20 Awesome Viking Facts That Will Blow Your Mind 

Always acting like a badass and mistreating their enemies? Drinking blood to celebrate victory? NO. Get rid of those stereotypes that modern arts are misleading you. Because that's not the Vikings who bravely bent the world to their will. Behold, warriors! Here are Awesome Facts about the Vikings that will blow your mind 

Artwork of Viking warriors 

1. The Vikings NEVER wore horned or winged helmets in their times. Such things might have been created by painters and artists of the 19th century. If you are interested, read more at Did the Vikings wear horned helmets on our blog site.

2. In Old Norse language, "Viking" means "the pirate raid". And the Vikings didn't even call themselves "Viking". As time progresses, the interpretation of "Viking" changes positively. 

3. According to many historical materials, Viking age only lasted approximately 300 years, from around 790-1066 AD. 

4. The Vikings were VERY HYGIENIC. They cared a lot about the cleanness of their bodies and surroundings. Many artifacts such as combs, razors, tweezers, etc have been found in Viking sites excavated. 

5. The Vikings buried the dead with personal things like jewelry, weapons, horse, etc. in order for the dead to live a happy afterlife. 

6. Skiing was the most common recreation in Viking society. They even worshipped Skadi goddess of skiing. 

7. The majority of the Vikings were farmers who were responsible for cultivation and raising cattle. 

8. The Viking men loved to bleach their hair because they considered kind of blonde hair to be an ideal style. 

9. Among the Norse Pantheon, the Vikings worshipped Odin and Thor the most . 

10. Viking women were respected and had more rights than any women of the same time. They could divorce and own property

11. There were three main social classes in Viking age: Jarl, Karl, and Thrall. Jarls were the noblemen, Karls were the free men, and Thralls were the slaves. There were Kings but that was the story of late Viking time. 

12. Viking berserkers were the Viking warriors who would wear NO armor and join the battle. They were believed to wear only bear or wolf skin when fighting. But such Viking berserkers were legendary. 

13. Nearly one-fifth of English words were derived from Old Norse language. See more English Words with Old Norse Origin

14. The Vikings turning into 12 years old were considered to be adults. 

15. Because of the strong pride in strength and power, the Vikings would abandon their sick or deformed children.

16. The Bluetooth symbol is a combination of Viking runes representing Viking King Herald Bluetooth. 

17. There was a Viking King who ruled as the King of England for 5 weeks

18. Eating onion was a Viking way to tell how bad the wound was. They believed after eating broth with onions, there would be a smell in the wound from which they would know how deep the wound was. 

19. Rap battle was believed to be an invention of the Vikings. In their times, it was called the "Flyting" that people would exchange insults conducted in verse.

20. The source of Viking symbols was infinite and their meanings were awesome even though what we know about them might just be very superficial. See more Viking Symbols and Meanings Explained.