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In the Middle Ages, the Volga trade route connected Northern Europe and Northwestern Russia with the Caspian Sea, via the Volga River. The Rus used this route to trade with Muslim countries on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, sometimes penetrating as far as Baghdad.

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The Battle of Hafrsfjord ( Norwegian: Slaget i Hafrsfjord) was a naval battle fought in Hafrsfjord sometime between 872 and 900 that resulted in the unification of Norway, later known as the Kingdom of Norway. After the battle, the victorious Viking chief Harald Fairhair proclaimed himself the first king of the Norwegians, merging several petty kingdoms under a single monarch for the first time.

Although most scholars currently tend to regard the unification as a process lasting centuries, rather than being the result of a single battle, the Battle of Hafrsfjord ranks high in the popular imagination of Norway. It was the conclusion of King Harald I of Norway's declaration to become the sole ruler of Norway. This battle may well have been the largest in Norway up to that time and for a substantial time afterward.

It was formerly believed that this battle was the decisive event in the unification of Norway. According to Snorri's saga, King Harald controlled large parts of Norway's southeast portion before the battle; but other sources claim that the eastern portion of Norway was under the Danish king. The Battle of Hafrsfjord marks the final crushing of opposition from Norway's southwestern portion (primarily Rogaland, but also chieftains from the Sognefjord area). This made it possible for King Harald to subdue the country and collect taxes from a large part of it. Later historiography regarded him as the first legitimate King of Norway. Many of the defeated who would not submit to Harald's rule emigrated to Iceland ( q.v.).

The exact year of the battle is unknown, but is generally considered to have taken place between 870 and 900. This uncertainty is due to lack of sources, and partly because the Christian calendar was not introduced at the time. The sagas follow the convention of counting the number of winters passed since an event.

A traditional date of the event, the year 872, is a 19th-century estimate. In the 1830s, the historian Rudolf Keyser counted the number of years backwards from the Battle of Svolder as recorded in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla, dating the battle to 872. Keyser's chronology was popularized by the works of the historian P. A. Munch, and by that time still unchallenged, this year was chosen for the millennial celebration of the unification of the Norwegian state in 1872.[5][6]

In the 1920s, using similar methods as Keyser but highly critical to the reliability of the sagas, the historian Halvdan Koht dated the battle to about 900. For the next fifty years, this chronology was regarded by most scholars as being most likely. In the 1970s, the Icelandic historian Ólafia Einarsdóttir concluded that the battle took place somewhere between 870 and 875. However still disputed, most scholars will agree that the battle took place during the 880s.[7]

Haraldshaugen at Haugesund

The national monument of Haraldshaugen was raised in 1872 to commemorate the Battle of Hafrsfjord. In 1983, the monument and landmark The Swords in the Rock ( Sverd i fjell) was designed by Fritz Røed and raised at Hafrsfjord in memory of the battle.

The only contemporary source to this event is from Haraldskvæthi or Hrafnsmól (Lay of Harold), a ballad written by , the court poet of King Harald Fairhair. The ballad is very simple, dramatic and illustrative.

The most well-known source of the battle is Harald Fairhair's saga in Heimskringla written by Snorri Sturluson more than 300 years after the battle took place. Snorri gives a vivid and detailed description of the battle, although some historians continue to debate the historical accuracy of Snorri's work:

News came in from the south land that the people of Hordaland and Rogaland, Agder and Thelemark, were gathering, and bring together ships and weapons, and a great body of men. The leaders of this were Eirik king of Hordaland; Sulke king of Rogaland, and his brother Earl Sote: Kjotve the Rich, king of Agder, and his son Thor Haklang; and from Thelemark two brothers, Hroald Hryg and Had the Hard. Now when Harald got certain news of this, he assembled his forces, set his ships on the water, made himself ready with his men, and set out southwards along the coast, gathering many people from every district. King Eirik heard of this when he came south of Stad; and having assembled all the men he could expect, he proceeded southwards to meet the force which he knew was coming to his help from the east. The whole met together north of Jadar, and went into Hafersfjord, where King Harald was waiting with his forces. A great battle began, which was both hard and long; but at last King Harald gained the day. There King Eirik fell, and King Sulke, with his brother Earl Sote. Thor Haklang, who was a great berserk, had laid his ship against King Harald's, and there was above all measure a desperate attack, until Thor Haklang fell, and his whole ship was cleared of men. Then King Kjotve fled to a little isle outside, on which there was a good place of strength. Thereafter all his men fled, some to their ships, some up to the land; and the latter ran southwards over the country of Jadar.

