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Is Everything We Think We Know About the Vikings Actually Wrong?
Let’s set the record straight
The Vikings have fascinated us for over a millennium, from the days when they were the most feared marauders on the planet to the present day, with films, television shows, and horns painted on the sides of football helmets showing up on nearly every city’s high school fields. They are so legendary that we think we know everything about them, yet nearly everything we “know” is wrong.
That’s a bold claim to be sure, but it’s sadly true. Perhaps for more than any other group from ancient times, the myths and legends about the Vikings have completely supplanted the actual facts, and it’s time we got those facts right. First, let’s get a little background.
What historians refer to as the “Viking Age” lasted from the first recorded raid into Britain in 793 A.D. to around the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066. The term “Viking” comes from the Old Norse word for pirate but can also refer to any overseas expedition, not just piracy. They reached the Americas hundreds of years before Columbus and traveled as far east as Russia and as far south as Baghdad. Both historical research and archaeology have given us much information about the Vikings, yet many colorful myths persist. Let’s debunk a few of them.
