Shows Videos News Topics Games Shop Search

This Day in History Ask HISTORY HISTORY Lists HISTORY Blog Hungry History Speeches & Audio
HISTORY MOBILE GET EMAIL UPDATES
20m Like Like
Like HISTORY Lists on
Facebook
1.8k Like Like
RSS
February 18, 2013
10 Things You May Not Know About the Vikings
By Jennie Cohen
Think youve got the Vikings pegged? With all the caricatures and stereotypes out there,
theres probably a lot youve never heard about the seafaring Scandinavians who raided
and settled coastal sites in the British Isles and beyond between the ninth and 11th
centuries. Explore 10 surprising facts about the Vikings below.
Ted Spiegel/National Geographic/Getty Images
1. Vikings didnt wear horned helmets.
Forget almost every Viking warrior costume youve ever seen. Sure, the pugnacious Norsemen probably sported
headgear, but that whole horn-festooned helmet look? Depictions dating from the Viking age dont show it, and
the only authentic Viking helmet ever discovered is decidedly horn-free. Painters seem to have fabricated the
trend during the 19th century, perhaps inspired by descriptions of northern Europeans by ancient Greek and
Roman chroniclers. Long before the Vikings time, Norse and Germanic priests did indeed wear horned helmets
for ceremonial purposes.
2. Vikings were known for their excellent hygiene.
Between rowing boats and decapitating enemies, Viking men must have stunk to high Valhalla, right? Quite the
opposite. Excavations of Viking sites have turned up tweezers, razors, combs and ear cleaners made from
animal bones and antlers. Vikings also bathed at least once a weekmuch more frequently than other
Europeans of their dayand enjoyed dips in natural hot springs.
3. Vikings used a unique liquid to start fires.
Clean freaks though they were, the Vikings had no qualms about harnessing the power of one human waste
product. They would collect a fungus called touchwood from tree bark and boil it for several days in urine before
pounding it into something akin to felt. The sodium nitrate found in urine would allow the material to smolder
rather than burn, so Vikings could take fire with them on the go.
4. Vikings buried their dead in boats.
Theres no denying Vikings loved their boatsso much that it was a great honor to be interred in one. In the
11k Recommend Recommend Send Send 152 362
Royalty Ancient Rome
British History American Civil War
Ancient Egypt Ancient Greece
Mountain Men
Advertisement
Most Popular
11 Things You May Not Know About Ancient Egypt
8 Reasons It Wasnt Easy Being Spartan
8 Reasons Why Rome Fell
10 Things You May Not Know About the Vikings
6 Mysterious Disappearances in U.S. History
10 Things You May Not Know About Genghis Khan
8 Surprising Facts about Alexander the Great
6 Famous Castaways
Top Categories
History.com on Facebook
Sign Up
Create an account or Log In to see what
your friends are doing.
Thomas Paine publishes American Crisis
History.com This Day in History 12/19/1776
114 people recommend this.
Great Chicago Fire begins
6,586 people recommend this.
Alcatraz: Deconstructed History.com Video
2,352 people recommend this.
Odin and the Lords of Asgard Video - Vikings -
HISTORY.com
5,570 people recommend this.
Facebook social plugin
More to Explore
Page 1 of 3 10 Things You May Not Know About the Vikings HISTORY Lists
8/2/2014 http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-vikings
HISTORY.com
Site Map
FAQ/Contact Us
Shop HISTORY
A+E Networks Corporate
Advertise With Us
Corporate Information
Around the World
Shop Our Store
Swamp People
Pawn Stars
Ax Men
A+E Networks Digital
Advertisement
Did You Know?
William the Conqueror, the Norman king who
invaded England in 1066 and fundamentally changed
the course of British history, was descended from
Viking raiders. His ancestors received the French
duchy of Normandy in the early 10th century in
exchange for promising to stop pillaging France.
Related
Who Were the Vikings? - Video
Life of a Viking - Video
Vikings - Topic
Warriors - Game
Previous Next
6 Famous Castaways 6 Famous Places that
Never Existed
7 Unusual Military Units 5 Adventurers You Might
Not Know About
Norse religion, valiant warriors entered festive and glorious realms after death, and it was thought that the
vessels that served them well in life would help them reach their final destinations. Distinguished raiders and
prominent women were often laid to rest in ships, surrounded by weapons, valuable goods and sometimes even
sacrificed slaves.
5. Vikings were active in the slave trade.
Many Vikings got rich off human trafficking. They would capture and enslave women and young men while
pillaging Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Slavic settlements. These thralls, as they were known, were then sold in
giant slave markets across Europe and the Middle East.
6. Viking women enjoyed some basic rights.
Viking girls got hitched as young as 12 and had to mind the household while their husbands sailed off on
adventures. Still, they had more freedom than other women of their era. As long as they werent thralls, Viking
women could inherit property, request a divorce and reclaim their dowries if their marriages ended.
7. Viking men spent most of their time farming.
This may come as a disappointment, but most Viking men brandished scythes, not swords. True, some were
callous pirates who only stepped off their boats to burn villages, but the vast majority peacefully sowed barley,
rye and oatsat least for part of the year. They also raised cattle, goats, pigs and sheep on their small farms,
which typically yielded just enough food to support a family.
8. Vikings skied for fun.
Scandinavians developed primitive skis at least 6,000 years ago, though ancient Russians may have invented
them even earlier. By the Viking Age, Norsemen regarded skiing as an efficient way to get around and a popular
form of recreation. They even worshipped a god of skiing, Ullr.
9. Viking gentlemen preferred being blond.
To conform to their cultures beauty ideals, brunette Vikingsusually menwould use a strong soap with a high
lye content to bleach their hair. In some regions, beards were lightened as well. Its likely these treatments also
helped Vikings with a problem far more prickly and rampant than mousy manes: head lice.
10. Vikings were never part of a unified group.
Vikings didnt recognize fellow Vikings. In fact, they probably didnt even call themselves Vikings: The term
simply referred to all Scandinavians who took part in overseas expeditions. During the Viking Age, the land that
now makes up Denmark, Norway and Sweden was a patchwork of chieftain-led tribes that often fought against
each otherwhen they werent busy wreaking havoc on foreign shores, that is.
Categories: Exploration, Vikings
More HISTORY Lists
11k Recommend Recommend Send Send 152 362
Follow Eustace, Tom and Marty as
they devote their lives to surviving
off the grid, on their own terms.
Ask History: Rosie the Riveter
Get the real story behind this
famous World War II icon.
Gettysburg
Explore 7 ways the battle changed
the course of the Civil War.
Swamp People: After the Hunt
Watch the exclusive web series.
The Bible - The Epic
Miniseries DVD
Men Who Built America DVD
$29.95
Shop HISTORY
See More
LEAD STORY
Texans head for the thrills at Six Flags, 1961
On this day in 1961, amusement park lovers "head
for the thrills" as Six Flags Over Texas, the first park
in the Six Flags chain, opens. Located on 21
1
Page 2 of 3 10 Things You May Not Know About the Vikings HISTORY Lists
8/2/2014 http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-vikings
Email Updates
Mobile
Travel
HISTORY Magazine
Employment Opportunities
TV Parental Guidelines
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Copyright Policy
Ad Choices
American Pickers
Ice Road Truckers
History Channel DVDs
War DVDs
History Books
History Gifts
HISTORY Education | HISTORY en Espaol | HISTORY Shop
Crime and Investigation | MILITARY HISTORY | DressUpChallenge
LifetimeMoms | Roiworld
1996-2014, A&E Television Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Page 3 of 3 10 Things You May Not Know About the Vikings HISTORY Lists
8/2/2014 http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-vikings