Viking classes
Viking society was made up of three distinct classes-
landowning nobles, freeman and slaves. Vikings warriors came mainly from the
noble and freeman classes. The Viking nobility
were called Boendr. They were the strongest and richest in society. Boendr
literally means “stay in one place.” This refers to the fact that these Viking
men were landowning farmers. Unlike other feudal societies in Western Europe, the
Bondi had no direct overlord. They were a fiercely independent class.
The Freemen
The next social class was referred to as the Freemen. This was the most broad and varied group of Viking society. Freeman were generally made up of men who were born into that class, though some might be freed slaves, since upward mobility was allowed in Scandinavian society. Freeman were composed of fishermen, shipwrights, metal workers, carpenters, craftsmen and farm workers.
Viking Society
The men who were called Vikings, typically came from the Boendr and Freemen classes. Each spring and summer these men would leave home for months at a time to sail the seas in search of riches and glory. In the fall and winter, when the seas were too dangerous to cross, the Vikings would return home to their village or farms, where they farmed, hunted and gathered. Hunting was plentiful, thanks to great expanses of forests in Scandinavia. Farming was just as important to Viking society. Barely, oats, rye and hops were all important crops for the Vikings, providing much food for the long winter months.
The Freemen
The next social class was referred to as the Freemen. This was the most broad and varied group of Viking society. Freeman were generally made up of men who were born into that class, though some might be freed slaves, since upward mobility was allowed in Scandinavian society. Freeman were composed of fishermen, shipwrights, metal workers, carpenters, craftsmen and farm workers.
Viking Society
The men who were called Vikings, typically came from the Boendr and Freemen classes. Each spring and summer these men would leave home for months at a time to sail the seas in search of riches and glory. In the fall and winter, when the seas were too dangerous to cross, the Vikings would return home to their village or farms, where they farmed, hunted and gathered. Hunting was plentiful, thanks to great expanses of forests in Scandinavia. Farming was just as important to Viking society. Barely, oats, rye and hops were all important crops for the Vikings, providing much food for the long winter months.
Rules and laws
Viking lords and kings made many laws. They wanted everyone to be honest, brave and fair. They hated cowards and cheats. Ordinary Vikings were law makers, too. One day of the Thing was set aside to try serious crimes, such as murder or theft. People accused of crimes had to walk over a piece of red-hot iron or snatch stones from a pot of boiling water. A guilty person´s burns were supposed to get infected, while an innocent person´s burns would heal.
Crimes and punishment
If the Vikings believed someone committed a crime, they had to stand a trial. Women had to pick hot stones out of boiling water and men carried red, hot, burning iron for a short distance. If they dropped the stones or the iron they were accused to be guilty. If you achieved your task you had your wounds cleaned up and dressed. When a week passed, their wounds were examined, and if they were healing they were innocent and if they weren’t then they were guilty. Their fate was decided by the thing. The thing was a meeting where there punishment would be decided. The criminal would have to pay a mulct, degraded to be a slave or could even be banished from the land. If you were an outlaw, anyone could kill you without risk of being prosecuted. Vikings believed they were worth money, some more than others. They were called Wergelg. The higher rank Vikings were worth more than peasants.
Governance, power and leaders
Scandinavian accounts of the Norse settlement in Scotland and the outlying islands is contradictory. Sources such as Egils saga Skallagrimssonar suggest that the original Viking settlers were fleeing the persecutions of King Harald hárfagri Hálfdanarson (Harald Fairhair)
Once he'd gained full control of the provinces that had just come into his hands, Harald kept a sharp eye on the landed men and rich farmers, and anyone else he might expect trouble from. He gave them a choice of three things. They could swear loyalty, or they could leave the coutry, but if they chose the third, they could resign themselves to the most savage terms, perhaps even death. There were cases where Harald people's arms and legs hacked off. In every province, Harald took over both farming land and estates, whether they were inhabited or not, even the sea and the lakes. Every farmer and every forester had to become his tenant, every salt-maker and every hunter on land or sea had to pay taxes to him. Many a man went on the run from this tyranny and many a wilderness became inhabited, both east in Jamtaland and Halsingland and west, in the Hebrides, as well as the parts around Dublin in ireland, Normandy in France, Caithness in Scotland, Orkney, Shetland and the Faroes. And that's when Iceland was discovered
Once he'd gained full control of the provinces that had just come into his hands, Harald kept a sharp eye on the landed men and rich farmers, and anyone else he might expect trouble from. He gave them a choice of three things. They could swear loyalty, or they could leave the coutry, but if they chose the third, they could resign themselves to the most savage terms, perhaps even death. There were cases where Harald people's arms and legs hacked off. In every province, Harald took over both farming land and estates, whether they were inhabited or not, even the sea and the lakes. Every farmer and every forester had to become his tenant, every salt-maker and every hunter on land or sea had to pay taxes to him. Many a man went on the run from this tyranny and many a wilderness became inhabited, both east in Jamtaland and Halsingland and west, in the Hebrides, as well as the parts around Dublin in ireland, Normandy in France, Caithness in Scotland, Orkney, Shetland and the Faroes. And that's when Iceland was discovered