik involved a bat and a small hard ball and was usually played on a smooth field of ice. The rules are unclear, but it was popular with both adults and children, even though it often led to injuries. Knattleik appears to have been played only in Iceland, where it attracted many spectators, as did horse fighting. Hunting, as a sport, was limited to Denmark, where it was not regarded as an important occupation. Birds,, and were hunted with bow and spear, and later with crossbows.

The techniques were stalking, snare and traps and hunting with dog packs. Games and entertainment. Rook,, at the British Museum in London Both archaeological finds and written sources testify to the fact that the Vikings set aside time for social and festive gatherings.

Board games and dice games were played as a popular pastime at all levels of society. Preserved gaming pieces and boards show game boards made of easily available materials like wood, with game pieces manufactured from stone, wood or bone, while other finds include elaborately carved boards and game pieces of glass,, or tusk, together with materials of foreign origin, such as. The Vikings played several types of tafl games;, nitavl () and the less common. Also appeared at the end of the Viking Age. Hnefatafl is a war game, in which the object is to capture the king piece—a large hostile army threatens and the king's men have to protect the king.

It was played on a board with squares using black and white pieces, with moves made according to dice rolls. The shows two men engaged in Hnefatafl, and the sagas suggest that money or valuables could have been involved in some dice games. On festive occasions,, music and alcoholic drinks, like beer and, contributed to the atmosphere.

Music was considered an art form and music proficiency as fitting for a cultivated man. D865 Motherboard Drivers on this page. The Vikings are known to have played instruments including,, and. Experimental archaeology of the Viking Age is a flourishing branch and several places have been dedicated to this technique, such as in the United Kingdom, and () in Denmark, in Sweden or in Norway. Viking-age have undertaken experimental activities such as iron smelting and forging using Norse techniques at in Newfoundland for example. On 1 July 2007, the reconstructed Viking ship Skuldelev 2, renamed, began a journey from Roskilde to Dublin. The remains of that ship and four others were discovered during a 1962 excavation in the Roskilde Fjord.

Tree-ring analysis has shown the ship was built of oak in the vicinity of Dublin in about 1042. Seventy multi-national crew members sailed the ship back to its home, and Sea Stallion arrived outside Dublin's Custom House on 14 August 2007. The purpose of the voyage was to test and document the seaworthiness, speed, and manoeuvrability of the ship on the rough open sea and in coastal waters with treacherous currents.

The crew tested how the long, narrow, flexible hull withstood the tough ocean waves. The expedition also provided valuable new information on Viking longships and society. The ship was built using Viking tools, materials, and much the same methods as the original ship. Other vessels, often replicas of the (full- or half-scale) or have been built and tested as well.

The Snorri (a ), was sailed from Greenland to Newfoundland in 1998. Weapons and warfare. The scales and weights of a Viking trader, used for measuring silver and sometimes gold. (From the ) The Vikings established and engaged in extensive trading networks throughout the known world and had a profound influence on the economic development of Europe and Scandinavia not the least. Except for the major trading centres of, and the like, the Viking world was unfamiliar with the use of and was based on so called economy.

Was the most common metal in the economy, although was also used to some extent. Silver circulated in the form of bars, or, as well as in the form of jewellery and ornaments. A large number of silver hoards from the Viking Age have been uncovered, both in Scandinavia and the lands they settled. [ ] Traders carried small scales, enabling them to measure weight very accurately, so it was possible to have a very precise system of trade and exchange, even without a regular coinage.

Goods Organized trade covered everything from ordinary items in bulk to exotic luxury products. The Viking ship designs, like that of the knarr, were an important factor in their success as merchants. Imported goods from other cultures included: • were obtained from Chinese and Persian traders, who met with the Viking traders in Russia. Vikings used homegrown spices and herbs like,, and, but imported. • was much prized by the Norse. The imported glass was often made into beads for decoration and these have been found in their thousands. In Scania and the old market town of Ribe had major production of glass beads.

