Popular Sports at the Age of Vikings

Sport is a very ancient activity, firstly introduced in Ancient Greece. It’s been popular all around the world for many years and is known as a global phenomenon that brings people together and helps them grow healthy nations.

Sport gathers different countries, as they have unique sports cultures that come together during competitions like the Olympic Games and during sports betting that is legal in most countries and extremely popular among fans.

Sports wagering is fun, but all bettors should remember about risks, sticking to their budget, and working only with reliable betting apps. Betting Shows and podcasts with advice and useful insights are available for everybody who’s interested in responsible betting and very easy to find and practice.

Examples of sport gathering people to play games is shown in many ancient nations, for example:

Native Americans loved stickball, which is now called lacrosse;
Prehistoric cave paintings show ancient sumo as a dance to pray for a good harvest;
The national sport of Argentina, pato, was being played around 400 years ago, etc.

The Vikings: Short History

Other ancient people were also very sportive, they needed to survive, be strong, and have games to play in order to rest after long battles. Vikings are in this list.

Vikings were tribes of seafaring people from Scandinavia who are mostly known for their violence, pirating, raiding, and trading throughout parts of Europe. However, society was build on law and order like any other one. Women had rights, family was important, and their children were raised in lots of love.

Vikings loved their boats, weapons, and clothes, they tried to make everything beautiful and paid a lot of attention to designing detailes of their houses.

Moreover, Vikings were one of the nations thet first started to take baths regularly, they were very clean. Vikings were great farmers and traders.

Vikings loved entertainment after their battles, like creating and telling stories about gods, playing board games, or games that included drinking, and sports. They needed to be strong and sporty to be successful and live long.

The Vikings: Popular Sports

Physical strength and endurance were crucial for a Viking. They competed with each other and trained their children to fight before they’ll be ready to take part in real battles and pirating. Thor was the god of wrestling, and this kind of sport was even added into the system of laws.

Wrestling

Wrestling was the most popular sport among Vikings. There were 2 main types of wrestling: free-style and glima wrestling and crude one. Free-style was practiced by children from the age of 7 or 8 and continued until they were well up in years. Competition was divided into several classes focused on skills and strengths. Glima was less based on strength and more on balance and technical skills.

Glima wrestling is still practiced in Scandinavia, and it’s known to be almost unchanged from the Viking era.

Crude wrestling was cruel and wild and even crazy. These competitions were held among the strongest and biggest men in the tribe using special weapons in order to pin the opponent.

Swimming

Distance and speed swimming was also essential for Vikings because they used boats to travel. Swimming competitions were as they are today – the first man who crossed the finish line was the winner.

Water-Wrestling was a form of traditional wrestling. The matches lasted for hours, and the main aim was to keep the opponent’s head under water as long as you can.

Knattleikr (Ballgame)

This game is not about fighting, it was played by children and adults on grass or ice. The rules of the game are unknown, but there is some information:

A ball was hit by a bat
There were usually 2 teams against two
The field was lined
The game was played all day long
Opponents could fight for the ball

Closing Words

Sport is very varied and everybody can find the most suitable one to do. There is a lot of information about ancient sports that can also be played by children and adults for fun.