Viking

The name Viking is a borrowed word from the native Scandinavian term for the Norse warriors who raided the coasts of Scandinavia, the British Isles, and other parts of Europe from the late 8th century to the 11th century. Vikings traveled to the west and Varangians to the east. This period of European history is referred to as the Viking Age.

Etymology

The etymology of "Viking" is somewhat unclear. One path might be from the Old Norse word, vík, meaning "bay," "creek," or "inlet," and the suffix -ing, meaning "coming from" or "belonging to." Thus, viking would be an activity in creeks, or "creeking." A vikingr is a person engaged in such activity. Later on, the term, viking, became synonymous with "naval expedition" or "naval raid, and a vikingr was a member of such expeditions. A second etymology suggested that the term is derived from Old English, wíc, ie. "trading city" (cognate to Latin vicus, "village").

Related Topics:
Old Norse - Old English - Latin

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The word viking appears on several rune stones found in Scandinavia. In the Icelandic sagas, víking refers to an overseas expedition (Old Norse farar i vikingr "to go on an expedition"), and víkingr, to a seaman or warrior taking part in such an expedition. In Old English, the word wicing appears first in the 6th or 7th century in the Anglo-Saxon poem, ?Widsith.?

Related Topics:
Rune stones - Icelandic - Saga - 6th - 7th century - Anglo-Saxon - Widsith

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In medieval use (eg. Widsith, and the writings of Adam von Bremen), a viking is a pirate, and not a name for the people or culture in general. Indeed, when Scandinavian raiders left their boats, stole horses and rode across country, they were never referred to as "vikings" in English sources.

Related Topics:
Medieval - Adam von Bremen - Pirate

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The word disappeared in Middle English, and was reintroduced as viking during 18th century Romanticism. During the 20th century, the meaning of the term was expanded to refer not only to the raiders, but also to the entire period; it is now, somewhat confusingly, used as a noun both in the original meaning of raiders, warriors or navigators, and sometimes to refer to the Scandinavian population in general. As an adjective, the word is used in expressions like "Viking age," "Viking culture," "Viking colony," etc., generally referring to medieval Scandinavia.

Related Topics:
Middle English - 18th century - Romanticism - 20th century - Viking age

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During the last century, speculations began about whether foreign traders, known as varyags who had trade posts along the Russian rivers down to the Byzantine Empire were of Scandinavian origin, and since then, the term has been interpreted also to refer to tradesmen from Scandinavia who established colonies in Russia. Early Scandinavian colonies in North America are also labelled as "Viking" by modern English speakers. It should be noted, however, that no written sources, in the cases of Vinland, Rus, or Varyags, use the term "Viking."

Related Topics:
Varyag - Russia - Byzantine Empire - North America - Vinland - Rus

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Scandinavians, in general, were not Vikings. They were farmers, fishers and hunters, as were most other people in Europe. As the Scandinavian shores were attacked by enemy forces, they established the defence fleet called ledung, which was also used as protection against Vikings. Though a common practice today, calling all northmen (Scandinavians) Vikings, rather than reserving the word solely for those involved in piracy, can lead to misunderstanding and confusion. As members of the ledung fleet, as well as farmers and fishers now and then, were attacked by Vikings, most Scandinavians probably saw Vikings as their enemies and fought against them with all their effort.

Related Topics:
Europe - Ledung - Northmen

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