• was a very important commodity obtained from (modern day ) and China. It was valued by many European cultures of the time, and the Vikings used it to illustrate status such as wealth and nobility. Many of the archaeological finds in Scandinavia include silk. • was imported from France and Germany as a drink of the wealthy, to vary the regular mead and. To counter these valuable imports, the Vikings exported a large variety of goods. These goods included: • – the fossilised resin of the pine tree – was frequently found on the and coastline.

It was worked into beads and ornamental objects, before being traded. (See also the ).

• Fur was also exported as it provided warmth. This included the furs of,,, and. The Vikings were skilled spinners and weavers and exported woollen cloth of a high quality. • was collected and exported. The Norwegian west coast supplied eiderdowns and sometimes feathers were bought from the. Down was used for bedding and quilted clothing. On the steep slopes and cliffs was dangerous work and was often lethal.

•, known as in Old Norse. On their raids, the Vikings captured many people, among them monks and clergymen.

They were sometimes sold as slaves to Arab merchants in exchange for silver. Other exports included weapons,,, and. As one of the more exotic exports, were sometimes provided from Norway to the European aristocracy, from the 10th century.

Many of these goods were also traded within the Viking world itself, as well as goods such as and. Soapstone was traded with the Norse on and in, who used it for pottery. Whetstones were traded and used for sharpening weapons, tools and knives. There are indications from Ribe and surrounding areas, that the extensive medieval trade with oxen and cattle from Jutland (see ), reach as far back as c. This trade satisfied the Vikings' need for leather and meat to some extent, and perhaps hides for production on the European mainland. Wool was also very important as a domestic product for the Vikings, to produce warm clothing for the cold Scandinavian and Nordic climate, and for sails.

Sails for Viking ships required large amounts of wool, as evidenced by experimental archaeology. There are archaeological signs of organised textile productions in Scandinavia, reaching as far back as the early. Artisans and craftsmen in the larger towns were supplied with from organised hunting with large-scale reindeer traps in the far north. They were used as raw material for making everyday utensils like combs. Legacy Medieval perceptions In England the Viking Age began dramatically on 8 June 793 when Norsemen destroyed the on the island of.

The devastation of 's Holy Island shocked and alerted the royal courts of Europe to the Viking presence. 'Never before has such an atrocity been seen,' declared the Northumbrian scholar.

Medieval Christians in Europe were totally unprepared for the Viking incursions and could find no explanation for their arrival and the accompanying suffering they experienced at their hands save the 'Wrath of God'. More than any other single event, the attack on Lindisfarne demonised perception of the Vikings for the next twelve centuries. Not until the 1890s did scholars outside Scandinavia begin to seriously reassess the achievements of the Vikings, recognizing their artistry, technological skills, and seamanship., sagas, and tell of Scandinavian culture and religion through tales of heroic and mythological heroes.

Early transmission of this information was primarily oral, and later texts were reliant upon the writings and transcriptions of Christian scholars, including the Snorri Sturluson and. Many of these sagas were written in Iceland, and most of them, even if they had no Icelandic provenance, were preserved there after the Middle Ages due to the continued interest of Icelanders in Norse literature and law codes. The 200-year Viking influence on is filled with tales of plunder and colonisation, and the majority of these chronicles came from western witnesses and their descendants. Less common, though equally relevant, are the Viking chronicles that originated in the east, including the chronicles, chronicles, chronicles, chronicles, and brief mentions by, patriarch of Constantinople, regarding their first attack on the. Other chroniclers of Viking history include, who wrote, in the fourth volume of his Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum, '[t]here is much gold here (in ), accumulated by piracy. These pirates, which are called wichingi by their own people, and Ascomanni by our own people, pay tribute to the Danish king.'

In 991, the between Viking raiders and the inhabitants of in Essex was commemorated with a poem of the same name. Post-medieval perceptions. A of a Viking battle Early modern publications, dealing with what is now called Viking culture, appeared in the 16th century, e.g. Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus (Olaus Magnus, 1555), and the first edition of the 13th-century Gesta Danorum of in 1514. The pace of publication increased during the 17th century with Latin translations of the (notably Peder Resen's Edda Islandorum of 1665). In Scandinavia, the 17th-century Danish scholars and and the Swede used runic inscriptions and Icelandic sagas as historical sources.

