INTRODUCTIONThe Vikings were Germanic people from Scandinavia, famous for beingpirates in Europe. Viking´s attacks became important when they conquered the monastery Lindisfarme. They conquered Kiev, England and made agreements with Constantinople and France. The Viking Age ended when they killed their king Harald at the battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066.

SHIPSViking ships were called drakkars and were very light long ships. These boats were Propelled by sail or rowing. They had a dragon head in the front to scare sea monsters. This kind of ships were luxurIOUS. The most famous long ships were the Omen Lange and Mora. Another boat was Snekkar, it was a warship, and the Oseberg, a burial ship.

VIKINGS CLOTHES

Vikings wore brightly colourful clothes of linen. In the battle, they wore a metal helmet with two Horns(THIS IS ONLY A LEGEND , HORNS ARE NOT USEFUL ON BATTLES)and a coat of CHAIN mail. Shoes were made of leather, and clothes like the capes, were fastened with some brooches.

Helmet

Cape

Shoes

ARMSWeapons helped the Vikings to fight. They used these weapons: -Shield: shields were circular and made of wood. They were made of planks of wood and painted with symbols. They protected the warrior very well.-Sword: swords were simple. They were cut on both sides and they were 90 cm. Sometimes, swords were engraved with symbols.-Axe: the axe was made of iron and steel with a wooden handle of 10 to 120 cm

Other weapons were spears, hammers and bows.

For the Vikings, their house was very important. The whole family often lived together with animals in the same house. This building could be isolated or part of a village.The villages were usually located at the seafront. The Vikings built their houses of wood or adobe and covered roofs with straw or reeds. Inside, there were all necessary to meet their needs.

THE VIKING´S HOUSE

house

warehouse

blacksmithing

MYTHOLOGY 1(GODS)

Thor Odin Loki

Vikings Gods lived in Asgard. The most important gods were: -Odin: Supreme god, the father of all gods. God of war, science and art. -Thor: God of thunder and lightning. -Loki: God of destructive fire who was the beginning of evil. -Heimdal: God who guarded the gods from attacks, with very good eyesight and hearing.

Heimdal

Other gods were Bálder, Bifrost, Eskol, Freya, Mitgard, Niord…

MITHOLOGY 2(MONSTERS)

krakentrol sea snake

Kraken: Sea creature described as a giant squid. Kraken means sick animal.Trol: Anthropomorphic race whose role in the myths is that of a giant malignant.Sea snake: Sea monster in the shape of snake.Giant : Violent and huge monster that ate children.

VIKINGS NOWThe Vikings did not disappear completely. Today you can find them in stories, films ( Thor, Asterix, Obelix and Vikings) and TV series (Viky the viking)There are buildings in the world and Viking archaeological finds (Viking towers)

Galicia celebrate a party of Vikings in Catoira town.