The enduring reputation of Vikings is that they were fierce combatants who would use their resilience and strength to overcome problems, whether human or environmental. Historians have long been intrigued in the civilian side of Viking life, with some taking particular interest in how Viking settlers survived in the harsh conditions of Greenland between 985 and 1450. The solution to this mystery could well be that those conditions were not as harsh as once imagined.
When Vikings make appearances in contemporary media, they usually do so swaddled in great furs to fight off the cold. Recent discoveries from a Northwestern University team, led by Yarrow Axford, have revealed that the average temperature in Greenland at this time could have been as high as 50 degrees Fahrenheit. This would be a positively balmy climate compared to that from the original perception of Vikings battling against sub-zero conditions with nothing more than thick furs to stave off the cold. Axford's team have speculated that these higher temperatures could have been created by warmer ocean currents than usual.
That temperature of 50 degrees is roughly equivalent to a mild and pleasant day in southern Greenland, so perhaps the tough climate was not the biggest concern for these Viking settlers as once believed. This has been a source of relative confusion for Viking researches in recent years, with some positing that Vikings benefited from a mild climate to settle in Greenland and others refuting those claims.
This work from the Northwestern team, which included trips to Greenland to obtain surface sediment cores for analysis, should be more definitive in giving an insight into the life of these Vikings in Greenland. It is remarkable to consider how much modern historians have uncovered of Viking lifestyle, particularly given that Vikings were not from a civilization renowned for documenting their daily life.
Rigorous archaeological work has presented a rich insight into the Viking diet, with historians determining just how Vikings supplemented a vast intake of vegetation with lots of protein. This diet was a consequence of Vikings' roles as hunters and gatherers, with Viking settlers farming the nearby land and making the most of nearby wildlife.
The specifics of their diet depended on the suitability of nearby soil and the availability of certain animals, but once Vikings determined their diet, it then became a routine that they stuck to. These warmer conditions in Greenland could have shaped the Vikings' farming options, so it will be intriguing to see if these discoveries feed future research.
As skilled hunters, Vikings were able to hunt down the most prime prey in the nearby region. For most Vikings, that could include salmon, bear, or elk, but for the Greenland Vikings, there would also have been seal on the menu. Adapting to their surroundings enabled the Vikings to endure for as long as they did. While Greenland may not have been quite as brutally cold as once feared, it was still not a forgiving environment.
These Viking settlements in Greenland did eventually succumb to worsening temperatures and a more unpredictable climate, but the longevity of their survival has been given a new perspective by the work of the Northwestern team.