Vikings as a civ

[Loaf Warden]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't 'Viking' a profession? The Vikings were the ones who actually got on the ships and went out to pillage and all that, were they not? Did the women and children and (if there were any) non-sailing, non-combatant men qualify as 'Vikings'?

I've thought this since Civ II came out, but now that the Vikings are being restored for Civ III, I thought I should bring it up. It seems to me having a civ called 'Vikings' would be just like having a civ called 'Pirates' or 'Knights'. Surely something like 'Northmen' or 'Norse' would be better. Though that does leave the question of what the formal noun would be, an issue that didn't exist in Civ II. 'Norway' would be inadequate, and I can't think of any other options just off the top of my head. Still, unless I am misunderstanding the history of Scandinavia, it seems to me the word 'Viking' is too specialized to refer to the entire civilization.

And does anyone know what the Viking UU will be? I can think of two possibilites. Either a Longboat (perhaps a Galley that can cross sea squares?) or a Viking warrior. See, they could call the civ 'Norse' and the UU 'Viking'. I know what I would want the Viking to do. When it marches into a city, you should have the option of plundering it and then leaving without capturing it. You could still capture if you chose, of course, but this way you could terrorize other civs and steal their gold without taking them over, thus leaving them alive to be raided again later.

 

[Yzman]

I think it just refers to scandanavian civs.

 

[Damien]

Viking is the name that everybody uses and the special UU is the berserker.

 

[kring]

The screenshots show a Berserk unit.

 

[Mad Bomber]

We know them as Vikings but they should be called Norsemen.

The UU is definately the Berserker. Would like to see those long boats though (I wish all civ's had 2 UU's, After all how fun can Russia be without the T-34?)

 

[Hjortþór]

it was called going into viking then they went on long boats to steal and rape and kill other nations and they eat mushrooms called berserk and got mad to win battels

 

[Athelstane]

There is another interpretation. Though I like the one I always see here at this forum, it`s as commonly used by historians of Norway. It`s believed that the word vikings means "people of the bays".

 

[robehans]

THEY WERE NOT RUTHLESS BARBARIANS!!!

They had a complex trading network and they had explored most of the land around the rivers of Europe....

They sailed to modern Turkey along the rivers and they discovered America, they were good fighters and they did NOT have horns in they're helmets!

They had a good sence of shipbuilding, and they even knew how to make locks!

They usually tried to blend in with the local culture when they had arrived in some civilized areas and they started many colonies in Greenland and Europe

The Vikings have affected the names of our weekdays a LOT I.E.
Thursday : the god Thor
Monday : månens dag = the moons day
Sunday : solens dag = Day of the sun
(swe) Onsdag : Odens dag =day of the god Oden

(EDIT: mixup)
They had a complex polytheism with a mythology written in runes on several stones...

Vallhalla say anything to you??

(EDIT: Mixup)
Asgård = The place where the Norse gods lived!

 

[Athelstane]

Originally posted by robehans

(swe) Onsdag : Odens dag =day of the god Oden

English Wednesday also derives from Odin/Oden or Wodin as he was known in Anglo-Saxon Britain.

 

[Hamlet]

Pedantry this be!

 

[JBearIt]

And don't forget that Tuesday was derived from the Norse god Tyr.

 

[narmox]

and Thursday from Thor's Day
Friday from Freja's Day.

 

[Lt. 'Killer' M.]

Vikings is fine with me, not because it is correct, but because the erraneous version is so widely known.... (but I'll mod it to Norse)

 

[Loaf Warden]

Actually, Valhalla is where the souls of the dead warriors went to spend eternity feasting and fighting. Asgard is where the gods lived.

Believe me, I am not one that needs to be convinced that the 'Vikings' had a complex trading network, influenced the names of the days of the week, were master ship builders, and so on, and so on, and so on. I knew all that already; I was not questioning the decision to include them as a civ. I was questioning the name they were given, and doing a little speculating on what the UU might be.

So apparently I've missed some screenshots that reveal it to be the Berserker. My bad. So anyone know what the Berserker does? I still think it should be able to pillage cities in the manner I mentioned before. I think it would be fun to raid another civ, plunder their gold, and leave them there to be plundered again later. I tried doing that once by just capturing cities and then immediately giving them back in negotiations, but that doesn't really work. If you want to keep doing it, you have to keep making peace and declaring war endlessly. Gets kind of tedious, and it's easier to just conquer them. But it can't be denied that Vikings did loot and pillage--not exclusively, mind you, but they did--a lot of places without taking over. I just think it would be cool if their UU in the game reflected that.

 

[sabo]

Originally posted by robehans
THEY WERE NOT RUTHLESS BARBARIANS!!!

They had a complex trading network and they had explored most of the land around the rivers of Europe....

They sailed to modern Turkey along the rivers and they discovered America, they were good fighters and they did NOT have horns in they're helmets!

They had a good sence of shipbuilding, and they even knew how to make locks!

They usually tried to blend in with the local culture when they had arrived in some civilized areas and they started many colonies in Greenland and Europe

The Vikings have affected the names of our weekdays a LOT I.E.
Thursday : the god Thor
Monday : månens dag = the moons day
Sunday : solens dag = Day of the sun
(swe) Onsdag : Odens dag =day of the god Oden

They had a complex monotheism with a mythology written in runes on several stones...

Vallhalla say anything to you??

Vallhalla = The place where the Norse gods lived!

Not only days of the week had Norse beginnings practically half the words in the English language came from the Vikings. If
you like to know more you can go here http://viking.no/e/england/e-viking_english.htm

And they did NOT have helmets with horns coming out of them, that is a myth started in the 1800's from a Wagner play.

 

[Tweedledum]

Originally posted by robehans
Vallhalla say anything to you??

Vallhalla = The place where the Norse gods lived!

Actually, I think you'll find that Valhalla was the banqueting hall where dead heroes went to party in the afterlife. The realm of the Gods was called Asgard...

 

[Loaf Warden]

Well, not quite half our words. According to the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, about 1,000 words actually came from the Vikings, many of which have not survived into Modern English. A thousand words in a language with more than a million does not a half make. Though since English and the Nordic languages all belong to the Germanic language family, it's not a surprise that many more words than that are similar.

Though among the words the Vikings did bring into English are such indispensibles as 'law', 'are', 'take', 'both', 'ill', 'husband', 'sister', 'neck', 'anger', 'skirt', 'trust', 'want', and 'window'.

But this isn't great evidence to use to prove the Vikings weren't "ruthless barbarians"--they didn't bring these words to us through trade, they did it though invasion, when they (the Danes in this case) took over parts of England (the region that therefore became known as the Danelaw). Just like English has a lot of French-derived words, not because the French were classier or had a better language, but simply because England was conquered by people who spoke that language and imposed it on everyone.

NB, I'm not saying the Vikings were ruthless barbarians; at least not all the time. Merely that their invasion and conquest of parts of England and subsequent linguistic intrusion does not really constitute evidence that they weren't.

 

[Higher Game]

The Vikings DID have horns on their helmets! Everyone knows this, duh.

 

[sabo]

Oh right, and wrestling is real

 

[Mad Bomber]

Norseman were ruthless, but were not Barbarians, and their reputation for raiding and pillaging is slightly exaggerated. Vikings did settle in the lands that they "raided" the difference is that they eventually assimilated withe the natives in the land that they settled & created in many cases distinct cultures than what was there before. The Normans in France are a very good example, but far from the only one. Vikings (Norse) settled from Northern France to the Black Sea & their influence on european history is understated. I am pleased that the Norsemen are back in the CIV family.