Peaceful or Not So Peaceful

Peaceful or not so Peaceful

Compare and contrast essay

By: Scott Kempenich for Scandinavia to 1800

The time period of early Scandinavia is one based on a lot of opinions due to the evidence that is left. Most of the ideas that spread have a general foundation of how the Nordics lived. However some items contain major differences on the society and how it was ran. Two sources are "The Vikings" by Else Roesdahl, and a second article called "From Ice to Now Scandinavia History" by Dr. John Hendrickson. Both pieces are dedicated to the "Viking Age" and are useful guides. At the same time they do contradict each other a lot and this is a prime example of how Scandinavian history is based on many personal beliefs.

In both writings, the authors talk of the weapons that were used. In Roesdahl there seems to be more of a view that swords were being used and their sacredness was very improtant. In the book the author states that swords were handed down for generations and were often decorated with gold and silver (Roesdahl, 142). She writes that axes were used but weren't the main weapon. In Hendrickson's writing he feels that axes were used more often. He believes they were used because of the durability and that they were easy to forge out of the materials the Vikings had. Also, the authors contradict on the styles of fighting, as Roesdahl feels that the battles began with rock throwing and speeches being made. In "From Ice to Now Scandinavia History" the author believes that more of a sneak attack style was used and that once battles began they were over quickly. Time is one thing that both authors do agree; both feel that battles weren't drawn out long, one because the amount of man power was minimal and that there were enough casualties to declare a winner quickly.

The types of battles are also disputed in both writings. Roesdahl writes a lot on protection and how the Vikings built forts to keep them safe from outside attacks. She writes that a lot of forts were fairly large. One such fort was the rampart built in Torsburgen, this fortress was 112.5 hectares and built on a rocky platform to possibly protect the "whole of Gotland" (Roesdahl, 131). This is just one of the forts which was built to protect the animals that the Vikings raised. Hendrickson does believe that forts were used but feels that they were mainly precautions built; he believes that the Vikings were mainly peaceful when it came to attacking one another. This belief is backed by the idea that the Vikings were more of an aggressive group and that they were usually on the attack not the receiving end. Hendrickson writes, "Most of the attacks that occurred on Vikings were by other Nords, and were normally not as violent as a battle on other countriesÐ'...other countries would have very little reason to attack the Vikings unless they were provoked to do so." (Hendrickson, 3) He believes this because the Scandinavian territory wasn't as desirable as the land in Europe.

Hendrickson believes that the battles consisted more water wars and pirate action, with boats as a primary weapon, which varied in form. The boats used would vary from small boats to larger boats to carry men, also some boats would be bigger so that they could see inside the other boats. Some would be lower so that they moved faster. He writes on one type in particular that being the Knarr, "the Knarr was wider and deeper in draught, were customarily usedÐ'... they often struck at accessible and poorly defended targets, usually with near impunity" (Hendrickson, 5). He believes that these actions are why people felt that they were raiders and pirates. Not only was the Knarr a useful boat for landing ashore it was also easier to make an attack on open water. The boat was fast and could take assertive