The Vikings were diverse Scandinavian seafarers from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark whose raids and
subsequent settlements significantly impacted the cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean regions.
The Viking Age began in 793AD when these pagan raiders attacked Lindisfarne monastery in England,
shocking the Christian community of western Europe.
They would keep returning, raiding, and then even settling across the northern hemisphere
for almost three hundred years, becoming an integral part of early medieval Europe.
The Vikings were not known as Vikings at the time:
The word Viking is believed to come from the Old Germanic word, wicing, meaning pirate.
Most Scandinavians were not Vikings: The term applied only to those who took to the
sea for the purpose of acquiring wealth by raiding in other lands:
Those who traded peacefully with other cultures were known as Northmen or Norsemen, among others.
Contrary to the popular 18th century romanticized image of the Vikings as
filthy and savage warriors wearing horned helmets,
they were actually quite refined and paid a great deal of attention to hygiene and appearance.
Although their name in the present day is almost synonymous with warfare and destruction,
the Scandinavian culture was actually highly developed and
the Viking raids on other nations were only one aspect of the civilization.
In Scandinavia, the Vikings were originally ruled by regional chiefs,
and worshipped pagan gods. They believed the gods gave each person the gift of life,
and the person must prove himself worthy by being brave and glorious – if they died a
heroic death in battle then they earned a place in Valhalla in the afterlife.
This is likely why they were so aggressive and unafraid in their raids.
The Vikings society was divided into aristocracy,
lower class and slaves. Women had relatively many rights:
They could own property for example which was unusual at the time.
It is unclear why exactly the Vikings started raiding overseas. It might be because they were
a slave based society who kidnapped foreigners as slaves, or because there was a surplus of
young men, looking for wealth and land. It might also be because Europe at the
time was vulnerable and politically fragmented after the fall of Rome.
Monasteries especially were easy targets, because they were wealthy and often unguarded.
Initially the Vikings only came for wealth - raiding,
plundering, taking slaves, and then returning home in time for harvest.
However as time went on, they began to settle, seeking territory and power.
The Vikings went to the British Isles, Ireland and Faroe Islands,
and around 900AD they colonized Iceland. Their settlements there and in Greenland placed them
in an ideal position to travel as far as North America long before Christopher Columbus.
The Vikings had the biggest impact on northern Europe,
where they settled the most. They subjugated the majority of Scotland and its islands,
and founded the first trading centres in Ireland, such as Dublin, Waterford and Limerick.
They also went south into continental Europe, even as far as North Africa and the Mediterranean,
although they did not settle as much there due to the strength of the Carolingian empire.
In France, local kings made peace with the Vikings in return for their protection.
For example in 911 a West Frankish king granted Normandy to a Viking chief called Rollo,
in return for his protection against other Viking raiders.
Some Vikings went east to Russia and the Baltic regions, probably in a more peaceful
capacity to trade. There are even tales of Viking mercenaries in Constantinople,
where they formed the emperor’s Varangian Guard.
The Vikings wreaked particular havoc against the Anglo-Saxons in England. The Christian
Anglo-Saxons believed the Vikings were sent by God as punishment for their sins. Consequently,
King Alfred made big efforts to enforce and spread Christianity as a deterrent against the Vikings.
Alfred united the forces of Wessex and Mercia against the Great Viking Army in England,
winning the Battle of Edington in 878 and preventing the Vikings from taking his kingdom.
After this, the Vikings controlled Northern England - called Danelaw - and
the Anglo-Saxons controlled the rest of England. Later the Viking Sven Forkbeard conquered all of
England, making it one territory, but the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons would continue to fight over it
until the Norman-French Invasion of 1066, when England was taken over by William of Normandy.
By this time, the Vikings had become increasingly Christanised due to their
interaction with western Europe. This helped them assimilate into other cultures, making peace,
trade and marriage through a Christian identity.
No single engagement ended the Viking Age: Viking activities abroad meant they slowly
became absorbed into the wider European culture. The Christianization of Scandinavia throughout
the 10th and 11th centuries was certainly among the factors contributing to its end.
However the Vikings did not disappear altogether. They left their legacy
throughout Europe in different ways from architecture to language, place names, warfare,
shipbuilding and in their epic sagas and mythology which continue to captivate audiences today.