Vikings were Germanic Norse seafarers, speaking the Old Norse language, who raided and traded from their Scandinavian homelands across wide areas of northern and central Europe, as well as European Russia, during the late 8th to late 11th centuries.

Nordic this period of military , commercial and population growth is an important element in the Early History Medieval Scandinavia , the British Isles , France, Kievan Rus and Sicily.

The period from the earliest recorded raids in the 790s until the Norman conquest of England in 1066 is commonly known as the Viking Age of Scandinavian history. Vikings used the Norwegian Sea and Baltic Sea for sea routes to the south. The Normans were descended from Vikings who were given feudal overlordship of areas in northern France—the Duchy of Normandy—in the 10th century. In that respect, descendants of the Vikings continued to have an influence in northern Europe.

Their ships were not the easiest to manage because of its size and weight, and yet they managed to cross the Atlantic many times. With guidance capabilities and knowledge of places , they could bring their large boats destination. Thus they came to Greenland and Iceland , and even Canada, 500 years before Columbus reached America .

WERE EXCELLENT SAILORS

Unlike other navigators, the Vikings traveled in open and not close to the sea coast. Even when they had to enter the Arctic Circle, used sundials to navigate, because in the summer the sun never goes down. The stars could not be of help, and thus could know where they were located. When the day was overcast used "magic crystals" rocks that polarize sunlight allowing orientation.

USED SUNDIALS

Nordic berserkers stories tell of warriors that were surprising in battle and were motivated by the presence of blood. The new studies suggest that the attitude of these Vikings had to do with eating a hallucinogenic mushroom called Amanita muscaria.

When we show a Viking in movies or animations, almost always wears a helmet with wings or horns, totally detached from reality . True Viking helmets were a simple piece of metal that covered the entire head , with a small visor and metal that protected the nose. On the other hand , the women dressed provocatively with long coats in bright colors and a piece of metal on the chest that showed off her figure