Forte, Angelo with Richard Oram and Frederik Pedersen (2005) Viking Empires (Cambridge University Press) ISBN 978-0521829922

Lincoln, Bruce (2014) Between History and Myth: Stories of Harald Fairhair and the Founding of the State (University of Chicago Press) ISBN 978-0226140926

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The Battle of Hafrsfjord ( Norwegian: Slaget i Hafrsfjord) was a naval battle fought in Hafrsfjord sometime between 872 and 900 that resulted in the unification of Norway, later known as the Kingdom of Norway. After the battle, the victorious Viking chief Harald Fairhair proclaimed himself the first king of the Norwegians, merging several petty kingdoms under a single monarch for the first time.

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La Gascogne au cœur des invasions vikings, une conférence de Joël Supéry, organisé par Ragnarock Bordeaux. La conférence évoquera la place de la Gascogne ...

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ème siècle, mais c'est l'effondrement de l'empire Carolingien après la mort de son fondateur et donc l'absence d'opposition sérieuse qu'il était en mesure de présenter à un prédateur audacieux et déterminé, qui a soudain poussé les vikings au premier plan de l'actualité.

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You can see a larger version of the map here.

The Vikings have gained a reputation as bloodthirsty warriors, but they were also well-travelled traders. In this interactive map you can see where the Vikings travelled to, and how they traded and raided.

Click on the map above to learn more.

Sails allowed the Vikings to travel far and wide

A large piece of fabric changed European history forever and transformed the Scandinavians into well-travelled Norsemen. Sails made it possible for the Vikings to enter the world of trade and war.

Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes of that time -- around AD 700 to 1050 -- also travelled by sea. We know this because Iron Age people living in Sweden are known to have navigated down Russian rivers. But sails meant they could travel faster and cover longer distances, even on the high seas.

"Viking Age people knew about sails, at least since the birth of Christ, because they had contact with the Romans who had sails on their ships. But it is not until around the seventh and eighth century that we see the sail introduced in Scandinavia," says Dr Morten Ravn, an archaeologist and curator from the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark.

"We don't know why they didn't have sails earlier, perhaps they just chose not to use it" says Ravn, who believes that the Norsemen must have known about the use of sails in the seventh century.

With the sail began a historical period when the Norse reached all the way down to the Caspian Sea, Gibraltar, Iceland, Greenland, and America.

Missing history of Norse sailing

According to Ravn, researchers know little about the use of sails and maritime activities in the Nordic region between the fourth and eighth centuries. The only thing we know about ship history in Denmark during this period is based on a boat found in a bog in Nydam, Southern Denmark, in 1863.

"We do not know what was happening in between the time of the Nydam society's boats and ships of the third and fourth century AD which were exclusively propelled by oars, and the seventh century where we begin to find pictorial depictions of ships. We cannot rule out that at some point we will find a ship from the year AD 500, but right now it is one of archaeology's great questions," he says.

The Nydam boat is 23 meters long and 3.5 meters wide. It is clinker built, a technique where the edges of hull planks overlap and planks are joined end to end into a strake. This was developed in northern Europe and successfully used by the Norsemen, and it represents a step in evolution in shipbuilding between the sewn plank boats and the new Viking ships.

During the Viking Age, they developed different types of ships for different purposes -- either for crew, food, or merchandise.

Some ships were built for navigating along coasts and rivers, whereas the ships that went to England, Iceland, Greenland, and America were likely to have been large oceangoing vessels that could carry up to 80 people or a large amount of cargo.

Commerce, trade and raids

The Viking ships had to carry many men on their great conquests, such as the raids in England.

But the reputation of the Vikings in popular culture as wild and bloodthirsty men is a little too simplistic.

People living in the Viking Age were farmers, but they would also venture out to travel as Vikings and look for riches. On their travels, they would trade with the locals, but also raid, pillage, and take slaves back home. One day they would be peaceful traders, the next day brutal pirates.

"Having oars on the ships meant that they could enter a country quickly and also make a fast getaway, even under unfavourable sailing conditions. The essential characteristics for what we now call a 'hit and run attack'," says Ravn.

Today, we know of the Viking travels from archaeological finds, such as tombs and settlements, where relics of Viking merchandise are found.

Monks, Arabs, and medieval writers all spoke about the Vikings travels

Written sources indicate that Vikings travelled, traded, and raided, throughout most of Europe.

