Norsemen
Norsemen (
the Norse) is the indigenous or ancient name for the people of
Scandinavia or the
Nordic countries. The
Vikings were Norse merchants and
warriors.
The meaning of Norseman was 'people from the North' and was applied primarily to people from southern and central
Scandinavia. They established states and settlements in areas which today are part of the
Faroe Islands, the
United Kingdom,
Ireland,
Iceland,
Finland,
Russia,
Italy,
Canada,
Greenland,
France,
Ukraine,
Estonia and
Germany.
Norse,
Norseman, and
Normans were all terms in use during the period from the late 8th century to the 11th century, while Norse invaders and explorers were also (and now, more famously) known as Vikings.
Norsemen can also be used to refer to the group of people as a whole who speak one of the
North Germanic languages as their native language. (
Norse, in particular, refers to the
Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of
Indo-European languages, especially
Danish,
Icelandic, and
Norwegian in their earlier forms.)
*
Vikings*
Northmen*
Normans*
Varangian*
Scandinavians*
Icelanders*
Danes*
Norwegians*
Swedes*
Faroese
