Cat lovers, farmers, and ski enthusiasts? Lesser-known facts about the Vikings

When you think about Vikings, we tend to gravitate toward the image of hulking, grizzly, and vicious barbarians who ruthlessly plundered, invaded, and enslaved nations across Europe. This is a partial truth. Sure, they burned down churches and pillaged villages; but they were also explorers, navigators, and settlers who founded cities and traded goods across the globe. But they were also a fairly gender-equal society who were just as much suckers for the big round eyes of a little kitty as the internet. In many ways, they laid some of the groundwork that civilization up the world as we know it. Read on to find out some lesser-known facts about the Vikings…