Skeletons show that arthritis of the back, hands and knees plagued ordinary Viking farmers. Many Vikings also suffered from tooth problems. More than a quarter of the population had holes in their teeth. Finds of crania show that most Vikings had several teeth missing.
A damaged skull believed to be that of a Viking indicates the ancient Nordic seafarers and plunderers carried the sexually transmitted disease syphilis as they raped and pillaged Europe, authorities say.
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.
The study, conducted on thousand-year-old parasite eggs recovered from Viking faeces, shows that both the Vikings and their domestic animals were plagued by parasites -- which most likely enjoyed excellent living conditions in a dirty world in which domestic animals and humans lived in unhygienically close proximity to ...
While the general diet was a balanced one and relatively healthy, Vikings still fell prey to illness and were often victims of severe wounds suffered during battles. In addition, worms and parasites were a major problem during the Viking era.
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 physical build of the Vikings was likely to be somewhat similar to our own, but with significantly more mass and muscle.
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.
They could be killed with ointments, many of which contained noxious substances such as mercury. Personal grooming was also important: treatments often included washing, and most medieval combs had a fine-toothed section similar to a modern nit comb. Women were often responsible for delousing their loved ones.
Fruits and Vegetables
Vikings farmed cold-hardy vegetables like cabbage, carrots, leeks, turnips, parsnips, garlic, onions, and other root vegetables to add vitamins and variety to their diets. They ate peas, beans, and other legumes.
In the Viking Age children's lives were not differentiated from those of adults like they are today. Children were also put to work from a young age. They were part of the family and had to help with the daily tasks. Children helped their parents with indoor tasks, such as looking after the fireplace or making food.
Viking women married young—as early as 12 years old. By the age of 20, virtually all men and women were married.
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.
The first well-recorded European outbreak of what is now known as syphilis occurred in 1494 when it broke out among French troops besieging Naples in the Italian War of 1494–98.
WOMEN AS VALKYRIES AND SHIELD-MAIDENS
Women that fought were in the Norse literature called vakyries or shield-maidens (skjoldsmøyer). There were several kinds of female warriors.
Many Vikings used picks to clean the gaps between their teeth, and some historian believes they may have also used fibrous hazel twigs and similar tools as a kind of brush. The Viking skeletons discovered over the decades have usually had relatively strong teeth too.
Humans are the only host of threadworms. The adult worms live in the lower intestine, coming out of the anus at night to lay their eggs. Children with threadworms can get the eggs under their fingernails when scratching their itchy bottoms at night.
About half the world's population (over 3 billion people) are in infected with at least one of the three worms forming what Columbia University parasitologist Dickson Despommier calls the "unholy trinity"—large roundworm, hookworm and whipworm.
Adult worms may live up to 17 years in the human body and can continue to make new microfilariae for much of this time.
The Viking reputation as bloodthirsty conquerors has endured for more than a millennium but new research shows that some Norsemen approached the British islands with more than a little trepidation.
The marks were cut deep into the enamel and occurred often in pairs or triplets. "To show their furrows, the individuals would have had to smile quite broadly," Arcini says. The researcher speculates that the marks could have been some sort of decoration or a badge to indicate class or military rank.
Vikings appear to have had a full diet packed with protein, fat, and carbohydrates. However, their active lifestyles probably meant most of this food was converted into muscle, rather than excess weight. There's a good chance Vikings did appear “huge” to the people who met with them, however.
"The examination of skeletons from different localities in Scandinavia reveals that the average height of the Vikings was a little less than that of today: men were about 5 ft 7-3/4 in. tall and women 5 ft 2-1/2 in.
King Alfred ruled from 871-899 and after many trials and tribulations (including the famous story of the burning of the cakes!) he defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington in 878. After the battle the Viking leader Guthrum converted to Christianity.
Harald Hardrada: why there's more to the last great Viking than his death in 1066.