History of the Vikings for Kids
The Vikings
What comes to mind when you think of Vikings? Pointy hats with horns? Big dumb thugs who pillage and instill fear in others? Something else along the lines of a Hagar the Horrible cartoon strip? Viking history is dotted with myth and legend, and sometimes myth is mistaken for truth. So who were the Vikings? How did they live? And what about those hats? Vikings and how they lived Viking clothing Viking longships Viking writing Image Credit: Clker.com

Viking Longships
Viking Longships and Longboats
The Vikings were a feared people who came from northern Europe. Their ability to craft large, reliable seafaring longships and their advanced naval skills, allowed them to travel long distances and expand their empire. Known as Viking longships, longboats and sometimes dragonboats these light, versatile ships carried troops and cargo over long ocean voyages. For three centuries, the Vikings dominated the seas of Northern Europe. Image found at Wikipedia.com

Gudrid the Far Traveller
Her name was Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir. She was a daughter, a wife, a mother, a farmer, a pilgrim and a VIKING. She was born in Iceland (985 CE), married in Greenland, gave birth to her son in North America, went on a pilgrimage to Rome and died in her home country of Iceland (1050 CE) Her name is also made famous in the Icelandic saga's. These were the oral history stories that the Vikings and Scandinavians passed down to younger generations. These stories plus the archaeological discoverie...