What did Viking Villages Look Like?
We usually think of the Vikings as travelers and raiders, but they did not live on their longboats or in military camps. Most of them would have lived in villages, which were not too different from the villages in England and France that they attacked and took over.
Even though the exact make-up and nature of Viking villages depended on where they were and changed over time, there are a few things that all Viking villages had in common. Let's take a look.
Farmstead, Village, or Fortress
Viking villages were all different sizes. In places that were poor and hard, farmsteads were far apart and not close to each other. This happens a lot in Iceland, where big farms are spread out all over the land.
In areas with more money, a small village might be made up of a dozen farmsteads. The houses of the people who lived in these small Viking towns were all close together in the middle of the town and surrounded by walls.
This was done both to keep animals from wandering through and to protect the people from enemies. The land around the village was then used for farming and grazing. Even in the richest places where the Vikings built their unique defensive ring fortresses, there were usually fewer than 20 longhouses (what we call Viking homes) inside the fortress walls.
Location
The location of a Viking village was often important to its success and wealth. Most of the villages were near the coast or a fjord.
The first reason was that fishing was a big part of their way of life, and the second was that it was easier to get around. The Vikings found it much easier to travel by boat than to try to cross the rough land.
Most settlements were also built on high ground so that water could drain away as well as possible. Larger villages often had wells, but farmsteads and smaller villages were almost always near a source of fresh running water.
Household
The size of a person's home depended a lot on how much money they had. Most homes were built around a longhouse, which got its name because it was long and narrow.
In Norway, these homes were usually made of wood and had roofs made of turf or thatch. In Scotland, on the other hand, stone houses were more common because the wood was harder to come by.
For people with less money, this may have been the only building they had. The family would have lived here, and during the colder winter months, their animals would have joined them inside.
Richer farmsteads also had a number of outbuildings that could house animals or be used for other things, like brewing.
The farmstead's owner and his family would have lived there. His family would have included his parents and cousins, so it wasn't just the nuclear family.
Along with slaves, who were common in the Viking world, paid hands would have lived and worked on the farm. The worst jobs on the farm would have been given to slaves.
Commodities
The Vikings caught fish, sewed crops, and raised cattle to make a living. We've already talked about how fish was an important part of the Viking diet. This is one of the main reasons why Viking settlements were always near rivers.
While the men were out raiding, most of the work of growing crops would have been done by women, children, and slaves. Most of the time, people ate barley, rye, and oats.
But livestock was by far the most important thing on a Viking farm. Cattle were so important that in old Norse, the word for both cattle and money was the same: fé.
The barns at the Strong farmstead in Iceland could hold 18 heads of cattle, while the barns at Njal's farm at Bergthorshvoll could hold 30 heads. On most Viking farms, there are probably between 15 and 40 cows.
The Vikings raised sheep, pigs, goats, and even horses, in addition to cows. Horse meat was a treat for the Vikings until Christianity came along and made it against the law.
All animals were raised for more than one reason. They gave milk that was used to make cheese, yoghurt, and other dairy products. They also gave wool, leather, and other useful materials.
They were used as work animals to pull ploughs and waggons. And, of course, they were raised for their meat, which was eaten and used as a sacrifice to the gods.
Rhythm of Life
Seasons would have had a big impact on how life went in Viking villages. In the spring, seeds were planted, and in the summer, the men went on raids while the rest of the family worked to make enough food to last through the winter.
In the longhouses, people would huddled together during the dark winter months to tell stories, teach children, make crafts, and more.
This is why the festivals that marked the changing of the seasons were so important in the Viking calendar because they marked real changes in day-to-day life.
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