The Vikings terrorized much of northern Europe from the 8th to the 10th centuries. They seemed to be a violent and worthless bunch. Even the word “berserk” originated from the frenzy of the Old Norse warriors. The Vikings seem to be the brutal mob that many people have loved to fear.
The Vikings Raided Then Settled
The first encounters of the Vikings in England were indeed violent and gruesome. For example, in 793 C.E., Norsemen seemed to appear from nowhere, then they quickly attacked a priory in Lindisfarne, where they hacked monks to death, stole the valuables and terrorized others.
So what happened to this fury? The fury of the Viking warriors seems to have been transitory, as the violence of their attacks turned to peaceful colonizing.
The Norsemen began to build settlements and from what is known, they interacted positively with the locals, as they successfully assimilated with the British and Irish cultures there.
The Vikings turned out to be more in search of discovering new land and building settlements, than their reputation of raiding, destroying and pillaging.
Viking Discovery of America
Christopher Columbus is noted for discovering the America in the 1490s, but he only reached Caribbean islands, South America, and finally Central America during his four voyages.
The Vikings were great navigators who were the first pre-Columbian Europeans to reach North America, which they did in the 10th century C.E.
Bjarni Herjólfsson, a Norwegian explorer, in 986 C.E. was the first known European to sight the mainland of the Americas. Having heard Herjólfsson’s claims, Leif Ericson purchased Herjólfsson’s ship and sailed off to set foot on the mainland of North America.
Greenland, which is a part of North America geographically, was settled by the Norse from 986 C.E. Leif Ericson, was the son of Erik the Red who settled two colonies on Greenland. Leif sought the mainland of North America. Erik's Viking settlement is thought to have been at Vinland (which may have been at L'Anse aux Meadows) in Newfoundland, Canada.
The settlement at Newfoundland was short-lived, however, due to lack of support from Greenland and conflict with the indigenous peoples of Newfoundland.
Information about the Vikings in Vinland and their voyages is seen in two Icelandic sagas: the Saga of Eric the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders.
Viking Influence on the English Language
While the Vikings had little effect on the Americas, they did leave their print on Europe and the English language which was later spread to America through cultural exchange from England.
It is said that over 1000 Norse words became a part of standard English. Words with a “sk” beginning are found in the English language from Scandinavian languages such as skirt, sky and skin.
Other loan words common in English include: landing, score, fellow, take again, awkward, birth, cake, dregs, fog, freckles, gasp, law, moss, neck, ransack, root, scowl, sister, seat, sly, smile, want, and weak. to go, to come, to sit, to listen, to eat, both, same, get, and give.
Many place names in England came from the Scandinavian languages. Further, family names are common in England, and through them in America, particularly those family names ending in –son.
Leif Ericson Day
So why do American's celebrate Columbus Day for the discovery of America by Europeans? (Columbus Day is celebrated on the 2nd Monday in October). Perhaps there are more Italian-Americans than Scandinavian-Americans.
There happens to be an annual observance occurring on October 9 in the United States honoring Leif Ericson. Those who live in or near Scandinavian communities in America are more familiar with this annual holiday.
In America Columbus Day is a Federal Holiday which means that most offices are closed on that day. Leif Erikson Day, however, is seldom mentioned nationally.
Resources:
Crystal, David, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, CUP, 2001 edition.
Firth, Niall. “Vikings were 'model immigrants who lived happily with Ancient Britons' claim academics.” Daily Mail--Mail Online (13 March 2009)
Forte, Angelo. Oram, Richard. Pedersen, Frederik. Viking Empires. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005
Hall, Richard. Viking Age Archaeology. Shire Books, 2010 (originally published in 1990)
Paula I. Nielson - Paula I. Nielson, Ph.D., holds credentials and interests in anthropology, archaeology, religion, the Middle East and Asia.
