DK Eyewitness Books - Viking

PEASANT WARRIOR

This peasant was not rich, and

dressed simply. But he was a

freeman, and owned his own farm,

which his wife would look after

when he went to war. The 10th-

century poem Rigst hula describes

a peasant couple: he makes

furniture and his wife

weaves. They have a son

named Karl, meaning

farmer or freeman.

Karl’s wife wears fine

goatskin and carries

keys, a symbol of

her status (p. 33).

VȪȬȪȯȨȴȰȤȪȦȵȺȩȢȥȵȩȳȦȦȤȭȢȴȴȦȴ—slaves,

freemen, and nobles. Most of the hard labor

was done by slaves, or t hralls. Many were

foreigners captured in war. Wealthy people

sometimes had their slaves killed and

buried with them. Slaves could be freed.

Freemen included farmers, traders,

craftsmen, warriors, and big landowners.

At the beginning of the Viking Age,

there were many local chieftains

(nobles) who ruled over small areas.

They were subject to the rule of the

Thing, the local assembly where all freemen could

voice their opinions and complain about others.

But chieftains and kings gradually increased

their wealth and power by raiding and

conquering foreign lands. By the end

of the Viking Age, around 1050,

Norway, Denmark, and Sweden

were each ruled by a single,

powerful king, and the role of

the Things had declined.

28

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The well-off Viking
warrior or chieftain
took pride in
his appearance.
This Viking carved
from elk antler has
neatly trimmed
hair and beard.

Simple

leat her belt

Wooden ax handle

Plain iron ax head Wooden shield

wit h iron boss

Plain woolen

pants

Leat her shoes

%(67)227)25:$5'

Rich or poor, leather shoes were of a

simple design. Fancy pairs had colored

uppers, ornamental seams, or even

inscriptions. The most common

leather for shoes was goatskin.

Toggle (fastener)

made of ant ler

Goatskin

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This is the Duel at Skiringsal,

painted by the Norwegian artist

Johannes Flintoe in the 1830s.

Disputes were often settled by

a duel, which could end in death.

These gruesome fights were

forbidden by law in Iceland

and Norway in around 1000.

Arguments could also be sorted out

by the Thing (the local assembly),

or by tests called ordeals. In ordeals,

men would try to prove their

innocence by picking stones from

a cauldron of boiling water or

carrying a hot iron for nine paces.

The Vikings believed that the gods

would protect the innocent.

Kings and freemen