Viking
Medieval Scandinavian seafarer
A Viking was a member of the Scandinavian seafaring warriors who raided, traded, and settled across Europe from the 8th to 11th centuries.
Vikings reached as far as North America and the Byzantine Empire.
The word now evokes horned helmets (historically inaccurate) and fierce warriors: The Vikings plundered the monastery.
Viking appears as a modifier for things associated with this culture or its aesthetic: Viking ship, Viking funeral. (Lowercase viking refers to the activity of raiding.)
Slender Norse rowing vessel
Bladed tool for chopping
- swordHilted fighting blade
- shieldHandheld defensive armor
- shieldwallInterlocked defensive formation
- berserkerFury-driven Norse combatant
chainmail · helmet · spear · warband · chieftain · jarl · combat · battle
Honey-fermented alcoholic drink
- feastElaborate ceremonial meal
- hallInterior connecting pathway
- jarlNorse regional chieftain
- thrallOne held captive
Thing · chieftain · clan · honor · boast · oath · kinship · hospitality
Resolved dispute or colony
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
- NormandyNorthern French coastal region
- IcelandNordic island republic
- GreenlandLargest island on Earth
Newfoundland · Vinland · trading · outpost · diaspora · migration · conquest · territory
Chief Norse deity
- ThorGermanic thunder deity
- ValhallaHall for fallen warriors
- RagnarokNorse end of days
- LokiNorse god of deception
Freya · Asgard · Bifrost · Midgard · Heimdall · valkyrie · Mjolnir · Fenrir
- Erik the RedNorse Greenland colonizer
- navigationDetermining position and course
- wayfindingNavigating through physical spaces
- voyageJourney by sea
Viking merchant ship
- dragonheadMint-family flowering herb
- keelHull's structural base
- oarsBladed poles for boats
- sailShip's wind-catching fabric
mast · rowing · shipwright · strakes · figurehead · stern · prow · timber
Religious seclusion dwelling
Norse heroic poet
- epicImpressively grand in scope
- chronicleOrdered historical record
- Icelandic sagasMedieval Norse prose narratives
- kenningFigurative Norse compound
alliteration · oral tradition · prose · manuscript · lore · legend · tale · Snorri Sturluson
longship
Slender Norse rowing vessel
axe
Bladed tool for chopping
- swordHilted fighting blade
- shieldHandheld defensive armor
- shieldwallInterlocked defensive formation
berserker · chainmail · helmet · spear · warband · chieftain · jarl · combat · battle · warfare
mead
Honey-fermented alcoholic drink
thrall · Thing · chieftain · clan · honor · boast · oath · kinship · hospitality · longhouse
settlement
Resolved dispute or colony
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
- NormandyNorthern French coastal region
- IcelandNordic island republic
Greenland · Newfoundland · Vinland · trading · outpost · diaspora · migration · conquest · territory · Dublin
Odin
Chief Norse deity
Loki · Freya · Asgard · Bifrost · Midgard · Heimdall · valkyrie · Mjolnir · Fenrir · Norns
Leif Erikson
- Erik the RedNorse Greenland colonizer
- navigationDetermining position and course
- wayfindingNavigating through physical spaces
knarr
Viking merchant ship
- dragonheadMint-family flowering herb
- keelHull's structural base
- oarsBladed poles for boats
sail · mast · rowing · shipwright · strakes · figurehead · stern · prow · timber · tarring
monastery
Religious seclusion dwelling
skald
Norse heroic poet
- epicImpressively grand in scope
- chronicleOrdered historical record
- Icelandic sagasMedieval Norse prose narratives
kenning · alliteration · oral tradition · prose · manuscript · lore · legend · tale · Snorri Sturluson · runestone
- Vikingslongships, longship, raiding, Norse settlers, raiders
- ancientantiquity, archaic, classical, medieval, Middle Ages
- ScandinavianDenmark, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Norse mythology, Icelandic sagas
- Vikinglongship, Odin, Thor, Valhalla, Valkyrie
- IcelandReykjavik, volcano, volcanoes, geyser, geysers
- Norse loanwordsberserk, berserker, saga, rune, skald
Vikinglandlubber
Non-seafaring person
homebody · peasant farmer · stay-at-home · sedentary · farmer
VikingChristian
Adherent of the gospel
monk · priest · missionary · Charlemagne · Pope
- Viking shipNorse seafaring vessel
- Viking mythsScandinavian religious folklore
- Viking raidsScandinavian seaborne plundering expeditions
- viking helmetAncient Norse protective headwear
- Viking funeralBurning the dead afloat
- Viking legendsStories of Scandinavian raiders