QuickCheck: Were the people of Scandinavia called Vikings?

SCANDINAVIANS who lived between 793 to 1066 AD were called Vikings.

Is this true?

Verdict:

FALSE

While the word "Viking" is commonly used to describe the seafaring people of Scandinavia (present day Norway, Denmark and Sweden), it would not have been what the "Vikings" would have called themselves.

The Norse populations of Scandinavia were a loosely connected group of various tribes that roughly spoke the same language, and they would have referred to themselves as being from whatever tribe they happened to be from.

From Danes to Geats, Scandinavia was made of many groups who would potentially go on to terrorise Europe and the British Isles.

The word Viking has its roots in the norse word "vik" which means creek, inlet or bay. Someone who lives next to a creek would be called a "vikingr".

During the Viking Age, the word viking was actually an activity, something someone would do rather than the name of the person doing it.

A similar modern word would be raid, someone who goes raiding, would be a raider.

Similarly in old norse, someone who goes a "viking" would be a "vikingr", and just like the word raider, vikingr does not imply any ethnicity.

Anyone could be a vikingr as it was a word that the Vikings would use for other non-Scandinavian groups as well.

A vikingr was simply someone who went on raiding campaigns via boat, so it's not too far away from today's Viking.

References:

1. http://viking.archeurope.info/index.php?page=etymology-of-the-word-viking

2. https://theconversation.com/what-does-the-word-viking-really-mean-75647