VIKINGS!

[IanC]

in Newfoundland it was possible for the livestock to graze all winter, thanks to a lack of snow at that time.

How much livestock could they have had?  I could see them bringing pigs, chickens and geese on those ships, but not many cows or horses.  I wonder how long the voyage from Europe took back then.

 

[DuneElliot]

Who knew that the mention of the design of the decor in my 5W could inspire such an interesting thread discussion. I've loved every post so far and am definitely learning more than before and can't wait to move into my Viking-inspired camper full time. I still haven't named her.

 

[AbuelaLoca]

^^ Totally agree! Fascinating subject!

As for a name, perhaps something from Norse mythology?

" the beautiful, seiðr-working, feathered cloak-clad goddess Freyja who rides to battle to choose among the slain; the vengeful, skiing goddess Skaði, who prefers the wolf howls of the winter mountains to the seashore; the goddess Iðunn, who keeps apples that grant eternal youthfulness; ... "

 

[caretaker]

OR alen page and the purple people eaters, now those were REAL vikings,,,,,,at least I'm not gonna tellem there not

 

[lenny flank]

How much livestock could they have had?  I could see them bringing pigs, chickens and geese on those ships, but not many cows or horses.  I wonder how long the voyage from Europe took back then.

Indeed, the primary reason why the Vikings never permanently colonized North America and the Spanish did is because the Spanish had a reliable long-distance trade route all the way back to Europe and the Vikings didn't.  The Viking colony in Greenland fell victim to a cooling climate which made their way of life impossible, and the colonies in Newfoundland (and any still-undiscovered ones further south) were simply impossible to maintain logistically in the longterm, and would have failed even if the entire continent had not already been inhabited.

The Spanish also fought (and lost) battles with the Native Americans, but they had a logistical network behind them which allowed them to not only replace their losses, but to continuously increase their numbers.

 

[IanC]

Since this thread popped up, I've been doing a lot of reading up on the subject (that I knew very little about before). One question that I've never seen put forward is whether the intricate artwork and carvings of the Vikings, on their ships and stones was the work of craftsmen brought back from the Celtic countries. The similarities of the interweaving and figures to that of the Celts is so remarkable that it seems a strange co-incidence that people who were once isolated from one another could have produced such similarities. Also, the skill involved didn't evolve overnight. It wasn't unheard of in history for craftsmen to be captured and transported back to other areas - advanced skills must have been as valuable as gold, at least. I'll have to do more reading on the timelines.

 

[Svenn]

I'm half Dane and half Scot and wondered if my height was somehow related to Viking blood.  According to her, the Vikings were short, red headed men and not the tall, blond Danes of today. I was disappointed.

It's a common mistake to ascribe the geographic origin of a phenotype on the basis of its frequency in a population.  The two are connected but not completely casually related.  Trying to pinpoint which specific country hair color, height, etc "came from" is a practice started in the Victorian era and was picked up by some rather nasty folk in Bavaria I think we need not mention.  The fact that the most natural blondes are in Sweden and the Baltic today doesn't mean it's exclusively Norse in origin, nor is the fact that Welshmen are on average shorter than the English proof that that they were always exclusively so.  If physical differences were so prominent as modern people like to believe, then one must wonder why almost no historical texts describe invasions/settlements/etc in northwest Europe as the clashing of phenotypes.  The Romans ascribed almost every imaginable hair color to Celt and Teuton alike.  

I've been to Sweden a few times and a lot of people there are downright goofy-looking 

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

 

[DuneElliot]

But it wouldn't fit in my camper :-(

 

[AbuelaLoca]

Maybe just use the head as a hood ornament, DE??

 

[lenny flank]

Yeh, I could live in that.....

 

[DuneElliot]

Maybe just use the head as a hood ornament, DE??

I just had heart palpitations with that suggestion...I love it. Probably not legal anywhere but that would be SO COOOOL!!!!!!!!!  :heart:

 

[Ballenxj]

Some of these suggestions made me wonder how hard it would be to make a van look like a Viking ship? After a bit of thought, I said naw, aint gonna happen.

 

[DuneElliot]

It would be awesome though...and I'd be impressed

 

[Ballenxj]

It would be awesome though...and I'd be impressed

It would at that point be more like a float in a parade. Stealth would be nonexistent. Unless of course it could also float, and was at sea. 
Still something to contemplate though.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Problem is, I don't think that's a Shield Wall.  I think that's the purely defensive formation called a Shield Burgh.  THIS is a Shield Wall . . .

 

[Ballenxj]

Problem is, I don't think that's a Shield Wall.  I think that's the purely defensive formation called a Shield Burgh.  THIS is a Shield Wall . . .

I suspect the first image depict a defense used against a volley of arrows, and the second when up close and personal.

 

[DuneElliot]

It would at that point be more like a float in a parade. Stealth would be nonexistent. Unless of course it could also float, and was at sea. 
Still something to contemplate though.

Since I'm in a 27ft 5W with a large blue Ford diesel I'm not very stealthy anyway 

I suspect the first image depict a defense used against a volley of arrows, and the second when up close and personal.

This is as accurate as anything I've read. Standard formations for defense depending on what they are defending against. You see the same in Roman legions, although a little tidier

 

[Ballenxj]

Since I'm in a 27ft 5W with a large blue Ford diesel I'm not very stealthy anyway 

You had better start looking for the appropriate Dragon head then.

 

[lenny flank]

Problem is, I don't think that's a Shield Wall.  I think that's the purely defensive formation called a Shield Burgh.  THIS is a Shield Wall . . .

It is a shield wall, but it's not Viking. It belongs to the Middle Ages when archers were lots more common.

The shield wall is mostly a defensive formation. Back in my younger days i used to do Dark Ages re-enactment, and have been in a number of shield walls--it's where they put all the new guys. Their job was simple---don't get killed. Their locked shields protected the more experienced guys behind them who had spears to reach over and nab the guys in the opposing shield wall. 

The Vikings also had an offensive formation called the Boar's Snout--it was a V-shaped line that would charge at the opposing shield wall. The idea was that by focusing on one point, they could penetrate the shield wall and get behind the shield-bearers, leaving them defenseless and easily slaughtered. In dark Ages warfare, you were relatively safe in the shield wall--until someone got behind you.