How to Train Your Dragon

Both the Hairy Hooligan and Meathead Tribes are described as tough, loud, boisterous groups who love fighting and prize size and strength above all else. The Vikings in the novel come from our historical Vikings, and Cowell describes them fairly accurately on many counts. Historically, Vikings lived in tribes or clans in the areas now known as Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland, but they also traveled extensively. They had close ties with England and even visited North America. Historians believe that around the year 800 CE or so, their population grew. It became difficult to provide for their people with farming alone, which drove the Vikings to explore and raid nearby lands. Naturally, this was a grueling job, and so they did prize the strongest among them. Just like the tribes depicted in the novel, the Vikings also enjoyed getting together, drinking mead (beer made from honey), and telling stories about other warriors. The famous Viking epic poem Beowulf is one of those oral stories.

Viking society was divided into three classes: jarl, karl, and thrall. The aristocracy, or the noble class, was jarl. The free people who did the hard labor were karl.