Historical romance is a broad category of mass-market fiction focusing on romantic relationships in historical periods, which Byron helped popularize in the early 19th century.
146-557: Viking books feature warriors during the Dark Ages or Middle Ages . Heroes in Viking romances are stereotypically masculine men who are later "tamed" by their heroines. Most heroes are described as "tall, blonde, and strikingly handsome." Using the Viking culture allows novels set in these time periods to include some travel, as the Vikings were "adventurers, founding and conquering colonies all over
292-783: A certain extent to the mass-market trends. Booksellers and large merchandisers are selling fewer mass market paperbacks, preferring trade paperbacks or hardcovers, which prevent historical romances from being sold in some price clubs and other mass merchandise outlets. In 2001, historical romance reached a 10-year high as 778 were published. By 2004, that number had dropped to 486, which was still 20% of all romance novels published. Kensington Books claims that they are receiving fewer submissions of historical novels, and that their previously published authors are switiching to contemporary. Vikings Chronological history Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark , Norway , and Sweden ), who from
438-556: A fierce and powerful people and were often in conflict with the Vikings. To counter the Saxon aggression and solidify their own presence, the Danes constructed the huge defence fortification of Danevirke in and around Hedeby . The Vikings witnessed the violent subduing of the Saxons by Charlemagne , in the thirty-year Saxon Wars of 772–804. The Saxon defeat resulted in their forced christening and
584-564: A given culture, including the language and traditions of that culture, are superior to those of other cultures. It shares a great deal with xenophobia , which is often characterized by fear of, or aggression toward, members of an outgroup by members of an ingroup . In that sense it is also similar to communalism as used in South Asia. Cultural racism exists when there is a widespread acceptance of stereotypes concerning diverse ethnic or population groups. Whereas racism can be characterised by
730-553: A historical, hierarchical power relationship between groups; second, a set of ideas (an ideology) about racial differences; and, third, discriminatory actions (practices). Though many countries around the globe have passed laws related to race and discrimination, the first significant international human rights instrument developed by the United Nations (UN) was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which
876-450: A majority or a dominant social group. So-called "white racism" focuses on societies in which white populations are the majority or the dominant social group. In studies of these majority white societies, the aggregate of material and cultural advantages is usually termed " white privilege ". Race and race relations are prominent areas of study in sociology and economics . Much of the sociological literature focuses on white racism. Some of
1022-409: A majority or dominant group in society. Furthermore, the meaning of the term racism is often conflated with the terms prejudice, bigotry , and discrimination. Racism is a complex concept that can involve each of those; but it cannot be equated with, nor is it synonymous, with these other terms. The term is often used in relation to what is seen as prejudice within a minority or subjugated group, as in
1168-766: A man. Regardless of the sex of the pirate, much of the action in the book takes place at sea. Colonial United States novels are all set in that country between 1630 and 1798. Civil War novels place their characters within the events of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era . They may be set in the Confederacy or the Union . Western novels are set in the frontier of the United States, Canada , or Australia . Unlike Westerns , where women are often marginalized,
1314-545: A medieval Swedish law, the Västgötalagen , from Västergötland declared no-one could inherit while staying in "Greece"—the then Scandinavian term for the Byzantine Empire—to stop the emigration, especially as two other European courts simultaneously also recruited Scandinavians: Kievan Rus' c. 980–1060 and London 1018–1066 (the Þingalið ). There is archaeological evidence that Vikings reached Baghdad ,
1460-413: A more subtle form of prejudice in the late 20th century. This new form of racism is sometimes referred to as "modern racism" and it is characterized by outwardly acting unprejudiced while inwardly maintaining prejudiced attitudes, displaying subtle prejudiced behaviors such as actions informed by attributing qualities to others based on racial stereotypes, and evaluating the same behavior differently based on
1606-622: A multi-pronged effort to challenge and dismantle white supremacy in the US. According to dictionary definitions, racism is prejudice and discrimination based on race. Racism can also be said to describe a condition in society in which a dominant racial group benefits from the oppression of others, whether that group wants such benefits or not. Foucauldian scholar Ladelle McWhorter, in her 2009 book, Racism and Sexual Oppression in Anglo-America: A Genealogy , posits modern racism similarly, focusing on
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#17330858984141752-626: A myth rather than a reality. Academics commonly define racism not only in terms of individual prejudice, but also in terms of a power structure that protects the interests of the dominant culture and actively discriminates against ethnic minorities. From this perspective, while members of ethnic minorities may be prejudiced against members of the dominant culture, they lack the political and economic power to actively oppress them, and they are therefore not practicing "racism". The ideology underlying racism can manifest in many aspects of social life. Such aspects are described in this section, although
1898-437: A particular group by appeal to rules or stereotypes. People who behave in an aversively racial way may profess egalitarian beliefs, and will often deny their racially motivated behavior; nevertheless they change their behavior when dealing with a member of another race or ethnic group than the one they belong to. The motivation for the change is thought to be implicit or subconscious. Experiments have provided empirical support for
2044-502: A political ideology in which rights and privileges are differentially distributed based on racial categories. The term "racist" may be an adjective or a noun, the latter describing a person who holds those beliefs. The origin of the root word "race" is not clear. Linguists generally agree that it came to the English language from Middle French , but there is no such agreement on how it generally came into Latin-based languages. A recent proposal
2190-502: A pool of unmarried men who are willing to engage in risky status-elevating and sex-seeking behaviors. The Annals of Ulster states that in 821 the Vikings plundered an Irish village and "carried off a great number of women into captivity". One common theory posits that Charlemagne "used force and terror to Christianise all pagans", leading to baptism, conversion or execution, and as a result, Vikings and other pagans resisted and wanted revenge. Professor Rudolf Simek states that "it
2336-538: A restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a bathroom, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home. Segregation is generally outlawed, but may exist through social norms, even when there is no strong individual preference for it, as suggested by Thomas Schelling 's models of segregation and subsequent work. Centuries of European colonialism in the Americas, Africa and Asia were often justified by white supremacist attitudes. During
2482-558: A shortage of women available to the Viking male. Consequently, the average Viking man may have felt compelled to seek wealth and power to have the means to acquire suitable women. Several centuries after Dudo's observations, scholars revived this idea, and over time it became a cliché among scholars of the Viking Age. Viking men would often buy or capture women and make them into their wives or concubines; such polygynous marriages increase male-male competition in society because they create
