From the seven to eleven hundreds a dark cloud settled on the minds and lives of those Europeans living in coastal cities in France, England, and Russia. That cloud was called the Danes or Norsemen but we know them today as the Vikings. They terrorized and raided the seas and coasts of Europe with a ferocity that would become legendary. Despite their viciousness in combat the analogy of a "dark cloud" is not entirely befitting of the Vikings; at least not the "Dark" part. The Vikings were great navigators and traders, and they built a complex culture that would influence nearly the whole of Northern Europe.
The Viking's civilization was based in Scandinavia or what is now considered the three countries of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. They maintained three distinct kingdoms in the areas now discerned as those three countries. The Vikings were descended from Germanic tribes that probably moved into the area around 2000 B.C. They spoke a Germanic language that had three different dialects. All Norsemen knew all three. Many other aspects of Viking life such as religion also had strong Germanic influences. They used an alphabet composed of characters called Runes. Since paper was not readily available in Scandinavia, Runes were combinations of straight lines that could easily be carved on wood, bones, or stone.
The Vikings lived in small agricultural communities were they raised crops like barley, oats, and rye. They also herded cattle, goats, horses, pig, and sheep. Due to Scandinavia's sparse amount of fertile soil the Vikings also relied on fishing for food supplies. As their civilization became more advanced many they became skillful metal workers, craftsmen, and most famously, shipwrights.
A chieftain or king ruled each Viking village or city. While the king held executive power the real authority laid within each communities governing council or "Thing." The Council was composed of the community's nobles and freemen.
