Viking Social Structure

At the top were the jarls (pronounced yarls) who were the rulers, and the wealthiest members of the community. Their wealth and authority came through inheriting land or being successful in battle. The title konungr (king) was given to the jarl who was chief of his community. The power of Viking kings varied: some ruled over small regions, while others ruled over people rather than specific areas of land. Each king depended on the support of the jarls in his community.

At the middle level of society were the karls, who made up the majority in Viking communities. There was a broad range of wealth within this group. Karls could be farmers, merchants, hunters, fishermen, shipbuilders, weavers or blacksmiths – to name just a few occupations. Some Vikings belonged to a class of professional warriors; however, most of the Vikings who went on raids were karls. They took part in raids for the adventure, as well to bring back wealth.

Thralls were slaves. They had few rights and were not permitted to own land. Some thralls were foreigners who had been captured in raids and then traded as slaves. Others had become thralls because they had been unable to pay their debts. The Vikings generally believed thralls should be treated well. However, if a thrall broke the law, instead of being fined like other members of the community, they could be beaten, maimed or killed. A master who killed a thrall would not be punished.