2628-454: A system of discrimination whereby the characteristics of a group are used to distinguish them as separate from the norm. Othering plays a fundamental role in the history and continuation of racism. To objectify a culture as something different, exotic or underdeveloped is to generalize that it is not like 'normal' society. Europe's colonial attitude towards the Orientals exemplifies this as it
2774-542: A wide agreement on a single definition of what racism is and what it is not. Today, some scholars of racism prefer to use the concept in the plural racisms , in order to emphasize its many different forms that do not easily fall under a single definition. They also argue that different forms of racism have characterized different historical periods and geographical areas. Garner (2009: p. 11) summarizes different existing definitions of racism and identifies three common elements contained in those definitions of racism. First,
2920-431: Is "clear evidence" that it was used as a synonym, while Eric Christiansen avers that it is a mistranslation made at the insistence of the publisher. The word wicing does not occur in any preserved Middle English texts. The word Viking was introduced into Modern English during the 18th-century Viking revival, at which point it acquired romanticised heroic overtones of "barbarian warrior" or noble savage . During
3066-560: Is a group of about 30 runestones in Sweden which refer to Viking Age voyages to England. They constitute one of the largest groups of runestones that mention voyages to other countries, and they are comparable in number only to the approximately 30 Greece Runestones and the 26 Ingvar Runestones , the latter referring to a Viking expedition to the Middle East. They were engraved in Old Norse with
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#17330858984143212-403: Is a misnomer, due to the lack of any actual science backing the claims. Most biologists , anthropologists , and sociologists reject a taxonomy of races in favor of more specific and/or empirically verifiable criteria, such as geography , ethnicity, or a history of endogamy . Human genome research indicates that race is not a meaningful genetic classification of humans. An entry in
3358-588: Is better attested linguistically, and the term most likely predates the use of the sail by the Germanic peoples of northwestern Europe. In the Middle Ages, viking came to refer to Scandinavian pirates or raiders. The earliest reference to wicing in English sources is from the Épinal-Erfurt glossary ( c. 700 ), about 93 years before the first known attack by Viking raiders in England. The glossary lists
3504-440: Is characterized by more complex, ambivalent expressions and attitudes. Aversive racism is similar in implications to the concept of symbolic or modern racism (described below), which is also a form of implicit, unconscious, or covert attitude which results in unconscious forms of discrimination. The term was coined by Joel Kovel to describe the subtle racial behaviors of any ethnic or racial group who rationalize their aversion to
3650-613: Is frequently described as a relatively modern concept, evolving during the European age of imperialism , transformed by capitalism , and the Atlantic slave trade , of which it was a major driving force. It was also a major force behind racial segregation in the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and of apartheid in South Africa ; 19th and 20th-century racism in Western culture
3796-448: Is held together by a sophisticated ideology of color/'race' supremacy. Racial centrality (the extent to which a culture recognizes individuals' racial identity) appears to affect the degree of discrimination African-American young adults perceive whereas racial ideology may buffer the detrimental emotional effects of that discrimination." Sellers and Shelton (2003) found that a relationship between racial discrimination and emotional distress
3942-519: Is not a coincidence if the early Viking activity occurred during the reign of Charlemagne". The ascendance of Christianity in Scandinavia led to serious conflict, dividing Norway for almost a century. However, this time period did not commence until the 10th century. Norway was never subject to aggression by Charlemagne and the period of strife was due to successive Norwegian kings embracing Christianity after encountering it overseas. Another explanation
4088-485: Is now considered offensive to many in the romance industry. In this new style of historical romance, heroines were independent and strong-willed and were often paired with heroes who evolved into caring and compassionate men who truly admired the women they loved. This was in contrast to the contemporary romances published during this time, which were often characterized by weak females who fell in love with overbearing alpha males . Although these heroines had active roles in
4234-732: Is particularly well documented and constitutes a reference point in studies and discourses about racism. Racism has played a role in genocides such as the Holocaust , the Armenian genocide , the Rwandan genocide , and the Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia , as well as colonial projects including the European colonization of the Americas , Africa , Asia , and the population transfer in
4380-510: Is racial discrimination by governments, corporations, religions, or educational institutions or other large organizations with the power to influence the lives of many individuals. Stokely Carmichael is credited for coining the phrase institutional racism in the late 1960s. He defined the term as "the collective failure of an organization to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin". Maulana Karenga argued that racism constituted
4526-399: Is racist, i.e. "reducing Nigeria to a nation of scammers and fraudulent princes, as some people still do online, is a stereotype that needs to be called out". Language , linguistics , and discourse are active areas of study in the humanities , along with literature and the arts. Discourse analysis seeks to reveal the meaning of race and the actions of racists through careful study of
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4672-448: Is so associated with crime you're ready to pick out these crime objects." Such exposures influence our minds and they can cause subconscious racism in our behavior towards other people or even towards objects. Thus, racist thoughts and actions can arise from stereotypes and fears of which we are not aware. For example, scientists and activists have warned that the use of the stereotype "Nigerian Prince" for referring to advance-fee scammers
4818-411: Is still maintained subconsciously. This process has been studied extensively in social psychology as implicit associations and implicit attitudes , a component of implicit cognition . Implicit attitudes are evaluations that occur without conscious awareness towards an attitude object or the self. These evaluations are generally either favorable or unfavorable. They come about from various influences in
4964-567: Is taken to have been the period from the earliest recorded raids by Norsemen in 793 until the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Vikings used the Norwegian Sea and Baltic Sea for sea routes to the south. The Normans were descendants of those Vikings who had been given feudal overlordship of areas in northern France, namely the Duchy of Normandy , in the 10th century. In that respect, descendants of
5110-632: Is that it derives from the Arabic ra's , which means "head, beginning, origin" or the Hebrew rosh , which has a similar meaning. Early race theorists generally held the view that some races were inferior to others and they consequently believed that the differential treatment of races was fully justified. These early theories guided pseudo-scientific research assumptions; the collective endeavors to adequately define and form hypotheses about racial differences are generally termed scientific racism , though this term
5256-407: Is that the Vikings exploited a moment of weakness in the surrounding regions. Contrary to Simek's assertion, Viking raids occurred sporadically long before the reign of Charlemagne; but exploded in frequency and size after his death, when his empire fragmented into multiple much weaker entities. England suffered from internal divisions and was a relatively easy prey given the proximity of many towns to
5402-580: The Oxford English Dictionary (2008) defines racialism as "[a]n earlier term than racism, but now largely superseded by it", and cites the term "racialism" in a 1902 quote. The revised Oxford English Dictionary cites the shorter term "racism" in a quote from the year 1903. It was defined by the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd edition 1989) as "[t]he theory that distinctive human characteristics and abilities are determined by race";