The annals from the Franciscan monastery of St. Bertin in 841 AD describe how the Danish Vikings sailed down from the North Sea and entered the English Channel to attack Rouen, a town in Normandy, Northern France. The scribes tell how the Vikings raged and plundered, used swords and fire, destroyed the town, killed and enslaved monks and other townspeople, ravaged all monasteries and settlements along the Seine or left them terrified after taking their money as bribes.

The Icelandic sagas written in the Middle Ages are another example, and perhaps the most famous written accounts of the Viking travels. One tells the story of the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada and his travels to Miklagård (modern day Istanbul). He entered into service as the Emperor's bodyguard and returned home to Norway a wealthy man.

Vikings may have been to many other places

Whilst researchers have a lot of evidence for the fact that the Norsemen were well-travelled, they may have reached many other destinations that are so far not documented.

Researchers know that they sailed down along the Spanish peninsula and into the Mediterranean, so it is possible that they continued all the way down to the west coast of Africa.

The Vikings may also have been to other places along the North American coast than the L'Anse aux Meadow in Newfoundland, where archaeologists Helge Ingstad and Anne Stine Ingstad found the remains of a Viking settlement in 1960.

Read the Danish version of this article on Videnskab.dk

Translated by: Catherine Jex

External links

Related content

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You can see a larger version of the map here. The Vikings have gained a reputation as bloodthirsty warriors, but they were also well-travelled traders. In this interactive map you can see where the Vikings travelled to, and how they traded and raided. Click on the map above to learn more.

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The ships of the Vikings were the key to their success. Although the construction methods remained the same, several types of ship were produced and developed in the Viking period.

The longship is the most well known of these. We know from the Icelandic and Norse sagas that these warships often had names and were regarded as the ultimate weapon and status symbol. The Oseberg Ship shows that the vessels could also be elaborately carved - such decoration emphasising the ship's symbolic value. The longships of the later Viking Age were highly specialised vessels, which were constructed in order to reach high speeds and transport troops. Their long, narrow shape made them quick in water, but also meant a very limited capacity for cargo. Typically there was only room on board for a week's supplies, which placed logistical demands upon the Viking expeditions.

However, there were also other types of ships, which were equally important to the Vikings. The trading vessel was one of these. Just like the warship, this type of ship was produced in different sizes. These ranged from small vessels, that could transport goods around Danish waters, to large ocean-going ships with a cargo capacity of up to 60 tons.

Knowledge regarding navigation and the ability to find the way has been lost during the c. 1000 years since the end of the Viking Age. We know from the Norwegian medieval written source Hauksbók that bearings were taken using geographical features and that sailors were also guided by the sun and stars. Overcast weather on open sea must certainly have given the Vikings problems, but, on the other hand, they had a much greater knowledge about nature than we have today. For example, wild animals could tell them about their position and distance from land. These included bird species, which always stay within a certain distance of their nests, and migrating whales.

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How did the Vikings travel around in the world? - National Museum of Denmark

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The ships of the Vikings were the key to their success. Although the construction methods remained the same, several types of ship were produced and developed in the Viking period. The longship is the most well known of these.

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What did Vikings eat? The Vikings farmed crops, grew gardens and raised animals, as is typical of food produced from a feudal economy. They ate what they produced on their farms or what they could hunt, fish or gather. Viking farms were generally small, but large enough to keep the family or extended family well-fed in good years. Their food was seasonal, so they might have a lot of food available to eat at some times of the year and very little to eat at others.

On a typical day at the farm, the family would eat two meals. One, the dagmal, or day meal, was served an hour after rising. The family ate the nattmal or night meal at the end of the working day. For breakfast, the dagmal, the adults might eat a bit of some leftover stew still in the cauldron from the night before, with bread and fruit. The children would have porridge and dried fruit or perhaps buttermilk and bread. The evening meal could be fish or meat, stewed with vegetables. They might also eat some more dried fruit with honey as a sweet treat. Honey was the only sweetener the Vikings knew. Vikings drank ale, mead or buttermilk daily.

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Feasts would include the same foods-meat, fish, fowl, vegetables, wild greens, bread and fruit, but in a greater variety than usual meal and more of it. Vikings enjoyed drinking ale and mead at feasts. Mead is a strong, fermented drink made from honey.

Women cooked meats, vegetables and breads over the hearth-an open fire pit in the middle of the hall. A Viking wife either roasted the meat on a spit over the fire or boiled it in a soapstone pot or iron cauldron. Vikings loved rich stews, so often meats, vegetables and wild greens were stewed in the cauldron with water. Breads were baked on flat stones or iron griddles over the fire. Salt and pepper were available to most Vikings while costlier spices were imported and added to the foods of wealthier Vikings.

