Housing

The majority of the Vikings lived on farms. Their houses were made of wood, stone or blocks of turf with thatched or turf roofs. Usually they would only have one room but some of the richer people often had a small entrance hall, a large main room, a kitchen, a bedroom and a storage room.

During the winter the children, slaves and the elderly would clean up around the house. The lady of the house had all of the keys to the house and wore them around her wrist as a sign of her status. In winter the houses were isolated from each other due to poor weather conditions and were usually cold. As a result a large fire was often placed in the middle of the house and this was where the Vikings would bake bread and cook meat.

The chieftain’s house was the most important building in the village or settlement. This was where the chieftain lived and where everyone gathered to form the villages Viking cult. The entrance would usually enter into the hall with sleeping chambers and other rooms to the left and right.

Food

The Vikings were mostly farmers and would grow corn. They would often have livestock on their farm. The livestock that could often be found were sheep, cows and pigs. They would also harvest wheat rye and barley. The Vikings also owned some geese and chickens which would often waddle around the yard freely.

The Vikings would often sit around a fire eating stew. The stew would normally consist of boiled lamb bones, beans, peas, carrots and turnips while dipping bread in it.

For breakfast the Vikings would have buttermilk, a kind of skim milk, and bread.

For lunch the Vikings meal was basic often just some cottage cheese with bread. They would drink water at lunch.

For their evening meal the Vikings would often have horsemeat kebab. To stop their meat from going of they would soak meat such as mutton and smoke fish over a fire.

The Vikings had three feast nights during the year. Normally they would sacrifice a horse to the gods. When the sacrifice was complete, the Vikings would eat kebabs, fish, lamb or mutton. Instead of having horse kebabs the Vikings who converted to Christianity would dine on roast lamb though the three feasts were still celebrated. For desert they will eat fresh fruit and have some honey on butter bread. They also drank beer and mead, an alcoholic drink made from fermented honey and water.

The Vikings would also store food because as a result of bad weather they would not have been able to leave the house to find food or water.

Clothing

Like most men in Europe Vikings wore woollen clothes. They would also dye them with colours from minerals and salts.

Viking men wore a simple woollen shirt and long cloth trousers witch was held up by a drawstring. In battle they would were an iron helmet and a chain mail suit.

Viking women wore a long woollen dress that was either plain or pleated. Over the dress’s they wore a long wooden tunic. The dress was held up with a pair of breeches sometimes joined by a chain or string of beads. Over the tunic she may have worn a shawl. Her legs were covered with thick socks.

Both men and women wore fur or woollen hats in the cold Scandinavian weather. The cloaks were fastened at the shoulder with a brooch or pin.

Schooling

When children turned five they were expected to help their parents work around the homestead. Children were forced to learn their parent’s jobs so that they could keep the farm going when their parents were at war.

When boys turned five they would usually go and live with an uncle or a respected man within the Viking community, who would teach them the ways of the Viking man. For the next five years they would be taught the skills of farming and the way of the warrior by an uncle or community member.

On the other hand Viking girls remained home as Vikings believed that it was important to learn how to sow and tend to the farm at an early age.

Girls were taught how to cook but the room that they cooked in was often an unhealthy dark and smoky kitchen. They were expected to make yarn from flax and wool.

When Viking children turned 10 they were considered to be adults. During their childhood they did not attend school as school did not exist. Instead they were taught by their parents. Girls were taught how to work in the home, while boys were expected to learn how to tend to the farm. Before they turned fifteen both the boys and girls lives were very different.