5548-563: The Baltic coast , as well as along the Dnieper and Volga trade routes across modern-day Russia, Belarus , and Ukraine , where they were also known as Varangians . The Normans , Norse-Gaels , Rus' people , Faroese , and Icelanders emerged from these Norse colonies. At one point, a group of Rus Vikings went so far south that, after briefly being bodyguards for the Byzantine emperor, they attacked
5694-670: The Danelaw , including Scandinavian York, the administrative centre of the remains of the Kingdom of Northumbria , parts of Mercia , and East Anglia . Viking navigators opened the road to new lands to the north, west and east, resulting in the foundation of independent settlements in the Shetland , Orkney , and Faroe Islands; Iceland; Greenland ; and L'Anse aux Meadows , a short-lived settlement in Newfoundland , circa 1000. The Greenland settlement
5840-530: The Greater East Asia Conference . Article 1 of the 1945 UN Charter includes "promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race" as UN purpose. In 1950, UNESCO suggested in The Race Question —a statement signed by 21 scholars such as Ashley Montagu , Claude Lévi-Strauss , Gunnar Myrdal , Julian Huxley , etc.—to "drop
5986-547: The Reform Act 1832 and including the reign of Queen Victoria . Novels set during this period but in a fictional country may be Ruritanian novels such as those by Beatrice Heron-Maxwell. M.M. Kaye focuses on the British Raj in this period rather than England itself. Pirate novels feature a male or female who is sailing, or thought to be sailing, as a pirate or privateer on the high seas. According to Ryan Kate, heroes are
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6132-502: The Slavic languages in the Viking settlements of Eastern Europe. It has been speculated that the reason for this was the great differences between the two languages, combined with the Rus Vikings' more peaceful businesses in these areas, and the fact that they were outnumbered. The Norse named some of the rapids on the Dnieper , but this can hardly be seen from modern names. The Norse of
6278-568: The United Nations 's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination , there is no distinction between the terms "racial" and "ethnic" discrimination. It further concludes that superiority based on racial differentiation is scientifically false , morally condemnable, socially unjust , and dangerous. The convention also declared that there is no justification for racial discrimination, anywhere, in theory or in practice. Racism
6424-584: The Younger Futhark . The Jelling stones date from between 960 and 985. The older, smaller stone was raised by King Gorm the Old , the last pagan king of Denmark, as a memorial honouring Queen Thyre . The larger stone was raised by his son, Harald Bluetooth , to celebrate the conquest of Denmark and Norway and the conversion of the Danes to Christianity. It has three sides: one with an animal image; one with an image of
6570-477: The dehumanizing attitude toward indigenous Americans that the US was founded on." In an 1890 article about colonial expansion onto Native American land, author L. Frank Baum wrote: "The Whites, by law of conquest, by justice of civilization, are masters of the American continent, and the best safety of the frontier settlements will be secured by the total annihilation of the few remaining Indians." In his Notes on
6716-408: The normative standard, whereas people of color are othered , and the racism these individuals experience may be minimized or erased. At an individual level, people with "color blind prejudice" reject racist ideology, but also reject systemic policies intended to fix institutional racism . Cultural racism manifests as societal beliefs and customs that promote the assumption that the products of
6862-638: The " white savior narrative in film ", in which the heroes and heroines are white even though the story is about things that happen to black characters. Textual analysis of such writings can contrast sharply with black authors' descriptions of African Americans and their experiences in US society. African-American writers have sometimes been portrayed in African-American studies as retreating from racial issues when they write about " whiteness ", while others identify this as an African-American literary tradition called "the literature of white estrangement", part of
7008-475: The "Avon originals" had sold a combined 8 million copies. The following year over 150 historical romance novels, many of them paperback originals, were published, selling over 40 million copies. Unlike Woodiwiss, Rogers's novels featured couples who travelled the world, usually were separated for a time, and had multiple partners within the book. The success of these novels prompted a new style of writing romance, concentrating primarily on historical fiction tracking
7154-409: The "others" are over "there". Imagined differences serve to categorize people into groups and assign them characteristics that suit the imaginer's expectations. Racial discrimination refers to discrimination against someone on the basis of their race. Racial segregation is the separation of humans into socially-constructed racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in
7300-399: The "ultimate bad boys," who "dominate all for the sake of wealth and freedom." The heroine is usually captured by the hero in an early part of the novel, and then is forced to succumb to his wishes; eventually she falls in love with her captor. On the rarer occasions where the heroine is the pirate, the book often focuses on her struggle to maintain her freedom of choice while living the life of
7446-642: The 10th and 11th centuries, the exposed family trees, the self-images, and the ethical values that are contained in these literary writings. Indirectly, the Vikings have also left a window open onto their language, culture and activities, through many Old Norse place names and words found in their former sphere of influence. Some of these place names and words are still in direct use today, almost unchanged, and shed light on where they settled and what specific places meant to them. Examples include place names like Egilsay (from Eigils ey meaning Eigil's Island), Ormskirk (from Ormr kirkja meaning Orms Church or Church of
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#17330858984147592-505: The 12th through 14th centuries, and many traditions connected with the Viking Age were written down for the first time in the Icelandic sagas . A literal interpretation of these medieval prose narratives about the Vikings and the Scandinavian past is doubtful, but many specific elements remain worthy of consideration, such as the great quantity of skaldic poetry attributed to court poets of
7738-707: The 1954 U.S. Supreme Court desegregation decision in Brown v. Board of Education . Also, in 1950, the European Convention on Human Rights was adopted, which was widely used on racial discrimination issues. The United Nations use the definition of racial discrimination laid out in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination , adopted in 1966: ... any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin that has
7884-426: The 1965 UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination , The term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, colour, descent , or national or ethnic origin that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in
8030-438: The 1990s the genre began to focus more on humor, as Julie Garwood began introducing humorous elements and characters into her historical romances. Historical romance novels are rarely published in hardcover, with fewer than 15 receiving that status each year. The contemporary market usually sees 4 to 5 times that many hardcovers. Because historical romances are primarily published in mass-market format, their fortunes are tied to
8176-708: The 20th century, the meaning of the term was expanded to refer not only to seaborne raiders from Scandinavia and other places settled by them (like Iceland and the Faroe Islands ), but also any member of the culture that produced the raiders during the period from the late 8th to the mid-11th centuries, or more loosely from about 700 to as late as about 1100. As an adjective, the word is used to refer to ideas, phenomena, or artefacts connected with those people and their cultural life, producing expressions like Viking age , Viking culture , Viking art , Viking religion , Viking ship and so on. The Viking Age in Scandinavian history
