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| A map showing The Vikings rein |
The Vikings were a civilisation of people that lived from
700 AD to 1100 AD. Originally they came from Denmark, Norway and Sweden
although many Vikings left these Scandinavian countries and travelled to other
places such as Britain and Ireland in search of wealth or fortune. Some historians believe that another reason Vikings
left their homes was because their villages had become overpopulated and the
land was not suitable enough to farm on so they settled in warmer countries
such as Ireland and Britain and became farmers, craftsmen or traders. The word
'Viking' comes from a language called 'Old Norse' and means 'a pirate raid'.
When we think of the Vikings we often imagine giant, terrifying people who did
nothing but raid villages and kill innocent victims, but this actually an
untrue fact. During this era there were actually more hairstyles available for men then there were for women which goes to show how much men valued their appearance and took pride in looking good.
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| A pair of Viking tweezers |
Although Viking men did raid villages and attack people archaeologists have discovered many personal grooming items such as combs, tweezers, ear spoons, razors and nail cleaners which shows that the Vikings were not as unhygienic as we think and did take pride in their appearance. Recent skeletons found also showed that Viking men filed their teeth. Although
Archaeologists are still unaware why they did this, they believe it may have represented some type of achievement.
Sources
http://news.nationalgeographic.com.au/news/2006/02/0203_060203_viking_teeth_2.html
http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-c_s-56_u-473_t-1288_c-4947/VIC/7/Daily-life-of-Norse-people/The-Viking-life/The-Vikings/SOSE-History/
