Vikings had windows, another shift away from their image as barbaric Norsemen, Danish museum says

By JAN M. OLSEN
Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Vikings had windows — usually only associated with medieval churches and castles — meaning Norsemen dignitaries sat in rooms lit up by apertures with glass. The Vikings’ glass can be dated from long before the churches and castles of the Middle Ages with which glazed windows are associated. A senior Danish researcher said Thursday it was “another shift away from the image of unsophisticated barbaric Vikings swinging their swords around.” Over the past 25 years, archeologists have found glass fragments in excavations in southern Scandinavia and analyzed glass fragments to reach the conclusion: Vikings had windows with glass panes.