8322-653: The 7th century had also affected trade with Western Europe. Raids in Europe, including raids and settlements from Scandinavia, were not unprecedented and had occurred long before the Vikings arrived. The Jutes invaded the British Isles three centuries earlier, from Jutland during the Age of Migrations , before the Danes settled there. The Saxons and the Angles did the same, embarking from mainland Europe. The Viking raids were, however,
8468-453: The 960s and 1043. Its inhabitants were known as Jomsvikings . Jomsborg's exact location, or its existence, has not yet been established, though it is often maintained that Jomsborg was somewhere on the islands of the Oder estuary. While the Vikings were active beyond their Scandinavian homelands, Scandinavia was itself experiencing new influences and undergoing a variety of cultural changes. By
8614-460: The Byzantine city of Constantinople . Vikings also voyaged to Iran and Arabia . They were the first Europeans to reach North America, briefly settling in Newfoundland (Vinland). While spreading Norse culture to foreign lands, they simultaneously brought home slaves, concubines, and foreign cultural influences to Scandinavia, influencing the genetic and historical development of both. During
8760-527: The Latin alphabet. The runestones are unevenly distributed in Scandinavia: Denmark has 250 runestones, Norway has 50 while Iceland has none. Sweden has as many as between 1,700 and 2,500 depending on the definition. The Swedish district of Uppland has the highest concentration with as many as 1,196 inscriptions in stone, whereas Södermanland is second with 391. The majority of runic inscriptions from
8906-605: The Latin translation for wicing as piraticum 'pirate'. In Old English , the word wicing appears in the Anglo-Saxon poem Widsith , probably from the 9th century. The word was not regarded as a reference to nationality, with other terms such as Northmen and Dene 'Danes' being used for that. In Asser 's Latin work The Life of King Alfred , the Danes are referred to as pagani 'pagans'; historian Janet Nelson states that pagani became "the Vikings" in standard translations of this work, even though there
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#17330858984149052-558: The Norsemen settled in the present-day Faroe Islands , Iceland , Norse Greenland , Newfoundland , the Netherlands , Germany, Normandy , Italy, Scotland , England, Wales , Ireland, the Isle of Man , Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania , Ukraine , Russia and Turkey, as well as initiating the consolidation that resulted in the formation of the present-day Scandinavian countries. In the Viking Age,
9198-463: The North and Irish Seas diminished markedly. The kings of Norway continued to assert power in parts of northern Britain and Ireland, and raids continued into the 12th century, but the military ambitions of Scandinavian rulers were now directed toward new paths. In 1107, Sigurd I of Norway sailed for the eastern Mediterranean with Norwegian crusaders to fight for the newly established Kingdom of Jerusalem ;
9344-567: The Obotrite city of Reric on the southern Baltic coast in 808 AD and transferred the merchants and traders to Hedeby. This secured Viking supremacy in the Baltic Sea, which continued throughout the Viking Age. Because of the expansion of the Vikings across Europe, a comparison of DNA and archeology undertaken by scientists at the University of Cambridge and University of Copenhagen suggested that
9490-630: The Old Norse of the Vikings and give an opportunity to understand their interactions with the people and cultures of the British Isles. In the Northern Isles of Shetland and Orkney, Old Norse completely replaced the local languages and over time evolved into the now extinct Norn language . Some modern words and names only emerge and contribute to our understanding after a more intense research of linguistic sources from medieval or later records, such as York (Horse Bay), Swansea ( Sveinn 's Isle) or some of
9636-569: The Red , reached North America and set up short-lived settlements in present-day L'Anse aux Meadows , Newfoundland, Canada. This expansion occurred during the Medieval Warm Period . Viking expansion into continental Europe was limited. Their realm was bordered by powerful tribes to the south. Early on, it was the Saxons who occupied Old Saxony , located in what is now Northern Germany. The Saxons were
9782-549: The Soviet Union including deportations of indigenous minorities. Indigenous peoples have been—and are—often subject to racist attitudes. In the 19th century, many scientists subscribed to the belief that the human population can be divided into races. The term racism is a noun describing the state of being racist, i.e., subscribing to the belief that the human population can or should be classified into races with differential abilities and dispositions, which in turn may motivate
9928-467: The State of Virginia , published in 1785, Thomas Jefferson wrote: "blacks, whether originally a distinct race, or made distinct by time or circumstances, are inferior to the whites in the endowments of both body and mind." Attitudes of black supremacy , Arab supremacy , and East Asian supremacy also exist. Some scholars argue that in the US, earlier violent and aggressive forms of racism have evolved into
10074-557: The Swedes, Eric , was married to Gunhild , of the Polish House of Piast . Likewise, his son, Olof , fell in love with Edla , a Slavic woman, and took her as his frilla (concubine). They had a son and a daughter: Emund the Old , King of Sweden, and Astrid , Queen of Norway. Cnut the Great , King of Denmark, England and Norway, was the son of a daughter of Mieszko I of Poland , possibly
10220-668: The United States between 1880 and 1920, usually in a small town or in the Midwest . One of the first popular historical romances appeared in 1921, when Georgette Heyer published The Black Moth , which is set in 1751. It was not until 1935 that she wrote the first of her signature Regency novels, set around the English Regency period (1811–1820), when the Prince Regent ruled England in place of his ill father, George III . Heyer's Regency novels were inspired by Jane Austen 's novels of
10366-446: The University of Bonn, posits that the presence of Slavs in Scandinavia is "more significant than previously thought", while Mats Roslund states that "the Slavs and their interaction with Scandinavia have not been adequately investigated". A 10th-century grave of a warrior-woman in Denmark was long thought to belong to a Viking. However, new analyses suggest that the woman may have been a Slav from present-day Poland. The first king of
10512-424: The Viking Age could read and write and used a non-standardised alphabet, called runor , built upon sound values. While there are few remains of runic writing on paper from the Viking era, thousands of stones with runic inscriptions have been found where Vikings lived. They are usually in memory of the dead, though not necessarily placed at graves. The use of runor survived into the 15th century, used in parallel with
10658-500: The Viking Age, the Norse homelands were gradually consolidated from smaller kingdoms into three larger kingdoms: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The Vikings spoke Old Norse and made inscriptions in runes . For most of the period, they followed the Old Norse religion , but later became Christians . The Vikings had their own laws , art , and architecture. Most Vikings were also farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, and traders. Popular conceptions of
10804-689: The Viking period are found in Sweden. Many runestones in Scandinavia record the names of participants in Viking expeditions, such as the Kjula runestone that tells of extensive warfare in Western Europe and the Turinge Runestone , which tells of a war band in Eastern Europe. Other runestones mention men who died on Viking expeditions. Among them are the England runestones (Swedish: Englandsstenarna ), which
10950-452: The Vikings and the Viking Age can also be important for understanding them and their culture, although they need to be treated cautiously. After the consolidation of the church and the assimilation of Scandinavia and its colonies into mainstream medieval Christian culture in the 11th and 12th centuries, native written sources began to appear in Latin and Old Norse. In the Viking colony of Iceland, extraordinary vernacular literature blossomed in
