Little Caroline Travels The Big World: Dublinia: Where I Fought Off Celts; Escaped the Black Death and Tried to Rebel Against England

Today I went to Dublinia and I had a fantastic time!

Dublinia is an interactive museum where people can go and learn about Viking and Medieval Ireland. The museum is broken up into different sections. These sections are Viking, Medieval Ireland and Archaeology. Each level has models that help bring history alive. People can push buttons and pull levers to reveal answers. One can even dress up as a Viking or a person of the Medieval age. Little souvenirs can be made in some of the exhibits.

I learned so much about all these different aspects of history. You might think that this place is just for children, but that is not the case. There is something for everyone. There is enough to keep children entertained and enough academic stuff to keep the history buff believing the trip is worth while.

I certainly believe that Dublinia is a trip that everyone in Dublin should take. It is a fun way to learn about the early history of the city and the country as a whole. The Vikings have such a major influence in Dublin's culture, that it is critical, I believe, to know some about them.

Below are pictures that I took of Dublinia and the information that I learned :)

Dublinia!

A Viking greeted me at the door.

Viking warrior. Viking warriors didn't actually hear the horn helmets that are usually associated with them. These horn helmets are believed to be part of ceremonial events that took place in the Scandinavian area before the Viking era.

Craft. The Vikings left behind many pieces of art.

War. Vikings were known as warriors. They usually went to other countries to gain wealth. They would sack monasteries for riches. They were not anti religion, for many of them converted to Christianity. Monasteries held the wealth in those days, so the Vikings took over monasteries for pure monetary gain.

Trade. The Vikings traded with surrounding territories. They worked closely with other cultures so over time they actually married into these other groups.

Culture. The Vikings have a fascinating culture that still influences Irish culture today!

Woman worshiping the Viking gods. The Vikings were a polytheistic society, for they believed in many gods. Valhalla was their idea of heaven for Viking warriors. Vikings had to die in battle before they could enter heaven. Odin was a main god in Viking mythology. He was the god of war and kings. The god Thor was his son. He was the most popular Viking god and was the god of thunder. He had the qualities that the Vikings valued most: strength and determination.

A compass. The Vikings used this to navigate the sea. They also used landmarks and weather for direction.

A chest filled with what Viking sailors would bring with them while they were on the sea. As you can see, it is not much. The Vikings were excellent sailors. One of their favorite tool was the axe. It would be used to do jobs around the ship as well as a weapon.

Viking sleeping in his tent.

Viking tent.

Viking weapons. We know so much about Viking weapons because a warrior would be buried with his weapons.

"Cattle die, kindred die, every man is mortal:/But I know one thing that never dies,/the glory of the great dead".

Viking burial. Sometimes a warrior would be buried in a ship. Many Vikings were cremated. Whether they were cremated or not, the family would leave grave goods for the dead. These would be some sort of offerings to the dead to make sure they had items in the afterlife. Warriors would be buried with their sword. Some sort of stone would be put in remembrance on the dead.

Blacksmith tent. They would make swords for the warriors.

Slave trader. The Vikings took many Slavic people as slaves. Some believe that the word slave comes from the word Slavic.

Items that Vikings would trade.

Weaving was an important craft that the Vikings would use for trade.

Viking village.

Layout of Viking house. They were very simple and families would all live together.

Inside a Viking house.

Viking bed.

Who doesn't love to sleep close to dead animals?

Viking house. These houses varied in what they were made out of. Most of the time, whatever material was abundant was used.

Viking taking a crap. They even had sound effects in the museum.....

No thank you.

Long stone. This was used to mark Viking territory.

Viking alphabet.

I guess one of my favorite actors might have a Viking last name!

Window is a Viking word. It means "wind eye".

How many Viking words do you know?

J.R. Tolken, when writing "The Lord of the Rings", used Norse culture to inspire the books. For example, the elf language he created is influenced by the Norse language.

Nazi's also used Norse symbols in their party.

The swastika might have been a good luck charm or some sort in Norse culture.

Viking symbol.

AIB bank is a main bank in Ireland. It too uses a Viking symbol.

Ragnarok was the Viking's armagaden, if you will. They believed that many major events, like a great battle, natural disasters and the world being consumed by fire, would kill the main gods of Norse mythology and all humans, except for two. The surviving gods would meet and the world would resurface new and fertile, and the two humans would repopulate the world.

Strongbow. A major Viking warrior.

Merchant's kitchen in Medieval Ireland.

Yummy receipe......

Different plates. The metal plate would be used by the merchant. The wooden plate would be used by his apprentice. The wooden plate is where the phrase "a square meal" is founded. And the servants would get any food that was left over.

Children shoes.

These shoes are called Poulaine. They were from Poland and worn by the rich.

These would be worn by people to protect their shoes from the mud.

Medieval street.

A crew list of a ship in Medieval times.

Loading the ship.

This symbol would be a sign that a town had the permission to have a fair. In order to have a fair, the town had to get permission from the king. This symbol was like the king's blessing on the town to host a fair.

Clothes were sold at fairs.

Pies and other food items were sold at fairs.

Armour tent at a fair.

A scale. In Medieval times, they did not have a standard currency, so a scale was deemed to be the official currency of the fair to making trading equal. The fair even had to have their own guards and courts to settle trading disputes.

Spices were sold at fairs, especially from the far east.

Entertainment was a large section of fairs. They had games to play and see exotic animals, like bears.

Scribe tent.

People could hire a scribe to write a will, letter etc for them. Most of the population in Medieval times were illiterate.

Banking could also be done at fairs. The word bank comes from the Italian word meaning bench.

Bank

I don't think I would want to see a doctor in Medieval times. Medicine back then combined classical knowledge with alchemy, astrology, fortune telling and traditional herbal cures.