The Vikings were a civilization originating in Scandinavia, now known as the Big Four; Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden from the 8th to the 11th century. The Vikings did many things, including war, farming, and trading with other countries. The Vikings were supposedly bloodthirsty raiders who traveled to other countries solely to attack and murder. However, through war, the Vikings demonstrated that they were not limited to raids. Viking war strategy, weapons, and armor proved that the Vikings were a people who had a significant impact on the world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Certain laws were in place to prevent the Vikings from viciously murdering the people they triumphed over, and this proves that they are not pillagers out for blood. After the Vikings attacked and pillaged, they would often keep the people they attacked to sell as slaves or to use for themselves. The war proved that the Vikings didn't just raid. William R Short says that "Another form of valuable goods captured in raids were people, intended to be sold into slavery", which shows that because they raided and had laws, they had to demonstrate mercy towards certain people. » Melkorka Mýrkjartansdóttir says she was taken as a war slave. loot when she was fifteen. Short can be cited directly due to his use of primary sources using words directly from the sagas. William Short believed that the fact that the Vikings took slaves to sell and use showed that they had shown mercy to the people they were attacking and not to thirty raiders. Both Castella and Short agree that even though they raided and stole extensively, the Vikings would always be merciful to the people they plundered. As a result, the Vikings were humane and didn't just brutally murder the people they stole. The Vikings were primarily farmers who went to war and battle, looking for land on which to settle and farm. The Vikings raided for land, plunder and places to settle, they did so because they had a growing population to feed and house. The battles and wars show that not all Vikings used raids just for blood. Tom De Castella says that "the Vikings stole everything they could, such as livestock, money and food", which proves that they would also have taken land for cultivation. Castella can be trusted to quote directly due to his work at the BBC. Tom thinks that even if they attacked and stole, they would have also taken land. Both Tom and William concluded that because they had attacked and stolen, they had taken land to settle and farm for their people. For this reason, they can be shown to have gone to war and fought for the common good of their people. The Vikings had a belief system that if they fought well in battle, they would go to Valhalla, and that fighting was a duty to do so. God. Valhalla was Odin's hall where the Vikings believed they would go if they died in battle. The Vikings believed that when they fought, they could travel to Valhalla if Odin and the Valkyries deemed them worthy. After the death of the Vikings, they would have been happy because they thought that,.