04-15-2005, 03:44 PM
ShadowHM,Apr 15 2005, 09:50 AM Wrote:A long time ago, Vikings came along with big axes and insisted they had the right to take all your stuff and make you their slave. And they were not polite to each other either. They had plenty of murders between each other too. Heads got smashed in on a regular basis. Feel nostalgic for that?
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Sigh. Poor Vikings.
Yes, the Vikings went raiding. And you know what? They went for easy pickings. They attacked towns, villages, and settlements where the local lords did not allow the peasantry to have arms. Vikings were looking for easy wealth. People waiting for them on the shore with bigger axes were left alone. Vikings had an amazing detail of laws... They were not the ignorant savages people make them out to be. They had laws for the treatment of women, allowed women to own property, and were one of the few societies during that time frame that had laws to protect slaves. Slaves would only be kept so long as slaves usually. The ones that had skills as craftsman or artistic value would eventually be made freemen. The Vikings were also prone to arming their slaves with weapons, so other people wouldn't come and haul the helpless peasantry away again. Slaves had to be fed a certain portion of food, had to be clothed against the elements, had to be protected, well treated, and be looked after. There were exceptions to this of course. Prisoners of war, enemy soldiers, and criminals could be treated however. After serving his "indentured servitude" for being "rescued" a slave could and would become a freeman, even a landowner, and could marry into Viking society. A happy worker is a hard worker. A slave will do things half assed out of spite.
Everywhere the Vikings spread they brought law and order. Civility. They brought literacy and learning.
And I am pretty sure they would have taken offense to cell phones.
All alone, or in twos,
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.
And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall.
"Isn't this where...."
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.
And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall.
"Isn't this where...."