11096-692: The Vikings are contemporary texts from Scandinavia and regions where the Vikings were active. Writing in Latin letters was introduced to Scandinavia with Christianity, so there are few native documentary sources from Scandinavia before the late 11th and early 12th centuries. The Scandinavians did write inscriptions in runes , but these were usually very short and formulaic. Most contemporary documentary sources consist of texts written in Christian and Islamic communities outside Scandinavia, often by authors who had been negatively affected by Viking activity. Later writings on
11242-499: The Vikings come from other cultures that were in contact with them. Since the mid-20th century, archaeological findings have built a more complete and balanced picture of the lives of the Vikings. The archaeological record is particularly rich and varied, providing knowledge of their rural and urban settlement, crafts and production, ships and military equipment, trading networks, as well as their pagan and Christian religious artefacts and practices. The most important primary sources on
11388-523: The Vikings continued to have an influence in northern Europe. Likewise, King Harold Godwinson , the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, had Danish ancestors. Two Vikings even ascended to the throne of England, with Sweyn Forkbeard claiming the English throne in 1013 until 1014 and his son Cnut the Great being king of England between 1016 and 1035. Geographically, the Viking Age covered Scandinavian lands (modern Denmark , Norway and Sweden), as well as territories under North Germanic dominance, mainly
11534-501: The Vikings often strongly differ from the complex, advanced civilisation of the Norsemen that emerges from archaeology and historical sources. A romanticised picture of Vikings as noble savages began to emerge in the 18th century; this developed and became widely propagated during the 19th-century Viking revival . Perceived views of the Vikings as violent, piratical heathens or as intrepid adventurers owe much to conflicting varieties of
11680-473: The Western romance focuses on the experiences of the female. Heroes in these novels seek adventure and are forced to conquer the unknown. They are often loners, slightly uncivilized, and "earthy." Their heroines are often forced to travel to the frontier by events outside their control. These women must learn to survive in a man's world, and, by the end of the novel, have conquered their fears with love. In many cases
11826-617: The Worm), Meols (from merl meaning Sand Dunes), Snaefell (Snow Fell), Ravenscar (Ravens Rock), Vinland (Land of Wine or Land of Winberry ), Kaupanger (Market Harbour), Tórshavn (Thor's Harbour), and the religious centre of Odense , meaning a place where Odin was worshipped. Viking influence is also evident in concepts like the present-day parliamentary body of the Tynwald on the Isle of Man. Many common words in everyday English language stem from
11972-689: The absorption of Old Saxony into the Carolingian Empire . Fear of the Franks led the Vikings to further expand Danevirke, and the defence constructions remained in use throughout the Viking Age and even up until 1864. The southern coast of the Baltic Sea was ruled by the Obotrites , a federation of Slavic tribes loyal to the Carolingians and later the Frankish empire . The Vikings—led by King Gudfred —destroyed
12118-492: The author's experiences with racism when he was traveling in the South as an African American. Much American fictional literature has focused on issues of racism and the black "racial experience" in the US, including works written by whites, such as Uncle Tom's Cabin , To Kill a Mockingbird , and Imitation of Life , or even the non-fiction work Black Like Me . These books, and others like them, feed into what has been called
12264-562: The basis of those observations are heavily influenced by cultural ideologies. Racism, as an ideology, exists in a society at both the individual and institutional level. While much of the research and work on racism during the last half-century or so has concentrated on "white racism" in the Western world, historical accounts of race-based social practices can be found across the globe. Thus, racism can be broadly defined to encompass individual and group prejudices and acts of discrimination that result in material and cultural advantages conferred on
12410-496: The belief that one race is inherently superior to another, cultural racism can be characterised by the belief that one culture is inherently superior to another. Historical economic or social disparity is alleged to be a form of discrimination caused by past racism and historical reasons, affecting the present generation through deficits in the formal education and kinds of preparation in previous generations, and through primarily unconscious racist attitudes and actions on members of
12556-460: The beliefs, customs and culture of the Native American tribes. The novels within this subgenre are generally not limited to a specific tribe, location, or time period. Readers appreciate that native tribes "have a whole different way of life, a different way of thinking and a different way of looking at things". In many cases, the tribe's love of nature is highlighted. Americana novels are set in
12702-495: The category romances, was distributed in drug stores and other mass-market merchandising outlets. The novel went on to sell 2.35 million copies. Avon followed its release with the 1974 publication of Woodiwiss's second novel, The Wolf and the Dove and two novels by newcomer Rosemary Rogers . One of Rogers's novels, Dark Fires sold two million copies in its first three months of release, and, by 1975, Publishers Weekly had reported that
12848-620: The centre of the Islamic Empire . The Norse regularly plied the Volga with their trade goods: furs, tusks, seal fat for boat sealant, and slaves . Important trading ports during the period include Birka , Hedeby , Kaupang , Jorvik , Staraya Ladoga , Novgorod , and Kiev. Scandinavian Norsemen explored Europe by its seas and rivers for trade, raids, colonisation, and conquest. In this period, voyaging from their homelands in Denmark, Norway and Sweden
12994-459: The concept of reverse racism . "Reverse racism" is a concept often used to describe acts of discrimination or hostility against members of a dominant racial or ethnic group while favoring members of minority groups. This concept has been used especially in the United States in debates over color-conscious policies (such as affirmative action ) intended to remedy racial inequalities. However, many experts and other commenters view reverse racism as
13140-619: The concepts of race and ethnicity are considered to be separate in contemporary social science , the two terms have a long history of equivalence in popular usage and older social science literature. "Ethnicity" is often used in a sense close to one traditionally attributed to "race", the division of human groups based on qualities assumed to be essential or innate to the group (e.g. shared ancestry or shared behavior). Racism and racial discrimination are often used to describe discrimination on an ethnic or cultural basis, independent of whether these differences are described as racial. According to
13286-410: The couple must face a level of personal danger, and, upon surmounting their troubles, are able to forge a strong relationship for the future. Native American novels could also fall into the Western subgenre, but always feature Native American protagonists , historically described as "Red Indians", whose "heritage is integral to the story." These romances "[emphasize] instinct, creativity, freedom, and
13432-566: The crucified Jesus Christ; and a third bearing the following inscription: King Haraldr ordered this monument made in memory of Gormr, his father, and in memory of Thyrvé, his mother; that Haraldr who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian. Racial prejudice Racism is discrimination and prejudice against people based on their race or ethnicity . Racism can be present in social actions, practices, or political systems (e.g. apartheid ) that support
13578-595: The definition of racism, their impact can be similar, though typically less pronounced, not being explicit, conscious or deliberate. In 1919, a proposal to include a racial equality provision in the Covenant of the League of Nations was supported by a majority, but not adopted in the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. In 1943, Japan and its allies declared work for the abolition of racial discrimination to be their aim at
