The ancient Norse are, still today, recognized as great traders and travellers from 789 AD to 1100 AD, just after the battle of Hastings. The way the Vikings traded was rather similar to the way of others; only they travelled and traded in mass groups. Although most trading took place around the Scandinavian coast, international trading grew quickly and attracted merchants from all over Europe, the Arab states and even Asia. Merchants weren’t a special type of person either; merchants were usually farmers who profited off of their crops and property rentals.
Merchants would travel all over the Scandinavian coast, locations including: Greenland, Iceland, England, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Frankish Kingdoms and many more. These locations all held different valuables for the Vikings, such as foods, jewelry and weapons. When the Vikings would travel as a large group, the entire crew consisted of traders. Each crew member had their own cargo space on the ship, while the captain had a larger amount of space for storing extra materials for the ship.
Great care was given with the dividing of purpose on the voyages, as every person on the ship was considered crew and had a responsibility.Trading was usually achieved with barter, using coins of silver as currency. The value of the silver was based solely on its weight and size. If the weight of the silver was more than the cost of the item, the silver was cut or broken into pieces to make pay easier.The language of the Norse was once spoken in many Scandinavian outposts and locations such as Iceland, Greenland, the British Isles and some parts of Russia and France (Short, William R.
). The earliest known Norse inscription in Scandinavia dates from 2nd century AD, and were written in runes mainly on stone or personal objects. Most Nose literature was written in Iceland, and consisted of tales of the Gods and mythic origins of their past. Although, around 800 to 1050 AD, a new Norse language came about through the Swedish and Danish people.
Norsemen spoke old Norse, which they called the Danish Tongue, through the Viking period. Old Norse is the root language of which modern Scandinavian languages descend from, and is close to modern day Dutch and German. All letters in the Norse language consisted of straight lines, making it easy to carve literature into wood, bone or stone. All of which were common to write messages on.
Many of the important poems written by Norsemen were composed in 10th through 12th century because of kept tradition from generation to generation. Poetry was a major form of entertainment for the Norse. Poets were held in high regard by most people, not only because of the way they could create visuals though improvisation, but also they recited the history of their people through the poems they told. Law books were the last written words of old Norse, around circa 1130, when law men decided to write down laws which have been previously broken and caused many problems.
