The vikings

The Vikings came from countries located in Scandinavia. These countries would be Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. They were located in the coastlines of these countries and along the rivers that ran intothe seas. The majority of their villages where locates near rivers, though, a few were located inland. They lived between the 8th and 11th Century. They mostly traveled to Europe. They got to NorthAmerica, Russia, North Africa, Constantinople, Iceland, and Greenland. When their attacks became more organized, they were able to reach further lands of Europe through lakes and rivers. In Ireland,they settled in Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Limerick.

The Vikings lived in tribal communities which each one was independent. There were many kings. Normally, each one would rule a smallpart of land that wasn’t bigger than a country. Some of the kings were war chiefs that owned no land. Each community had a thing (assembly) that acted as a court and as a legislative body. The oneswho owned land were the only members in this assembly. The kings lasted the time people wanted him to rule. The next in the rank were the jarls. They were nobles who had power and lands as about as muchas the kings. Jarls and kings had to rule according to the law. Before laws were written down, people elected their rulers and they had to teach them their unwritten rules. Later in Sweden andDenmark people began to unite under one king.

The Vikings society was made up of three social classes, the karls, the jarls, and the þræll. The majority of the people belonged to the middle class, thekarls. These people were freeman and they owned lands. They were framers, smiths, and common people. The karls normally lives in groups of two or more buildings, usually long houses with barns andworkshops. The jarls were another social class. They belonged to the noble class. They were known for their richness. Their richness was measures in terms of followers, treasures, ships, and properties....