Vikings

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Of the many cause to the start of the Middle Ages, the Vikings were a big cause. Stories of the Vikings traveled all over Europe and their reputation of pillaging towns and cities expanded. Not only did the Vikings raid people, they were explorers and merchants. They were described as evil and bloodthirsty, among other things. On raids, they came quickly, attacked, pillaged, and left the remains burning. Vikings learned to write, their language was made up of [|runes], like the example to the right.

__**Viking Villages**__ Vikings also settled down into villages. These villages usually started off as ports or outposts. Each village was divided into different social classes (like in the middle ages). Each villages was ruled by a chief or king. But the chiefs or kings weren't in their own social class. There were three. Nobles, freemen, and slaves. Nobles included Chiefs or Kings, wealth, or people who were descendants of honored ancestors. Freemen included farmers, merchants, and others who served the ruler or worked for themselves. And finally the slaves. This group included Scandinavians whose ancestors were captured in war and Europeans who were captured in raids and battles. Most Vikings stayed in one social class their whole life. Most villages had a blacksmith, a farm, a port, houses, and a hall. Viking buildings were usually stone or wood, with a thatched or shingled roof.

The Vikings were people of the sea. Since their home land in the Scandinavian countries was surrounded by water, and they lived by fjords and other inlets, sailing became a popular form of transportation. Vikings used tables that gave them their approximate latitude. They also used the sun, moon, and stars to navigate. On cloudy days they supposedly used a special crystal that showed them the sun.
 * __People of the Sea__**

Unlike the Christians that they attacked, they were polytheistic. They prayed to multiple G-ds like Odin, Freya, Thor, Loki, etc... Each G-d was "in charge" of one thing. Odin was the king, while Thor was believed as the norse G-d of war. Loki on the other hand was not born from the G-ds, and was a trickster and shape shifter. According to Norse beliefs Loki brought the downfall of the Norse G-ds.
 * __Beliefs__**


 * EFFECTS OF RAIDS ON EUROPE.[[image:Viking_Voyages.png width="720" height="491" align="left" caption="Viking Voyages (CC)" link="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vikings-Voyages.png"]]**

__** Bibliography **__
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 * Created by-** Alex on May 25 th, 2012
 * Edited by, Revised by, and Additions made by-**Ben on May 28 th, 2012
 * Movie by-** Heli on May 28 th, 2012