Who's a Good Guy? Who's a Bad Guy?

The Vikings are characterized as blood thirsty barbarians. They are said to wear horned helmets and brutally kill anyone in their path (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking). Do the Vikings deserve this reputation or are they just like everyone believes? During the rein of Charlemagne many architectural and artistic advances were taken. He attempted to bring Europe out of the Dark Ages (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/einhard1.html). I will discuss Viking and Charlemagne and explain why one is good and the other is considered bad.

The Vikings are the Norsemen who invaded Europe around the 12th century. They were raiders who preformed swift attacks on monasteries and other locations with easy wealth. The Viking age was also an age of exploration. They are believed to have visited the North American continent about 500 years before Columbus. Leif Ericson started a colony is Newfoundland but it only lasted a short amount of time. The Nose needed to expand because they had too many people for Scandinavia to support. Some of the Vikings went to Greenland and Iceland. These were very taught places that only the hardiest could survive in. The average Viking was armed with a sword, knife, chainmail or leather armor, and a battle axe. Some Vikings could throw the axe and cut off someone’s head. One of the first Viking raids was on the monastery called Landaus Farm. The Vikings targeted the monasteries because they were easy to attack and a lot of Christian objects are made of silver. They ruthlessly slaughter most of the monks there and continued to harass England and other parts of Europe. The Vikings had an advanced boat design that could be adapted to travel up streams or across oceans. This made them truly dangerous because most of Europe was accessible by large rivers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking). The Vikings also have many myths associated with them like they myth that they wore horned helmets. The few helmets that did survive from the Viking age do not have horns. Also any depictions from that time do not show the Vikings with horned helmets. It is more likely that this was believed to make the Vikings seem more savage. The Christian influence in Europe most likely did this to make the Vikings appear more pagan to others and more like barbarians (http://listverse.com/2009/04/21/top-10-misconceptions-about-the-vikings/). The Vikings were very advanced and had their own creating story this is written in the Edda. In this book of poems it explains that at the beginning there was nothing and then the earth was created. The Vikings have many gods and most of them play a part in the creation of some part of the world. There are dwarves, giants, and many different worlds (http://sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe03.htm). The Vikings are truly bad were feared by all of Europe at the time because of their savagery and viciousness.

The ruler Charlemagne had a major influence on Europe. He a major influence on the architecture and literature of the Middle Ages. He was a very well liked ruler and embraced education. He was constantly teaching himself new disciplines and also having his children schooled in many subjects (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/einhard1.html). The Germanic people of the aria love to do metal working. He modified their jewelry making so that they made metal objects for the many monasteries in Europe. This was only a slight change from what the people were used to creating and it produced beautiful results (http://ow.ly/1nOX2). Another example is that Charlemagne had art created that was similar to that created in the Mediterranean in ancient times. He blended Northern and classical elements to create a completely new form of art for the North (http://ow.ly/1nOX3). He also created a new type of architecture. The wealthy family wanted to live in Roman like houses. They blended Christian, Byzantine and Roman Architecture to create a new type that was much different from other buildings (http://ow.ly/1nOX4). Charlemagne was a very well liked and influential ruler. He tried to bring back the power of the Roman Empire through art and architecture.

It is a question whether a person or group is good or bad. To tell this you can look at their impact and legacy. In the case of the Vikings, they might think that they are good because they might be helping their family get by but the truth is they had a negative impact on all of Europe. The Vikings were savage raiders who didn’t care who they killed to get what they want. Charlemagne on the other hand is good. He tied to bring back the power and security of the Roman Empire to the People of Europe. He help create many advances in art and architecture which benefited the people in Europe and bring them out of the Dark Ages.

Sources:

Top 10 Misconceptions About The Vikings. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. http://listverse.com/2009/04/21/top-10-misconceptions-about-the-vikings/.

Viking. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking.

THE POETIC EDDA. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. http://sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe03.htm.

Medieval Sourcebook: Einhard: Life of Charlemagne. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/einhard1.html.

Carolingian Architecture. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. http://ow.ly/1nOX4.

Carolingian Art. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. http://ow.ly/1nOX2.

Carolingian Art. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. http://ow.ly/1nOX3.

Picture Source:

Nicholas Roerich, Guests from Overseas.jpg. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nicholas_Roerich,_Guests_from_Overseas.jpg.

Charlemagne2.jpg. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charlemagne2.jpg.