Blimey.....Vikings!

[RabidAlien]

Urg. Tax collectors give mine a bad case of the runs. We usually just opt for a nice flame-breath (flambe!) and call it a day.

 

[Maximowitz]

The Vikings that invaded Britain were mainly Norwegian and Danish in origin. Apart from that bloke from Sodertalje.

 

[Lucky13]

I'm never gonna live that down, am I? It was just a stag do that went slightly overboard, ok!

 

[Maestro]

Hey, there is nothing wrong with having Viking blood, okay ? (As some of you know, I've got Danish ancestors.)

Note : If the Vikings landed in New-Foundland 500 years before Columbus landed in the Bahamas (that was proven), why the hell is he still credited with the discovery of America ?

 

[Lucky13]

Beats me mate.... I'd like to know why it's so hard for some people to accept that Leif Eriksson was in North America slightly ahead of Columbus..

 

[Airframes]

Maybe Columbus used Sachi and Sachi for his PR write-up ?!!

 

[RabidAlien]

Yeah, he had the frikkin Queen of Spain backing him...you can't beat that for PR! Its been proven that several other countries were here before Columbus, they actually set foot in NORTH America, and that they KNEW they were on a new continent. Columbus (IIRC) went to his grave thinking he'd found a shorter route to India or something. Heck, I thought *I* was bad at geography!!!

 

[Lucky13]

.....and we even rubbed shoulders with the natives and caused less trouble, illness etc., etc.

 

[JohnAnthony]

Hey, there is nothing wrong with having Viking blood, okay ? (As some of you know, I've got Danish ancestors.)

Note : If the Vikings landed in New-Foundland 500 years before Columbus landed in the Bahamas (that was proven), why the hell is he still credited with the discovery of America ?

He's not really. The observance of Columbus Day here in the states is waning and any public school history book you open describes the Native Americans' migrations from Asia and the Viking settlements in New Foundland. Columbus is credited with re-discovering the Americas for the sake of mainland Europe's eventual colonization.

 

[Lucky13]

There are still questions asked about how south in North America the Vikings travelled....

 

[tail end charlie]

There are still questions asked about how south in North America the Vikings travelled....

I think its quite clear that people walked into N America from East Asia. The Vikings seemed to have sailed there and Columbus sailed there and back

 

[RabidAlien]

Lucky, there's a Viking runestone up in Heavenor, Oklahoma....almost went there a couple of weeks ago (wife and I were just south, in Broken Bow, and drove that direction, but wife got bored so we turned around 18 miles short of Heavenor....pissed me off, too.). So they've been at least that far south. Wierd in Rune Stone State Park Heavener, OK 74937 Heavener, OKLAHOMA LeFlore Wierd

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

WOW!! Very cool info RA! Thank you sir!

 

[JohnAnthony]

Oklahoma huh? Wow. I'd like to know the story behind that. Exiles? New colonists? Lost?

 

[RabidAlien]

We didn't make it up there, so I can't tell the full story (or as much as anyone knows, anyway), but they think the guy who carved the stone is the same guy who carved several more up north. The Vikings did travel quite a ways in the northern states, looking for whatever it was they were looking for...I'm wanting to say that they made it about halfway across the country, but don't quote me on that. Apparently one Viking got bored having the sun in his eyes every afternoon/evening, and turned south.

 

[JohnAnthony]

Well the Vikings were no different than other human beings throughout history - we all seem to have a certain amount of wanderlust, looking for something better (or at least different) over the horizon. What I find even more fascinating is the idea that some South American peoples migrated over the seas to become Pacific Islanders - Kon Tiki and all that...That's just mind-boggling.

 

[GrauGeist]

There's been plenty of evidence that other cultures made contact with the new world long before Columbus. Back in the 80's, they even discovered a Roman shipwreck off the coast of Argentina. I'm going to figure that predates Columbus by just a few years...

They even have possible evidence that Scandanavian explorers made contact with Central American cultures, who thought the Vikings were gods. That explains why Montezuma thought the Spaniards were those same gods prophesized to return someday and given a free reign to the Aztec empire (finding out too late, of course, that they weren't gods afterall).

As far as family ancestry goes, my Saxon ancestors didn't seem to get along at all with the Vikings that were invading thier Scottish turf

 

[Colin1]

They even have possible evidence that Scandanavian explorers made contact with Central American cultures, who thought the Vikings were gods. That explains why Montezuma thought the Spaniards were those same gods prophesized to return someday and given a free reign to the Aztec empire (finding out too late, of course, that they weren't gods after all)

I thought the evidence was a little greater than 'possible'
Didn't some fella called Leif Eriksson make it to the Americas?

 

[mikewint]

The vikings rollicked ALL over the north atlantic including, N america, england, france, even italy just to check on what the neighbors had grown or born. their effect on civilization was monumental. just as a simple example except for Saturn's Day, The Sun's Day, and the Moon's Day all the rest are Nordic. And NO horned helmuts

 

[Lucky13]

I don't mind the horned helmets, even if we never worn any.....keep wondering where the idea came from though.