The Vikings

 Roman—

The first time I ever saw or heard of Vikings was watching Saturday morning cartoons.  Those cartoons were also my introduction to classical music.  Bugs Bunny portrayed a Viking woman in a Wagnerian Opera. I loved the helmet with the blonde braids coming down.  Someday I hope to have my photo in one.

After that the only references that I had to Vikings were they were barbarian savages who invaded peaceful villages, killed and pillaged the churches of their valuables.  Oh, and they were Scandinavian:  Norwegian, Swedish, Danish.  

Later, as an adult, I learned they were so much more than that. Hollywood and cartoons had not given them a fair rap.  Sure there were some that killed and pillaged, but many didn’t.  First, they weren’t just Scandinavian but were Baltics which includes Estonia, Lithuania, Latvian, German and Russian. Second, many settled peacefully in areas of England, France, Germany, Scotland.  Grandpa, I, and you descend from Vikings.

I first became aware of Grandpa’s Viking heritage when we visited the Viking Museum in York England—-your mom and aunts were little girls. We had just visited the Swale Valley where his mother’s ancestors were from the Aldersons. I looked at the map of where Vikings settled and  they settled in that same valley.  And then I realized Alderson  wasn’t an English name like Johnson—-John is a common English name but not Alder.They were of Viking descent.

I don’t really have an aha moment on my Viking ancestors. I had known for some time my grandmother’s family were from Normandy and came to America in the early 1700’s.   It took me a few years to put it all together.  If they were from Normandy: they were Normans which is short for “North man”  which is Viking. 

 If you look at the map in your book (on page 6) you’ll see where the Vikings lived. It confirms Grandpa’s English Viking and my French Viking roots, but it also shows that yours are also Viking roots.

This year, all of the grandchildren are getting one of Grandpa’s books and/or a book on their heritage.  You are getting both  The older book has a section on the ship building of the Vikings and how that knowledge influenced the houses they built.  The newer book shows how they lived, who the famous Vikings were, their contributions to society and their brilliant engineering.

Be proud of who you are and what you have accomplished—-Grandpa and I are/were certainly proud of you.

Love Grandma