Blimey.....Vikings!

[mikewint]

Back to the Vikings, what we do know to be factual is that in 985 Bjarni Herjolfsson was part of a 25 ship fleet bring settlers to Greenland. He was blown off course, sailed three days west and discovered land. He repeated this tale to Lief Ericson.
Lief sailed with 35 men from Greenland and discovered 3 new lands, Helluland (land of flat stones) believed to be Baffin Island;
Markland (Land of forests) somewhere along the coast of Labrador and finally in 1001 Vinland (Land of wine or today meadows) located somewhere south of Markland and today believed to be the discovered Norse settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows at the northernmost tip of Newfoundland.
Lief stayed 2 years and returned to greenland.
In 1004 Thorvald Lief's brother returned picked a fight with local Indians and was killed by an arrow. the norsemen stayed another year and returned to greenland in 1005
In 1006, Thorstein another brother returned to retreive his brothers body and left that summer
In 1010 Thorfinn Karlsefni put together 3 ships and 160 settlers and returned to Liefs camp.

 

[Lucky13]

If I remember correctly, the vikings also founded what is today known as Russia.....

 

[vikingBerserker]

Yup, the Swedes explored quiet a bit to the East becoming known as Rus's and Varangians, made their way to Byzantine where they became the Varangian Guards. IIRC Rus came from the word tributary or some other branch of water

 

[Lucky13]

True....isn't there some viking graffiti on some lions down there, was it Istanbul?

 

[tail end charlie]

If I remember correctly, the vikings also founded what is today known as Russia.....

Well I dunno about founding they were certainly there in a big way, when I worked in Russia I was amazed how many red headed women they were,one 6 yr old girl was alarming, she was a dead ringer for my daughter but ten yrs difference, when I showed the girls mother a picture of my daughter at the same age she was equally freaked out (when she checked I hadnt been secretly taking pics of her kids

 

[vikingBerserker]

True....isn't there some viking graffiti on some lions down there, was it Istanbul?

You are correct sir!

 

[RabidAlien]

Heh....I picture this tall, blond, armored Viking with pointy horns and long flowing manly-man 'stache, carving "Thurvald wuz heer" into some stone lion's butt amidst the carnage and destruction of the pillaging that traditionally follows a thorough Viking trouncing. Probably used a Turkish spear to chisel with, too.

 

[JohnAnthony]

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[Lucky13]

lmao! Well, sounds about right or p*ss napalm and sh*t barbed wire....

 

[RabidAlien]

 

[Maximowitz]

Knowing quite a few Swedish/Norwegian/Danish folk I can assure you that the Viking tendencies of their forefathers are now sublimated.

Nice polite chaps and very helpful.






Until you get a drink in them.

 

[Lucky13]

We were....are very timid and helpful people, used to and still do, help old ladies over the street......by tossing them over!

 

[Maestro]

help old ladies over the street......by tossing them over!

Yep, Vikings "colonized" western Russia (the name "Russia" comes from the name of the tribe that colonized the land : "Rus").

They also founded the Irish city of Dublin, which is an old Danish word for "the port".

An interresting note : Vikings were good slave merchants (selling them mostly in Persia). The men that were enslaved by the Vikings were almost always castrated to prevent them from "impregnanting" a female slave.

Which means, if you ever had to fight the Vikings, you were better win... Or die on the battlefield.

 

[Lucky13]

Hate to think how they did it......

 

[Maximowitz]

Hate to think how they did it......

Well, you know how hard you can slam the door on a Volvo....

 

[Maestro]

Well, you know how hard you can slam the door on a Volvo....

 

[JohnAnthony]

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