The term Norse is commonly applied to pre-Christian northern Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the so-called Viking Age. Old Norse gradually developed into the North Germanic languages, including Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish. Bronze Age rock carvings in Scandinavia suggest a Bronze Age origin for the Norse people.

Vikingr (Viking) is an Old Norse term that refers to a seafaring warrior who goes on some sort of expedition abroad. The word is commonly used to refer to Norsemen of the eighth to the mid-eleventh centuries who traded with, invaded, and/or explored places outside their own territories. Vikings conquered much of the British Isles, expanded their activities to include parts of Spain and southern France, and even found their way to Kiev, Constantinople, and Baghdad, and probably to pre-Columbian North America.