In
Viking women married young—as early as 12 years old. By the age of 20, virtually all men and women were married. Life expectancy was about 50 years, but most died long before reaching 50. Only a few lived to 60.
The Viking Age (793–1066 CE) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America.
The Vikings typically lived to be around 40-50 years old. But there are also examples of upper class Vikings who lived longer – for instance Harald Fairhair, who was King of Norway for more than 60 years. (Picture of King Harald from the 14th century Icelandic manuscript Flateyjarbók / public domain.)
The Viking age ended when the raids stopped. The year 1066 is frequently used as a convenient marker for the end of the Viking age. At the Battle of Stamford Bridge, the Norwegian king Haraldr harðráði was repulsed and killed as he attempted to reclaim a portion of England.
From then on, these lands began to depopulate. Early research said the exodus was due to many problems, including climate change, a lack of management, economic collapse and social stratification. Temperature change has often been cited as an explanation for the end of the Vikings, so let's take a closer look.
The average height of Vikings as found by researchers and scholars, varied depending on a number of factors, including their age and gender. Typically, the average male Viking would usually be between 5 foot 7 and 5 foot 9, while the average female would be between 5 foot 1 and 5 foot 3.
Since they didn't have their own gym, they probably didn't have six packs and glamor muscles. However, experts believe Vikings were quite large, muscular people, capable of striking fear into the hearts of their enemies as a result of their strength and size.
The Vikings loved their children, and when they weren't exploring, travelling, farming, raiding or invading faraway shores, they dedicated much of their lives to raising strong children who would do them proud.
Women that fought were in the Norse literature called vakyries or shield-maidens (skjoldsmøyer). There were several kinds of female warriors. – Some were divine beings, like the valkyries sent by Odin to pick up the warriors that were slain on the battlefield.
Alfred's grandson, Athelstan, became the first true King of England. He led an English victory over the Vikings at the Battle of Brunaburh in 937, and his kingdom for the first time included the Danelaw. In 954, Eirik Bloodaxe, the last Viking king of York, was killed and his kingdom was taken over by English earls.
Harald Hardrada, sometimes called the last Viking king, was the half-brother of the Norwegian king, Olav Haraldson, later called St Olav. Harald took part in the battle at Stiklastad 1030, where Olav was killed. After the battle Harald fled to Sweden and from there to Russia.
Led by King Alfred, the armies of Wessex defeated half of the Viking forces in the Battle of Edington in 878, forever crushing their hopes of dominating all of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms.
On the other hand, women were respected in Norse society and had great freedom, especially when compared to other European societies of that era. They managed the finances of the family. They ran the farm in their husband's absence. In widowhood, they could be rich and important landowners.
Fidelity. This belief in fidelity extended far beyond the modern understanding of it, which is to remain monogamous with your life partner. They also applied this belief in fidelity to friends and family as well, which meant that Vikings had to be unequivocally loyal to those that were close to them.
Some men would have two to three wives, but the Norse sagas say that some princes had limitless numbers. "So raiding was away to build up wealth and power. Men could gain a place in society, and the chance for wives if they took part in raids and proved their masculinity and came back wealthy.
A typical couple probably had 2 or 3 living children at any one time. Few parents lived to see their children marry. And fewer lived to see their first grandchild. Three generation families were rare.
We also know that newborn babies were sometimes put out to die. This might happen if the parents could not afford to support the child. After the introduction of Christianity the putting out of children to die was forbidden by law. The practice was still allowed for children with deformities, however.
Instead, boys and girls usually took their father's, or sometimes mother's, first name as a surname and added “son” or “dottir” (daughter).
The chances are Vikings were a lot leaner than many people today, thanks to their protein-rich diet, and their commitment to hard labor. However, it's likely that the comparative 'largeness' of Vikings was down to their muscular bodies and strength, rather than simply being "fat".
Vikings were known for their excellent hygiene.
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 week—much more frequently than other Europeans of their day—and enjoyed dips in natural hot springs.
First of all, the Vikings weren't full-time warriors or raiders. They were mostly farmers, hunters, and fishermen. Their employment was centered around providing for their family's needs. These were physically demanding tasks that kept them in shape and made the Vikings so physically strong.
Vikings had a varied and rich diet of wild and domestic meats, fruits, crops, poultry, fish, and other food they could grow, harvest, or hunt. Therefore, it is not surprising that their diet was much better and more varied than in other parts of medieval Europe.
Vikings would win. Vikings fought guerilla style and seemed to have heavier weapons, as for Spartans, unlike the AC game, they fought in phalanx formation, a disciplined formation warfare like the Romans and British and had lighter weapons.
The average Viking was 8-10 cm (3-4 inches) shorter than we are today. The skeletons that the archaeologists have found, reveals, that a man was around 172 cm tall (5.6 ft), and a woman had an average height of 158 cm (5,1 ft).