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Saturday, 2 February 2013
Let's go viking
The Old Norse feminine noun víking refers to an expedition
overseas. It occurs in Viking Age runic inscriptions and in later
medieval writings in set expressions such as the phrasal verb fara
í víking "to go on an expedition". In later texts such as the
Icelandic sagas,
the phrase "to go viking" implies participation in raiding activity
or piracy, and not simply seaborne missions of trade and commerce.
The related Old Norse masculine noun víkingr appears in
Viking Age skaldic poetry and
on several rune stones found in
Scandinavia, where it refers to a seaman or warrior who takes part
in an expedition overseas.[4]
The form also occurs as a personal name on some Swedish rune stones.
There is little indication of any negative connotation in the term
before the end of the Viking Age. Regardless of its possible
origins, the word was used to indicate an activity and those who
participated in it, and it did not belong to any ethnic or cultural
group.[5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking
Invasion 400 to 800
A map that give a better idea where the invaders came from. Apparently the language that is nearest to English is Frisian in the Saxon belt on the map.
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