Entertainment of the Vikings: To ski is also the most bloody history

Although famous for looting and violence, the ancient Vikings also sometimes let go of their swords, freely enjoying themselves to enjoy the pastime in the freezing winter. If you want to race them, you need nerves of steel.

Viking is the common name for explorers, traders, warriors, and pirates from Northern Europe, including Scandinavian countries such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland.

The most brutal notorious

According to archaeological research, the Vikings appeared from the Late Stone Age. Thanks to early development of shipbuilding techniques, they conquered the ocean, set sail across Europe and the North Atlantic, where to go to plunder, invade there.

In Norway, one of the earliest cradles of the Vikings, explorers and merchants, transatlantic pirates attacked Scotland, Orkney, Faroe pants, Iceland and Greenland.

The Vikings and the Blood Eagle ritual in the legend

Viking Vikings headed straight for the rich, thriving, frantic Kingdom of Great Britain. Viking Sweden moved east, on the shore of the vast country in the world - Russia, reaching as far as the Eastern Roman Empire (modern Greece).

Rumor has it that the Viking pirates have an extremely brutal murder ritual called the Blood Eagle. Using a sharp sword, they sliced ​​along the two sides of the victim's spine, cut off the ribs and spread them out like bloody wings.

But also quite "naive"

Despite successive victories, taking the land from one territory to another, the Vikings did not form a nation. They are still merely a single group of trade just . robbery.

Apart from the two main activities of trading and plundering, the Vikings also taxed and collected slaves. But compared to sitting still, they still prefer to go on a boat again.

Light and fast Viking boat battles.

The special thing about Viking warships is thin, light and speed. Taking advantage of both the sail and the oars, they crossed the coast of the sea, whenever they discovered a rich new land, they immediately landed on the shore. With armed iron axes, round shields, life armor to protect the nose, the Viking warriors swarmed up, blinking, "fighting quickly and destroying."

After the plunder, the land was seized. The thing is, although the land of settlement is growing and the force is growing, they are still the " pirate " band . So after about 200 years of horror, the victims gradually recovered mentally, rose to fight back, ending the raging.

Not "ancestor" of skiing, but played . to the wharf

Northern Europe is an icy land with long winters. Snow showers are constantly falling, piling up a thick layer, turning the ground into an endless sea of ​​ice, suitable for fun activities on the ice.

In fact, the Vikings are not the "ancestors" of skiing or ice-skating. According to archaeological findings, the oldest skateboard belongs to the Sami people (also present in Northern Europe). They used it to aid hunting and transportation, probably using it from about 4000 BC.

All kinds of boards and skates.

It was not until the Viking Age (793-1066) that the Vikings were thought to be skiing. Over thousands of years, the types of boards and skates have "evolved" many times, becoming more and more multifaceted, not just the "85cm long board" as originally.

However, in the "multicolored" of ski-skate, the Vikings still outstanding. Instead of materials like wood or metal, they prefer the bones of large animals such as deer or cows, adding grease.

Every winter, the notorious warriors also stopped fighting, leaving the boat to climb the steep slopes. From the top of the slope, they started the most fierce skiing competition. The prize for the winner is copper pot, silver spoon, new sword and pony.

A Viking "player" doesn't necessarily risk skimming or skating skates because there are iron and wooden skates. However, with these types of skates, they have no way of speeding to surpass the reckless opponent using skates.

With greasy skates, the Viking warriors whined at tremendous speed.

On the soles of the skeletal skates with grease to minimize friction, the Viking warriors swung away with tremendous speed. Firmly grasping the wooden staff used to push in their hands, all excitedly went downhill. Healthy and agile feet provide flexibility to navigate, break through the velocity, leaving smooth ice on the ice surface.

Across Europe in the Middle Ages, Viking shoes were found everywhere in the skies. In addition, in August 2014, archaeologist Runar Hole, while wandering around the glacial glacier in Norway's Reinheiman National Park (Reinheiman National Park), accidentally discovered an artifact. It was a snowboard with intact leather straps belonging to the beginning of the Viking Age. Compared to bone skates, Viking skis are rare.

Although not inventing skiing, more often on the sea than on land, Viking "pirates" are still exactly the people who make this fun and popular activity.

• Did the Vikings find America before Columbus?
• Did cats go with the Vikings to conquer the world?