5 Ways Vikings Are Living With Us In The 21st Century
Long gone the brutal raids of the Vikings. They earned their reputation by spreading fear and wrecking havoc within every land they travelled. However, it turns out that the long tradition of the Vikings also has a great influence on many cultures in this day and age. Thanks to this, even though the Viking were no longer with us physically. They still have a role in our life if we take a careful look around.
The Bluetooth symbol and the name of it came from the Vikings
We might wonder what is the symbol of bluetooth and how it got its name. It came from the name of King Harald Blatand which we can translate into Bluetooth. Blatand was a respected Viking king that received a lot of admiration because he united Denmark and Norway.
The symbol of Bluetooth is a creation from the runic letters for the Harald Blatand initials.
Bluetooth symbol explanation
Many English words were originated in the Vikings
During the 9th century, the Vikings and the English began to trade with each other. This resulted in the fact that many Viking words and phrases were adapted and used by the English. Gradually, they became parts of the English and turned into the English words we are using.
- See more: English Words with Old Norse Origin
The Vikings were believed to have found Dublin, Ireland
Around in 841, the Irish city of Dublin we know in this day and age is claimed to have been founded by the Vikings. In the beginning, the name of it was "Dubh Linn" which means the "black pool". It was named after the lake that the Vikings rested their ships. After a 300-year reign of the Vikings, the Irish rebelled and took over the city around 1014. Some other cities once belonged to the Vikings, for example, Wexford, Limerick, and Waterford.
Depiction of Dublin 1000 years ago
The Vikings promoted hygiene
According to the historians, the Vikings were very hygienic. Compared with the medieval people who would bathe twice a year, the Vikings were pretty clean. They would bathe themselves once and twice a week. They cared a lot about their appearance and would love to wash their hands and face every day. Some accounts even claimed that the Vikings hated to share the water they used to clean their body with other people. Combs, tweezers, and shaving razors were the common things that the Vikings buried with the dead. We can say that such things were the necessary personal items of the Vikings.
Viking comb artifact found
The Vikings made skiing become more popular
Though the Vikings were not the creators of skiing, they made skiing become more and more popular in Europe. Strange as it might seem, the Vikings skied because of their weather. It snowed a lot so the travel was pretty difficult. Rather walk through layers of the snow, the Vikings decided to slide over it. The Vikings even worshipped the giantess of skiing, Skadi in the belief. Another cool thing is that the word "Scandinavia" is believed to come from the name "Skadi".
