Who does not know them - the harsh northern warriors. However, as always happens in such cases, much of what we know is just myths and fictions that have nothing to do with reality.
Let's take a look at some of them …
One nation
The Vikings were not representatives of one people, they were a motley group of warriors, travelers and merchants under the leadership of a leader. During the Viking era, Scandinavia was not divided into large states (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), but consisted of many areas under the leadership of such groups. In general, the Old Norse word "viking" is not tied to any locality, and means a person participating in a campaign to the sea.
Wild and dirty
Many feature films and cartoons portray the Vikings as dirty and wild men and women, but in reality, they cared about their appearance. Combs, tweezers, razors are the most frequent finds during excavation of Viking settlements. There were also found remains of soap that the Vikings made on their own. In England, the Vikings, on the contrary, were considered clean, because they washed themselves once a week (on Saturday). In Scandinavian languages, the word Saturday means "bath day", although the descendants of the Vikings themselves do not think about it at all.
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Big blondes
The Vikings in the films are also shown to be massive, with long blond hair. Interestingly, an analysis of historical records and excavation data showed that the average height of the blondes was about 170 centimeters, which is quite a bit even by old standards. With blond hair, the situation is more interesting - they were considered ideal by the Vikings, but not all had light hair. To correct this misunderstanding, a special bleaching soap was used. The Vikings were also hospitable people, and many foreigners joined the Viking tribes, so there were Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, French and even Russians among them. It is clear that they all had different weight and height characteristics and hair color.
Vikings drank from skulls
The source of this legend is the work of a certain Ole Worm "Reuner seu Danica literatura antiquissima" in 1636, where he wrote that Danish warriors drink from "curved skulls". Upon further translation into Latin, only the word "skulls" remained from the phrase. In addition, during the excavations, not a single goblet made from a skull has yet been found.
Rough armament
Another feature of the cinematic Vikings is the use of crude inept weapons such as clubs and axes, or none at all. In fact, the Vikings were good gunsmiths, and using the compound forging technology (the same is used to make Damascus blades) they were able to make very strong and sharp weapons. According to Viking folklore, to test the sharpness of the sword, he dropped into a running stream, and a hair was thrown through it. If the hair was cut, the sword was considered sharp enough.
Scandinavia is my homeland
Vikings appeared in Scandinavia, but over time they settled around the world, reaching North Africa, Russia and even North America. There are several theories explaining the reasons for the expansion, the most logical of which is associated with the depletion of land resources and the increase in the population of Scandinavia, which made it necessary to look for new places to live. Another reason is the depletion of profits from trade between Western Europe and Asia after the fall of the Roman Empire in the U century, after which the Vikings had to look for new "fishing" places.
Hated by everyone
As a consequence of previous misconceptions, the opinion appeared that the Vikings were unwanted guests everywhere, outcasts, they were allegedly hated by everyone. In reality, they were not only hated (like any other nation), but also respected. The French king Charles III, known as Charles the Simple, donated land to the Vikings in what is now Normandy and married his daughter to one of the Viking leaders, Rollo. These "domesticated" Vikings later repeatedly defended the territory of France from the encroachments of other Vikings. In Constantinople, the Vikings were respected for their strength and courage, so a special Varangian guard consisting of Swedish Vikings was assigned to the Byzantine emperors.
Bloodthirsty and cruel
Viking attacks were bloodthirsty and brutal, if you do not think about others. At that time, there were no other ways of waging war - everyone was both bloodthirsty and cruel - both the French and the British, and other peoples. For example, a contemporary of the Vikings, King Charles the Great practically exterminated the Avar people (an ancient union of tribes that lived on the Volga and on the shores of the Caspian Sea), and under Verdun he ordered the beheading of almost 5 thousand inhabitants of Saxony. The Vikings cannot be called the most bloodthirsty, they had another "trick" - the complete destruction of everything connected with religions alien to them (monasteries, temples), including the servants of these religions. This frightened those around them so much that the inhabitants of the villages, barely seeing the masts of Viking ships on the horizon, fled without a fight.
Solid robbery
A very small part of the Vikings were warriors, the rest were engaged in agriculture, crafts and animal husbandry. For sea expeditions, robbery was one of the "bonuses" that no one refused, not only the Vikings. Most of the Vikings lived peacefully in the lands where Iceland and Greenland are now located and were considered sophisticated traders who had dealings with representatives of different nationalities and countries of the world.
Horned helmets
This is probably the biggest misconception. There is still no evidence, archaeological or written, that the Vikings wore horned helmets. All helmets found have no horns and their design does not provide for such excesses. Most likely, this misconception was supported by the ancient Christians, who considered the Vikings to be accomplices of the devil, so they were supposed to wear horns on their helmet to intimidate. The Norse god Thor on his helmet had wings that, with a certain amount of imagination, could be mistaken for horns.
