Viking

A model-making figure represents the Viking ruler. The photos come from the 12th International Festival of Plastic Reduction Models Bytom 2015. The Viking modeling figure was presented at the 12th International Festival of Plastic Reduction Models Bytom 2015.

"Viking" is an old Norse word for an expedition overseas. The Vikings are Scandinavian warriors or sailors who undertook such expeditions. These were mainly robbery, seldom trading expeditions. As a reminder: Scandinavia is an area of northern Europe that includes Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Scandinavians from Denmark and Norway headed their expeditions westwards and attacked mainly the shores of today's Great Britain and northern Europe. They sacked London and even Paris around the middle of the ninth century.

They used to reach to Greenland and Newfoundland off the coast of Canada, where the remains of their settlement were discovered. This means they discovered America long before Columbus.

They also used to cross the Strait of Gibraltar and plundered the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. They often settled in the conquered areas, e.g. in Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the areas of today's northern France, where the Duchy of Normandy had been existing for 300 years from 911.

The Swedish Scandinavians led their expansion to eastwards. Their traces were found in Estonia and Latvia. They reached deep into Russia and Ukraine. In 882, the Vikings captured Kiev and collected tribute from the surrounding tribes. They were also present on the shores of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. They reached the Caspian Sea along the Volga River.

Historians even talk about the Viking Age and describe its duration from the end of the 8th century to the 11th century.

Sources:

• https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikingowie
• https://histmag.org/Kiedy-zaczela-sie-epoka-Wikingow-14430
• https://histmag.org/Kiedy-zaczela-sie-epoka-Wikingow-14430/2
• https://histmag.org/Wikingowie-i-poczatki-ich-wypraw-w-VIII-IX-w.-prawda-i-mity-8767/4
• https://histmag.org/druga-osada-wikingow-za-oceanem-13061
• https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kij%C3%B3w

05 Feb 2017