Thor rode in a chariot that was pulled by goats and it was believed that when there was a thunder storm Thor was riding in his chariot waving his hammer. Thor stood for safety and order.
Ships
There were two main ships that the Vikings had. They were a long travelling boat and a big fat boat that was used for carrying alot of items.
First let me talk about the Long boat. This boat was used to fight other ships and to take troops to different places. It had a sail that was used but if there was no wind the men would have to row. The boats would also have a scary picture of a dragon at the front of the boat and the boat would have a scary name like sea wolf. These features were used to make the boat more scarier for the enemies so they wouldn’t’ fight at the top of there game.
The Viking boats were one of the most successful things that the Viking did. Without their boats and building talents they would have not gone anywhere in history and they wouldn’t be that successful.
When people think of Vikings they think of there ships and there soldiers so there ships were very popular.
The Viking homeland
The Vikings lived in 3 main parts which are today’s Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. The Viking homelands were very difficult to live in because it was snowing all the time. The summers were short and cold and the winters were long and freezing. So it was very hard to grow vegetation because it was basically winter all the time. It was very hard living conditions so the Viking built boats so they could travel to a place that were easier to live than the place that they lived. When they got to the new lands they would settle and if there were any people on the islands they would raid and invade them and steal items then they would settle there.
Weapons and Armour
The Viking were very skilled in battle and they were feared because of there great strength and the way they used their weapons. They used a lot of different weapons and amour. They were swords, spears, axes were the weapons they used mainly but they also used daggers and bows. The amours that they used were shield, helmets, chain mail, and leather tunics.
The greatest Viking weapon was the sword mainly because of the great fighting strength. It had also a ranking, the greater the warrior the greater the sword. Swords were usually 70 to 80 centimetres long and the handle of the sword was usually decorated. Swords were so highly loved that most Viking named there swords.
The axe was also very deadly it could damage an enemy’s body even if they had armour on. It was made of a sharp cutting piece of metal. It was then attached to a stick. This weapon was very affordable because they could also use it for there work.
The most popular weapon that the Vikings had was there spear. It wasn’t expensive but it could still kill someone. It was just a metal blade up to 50 centimetres long and it was attached to a wooden stick. It was a good stabbing weapon but it could also be thrown. This was a great weapon.
Like their weapon the armour was very strong and protected them. Their helmets were basically head shape objects that were metal. They had a strip of metal that protected there nose. Like the sword they got more decorated for the higher ranking soldiers. Viking helmets did not have spikes on it.
Viking shields were round and they were made out of wood. It had a metal rim surrounding the wooden middle. It was 1 meter in diameter and protected from the shoulder down to the thigh. It was usually painted with a picture to scare the enemy.
Even thought the Viking had these weapons they were very similar to the English weapons. Some of the English weapons include maces, swords, axes, bows, clubs, daggers, spears, staff weapons. If you see these weapons they are very similar to the Vikings weapons. But because the English couldn’t fight as a nation they were beaten in many of there battles against the Vikings. These weapon would have minor differences like the handle or the shape of their shield but when it comes down to it, it’s how you use it.
Bibliography
www.members.tripod.com/warviking/realweaponsandarmor.html
ecs.lewisham.gov.uk/youthspace/ca/vikings/vikinggods.htm
Book- Vikings by Gary Nicholls
Google images/ Thor
Google Images
-Viking ships
-Viking weapons
-Viking map
-Viking God Thor
Jordan Roig 8E
