Everything About The Viking Language

While these traits and advanced seafaring skills are some of the highlights that made the Vikings famous, it is also their unique language that made them an important group in the history of mankind. The Viking language, or Old Norse as it would be eventually known, is considered the oldest of all Germanic languages. It traces its roots from a number of Indo-European mother language, which means that it has influences from Europe and even as far as India.

The earliest known usage of this Old Norse dates back to as far as 1200B.C. During this point, the language is only used by a handful of Viking tribes. The spread of the language did not start until the 8th century when Vikings started to explore eastwards.

The Old Norse As We Know It

If there is one particular event in history that ushered the age of Vikings, that would be the raid of 793 A.D. when they stormed and raided the Monastery of Lindisfarne. This event started the Viking conquest eastwards. Centuries later, they will move westwards bringing with them their language. Historians agree that while this is not the definitive cause of the spread of Germanic languages around Europe, it certainly aided in spreading it.

At its height, Old Norse is spoken from the Baltic Sea in the East to Greenland in the West. It is also widely believed that despite huge territorial differences, the language spoken in these regions are pretty much the same. By the 11th century, at the height of the Viking age, Old Norse is most widely used language in all of Europe.

The influence of the Vikings would later spread across many region. It is spoken in a number of settlements in the British Isles, including the Isle of Mann and Wales. It influence even reached a far as Russia and Vinland, the Viking’s name for modern day United States.

Old Norse is considered to be around 3000 years old. It is the oldest and most influential of all dialects that are part of the Indo-European root. Due to the vast area controlled by the Vikings at the height of their power, a number of mutations and variations from different regions eventually appeared. Nevertheless, since they all mutated from the same mother language, it is theorized that people can still communicate without any language barriers. This means that the Old Norse spoken in Normandy, may have slight deviation from that spoken in the Netherlands. However, people from the two different regions will have no problem communicating with each other.