Who was vikings?
Not bad article about vikings.
The Vikings were seafaring warriors, raiders, and explorers from modern-day Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland who ventured throughout much of the world during the Viking Age (roughly 793-1000 CE). They traveled as far east as Constantinople and as far west as North America in search of riches to plunder and fertile lands in which to settle. They spoke the Old Norse language, wrote in runes, and practiced their ancestral religion.
The reasons behind Viking raids and settlements during this period are numerous and include population pressures, demographic changes, the high value placed on honor and competitive accomplishments in traditional Germanic society, and a desire to retaliate against the violent incursions of Christianity amongst the Norse and other Germanic peoples that were occurring throughout the Viking Age.
The Vikings are an important part of the study of the indigenous mythology and religion of the Germanic peoples because the vast majority of what we know about these topics comes from Scandinavian and Icelandic poems, treatises, and sagas that were written during or relatively soon after the Viking Age.
