The Vikings were a nation.
The Vikings were not a nation as such, but rather an occupation, and the term refers to groups of warriors, explorers and merchants led by a chief. Sporadically, in their expeditions to the West, Vikings were Norwegians, Danes or Swedes, as well as anyone who joined them. The point is that the word víkingr (in Old Norse) did not denote a nationality but an occupation: a Viking was anyone who took part in a maritime expedition.
The Vikings only lived in Scandinavia.
The Vikings originated in the Scandinavian countries, but over time they began settlements in many places, reaching as far as North Africa, Russia, Constantinople, and even America. There are different theories about the reasons that led to Viking expansion, the most common being that the Scandinavian population had exceeded the agricultural potential of their country. Another theory is that the ancient trade routes of Western Europe and Eurasia experienced a decrease in profitability when the Roman Empire fell in the 5th century, forcing the Vikings to seek new trade routes to benefit from international trade.
Vikings wore horned helmets.
The Gjermundbu helmet, the only authentic existing Viking helmet, has no horns. No depiction dated to the Viking Age shows helmets with such ornamentation: there are two or three from ritual processions where warriors wear helmets with protrusions ending in stylized bird heads or snake-like shapes, but even the ritual use of horned helmets remains unproven.
The Vikings' preferred weapon was the double-headed axe.
Vikings did use axes in battle, as the Lindisfarne stone illustrates. However, they were of a quite different type from that suggested in modern popular culture. It should be noted that no double-headed axe from medieval Europe has ever been found. Viking axes were light and used one-handed. The most common Viking weapon found is the spear.
Vikings used clubs and sticks to fight.
Norse farmers often fought with whatever was at hand, such as clubs, hammers, or field tools, but Vikings were actually skilled smiths and used axes, spears, and swords to fight. Using a method called pattern welding, Vikings could make swords that were extremely sharp and flexible.
Vikings wore braids.
Regarding hairstyle, to emphasize their Viking roots, the Normans shaved the back half of their head, starting from a line drawn from ear to ear, passing over the crown. On the other half, the front, the hair was allowed to grow abundantly. There is an Old English letter from the 11th century that mentions the "Danish fashion with the neck uncovered and the eyes blinded." There is no historical evidence to assert that Vikings had braids.
Vikings were tall and blond.
Vikings have been portrayed as large, prominent men with long blond hair, but historical records show that the average Viking man was about 170 cm (5'7") tall, which was not especially tall for the time. Blond hair was considered ideal in Viking culture, and many Norse men lightened their hair with a special soap. Vikings were great at absorbing other peoples, meaning that many of those who had been kidnapped as slaves became part of the Viking population over time. Thus, in Viking groups, it was not unusual to find Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, French, and Russians, a very diverse group around a core of Vikings from a specific region, for example, southern Denmark or an Oslo fjord.
Viking armies were enormous.
Sources cite wild numbers for the size of Viking armies. P. Sawyer noted that they could be more specific about the size of the fleets. Based on archaeological evidence, he suggested that Viking ships could have held fifty or sixty men. This means we should be talking about hundreds (not even thousands) when measuring these armies.
Vikings were extremely violent and bloody.
Indeed they were, sometimes. However, the question is whether the Christian armies of the time acted substantially differently. For example, Charlemagne, a contemporary of the Vikings, nearly exterminated the Avar people and, at Verden, ordered the beheading of 4,500 Saxons. Thus, the Vikings were not as bloody as many Christians of their time.
Abroad, Vikings only fought and stole.
Yes, they stole in many lands. However, this was one among many reasons for their maritime expeditions. The Vikings peacefully colonized Iceland, Greenland, and other smaller islands. As explorers, they crossed the Atlantic and reached America 500 years before Columbus. As international merchants, they also traded peacefully with almost every nation of the known world.
Vikings were hated everywhere.
One might imagine that Vikings were hated everywhere because of their attacks, but they were also respected by some. The French king Charles III - known as "Charles the Simple" - gave the Vikings the lands where they had already settled in France (Normandy), and even gave his daughter to the Viking chief Hrolf Ganger (nicknamed "Rollo the Walker"). In return, the Vikings settled in Normandy protected France from wild Vikings. Also in Constantinople, the Vikings were recognized for their strength - so much so that the Varangian guard of the Byzantine emperors in the 11th century was formed entirely of Swedish Vikings.
Vikings used human skulls as cups.
This misconception dates back to Ole Worm's Runer seu Danica literatura antiquissima, published in 1636 and reprinted in 1651. From there, the phrase showing Danes drinking ór bjúgviðum hausa ("from the curved branches of skulls", from horns) was translated into Latin as ex craniis eorum quos ceciderunt ("from the skulls of those they have killed").
Vikings were dirty.
In many films and cartoons, Vikings are shown as dirty, wild-looking men and women, but in reality, Vikings were quite vain about their appearance. In England, because of their custom of bathing every Saturday, Vikings were known for their excessive cleanliness. For this reason, Saturday is known as laugardagur, laurdag, or "cleaning day" in Scandinavian languages, although the original meaning has been lost in modern language in most cases. There is also Ibn Rustah, a 10th-century Persian explorer, makes this explicit. In excavations of Viking sites, combs are among the most frequently found objects. Vikings used tweezers, razors, and a kind of "ear spoon" to keep their ears clean. They even produced soap.
The Oseberg Viking ship was a warship.
This is a very well-preserved Viking ship, found in a burial mound in Norway. In modern popular culture, Vikings are often depicted crossing oceans and engaging in battles on ships that are copies of the Oseberg ship. However, its freeboard is so low that it can only be a ceremonial boat that never left coastal waters.