Oh, the Vikings, they really were a special people. They were not just exploring many areas in the world, but were also able to built boats and even brought the first global trade to life. No, there are much more worth knowing facts about them, which are amazing and quite funny. Here you go:
1 Vikings were extremely tall. Around 1,70 – 1,80m. In comparison, an Anglo-Saxon from Great Britain or a Balt who frequently had fights with them was around 1,60m. The inhabitants from North Africa and Arabia, who also had contact with the warriors from the North, were more disadvantaged. They too were victims of the Vikings’ love for raiding and trading (they loved doing both). An Arabic man from the 11th century was around 1,50m. From Arabic chronicles, the Franks were described as “giant-like date palms”.
2 Vikings had a standardized system of measurement for weights. It fluctuated from kingdoms to principalities. Even from village to village. The most impressive and extraordinary measurement i’ve heard are pigs as weight measurements. For example: “The boat was loaded with warriors, heavy as 30 pigs.”
3 The most holy place of the Vikings was Uppsala. Historians assume that there was a temple over there, in which rituals where performed every year. They also say that humans were sacrificed. This may be the reason for the saying: “Uppsala, how could that happen?”
4 That the Vikings were exploring North America over centuries far before Columbus reached America is already proven. A fun fact, Vikings met Indian tribes whose name they couldn’t pronounce. They called themselves “Skaellinger”, which in Norway, Iceland and Greenland means something small, weak or “wimp”.
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