English 401: Viking Studies The Vikings in Britain

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General

Braaid, an abandoned Norse farmstead in southeastern Man, is the only abandoned Norse settlement site that is considered likely to have been from the primary phase of land taking. Unfortunately, no physical dating evidence of any kind was produced from the excavation of the site. This farmstead is located low in the valley, where there was most likely good pasture and a less extreme climate. The farmstead is comprised of a large stone roundhouse (most likely of native Manx construction) and two adjacent rectangular constructs. The house measures 21 x 9 meters, which is fairly large for a farmstead. It is comparable in size to the house at Cass ny Hawin, which measures 10 x 4.5 meters, but is significantly larger than most other similar settlements on Man, such as Doarlish Cashen, measuring 7 x 3 meters. Large slabs were used in the construction of the Braaid homestead. Along with the size of the constructs, this indicates that this may have been more than simply a farmstead. The home was the center of Viking life. The central area of the home was the large central brushwood hearth that rarely went out. This hearth was the source of warmth and light, and it was around the hearth that the Viking families ate, rested, and told stories and tales of the gods. The Viking diet was made up of mostly meat and fish, which was preserved for the winter months by salting, drying and smoking the meat. Their bread was unleavened and cooked over the fire; vegetables were grown in fields adjacent to the homes. The Vikings drank large quantities of ale, which was made with barley, and mead, made of fermented honey and water. The Vikings also drank bjorr, a strong liquor made from fermented fruit juice.
 
 

Specific

Cronk ny Merriu is a coastal promontory fort on high ground, overlooking the entrance to Port Grenaugh in southeastern Man. Behind the rampart built here are the remains of a home reused by the Vikings, but believed to have been constructed in the Iron Age (5th Century BC- 8th Century AD). This homestead is nearly rectangular in construction and contained benches and a fireplace. It also had three doorways and a central hearth. Like Braaid, we can see that the hearth, occupying a central location and having been surrounded by benches, was an important part of family life in the Viking Age. This fire was the focus of every Viking home, providing heat and light, and on which the family's food would have been cooked. From objects found at a variety of settlement sites, we can piece together an outline of a typical Viking home. Cooking objects found include cauldrons and griddles. Furniture was sparse in the homes of most Vikings, and in a typical home may have included a stool made of sheepskin; most people slept on the ground. There have been an abundance of sewing tools found in many of the dwelling sites. These tools include looms, which were used nearly daily. It is believed that most families had two looms, one for fine linen and another for woolen cloth. Also, a whalebone board and glass smoother were used to smooth finished fabric.