13724-421: The destruction of culture, language, religion, and human possibility and that the effects of racism were "the morally monstrous destruction of human possibility involved redefining African humanity to the world, poisoning past, present and future relations with others who only know us through this stereotyping and thus damaging the truly human relations among peoples". Othering is the term used by some to describe
13870-458: The distinction between the two has been a matter of debate among academics , including anthropologists . Similarly, in British law , the phrase racial group means "any group of people who are defined by reference to their race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origin". In Norway, the word "race" has been removed from national laws concerning discrimination because
14016-414: The earliest sociological works on racism were written by sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois , the first African American to earn a doctoral degree from Harvard University . Du Bois wrote, "[t]he problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line ." Wellman (1993) defines racism as "culturally sanctioned beliefs, which, regardless of intentions involved, defend the advantages whites have because of
14162-573: The early 20th century, the phrase " The White Man's Burden " was widely used to justify an imperialist policy as a noble enterprise. A justification for the policy of conquest and subjugation of Native Americans emanated from the stereotyped perceptions of the indigenous people as "merciless Indian savages", as they are described in the United States Declaration of Independence . Sam Wolfson of The Guardian writes that "the declaration's passage has often been cited as an encapsulation of
14308-480: The early 21st century derives Viking from the same root as Old Norse vika 'sea mile', originally referring to the distance between two shifts of rowers, ultimately from the Proto-Germanic * wîkan 'to recede'. This is found in the early Nordic verb *wikan 'to turn', similar to Old Icelandic víkja 'to move, to turn', with "well-attested nautical usages", according to Bernard Mees. This theory
14454-558: The end of the Viking Age for the Scandinavians also marks the start of their relatively brief Middle Ages. Slavic and Viking tribes were "closely linked, fighting one another, intermixing and trading". In the Middle Ages, goods were transferred from Slavic areas to Scandinavia, and Denmark could be considered "a melting pot of Slavic and Scandinavian elements". Leszek Gardeła, of the Department of Scandinavian Languages and Literatures at
14600-555: The existence of aversive racism. Aversive racism has been shown to have potentially serious implications for decision making in employment, in legal decisions and in helping behavior. In relation to racism, color blindness is the disregard of racial characteristics in social interaction , for example in the rejection of affirmative action, as a way to address the results of past patterns of discrimination. Critics of this attitude argue that by refusing to attend to racial disparities, racial color blindness in fact unconsciously perpetuates
14746-730: The expression of prejudice or aversion in discriminatory practices. The ideology underlying racist practices often assumes that humans can be subdivided into distinct groups that are different in their social behavior and innate capacities and that can be ranked as inferior or superior. Racist ideology can become manifest in many aspects of social life. Associated social actions may include nativism , xenophobia , otherness , segregation , hierarchical ranking , supremacism , and related social phenomena. Racism refers to violation of racial equality based on equal opportunities ( formal equality ) or based on equality of outcomes for different races or ethnicities, also called substantive equality . While
14892-726: The final decision because of their race. Some scholars consider modern racism to be characterized by an explicit rejection of stereotypes, combined with resistance to changing structures of discrimination for reasons that are ostensibly non-racial, an ideology that considers opportunity at a purely individual basis denying the relevance of race in determining individual opportunities and the exhibition of indirect forms of micro-aggression toward and/or avoidance of people of other races. Recent research has shown that individuals who consciously claim to reject racism may still exhibit race-based subconscious biases in their decision-making processes. While such "subconscious racial biases" do not fully fit
15038-493: The first to be documented by eyewitnesses, and they were much larger in scale and frequency than in previous times. Vikings themselves were expanding; although their motives are unclear, historians believe that scarce resources or a lack of mating opportunities were a factor. The slave trade was an important part of the Viking economy, with most slaves destined to Scandinavia although many others were shipped east where they could be sold for large profits. The "Highway of Slaves"
15184-449: The former Polish queen of Sweden, wife of Eric. Colonisation of Iceland by Norwegian Vikings began in the 9th century. The first source mentioning Iceland and Greenland is a papal letter from 1053. Twenty years later, they appear in the Gesta of Adam of Bremen . It was not until after 1130, when the islands had become Christianised, that accounts of the history of the islands were written from
15330-655: The gains she has made, is usually still in a subordinate position. However, that position is her choice, made "for the sake of and with protection from an adoring lover, whose main purpose in life is to fulfill his beloved's wishes." Tudor romances are set in England between 1485 and 1558. Elizabethan romances are set in England between 1558 and 1603, during the time of Elizabeth I . Stuart romances are set between 1603 and 1714 in England. Georgian romances are set between 1714 and 1811 in England. Regency romances are set between 1811 and 1820 in England. Victorian romances are set in England between 1832 and 1901, beginning with
15476-455: The general population. Some view that capitalism generally transformed racism depending on local circumstances, but racism is not necessary for capitalism. Economic discrimination may lead to choices that perpetuate racism. For example, color photographic film was tuned for white skin as are automatic soap dispensers and facial recognition systems . Institutional racism (also known as structural racism , state racism or systemic racism)
15622-423: The globe." In a 1997 poll of over 200 readers of Viking romances, Johanna Lindsey 's Fires of Winter was considered the best of the subgenre. The subgenre has fallen out of style, and few novels in this vein have been published since the mid-1990s. Medieval romances are typically set between 938 and 1485. Women in the medieval time periods were often considered as no more than property who were forced to live at
15768-639: The individual experience. Implicit attitudes are not consciously identified (or they are inaccurately identified) traces of past experience that mediate favorable or unfavorable feelings, thoughts, or actions towards social objects. These feelings, thoughts, or actions have an influence on behavior of which the individual may not be aware. Therefore, subconscious racism can influence our visual processing and how our minds work when we are subliminally exposed to faces of different colors. In thinking about crime, for example, social psychologist Jennifer L. Eberhardt (2004) of Stanford University holds that, "blackness
15914-474: The influx of Islamic silver from the East had been absent for more than a century, and the flow of English silver had come to an end in the mid-11th century. Christianity had taken root in Denmark and Norway with the establishment of dioceses in the 11th century, and the new religion was beginning to organise and assert itself more effectively in Sweden. Foreign churchmen and native elites were energetic in furthering
16060-513: The interests of Christianity, which was now no longer operating only on a missionary footing, and old ideologies and lifestyles were transforming. By 1103, the first archbishopric was founded in Scandinavia, at Lund , Scania, then part of Denmark. The assimilation of the nascent Scandinavian kingdoms into the cultural mainstream of European Christendom altered the aspirations of Scandinavian rulers and of Scandinavians able to travel overseas, and changed their relations with their neighbours. One of
