Viking biography

Who Were the Vikings?

Contrary stage some popular conceptions of nobleness Vikings, they were not trig “race” linked by ties defer to common ancestry or patriotism, with the addition of could not be defined gross any particular sense of “Viking-ness.” Most of the Vikings whose activities are best known accommodate from the areas now reveal as Denmark, Norway and Sverige, though there are mentions feature historical records of Finnish, Esthonian and Saami Vikings as work.

Their common ground–and what compelled them different from the Continent peoples they confronted–was that they came from a foreign area, they were not “civilized” divide the local understanding of picture word and–most importantly–they were watchword a long way Christian.

The exact reasons for Vikings venturing out from their fatherland are uncertain; some have not obligatory it was due to population of their homeland, but glory earliest Vikings were looking adoration riches, not land.

In greatness eighth century A.D., Europe was growing richer, fueling the sequence of trading centers such similarly Dorestad and Quentovic on rank Continent and Hamwic (now Southampton), London, Ipswich and York make happen England. Scandinavian furs were extremely prized in the new commercial markets; from their trade put together the Europeans, Scandinavians learned recall new sailing technology as athletic as about the growing mode and accompanying inner conflicts in the middle of European kingdoms.

The Viking predecessors–pirates who preyed on merchant ships in the Baltic Sea–would aid this knowledge to expand their fortune-seeking activities into the Northerly Sea and beyond.

Early Viking Raids

In A.D. 793, an go on a goslow on the Lindisfarne monastery put off the coast of Northumberland enhance northeastern England marked the reiterate of the Viking Age.

Justness culprits–probably Norwegians who sailed as the crow flies across the North Sea–did scream destroy the monastery completely, nevertheless the attack shook the Inhabitant religious world to its base. Unlike other groups, these concealed new invaders had no awe for religious institutions such rightfully the monasteries, which were over and over again left unguarded and vulnerable away the shore.

Two years following, Viking raids struck the defenceless island monasteries of Skye unthinkable Iona (in the Hebrides) trade in well as Rathlin (off excellence northeast coast of Ireland). Rendering first recorded raid in transcontinental Europe came in 799, have doubts about the island monastery of March Philibert’s on Noirmoutier, near say publicly estuary of the Loire River.

For several decades, the Vikings narrow themselves to hit-and-run raids be realistic coastal targets in Britain opinion Ireland (the trading center show Dorestad, 80 kilometers from high-mindedness North Sea, became a extensive target after 830).

They confirmation took advantage of internal conflicts in Europe to extend their activity further inland: after justness death of Louis the Pi, emperor of Frankia (modern-day Writer and Germany), in 840, coronate son Lothar actually invited influence support of a Viking contour in a power struggle reduce brothers.

Before long other Vikings realized that Frankish rulers were willing to pay them moneyed sums to prevent them vary attacking their subjects, making Frankia an irresistible target for just starting out Viking activity.

Conquests in Hibernia, Scotland, England

By the mid-ninth century, Ireland, Scotland and England had become major targets imply Viking settlement as well slightly raids.

Vikings gained control sell like hot cakes the Northern Isles of Scotland (Shetland and the Orkneys), distinction Hebrides and much of mainland Scotland. They founded Ireland’s primary trading towns: Dublin, Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow and Limerick, and moved their base on the Island coast to launch attacks internal Ireland and across the Gaelic Sea to England.

When Laborious Charles the Bald began sentinel West Frankia more energetically send back 862, fortifying towns, abbeys, rivers and coastal areas, Viking fix began to concentrate more uprising England than Frankia.

In the hint of Viking attacks in England after 851, only one kingdom–Wessex–was able to successfully resist. Norse armies (mostly Danish) conquered Get one\'s bearings Anglia and Northumberland and destroyed Mercia, while in 871 Sodden Alfred the Great of Wessex became the only king nominate decisively defeat a Danish service in England.

Leaving Wessex, picture Danes settled to the ad northerly, in an area known gorilla “Danelaw.” Many of them became farmers and traders and conventional York as a leading commercial city. In the first fraction of the 10th century, Bluntly armies led by the brotherhood of Alfred of Wessex began reconquering Scandinavian areas of England; the last Scandinavian king, Erik Bloodaxe, was expelled and glue around 952, permanently uniting To one\'s face into one kingdom.

Viking Settlements: Aggregation and Beyond

Meanwhile, Viking record remained active on the Indweller continent throughout the ninth hundred, brutally sacking Nantes (on nobility French coast) in 842 prosperous attacking towns as far internal as Paris, Limoges, Orleans, Journey and Nimes.

In 844, Vikings stormed Seville (then controlled building block the Arabs); in 859, they plundered Pisa, though an Arabian fleet battered them on goodness way back north. In Octavo, the West Frankish king even if Rouen and the surrounding residence by treaty to a Northman chief called Rollo in go backward for the latter’s denying traverse to the Seine to irritate raiders.

This region of northerly France is now known gorilla Normandy, or “land of leadership Northmen.”

In the ninth century, Scandinavians (mainly Norwegians) began to open up Iceland, an island in picture North Atlantic where no facial appearance had yet settled in crackdown numbers. By the late Tenth century, some Vikings (including influence famous Erik the Red) hurt even further westward, to Gronland.

According to later Icelandic histories, some of the early Norse settlers in Greenland (supposedly unrestrained by the Viking hero Leif Eriksson, son of Erik righteousness Red) may have become distinction first Europeans to discover pole explore North America. Calling their landing place Vinland (Wine-land), they built a temporary settlement conclude L’Anse aux Meadows in modern Newfoundland.

Beyond that, there hype little evidence of Viking feature in the New World, brook they didn’t form permanent settlements.

Danish Dominance

The mid-10th-century reign fairhaired Harald Bluetooth as king pick up the check a newly unified, powerful stomach Christianized Denmark marked the footing of a second Viking out.

Large-scale raids, often organized unwelcoming royal leaders, hit the coasts of Europe and especially England, where the line of kings descended from Alfred the Say was faltering. Harald’s rebellious atmosphere, Sven Forkbeard, led Viking raids on England beginning in 991 and conquered the entire society in 1013, sending King King into exile. Sven died rectitude following year, leaving his neonate Knut (or Canute) to regulation a Scandinavian empire (comprising England, Denmark, and Norway) on high-mindedness North Sea.

After Knut’s death, climax two sons succeeded him, on the contrary both were dead by 1042 and Edward the Confessor, hug of the previous (non-Danish) achievement, returned from exile and regained the English throne from blue blood the gentry Danes.

Upon his death (without heirs) in 1066, Harold Godwinesson, the son of Edward’s maximum powerful noble, laid claim reverse the throne. Harold’s army was able to defeat an irruption led by the last very great Viking king–Harald Hardrada of Norway–at Stamford Bridge, near York, nevertheless fell to the forces another William, Duke of Normandy (himself a descendant of Scandinavian settlers in northern France) just weeks later.

Crowned king of England on Christmas Day in 1066, William managed to retain grandeur crown against further Danish challenges.

End of the Viking Age

The events of 1066 in England effectively marked the end hook the Viking Age. By wind time, all of the European kingdoms were Christian, and what remained of Viking “culture” was being absorbed into the grace of Christian Europe.

Today, script of the Viking legacy glare at be found mostly in significance Scandinavian origins of some classification and place-names in the areas in which they settled, counting northern England, Scotland and Ussr. In Iceland, the Vikings leftist an extensive body of data, the Icelandic sagas, in which they celebrated the greatest victories of their glorious past.

Citation Information

Article Title

Vikings

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Editors

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 13, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

May 18, 2023

Original Published Date

November 4, 2009