The Vikings  

The Vikings

The story of the vikings - fearsome warriors, skillful traders and the best seafarers of their time

54 comments | 793 - 1200

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The Vikings

14 events | 54 comments | 793 - 1200

793

Who were the Vikings and what is the Viking Age?

It can be said that being a viking was more of a life-style than any specific ethnic or social denominator. The etymological origin of the word "viking" is unclear, but by the end of the Viking Age it had come to signify both an expedition overseas...

793

2 comments

800

Reasons for the Viking expansion

Historians have long sought explanations for this sudden expansion of Scandinavian culture in many different areas and across large distances. It is clear by now that no one cause can be pointed out that would have relevance in all of Scandinavia and...

800

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810

Viking trade

While the popular image of Vikings is mostly connected to violence and war, they had an equally important role to play in the creation of a wide North European trading network which has even been seen as the introduction to market relationships in Europe.

810

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820

Viking ships and seafaring

The Viking sailing ship has become the symbol of Vikings and the Viking Age. This is comprehensible if we consider that the entire Viking expansion was made possible by the mastering of ship-building...

820

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830

Viking society

Viking society was definitely one with considerable hierarchy and inequality. In that sense there was no profound difference with the rest of Western Europe, except that the position of women seems to have been a bit higher and the free men had more to...

830

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860

Settling the Faroe Islands and Iceland

The adoption of the sail had made it possible for the men of Western Scandinavia to take on longer sea voyages on the stormy North Sea. It soon led to the discovery of various new islands which had been practically untouched by human activity...

860

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865

Vikings in England

The start of the Viking Age proper is usually considered to be the attack of a Viking fleet on the monastery of Lindisfarne on the northeastern coast of England in 793. Although there had been earlier contacts with Scandinavian seafarers, this was a...

865

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870

Vikings in East Baltic

Whereas Danish and Norwegian vikings were mostly active in Western Europe, Swedish vikings turned to the great rivers of Eastern Europe and the riches of the Arabic states and the Byzantine Empire which lay far in the south and east...

870

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882

Vikings in Russia and in the East

The first sign of Scandinavian influence and trade contacts in Russia is the settlement of Staraya Ladoga on the banks of the river Volkhov. Archaeological finds indicate that Scandinavian merchants were already present in its earliest phase in the...

882

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885

Vikings in Scotland, the Scottish islands, the Isle of Man and Ireland

Whereas England was mainly raided and settled by Danish Vikings, the Norwegians turned to the northern parts of the British Isles. In terms of nature and subsistence these areas were very similar to the conditions in their homeland...

885

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911

Vikings in mainland Western Europe

Mainland Western Europe was much in a similar situation as England in the 9th century. In 814, the powerful Charlemagne died, leaving his vast Frankish Empire to disintegrate due to internal conflicts between his successors...

911

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985

The discovery of Greenland and North America

Although Iceland was already in the middle of a vast and dangerous ocean completely unfamiliar to the Vikings, their expeditions did not stop there. In the end of the 10th century a man named Gunnbjörn drifted off course and found Greenland...

985

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995

The Christianization of Scandinavia and the end of the Viking Age

The Viking raids and trading expeditions had affected a large part of Europe. The raids pointed out the need for a strong central power in the defenceless Western European kingdoms. Trade and cultural exchange led to a resurgence in European society...

995

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1200

Old Norse literature

One of the most fascinating legacies of the Vikings is the Old Norse literature which is an essential part of the world's literary heritage. This elaborate collection of skaldic poetry, family sagas and old myths gives us a vivid insight into the world...

1200

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