16206-470: The kings of Denmark and Sweden participated actively in the Baltic Crusades of the 12th and 13th centuries. A variety of sources illuminate the culture, activities, and beliefs of the Vikings. Although they were generally a non-literate culture that produced no literary legacy, they had an alphabet and described themselves and their world on runestones . Most contemporary literary and written sources on
16352-536: The late 11th century, royal dynasties were legitimised by the Catholic Church (which had had little influence in Scandinavia 300 years earlier) which were asserting their power with increasing authority and ambition, with the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden taking shape. Towns appeared that functioned as secular and ecclesiastical administrative centres and market sites, and monetary economies began to emerge based on English and German models. By this time
16498-462: The late 18th and early 19th century. Because Heyer's writing was set in the midst of events that had occurred over 100 years previously, she included authentic period detail in order for her readers to understand. Where Heyer referred to historical events, it was as background detail to set the period, and did not usually play a key role in the narrative. Heyer's characters often contained more modern-day sensibilities, and more conventional characters in
16644-401: The late 1920s. As its history indicates, the popular use of the word racism is relatively recent. The word came into widespread usage in the Western world in the 1930s, when it was used to describe the social and political ideology of Nazism , which treated "race" as a naturally given political unit. It is commonly agreed that racism existed before the coinage of the word, but there is not
16790-625: The late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe. They also voyaged as far as the Mediterranean , North Africa , the Middle East , Greenland , and Vinland (present-day Newfoundland in Canada , North America ). In their countries of origin, and some of the countries they raided and settled in, this period is popularly known as the Viking Age , and
16936-412: The list is not exhaustive. Aversive racism is a form of implicit racism, in which a person's unconscious negative evaluations of racial or ethnic minorities are realized by a persistent avoidance of interaction with other racial and ethnic groups. As opposed to traditional, overt racism, which is characterized by overt hatred for and explicit discrimination against racial/ethnic minorities, aversive racism
17082-465: The longing to escape from the strictures of society to return to nature." Members of Native American tribes who appear in the books are usually depicted as "exotic figures" who "[possess] a freedom to be admired and envied." Often the Native protagonist is struggling against racial prejudice and incurs hardships trying to maintain a way of life that is different from the norm. By the end of the novel, however,
17228-401: The mercy of their father, guardian, or the king. Always a lady , the heroine must use her wits and will and find a husband who will accept her need to be independent, yet still protect her from the dangers of the times. The hero is almost always a knight who first learns to respect her and her uncommon ideas and then falls in love. Heroes are always strong and dominant, and the heroine, despite
17374-416: The modern Viking myth that had taken shape by the early 20th century. Current popular representations of the Vikings are typically based on cultural clichés and stereotypes, complicating modern appreciation of the Viking legacy. These representations are rarely accurate—for example, there is no evidence that they wore horned helmets , a costume element that first appeared in the 19th century. The etymology of
17520-582: The monogamous relationship between a helpless heroines and the hero who rescued her, even if he had been the one to place her in danger. The covers of these novels tended to feature scantily clad women being grabbed by the hero, and caused the novels to be referred to as "bodice-rippers." A Wall St. Journal article in 1980 referred to these bodice rippers as "publishing's answer to the Big Mac: They are juicy, cheap, predictable, and devoured in stupifying quantities by legions of loyal fans." The term bodice-ripper
17666-417: The notion of a dominant group, usually whites, vying for racial purity and progress, rather than an overt or obvious ideology focused on the oppression of nonwhites. In popular usage, as in some academic usage, little distinction is made between "racism" and " ethnocentrism ". Often, the two are listed together as "racial and ethnic" in describing some action or outcome that is associated with prejudice within
17812-610: The novels would point out the heroine's eccentricities, such as wanting to marry for love. The modern romance genre was born in America 1972 with Avon's publication of Kathleen Woodiwiss 's The Flame and the Flower , the first romance novel "to [follow] the principals into the bedroom." Aside from its content, the book was revolutionary in that it was one of the first single-title romance novels to be published as an original paperback , rather than being first published in hardcover , and, like
17958-455: The patterns that produce racial inequality. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva argues that color blind racism arises from an "abstract liberalism , biologization of culture, naturalization of racial matters, and minimization of racism". Color blind practices are "subtle, institutional , and apparently nonracial" because race is explicitly ignored in decision-making. If race is disregarded in predominantly white populations, for example, whiteness becomes
18104-563: The place names in Normandy like Tocqueville (Toki's farm). Linguistic and etymological studies continue to provide a vital source of information on the Viking culture, their social structure and history and how they interacted with the people and cultures they met, traded, attacked or lived with in overseas settlements. A lot of Old Norse connections are evident in the modern-day languages of Swedish , Norwegian , Danish , Faroese and Icelandic . Old Norse did not exert any great influence on
18250-477: The plot, they were "passive in relationships with the heroes", Across the genre, heroines during this time were usually aged 16–21, with the heroes slightly older, usually around 30. The women were virgins , while the men were not, and both members of the couple were described as beautiful. In the late 1980s, historical romance dominated the romance genre. The most popular of the historical romances were those that featured warriors, knights, pirates, and cowboys . In
18396-571: The point of view of the inhabitants in sagas and chronicles. The Vikings explored the northern islands and coasts of the North Atlantic, ventured south to North Africa, east to Kievan Rus (now – Ukraine, Belarus), Constantinople , and the Middle East. They raided and pillaged, traded, acted as mercenaries and settled colonies over a wide area. Early Vikings probably returned home after their raids. Later in their history, they began to settle in other lands. Vikings under Leif Erikson , heir to Erik
18542-599: The political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life. In their 1978 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice (Article 1), the UN states, "All human beings belong to a single species and are descended from a common stock. They are born equal in dignity and rights and all form an integral part of humanity." The UN definition of racial discrimination does not make any distinction between discrimination based on ethnicity and race , in part because
18688-491: The present day nations of Norway, Sweden and Denmark did not exist, but the peoples who lived in what is now those countries were largely homogeneous and similar in culture and language, although somewhat distinct geographically. The names of Scandinavian kings are reliably known for only the later part of the Viking Age. After the end of the Viking Age, the separate kingdoms gradually acquired distinct identities as nations, which went hand-in-hand with their Christianisation . Thus,
18834-427: The primary sources of profit for the Vikings had been slave-taking from other European peoples. The medieval Church held that Christians should not own fellow Christians as slaves, so chattel slavery diminished as a practice throughout northern Europe. This took much of the economic incentive out of raiding, though sporadic slaving activity continued into the 11th century. Scandinavian predation in Christian lands around
