Sheep were the main reason the Vikings survived such harsh weathers, they provided them meat and wool, therefore the early settlers of Iceland decided to bring them along when going to Iceland for the first time. Iceland has a unique type of horses, the horses of Iceland are a lot more “intelligent, sociable and curious” because when Vikings came from Norway they could only fit one horse on the longboat so they took their best horses to with them. The Viking horses are also a lot shorter in size then those from the rest of the world as they rarely reached past 150cm. the horses are not allowed to come back to the island if they leave because the native breed are sensitive to diseases and a foreign infection could wipe the whole population.
Before the Vikings visited ice land the arctic fox was the only mammal in Iceland, they survived because of their thick fur and from eating eggs, birds and some of the berries. They were some trouble for the Viking settlers as they would attack the livestock but they were also beneficial because they killed mice and other small rodents.
Vikings were the best at making boats, they helped them a lot during various military and inversional missions, the reason their boats were that good is because they used most of their wood on boats instead of houses and their boats were designed to be able to departure from land fast witch gave them an advantage when retreating and setting out to sea. Vikings were focused on gaining physical strength, therefore when a child was ill or sick they would abandon it, they would abandon them by throwing them into the sea or by leaving it in the wilderness. Vikings had a unique funeral ceremony, when one of them died they would give them a unique funeral service, what they would do is lay the deceased on a boat clothes, all their pets and jewellery. Set it on fire then push it into the sea. In the Norsemen society they preferred blondes, it was so desired brunette men came up with tactics to lighten the colour of their manes, and one of their primary methods was using a strong soap to bleach their hair. Surprisingly Vikings had good hygiene, they even had their own grooming tools, which where the most common tools crafter even more common than weapons. In the Viking period the most popular crossing was between Iceland and Norway, this would take those 3 to 5 days depending on the route and communication between the crew.
Turf houses protected Vikings against rain winds and earthquakes, this is very useful because of the bipolar climate of Iceland, and normal houses without stable and well thought out architecture would get knocked down due to the harsh weather. The turf houses were often infested with mice and sometimes even lice.
For my final idea I have decided to make a Viking village located in Iceland. This village is not a traditional village but a replica of one. It was built for a film set based around Viking life. The village is 5 km East from Höfn. So it’s a little bit of a walk to get there, but the journey introduces you to the habitats that the Vikings lived in back then. Vikings built their villages beneath a mountain, often in its shadow. Vikings discovered Iceland in the ninth century and when they did it was still inhabited this means that the village is supposed to represent one that was built shortly after they visited Iceland. The buildings in the village mimic the architecture of the period perfectly and the interior of the buildings looks indistinguishable from real Viking architecture. This is a good source to study as it shows what life was like back then but on the other hand it’s a replica so it is not completely perfect and wasn’t built by the Vikings so it was built with a different mind-set and moral. When Vikings visited Iceland they had to have women on the ship too just so they can start developing and establishing a civilisation. The animal’s native to Iceland are sheep, cattle, chicken, goat, and the Icelandic sheepdog this was good for the Vikings as they could domesticate them and keep them as pets and a source of food. Polar bears travel on ice burgs from Greenland to Iceland, they are a good source of protamine and clothing.
Viking boathouses were built against the waterline and were dug into the ground, they were made to hold the ships of the Vikings. When building the boathouse they made sure they were big and up to 82feet long. This is because the boats that they built were really big. The base of the building was piled up with stone and then the walls were made from wood. Vikings had ring fortresses, they had a circular shape and were called Trelleborgs. They were built in Denmark and were made in memory of Harold Bluetooth who died in 986. Vikings had religious buildings for praying, they had them even before Christianity arrived in Scandinavia. Once this occurred the ritual houses started to resemble churches.
Vikings kept sheep near their settlement for wool and to eat, some kept goats but they were considered a poor man’s livestock because goats didn’t grow wool they grew hair which was not as valuable to the Vikings and they couldn’t sell it for as much. The Vikings also kept pigs as pets, they were an old variation of the Eurasian Wild Boar therefore they had fur which added to their value.
Vikings found a lot of value in cats, they thought they were very loyal companions and considered them useful for catching mice and other rodents that got into the house, Viking brides sometimes received kittens as a present because everyone was aware of their usefulness. Dogs were also used widely by Vikings, they helped them with everyday tasks and hunting, Vikings had a lot of respect for dogs and therefore when Vikings died their pets would get buried with them as a sign of respect.
While researching Viking mythology I found out that the video game Skyrim has a lot of links to Norse mythology. In according to skyrims lore when a nord dies they get taken to the hall of valour, this a direct link to Valhalla, which has the exact same lore behind it as skyrims hall of valour. The poetic adda is a book in skyrim that contains the entire history of skyrim.
Christian Vikings gathered in Stave churches, from the outside they did not look like a church, they had the rooves of a traditional ritual house and were multiple layered but often had spirals or a tower in the middle. The walls of these churches were made out of stone and in the inside there were a lot of crosses and depictions of Jesus.
The rooves pf a Viking house were covered in dirt and grass was planted on them. Islandic houses were a large foundation made of stone with widen frames, the main doorway led to the center room witch had a lit fireplace in the center of the room that provided lighting and heating to the house. The floors in the rooms were covered by earth wood and stone.
There was actually a surprising amount of trees in Iceland when the Viking settlers came, this is because Iceland was warmer back then and there were a lot less glaciers. Because of the heat trees had a perfect climate to grow in, the main kind of trees used were birch trees as there were a lot of them and a limited amount of rowan trees.
The Vikings are actually the one to blame for the deforestation of Iceland, they used all the trees in Iceland to build houses, ships and for charcoal.
This image shows what is left from a Viking house in Glaumbær, the house was renovated and upgraded to today’s standards but it still shows what houses looked like, I like way there is grass growing on the roof I think it is a really creative way around. The reason Vikings had grass rooves is because it’s cheap and it is easy to do.
Iron Shod Spade
This tool was used by the Vikings to dug holes it had fin metal to make it easier for them to dig the wholes and make it slide into the ground at a better angle.
Wooden Pitchfork
This tool was used by the Vikings for haymaking and spreading manure. They had to be gentle with the tool though because it was out of wood and could snap easie
Stone Quern These where used to mill flower, but they also used the water current to do that and it wasn’t always manual. It really depends on how wealthy you where and how much wood you had
Vikings wore clothes made out of wool, linen and animals, they made their clothes themselves. The clothes where usually made by women with the help of children, they used plants to buy the clothing naturally and gave it color.
Unit 10 