vikings in mann.pdf

V IKINGS IN M ANN

PUBLISHED BY MANX NATIONAL HERITAGE 1997 & 2003

ISBN 0 901106 38 0

Contents

Page 2.

Viking Arrival

Page 6.

Everyday Life

Page 8.

Tools and Weapons

Page 11. Clothes & Jewellery

Page 15. Viking Ships

Page 19. Trade

Page 22. Beliefs & Myths

Page 24. Stories in the Stones

Page 28. Kingdom of Mann

& the Isles

Page 30. Viking Legacy

Page 32. Glossary

PRESENTS

Viking Arrival

The Vikings lived in the part of Europe we

now call Scandinavia. Although they all

had similar languages and customs, there

were three groups of Vikings -

Norwegians, Danes and Swedes.

They steered their ships in the right

direction using the positions of the stars

and the sun. They followed the flights of

gulls and the movement of fish. When they

were approaching land they threw

overboard something that floated. By

looking carefully at how this came to the

shore they were able to work out the

direction of the currents and how to avoid

dangerous rocks.

In Scandinavia the climate had become

milder and the harvests better. There was

more food for everyone. More people were

born and lived longer. In time Scandinavia

became overpopulated and people had to

look for new land. Some Vikings were

forced to leave their homelands because

they fell out with their leaders.

The Danish and Norwegian Vikings went

south. They sailed across the treacherous

North Sea and attacked the coasts of

Britain, Ireland and France. The Swedish

Vikings sailed east, travelling up great

rivers and through vast forests to Russia,

then further south to the great city of

Constantinople on the Black Sea coast.

The Norwegian Vikings came from rugged

lands filled with giant creeks and bays

known as fiords or viks . The easiest way to

travel between towns was by boat. Vikings

learned to handle boats when very young.

The Vikings left their rugged homelands to travel far across the world.

Viking Arrival

The journeys of the Vikings.

Longships were built for raiding and

exploration. They could move as quickly

backwards as forwards enabling them to

get away from dangerous situations.

many parts of coastal Britain including the

Scottish Isles. Some sailed west over sea

colonising the Orkney, Shetland and Faroe

Islands and as far as Iceland and

Greenland. Some Vikings intending to set

foot in Greenland discovered North

America by accident, hundreds of years

before Columbus.

Other types of boats called knorrs were

built to carry heavy and bulky cargoes.

The Vikings conquered and settled in

Panoramic view of the Island from the Lake District.

Mann could be seen clearly from other parts of the British Isles.

Viking Arrival

The Isle of Man was seen clearly from

parts of the British Isles. Viking ships en

route to Dublin and the Hebrides would

have sailed past the Island.

When their crops grew well they gave

thanks to Frey, the god of the harvest for

their food. Their gods helped them to

explain things they could not understand.

The richness of the Island’s farmland

attracted the Vikings. Situated in the

middle of the Irish Sea it was an important

area to control. It had safe harbours for

ships and was a good place to launch

attacks on other coastal areas. The Vikings

settled throughout the Island and wealthy

Viking warriors came to own the best

farming lands.

Clues have been found on the Island

which show the Vikings lived here - their

clothes and jewellery, the houses they

built, the tools and weapons they used and

the food they ate.

By the end of the tenth century A.D. the

Vikings were rulers of the Island. There is

no evidence that on arrival in Mann the

Vikings killed and enslaved the local

population. However we should remember

that on arrival in other parts of the British

Isles terrible things were done to the native

people. We cannot be certain if the Vikings

were accepted peacefully on the Island,

but in time they intermarried with the local

people and their children were a mixture of

Viking and Celt.

Rich land owners had people working the

farms for them. Some workers were slaves

and had no freedom at all. Their owners

had the power of life and death over them.

However we should remember that the

native people also kept slaves.

The local Celtic people had different

beliefs to the Vikings. They were Christian

believing in one God. They spoke Gaelic

and were farmers.

The Vikings were pagan and spoke Norse.

They were explorers in search of land and

wealth. They believed in many gods .

When lightning pierced the night sky they

would ask Thor the god of thunder for

protection.

Celtic woman and Viking man

The Vikings were warlike, but

they also worked at building

their homes, farming and

fishing. They were skilled

craftworkers making almost

everything they needed with

their own hands.

Viking Arrival

THINGS THEY LEFT BEHIND:

Top Left: Sword with silver decoration on the hilt

Top right: Bone pins and bodkins

Bottom Right: Silver wire bracelets

Bottom Left: Iron shears with remains of bone comb

Middle: Piece of fabric from Viking grave

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