I’m sure you have seen drawings of Viking warriors with big horns coming from their helmets but archaeologists tell us that Vikings never had horns on their helmets. Some Vikings didn’t wear helmets at all.
Horns to add to a helmet would have been hard to find and would have made the helmet way too heavy. Vikings used the horns of animals to create strong tools as this was a better use of a valuable resource. Animal bones and horns were used to create knives, arrow heads, as well as decorative peices like jewellery.
The Viking warriors were very religious and had the gods in mind every time they entered battle. They believed that if a Viking warrior died in battle they would go to Valhalla.
Valhalla is Odin’s home in Asgard and is a massive feasting hall. The Hall has over 500 doors and the ceiling is made of shields from warriors in Valhalla. To get to Valhalla was a great honour for Viking warriors. This hope for Valhalla was a reason that Viking warriors were less scared going into battle as they knew they would be rewarded in the afterlife.
Want to know more about the Viking gods? Read more in our fun facts article all about them.
The Vikings were fantastic at building and making things. They created some of the most beautiful and useful boats. They used them to travel far from their homes to seek riches and find new lands.
These boats could carry 60 Viking warriors and they were very fast. They had animal heads carved at the front. The animals carved on the boats were usually scary animals like dragons and snakes. They used scary animals so that people would be frightened by their boats.
Viking warriors were also clever in how they built their boats. They were designed to be shallow so they could sail up rivers and they had a bow at either end so they could reverse without having to turn. This was very useful for sailing in icy conditions.
Viking warriors are often shown as very dirty and barbaric but they actually cared a lot about their looks and how clean they were. Archeologists have found combs, ear cleaning tools, and tweezers from Vikings showing the care they took of their appearance. Some of the combs they have found were not just for brushing their hair but also their beard.
When Viking warriors settled in England the English men were annoyed at the Vikings because they charmed the women with their good looks and cleanliness. The English did not like how nice smelling and well-groomed the Vikings were.
Items found by archeologists is the best way we can learn more about the vikings, museums often have these on display so that everyone can learn from them. The National Museum in Scotland has the most important collection of Viking objects ever found in the Uk, called the Galloway Hoard.
The invention of skis was even before the Vikings, around 6000 years ago. Viking Warriors were very strong skiers and saw it as a great way to get around during the winter. Vikings are from Scandinavia so their winters were very cold and snowy.
The Vikings warriors also enjoyed skiing on their time off to relax. They even had a god of skiing called Ullr. Even Viking Warriors need a day off sometimes.
Want to know more about Vikings? Check out our article giving you even more fun facts here.
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