The term Viking, once struck terror in the hearts and minds of Europeans who dreaded the looting, pillaging, kidnapping or raping of the women folk, and other such negative events that are said to have occurred through out the many villages and towns that the Vikings were once noted for raiding.
Before we go further, let’s clear up at least one misleading notion about their typical attire or dress code. They really did not (men or women) wear hats or helmets with horns sticking out on top; nor did they have horns growing out the top of their heads.
Vikings are customarily referred to as Norse or Scandinavian explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates; who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and several North Atlantic islands such as Greenland, dating from the late 8th to the mid-11th century AD.
These Norsemen or Vikings are best known to have used their famous long ships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia , as far west as Iceland , Greenland, and Newfoundland
The early Vikings were not noted for leaving a huge written account of their era but the Scandinavians did write inscriptions upon stones that are called runes; most of which have been found in Sweden
I would not be surprised to learn that the well known Minnesota Professional football team whose mascot and nick-name is no other than the ‘Vikings’ obtained such from this very same rune stone.
Sources …
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking http://www.wpclipart.com/world_history/sea_vessels/Viking_ship.png.html
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