Who were the Vikings and where did they come from?

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.    

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/