The Vikings Ruthless Raiders or Crafty Survivalists
Upon review of the interview with archeologist William Fitzhugh, Who Were the Vikings?, one has to wonder if the long standing view of the Vikings as ruthless raiders is an accurate description. Fitzhugh argues that the Vikings, while a ruthless band, were in fact fighting for their own survival as best they could. He presents a picture of the Vikings as Scandinavian peoples who have garnered a biased narrative. This narrative is characterized by accounts that are drawn upon victim’s testimonials, which typically were recorded by members of the clergy or recounted for official documents. Because the narrative is controlled by those affected or written after the fact, one has to wonder how …show more content…
William Fitzhugh describes this map as being the bane of the archeological community. This map was not adequately vetted by historical cartographers or validated by archeologists. Instead, this map was only seen by a select few within the community of Yale University. It is now widely believed by those knowledgeable about the medieval time period to be a hoax (When Yale first…). This example of being willing to accept documents without all the facts can also be applied to the accounts related to officials or clergy members concerning the attack on the island of Lindisfarne off the coast of England. Mr. Fitzhugh asserts that this type of raid carried out by the Vikings was unlike anything at the time, unprecedented and in fact understandable due to the fact that religious centers had vast accumulations of wealth ( Brutality in a …). Additionally, because these attacks were unprecedented the accounts provided as evidence are one sided and paints the Vikings as an evil scourge upon the English. The reasoning behind these one-sided accounts could possibly be due to the Vikings invading a place of religious contemplation and isolation. It did not aid in the established Viking narrative that they killed indiscriminately (What must
Upon review of the interview with archeologist William Fitzhugh, Who Were the Vikings?, one has to wonder if the long standing view of the Vikings as ruthless raiders is an accurate description. Fitzhugh argues that the Vikings, while a ruthless band, were in fact fighting for their own survival as best they could. He presents a picture of the Vikings as Scandinavian peoples who have garnered a biased narrative. This narrative is characterized by accounts that are drawn upon victim’s testimonials, which typically were recorded by members of the clergy or recounted for official documents. Because the narrative is controlled by those affected or written after the fact, one has to wonder how …show more content…
William Fitzhugh describes this map as being the bane of the archeological community. This map was not adequately vetted by historical cartographers or validated by archeologists. Instead, this map was only seen by a select few within the community of Yale University. It is now widely believed by those knowledgeable about the medieval time period to be a hoax (When Yale first…). This example of being willing to accept documents without all the facts can also be applied to the accounts related to officials or clergy members concerning the attack on the island of Lindisfarne off the coast of England. Mr. Fitzhugh asserts that this type of raid carried out by the Vikings was unlike anything at the time, unprecedented and in fact understandable due to the fact that religious centers had vast accumulations of wealth ( Brutality in a …). Additionally, because these attacks were unprecedented the accounts provided as evidence are one sided and paints the Vikings as an evil scourge upon the English. The reasoning behind these one-sided accounts could possibly be due to the Vikings invading a place of religious contemplation and isolation. It did not aid in the established Viking narrative that they killed indiscriminately (What must