This of course omits the more exotic foods that Vikings obtained by trade.

What Did Vikings Eat? Crops and Gardens

Barley and rye were the grains that grew best in the northern climate, along with oats. From these grains, Vikings made beer, bread, stews and porridge. Barley was used mostly for beer, with hops to flavor it. Flatbread was the daily bread of the Vikings. A simple dough was made from ground oats or barley, water was added and then the dough flattened out on a griddle and baked over the fire.

Vikings consumed a variety of vegetables including cabbage, onions, garlic, leeks, turnips, peas and beans. These garden crops were sowed in spring and harvested in late summer and fall. Women and children gathered wild plants and herbs, mostly greens. These wild vegetables included nettles, docks, cresses and lambs-quarters. Vikings also grew some herbs such as dill, parsley, mustard, horseradish and thyme.

What Did Vikings Eat? Meat, Fowl and Fish

Scandinavians raised cows, horses, oxen, goats, pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks. They ate beef, goat, pork, mutton, lamb, chicken and duck and occasionally horsemeat. The chickens and ducks produced eggs, so the Vikings ate their eggs as well as eggs gathered from wild seabirds. . Because most Vikings lived on the coast, they ate all kinds of fish, both ocean-going and freshwater fish. In fact, fish was probably a good 25 percent of their diet.

What Did Vikings Eat? Dairy

Most Viking cows lived long enough to raise a calf and were then slaughtered for meat. Some cows, however, lived to about 10 years old, showing that they were milk cows. While Vikings enjoyed drinking milk, whey and buttermilk, they also used the milk to make other dairy products including cheese, skyr, a soft, yogurt-like cheese, curds and butter. Sour whey was used to preserve cooked meats in the winter.

Fruits and Nuts

Viking farms included apple orchards and such fruit trees as pears and cherries. Wild berries were harvested in the summer, including sloe-berries, lingon berries, strawberries, bilberries and cloud-berries. Walnuts were imported, but hazelnuts grew wild and nuts were a favorite treat.

Seasonal

In summer and fall, Vikings ate well as these were the seasons of plentiful, fresh food. It was important to preserve and store foods for winter and spring, when fresh foods were gone. Fish, fowl and meat were dried, salted or smoked. Vegetables and fruits were dried and stored for winter. Grains were ground and the flour made into bread, which was preserved and stored as well. Even though fresh foods were hard to come by in winter and spring, archeological studies reveal that Vikings didn't suffer from vitamin or mineral deficiencies.

Cite This Article

"What Did Vikings Eat? The Diet of Conquerors" History on the Net
© 2000-2021, Salem Media.
March 6, 2021 <https://www.historyonthenet.com/what-did-vikings-eat>
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What Did Vikings Eat? The Diet of Conquerors - History

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Loading... What did Vikings eat? The Vikings farmed crops, grew gardens and raised animals, as is typical of food produced from a feudal economy. They ate what they produced on their farms or what they could hunt, fish or gather. Viking farms were generally small, but large enough to keep the family or extended family well-fed in good years.

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Viking clothes were made from wool, linen and animal skins.

The Vikings were skilful weavers and made their own clothes. Women, with the help of children, made the wool into yarn and used natural dyes from plants to give it colour.

Men wore tunics and trousers and women wore a long dress with a pinafore over it. Their clothes were fastened with belts and brooches.

Other websites

Viking Dress - BBC Clips video

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Viking Clothes - What did the Vikings wear?

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Viking clothes were made from wool, linen and animal skins. The Vikings were skilful weavers and made their own clothes. Women, with the help of children, made the wool into yarn and used natural dyes from plants to give it colour. Men wore tunics and trousers and women wore a long dress with a pinafore over it.

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Category:Battles involving the Vikings - Wikipedia

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battles involving the Vikings .

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Erik Thorvaldsson ( Old Norse: Eiríkr Þorvaldsson; 950 - c. 1003), known as Erik the Red ( Old Norse: Eiríkr hinn rauði) was a Norse explorer, remembered in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first settlement in Greenland.

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Les anciens Germains appelaient völva (vala ou wala en vieux haut allemand) les prêtresses et prophétesses. Les termes seiðkona , spákona en norrois, spaewife ou wicce (terme générique pour sorcière) en vieil anglais sont utilisés pour les femmes pratiquant au moins l'une des magies nordiques. Elles sont des personnages récurrents de la mythologie germanique.