An important early British contributor to the study of the Vikings was George Hicke, who published his Linguarum vett. Septentrionalium thesaurus in 1703–05. During the 18th century, British interest and enthusiasm for Iceland and early Scandinavian culture grew dramatically, expressed in English translations of Old Norse texts and in original poems that extolled the supposed Viking virtues.

The word 'viking' was first popularised at the beginning of the 19th century by in his poem, The Viking. Geijer's poem did much to propagate the new romanticised ideal of the Viking, which had little basis in historical fact. The renewed interest of in the Old North had contemporary political implications. The, of which Geijer was a member, popularised this myth to a great extent. Another Swedish author who had great influence on the perception of the Vikings was, member of the Geatish Society, who wrote a modern version of, which became widely popular in the Nordic countries, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Viking long ships in 845, 19th century portrayal Fascination with the Vikings reached a peak during the so-called in the late 18th and 19th centuries as a branch of. In Britain this was called Septentrionalism, in Germany ' pathos, and in the Scandinavian countries. Pioneering 19th-century scholarly editions of the Viking Age began to reach a small readership in Britain, archaeologists began to dig up Britain's Viking past, and linguistic enthusiasts started to identify the Viking-Age origins of rural idioms and proverbs. The new dictionaries of the Old Norse language enabled the to grapple with the primary Icelandic sagas. Until recently, the history of the Viking Age was largely based on Icelandic sagas, the history of the Danes written by Saxo Grammaticus, the Russian, and.

Few scholars still accept these texts as reliable sources, as historians now rely more on archaeology and, disciplines that have made valuable contributions toward understanding the period. [ ] In 20th-century politics The romanticised idea of the Vikings constructed in scholarly and popular circles in northwestern Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries was a potent one, and the figure of the Viking became a familiar and malleable symbol in different contexts in the politics and political ideologies of 20th-century Europe. In Normandy, which had been settled by Vikings, the Viking ship became an uncontroversial regional symbol. In Germany, awareness of Viking history in the 19th century had been stimulated by the border dispute with Denmark over Schleswig-Holstein and the use of Scandinavian mythology. The idealised view of the Vikings appealed to Germanic supremacists who transformed the figure of the Viking in accordance with the ideology of the Germanic master race.

Building on the linguistic and cultural connections between Norse-speaking Scandinavians and other Germanic groups in the distant past, Scandinavian Vikings were portrayed in as a pure Germanic type. The cultural phenomenon of Viking expansion was re-interpreted for use as propaganda to support the extreme militant nationalism of the Third Reich, and ideologically informed interpretations of Viking paganism and the Scandinavian use of runes were employed in the construction of. Other political organisations of the same ilk, such as the former Norwegian fascist party, similarly appropriated elements of the modern Viking cultural myth in their symbolism and propaganda. In communist Russia, the ideology of Slavic racial purity led to the complete denial that Scandinavians had played a part in the emergence of the principalities of the Rus', which were supposed to have been founded by Slavs. Evidence to the contrary was suppressed until the 1990s. Novgorod now enthusiastically acknowledges its Viking history and has included a Viking ship in its logo.

In modern popular culture. 's cover painting for 's fits precisely the popular, instantly recognisable image of a Viking ship.

Led by the operas of German composer, such as, Vikings and the Romanticist Viking Revival have inspired many creative works. These have included novels directly based on historical events, such as 's (which was also released as a ), and historical fantasies such as the film, 's (movie version called ), and the comedy film. The vampire, in the HBO TV series, was a Viking prince before being turned into a vampire.

Vikings appear in several books by the writer, while British explorer, historian, and writer authored a trilogy of novels in 2005 about a young Viking adventurer Thorgils Leifsson, who travels around the world. In 1962, American comic book writer and his brother, together with, created the, which they based on the Norse god of the same name. The character is featured in the 2011 film and its sequels and. The character also appears in the 2012 film and its associated. Since the 1960s, there has been rising enthusiasm for. While the earliest groups had little claim for historical accuracy, the seriousness and accuracy of reenactors has increased.

