Viking Life
A Viking home also known as a Longhouse, was a rectangular building that had a main hall or room and possibly three more rooms used for storage and work. Like our own homes, the doors were wooden and although the Longhouse had windows, they didn't have glass in them. The center of the Longhouse contained a fire pit or hearth but without chimneys in them there days, the smoke escaped through a simple hole cut into the roof.
Women were the Longhouse keepers. What that really meant was that they were expected to do all the chores! The Vikings were great cloth makers and loved bright colours. Their clothes were spun from flax and wool, brightly coloured and often embroidered. Their love for cloth making was also seen in the tapestries they hung from their walls.
Women wore dresses with long or short sleeves, a shift dress that stretched down to the feet. Over these dresses were apron type woolen cloaks split at either side and pinned over the shoulders with brooches. The men would wear breeches underneath woolen trousers with an undershirt over which a tunic was worn. Leather belts kept all in place and were used to carry tools or weapons.
There were three classes of Vikings. The jarls were the important folk consisting of earls chieftains and priests. Next came the bondi, freemen that were farmers or merchants. The lowest of the low were thralls. These were slaves captured in battle or born into slavery. Theirs was a changeable life, for they could if they worked hard, be given a position as overseer. If they performed well for their masters thralls could buy their freedom but if they performed poorly, they could be beaten to death.
Kings and Chieftains were the most powerful people of all in Viking Society. They held sway over meetings called a Thing. A Thing was a place where free Vikings could speak and be heard. It was here that laws would be debated and set, quarrels would be settled - even by duels, and fines issued to those that deserved them. There were no prisons like we have today; punishment was the chosen form of penalty and could range from being forced to walk on hot coals or pick stones out of boiling water. Thieves were often feathered and tarred and murderers were forced to pay blood money to the victim's family. If you were made an outlaw, then you couldn't own anything nor were you allowed to receive help. You could even be killed and not a word would be said!
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