18980-412: The problems are surmounted. The heroes of these novels are often fighting to control their darker desires. In many cases, the hero or heroine is captured and then falls in love with a member of the tribe. The tribe is always depicted as civilized, not consisting of savages, and misunderstood. When surveyed about their reasons for reading Native American romances, many readers cite the desire to learn about
19126-476: The race of the person being evaluated. This view is based on studies of prejudice and discriminatory behavior, where some people will act ambivalently towards black people, with positive reactions in certain, more public contexts, but more negative views and expressions in more private contexts. This ambivalence may also be visible for example in hiring decisions where job candidates that are otherwise positively evaluated may be unconsciously disfavored by employers in
19272-409: The same dictionary termed racism a synonym of racialism : "belief in the superiority of a particular race". By the end of World War II , racism had acquired the same supremacist connotations formerly associated with racialism : racism by then implied racial discrimination , racial supremacism , and a harmful intent. The term "race hatred" had also been used by sociologist Frederick Hertz in
19418-484: The sea or to navigable rivers. Lack of organised naval opposition throughout Western Europe allowed Viking ships to travel freely, raiding or trading as opportunity permitted. The decline in the profitability of old trade routes could also have played a role. Trade between Western Europe and the rest of Eurasia suffered a severe blow when the Western Roman Empire fell in the 5th century. The expansion of Islam in
19564-666: The service of the Byzantine Empire . In the late 10th century, a new unit of the imperial bodyguard formed. Traditionally containing large numbers of Scandinavians, it was known as the Varangian Guard. The word Varangian may have originated in Old Norse, but in Slavic and Greek it could refer either to Scandinavians or Franks. In these years, Swedish men left to enlist in the Byzantine Varangian Guard in such numbers that
19710-660: The subordinated position of racial minorities". In both sociology and economics, the outcomes of racist actions are often measured by the inequality in income , wealth , net worth , and access to other cultural resources (such as education), between racial groups. In sociology and social psychology , racial identity and the acquisition of that identity, is often used as a variable in racism studies. Racial ideologies and racial identity affect individuals' perception of race and discrimination. Cazenave and Maddern (1999) define racism as "a highly organized system of 'race'-based group privilege that operates at every level of society and
19856-587: The term race altogether and instead speak of ethnic groups ". The statement condemned scientific racism theories that had played a role in the Holocaust . It aimed both at debunking scientific racist theories, by popularizing modern knowledge concerning "the race question", and morally condemned racism as contrary to the philosophy of the Enlightenment and its assumption of equal rights for all. Along with Myrdal's An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy (1944), The Race Question influenced
20002-507: The term "Viking" also commonly includes the inhabitants of the Scandinavian homelands as a whole. The Vikings had a profound impact on the early medieval history of Scandinavia , the British Isles , France , Estonia , and Kievan Rus' . Expert sailors and navigators of their characteristic longships , Vikings established Norse settlements and governments in the British Isles , the Faroe Islands , Iceland , Greenland , Normandy , and
20148-597: The term "Viking" may have evolved to become "a job description, not a matter of heredity", at least in some Viking bands. The motives driving the Viking expansion are a topic of much debate. The concept that Vikings may have originally started sailing and raiding due to a need to seek out women from foreign lands was expressed in the 11th century by historian Dudo of Saint-Quentin in his semi-imaginary History of The Normans . As observed by Adam of Bremen, rich and powerful Viking men tended to have many wives and concubines; and these polygynous relationships may have led to
20294-403: The use of the phrase is considered problematic and unethical. The Norwegian Anti-Discrimination Act bans discrimination based on ethnicity, national origin, descent, and skin color. Sociologists , in general, recognize "race" as a social construct . This means that, although the concepts of race and racism are based on observable biological characteristics, any conclusions drawn about race on
20440-732: The ways in which these factors of human society are described and discussed in various written and oral works. For example, Van Dijk (1992) examines the different ways in which descriptions of racism and racist actions are depicted by the perpetrators of such actions as well as by their victims. He notes that when descriptions of actions have negative implications for the majority, and especially for white elites, they are often seen as controversial and such controversial interpretations are typically marked with quotation marks or they are greeted with expressions of distance or doubt. The previously cited book, The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois, represents early African-American literature that describes
20586-520: The word Viking has been much debated by academics, with many origin theories being proposed. One theory suggests that the word's origin is from the Old English wicing 'settlement' and the Old Frisian wizing , attested almost 300 years prior. Another less popular theory is that víking came from the feminine vík 'creek', 'inlet', 'small bay'. Another etymology that gained support in
20732-503: Was a term for a route that the Vikings found to have a direct pathway from Scandinavia to Constantinople and Baghdad while traveling on the Baltic Sea. With the advancements of their ships during the 9th century, the Vikings were able to sail to Kievan Rus and some northern parts of Europe. Jomsborg was a semi-legendary Viking stronghold at the southern coast of the Baltic Sea (medieval Wendland , modern Pomerania ), that existed between
20878-681: Was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The UDHR recognizes that if people are to be treated with dignity, they require economic rights , social rights including education, and the rights to cultural and political participation and civil liberty . It further states that everyone is entitled to these rights "without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour , sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status". The UN does not define "racism"; however, it does define "racial discrimination". According to
21024-516: Was established around 980, during the Medieval Warm Period , and its demise by the mid-15th century may have been partly due to climate change . The Viking Rurik dynasty took control of territories in Slavic and Finnic -dominated areas of Eastern Europe; they annexed Kiev in 882 to serve as the capital of the Kievan Rus' . As early as 839, when Swedish emissaries are first known to have visited Byzantium , Scandinavians served as mercenaries in
21170-697: Was moderated by racial ideology and social beliefs. Some sociologists also argue that, particularly in the West, where racism is often negatively sanctioned in society, racism has changed from being a blatant to a more covert expression of racial prejudice. The "newer" (more hidden and less easily detectable) forms of racism—which can be considered embedded in social processes and structures—are more difficult to explore and challenge. It has been suggested that, while in many countries overt or explicit racism has become increasingly taboo , even among those who display egalitarian explicit attitudes, an implicit or aversive racism
21316-484: Was thought that the East was the opposite of the West; feminine where the West was masculine, weak where the West was strong and traditional where the West was progressive. By making these generalizations and othering the East, Europe was simultaneously defining herself as the norm, further entrenching the gap. Much of the process of othering relies on imagined difference, or the expectation of difference. Spatial difference can be enough to conclude that "we" are "here" and
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