They raided and pillaged and still conjure up terrible images, but long after the Vikings died out their DNA survives.
Many Kiwis could have Viking ancestors and men have a chance to prove it with a new DNA test.
The Vikings didn't make it this far south, but their reputation did and their legacy is alive and well in New Zealand. They raided and traded their way from Baghdad to North America from the 8th to the 11th centuries and while New Zealand avoided the perilous plunderers some Kiwis may not have avoided their genetic make up.
Peter Millward from Auckland Museum says people who originally came out and settled in places like Norsewood, Dannevirke and Waipu probably do have Viking ancestry somewhere along the line.
And Millward says if you have ancestors from parts of Scotland and England then the chances are fairly good that you may have DNA from the historic seafarers.
Despite their fearsome reputation, it is not such a bad gene to have. Millward says the Vikings wre amazing explorers, navigators, artists, silversmiths and weavers.
Recent improvements in biotechnology have made it possible to test for specific Viking markers in DNA on the Y chromosome. Millward says the sequences and patterns are shared by nearly 50% of the people in Britain and northern Europe, upping the chance of a Viking connection.
But any budding female warriors are out of luck because only men can get the test - Viking marker information comes from the father's line.
