Vikings lived in small communities. Each one was ruled over by a king.
The king, along with the other viking nobles and war leaders formed the most important group of people in the community. The owned large areas of land therefore they were wealthy and also very powerful.

The next most important group were freemen who worked for themselves. This group was made up of
farmers and crafts men.The slaves called thralls, were the lowest group in the community. They were owned by their masters. They worked on farms and as house servants where they did all the hard and dirty work.

Thralls could be bought and sold just like animals but they could also be set free by a kind master.
Each Viking village held meetings called "things". A thing was a ruling council. it was made up of the nobles and the freemen. This council passed laws, arranges taxes and held trials. The council also decided whether the community should go to war. A "thing" usually met once or twice a year.