The largest such groups include and, though many smaller groups exist in Europe, North America, New Zealand, and Australia. Many reenactor groups participate in live-steel combat, and a few have Viking-style ships or boats. The of the are so-named owing to the large Scandinavian population in the US state of. Modern reconstructions of have shown a persistent influence in late 20th- and early 21st-century popular culture in some countries, inspiring comics, role-playing games, computer games, and music, including, a subgenre of. Common misconceptions Horned helmets.

Magnus Barelegs Viking Festival Apart from two or three representations of (ritual) helmets—with protrusions that may be either stylised ravens, snakes, or horns—no depiction of the helmets of Viking warriors, and no preserved helmet, has horns. The formal, close-quarters style of Viking combat (either in shield walls or aboard 'ship islands') would have made horned helmets cumbersome and hazardous to the warrior's own side. Historians therefore believe that Viking warriors did not wear horned helmets; whether such helmets were used in Scandinavian culture for other, ritual purposes, remains unproven.

The general misconception that Viking warriors wore horned helmets was partly promulgated by the 19th-century enthusiasts of, founded in 1811 in. They promoted the use of Norse mythology as the subject of high art and other ethnological and moral aims. The Vikings were often depicted with winged helmets and in other clothing taken from, especially in depictions of Norse gods.

This was done to legitimise the Vikings and their mythology by associating it with the Classical world, which had long been idealised in European culture. The latter-day mythos created by blended the Viking Age with aspects of the some 2,000 years earlier. Horned helmets from the Bronze Age were shown in and appeared in archaeological finds (see and helmets). They were probably used for ceremonial purposes.

• Brink, Stefan (2008). 'Who were the Vikings?'

In Brink, Stefan; Price, Neil. The Viking World. • Brookes, Ian (2004).. Allied Publishers.. • D'Amato, Raffaele (2010).. Osprey Publishing.. • Derry, T.K.

A History of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland Concise Economic History World 4th Edition more. . London and Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.. • (10 October 2000).. Roberts Rinehart..

• Fitzhugh, William W.; Ward, Elisabeth I. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press..

• Hall, Richard Andrew (2007).. Thames & Hudson.. • Hall, Richard (January 1990).. • Lindqvist, Thomas (4 September 2003). 'Early Political Organisation: (a) An Introductory Survey'.

In Helle, Knut.. Cambridge University Press. • Roesdahl, Else (1998).. Penguin Books.. • (1 February 1972).. Palgrave Macmillan.. • Sawyer, Peter, ed.

The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.. • Williams, Gareth (2007).

'Kingship, Christianity and coinage: monetary and political perspectives on silver economy in the Viking Age'. In Graham-Campbell, James; Williams, Gareth.. Left Coast Press. • Wolf, Kirsten (1 January 2004)..

Greenwood Publishing Group.. Further reading.

About This Game Enter the dark underworld of Prince of Persia Warrior Within, the sword-slashing sequel to the critically acclaimed Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time™. Hunted by Dahaka, an immortal incarnation of Fate seeking divine retribution, the Prince embarks upon a path of both carnage and mystery to defy his preordained death. His journey leads to the infernal core of a cursed island stronghold harbouring mankind's greatest fears. Only through grim resolve, bitter defiance, and the mastery of deadly new combat arts can the Prince rise to a new level of warriorship and defend what no enemy shall take away - his life. • Define your own combat style with the Free-Form Fighting System - An intricate new combat system lets you wage battles with no boundaries. Utilize the environment, weapons, and your enemies themselves to develop your own unique fighting style. Plus, a strategic projectile attack system allows for a variety of ranged combat tactics.

• Endure the epic - Hours upon hours of action await in your fight for survival, including multiple endings and over 50 weapons to find and master. • Change the past to affect the present - Travel back in time to prevent the creation of your deadly fate - your every action will affect the history of the present, including environments, stories, inhabitants, and more. • Control the ravages of time - Ravage enemies with the devastating new combative powers of time manipulation, opening up astounding variations in fighting gameplay as you rewind, fast-forward, and slow time down. • Explore a violent underworld - Explore and conquer a cursed island underworld, a breeding ground for the most brutal, unrelenting enemies to torment mankind.

• Confront a deadly, seductive evil - Survive the evils of the Empress, a stunning villainess with the power to bend the minds of men. This dark siren of the underworld holds legions of monsters under her command.