The medieval Viking era dates back to the 8th – 11th centuries, when bold robbers hailing from Scandinavia plowed the European seas. Their raids terrified the civilized inhabitants of the Old World. The Vikings were not only robbers, but also traders, as well as discoverers. By religion they were pagans.
The appearance of the Vikings
In the VIII century, the inhabitants of the territory of modern Norway, Sweden and Denmark began to build the fastest ships of those times and go on them on long journeys. On these adventures they were pushed by the harsh nature of their native lands. Agriculture in Scandinavia was poorly developed due to the cold climate. The modest harvest did not allow local residents to feed their families enough. Thanks to the robberies, the Vikings were noticeably rich, which gave them the opportunity not only to buy food, but also to trade with their neighbors
The first attack by seafarers on neighboring countries occurred in 789. Then the robbers attacked Dorset in the south-west of England, killed the Ten and robbed the city. Thus began the Viking era. Another important reason for the emergence of mass piracy was the decomposition of the old system based on community and clan. To know, having strengthened its influence, began to create the first prototypes of states in Denmark. For such jarls, looting became a source of wealth and influence among compatriots.
Skillful Sailors
The key reason for the conquests and geographical discoveries of the Vikings was their ships, which were much better than any other European. Scandinavian warships were called Drakkars. Mariners often used them as their own home. Such ships were mobile. They could be relatively easily dragged to shore. At first the ships were oar, later they got sails.
Drakkars were distinguished by their graceful form, speed, reliability and lightness. They were designed specifically for shallow rivers. Entering them, the Vikings could go deep into the devastated country. Such voyages came as a complete surprise to Europeans. As a rule, dragrakars were built from ash wood. They are an important symbol that early medieval history left behind. The Viking Age is not only a period of conquest, but also a period of development of trade. For this purpose, the Scandinavians used special merchant ships - Knorras. They were wider and deeper than the drakkars. Much more goods could be loaded onto such ships.
The Viking Age in Northern Europe was marked by the development of navigation. The Scandinavians did not have any special instruments (for example, a compass), but they were perfectly dispensed with the promptings of nature. These seafarers thoroughly knew the habits of birds and took them with them to sail to determine if there was land nearby (if it was not there, the birds returned to the ship). Researchers are also guided by the sun, stars and the moon.
Raids on Britain
The first Scandinavian raids in England were fleeting. They robbed defenseless monasteries and quickly returned to the sea. However, the Vikings gradually began to claim the land of the Anglo-Saxons. In Britain then there was no single kingdom. The island was divided between several rulers. In 865, the legendary king of Denmark, Ragnar Lodbrok, sailed to Northumbria, but his ships ran aground and crashed. Uninvited guests were surrounded and captured. King of Northumbria Ella II executed Ragnar, ordering him to be thrown into a pit full of poisonous snakes.
The death of Lodbrok did not go unpunished. Two years later, the Great Pagan Army landed on the coast of England. This army was led by the numerous sons of Ragnar. The Vikings conquered East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia. The rulers of these kingdoms were executed. The last stronghold of the Anglo-Saxons was South Wessex. His king Alfred the Great, realizing that his strength was not enough to fight the invaders, concluded a peace treaty with them, and then, in 886, completely recognized their possessions in Britain.
The conquest of England
It took Alfred and his son Edward the Elder four decades to cleanse their homeland of foreigners. Mercia and East Anglia were liberated by 924. In the distant northern Northumbria, Viking rule continued for another thirty years.
After a lull, the Scandinavians again began to appear frequently off the British coast. The next wave of raids began in 980, and in 1013, Sven Viloborody completely captured the country and became its king. His son Knud the Great for three decades ruled immediately three monarchies: England, Denmark and Norway. After his death, the former dynasty from Wessex regained power, and the foreigners left Britain.
In the XI century, the Scandinavians made several more attempts to conquer the island, but they all failed. The Viking Age, in short, left a noticeable imprint on the culture and political system of Anglo-Saxon Britain. In the territory that the Danes owned for some time, Danelagh was established - a system of law adopted from the Scandinavians. This region was isolated from other English provinces throughout the Middle Ages.
Normans and Franks
In Western Europe, the Viking Age is called the period of Norman attacks. Under this name, the Scandinavians were remembered by contemporary Catholics. If the Vikings sailed to the west mainly in order to rob England, then in the south the goal of their campaigns was the Frankish Empire. It was created in 800 by Charles the Great. While under him and with his son Louis the Pious, a single strong state remained, the country was reliably protected from the Gentiles.
However, when the empire split into three kingdoms, and those, in turn, began to suffer from the costs of the feudal system, dizzying opportunities opened up before the Vikings. Some Scandinavians robbed the coast every year, while others were hired by Catholic rulers to protect Christians for their generous salaries. During one of their raids, the Vikings even captured Paris.
In 911, the king of the Franks, Charles the rustic, gave the Vikings the north of France. This region became known as Normandy. Her rulers were baptized. This tactic has proven effective. More and more Vikings gradually switched to a settled lifestyle. But some daredevils continued their campaigns. So, in 1130, the Normans conquered the south of Italy and created the Sicilian kingdom.
Scandinavian discovery of America
Moving further west, the Vikings discovered Ireland. They often raided this island and left a significant imprint on the local Celtic culture. For more than two centuries, the Scandinavians have owned Dublin. Around 860, the Vikings discovered Iceland (“Ice Country”). It was they who became the first inhabitants of this desert island. Iceland has proven to be a popular colonization site. The inhabitants of Norway, who fled the country because of frequent civil wars, sought to go there.
In 900, a Viking ship, accidentally straying, stumbled upon Greenland. The first colonies appeared there at the end of the X century. This discovery inspired other Vikings to continue their search for the path to the west. They rightly hoped that far beyond the sea there are new lands. The navigator Leif Ericsson reached the shores of North America for about 1000 and landed on the Labrador Peninsula. He called this region Vinlandom. Thus, the Viking era was marked by the discovery of America five centuries before the expedition of Christopher Columbus.
Rumors about this country were fragmentary and did not leave the borders of Scandinavia. In Europe, they did not learn about the western mainland. Viking settlements in Vinland existed for several decades. Three attempts were made to colonize this land, but they all failed. The strangers were attacked by the Indians. Keeping in touch with the colonies was extremely difficult due to the vast distances. In the end, the Scandinavians left America. Much later, archaeologists found traces of their settlement in Newfoundland, Canada.
Vikings and Russia
In the second half of the VIII century, the Vikings began to attack the lands inhabited by numerous Finno-Ugric peoples. This is evidenced by the finds of archaeologists discovered in the Russian Staraya Ladoga. If in Europe the Vikings were called Normans, then the Slavs called them Vikings. The Scandinavians controlled several trading ports on the Baltic Sea in Prussia. A profitable amber path began, along which amber was transported to the Mediterranean.
How did the Viking era influence Russia? In short, thanks to the newcomers from Scandinavia, East Slavic statehood was born. According to the official version, the inhabitants of Novgorod, often in contact with the Vikings, turned to them for help during the internal strife. So the Varangian Rurik was invited to reign. From him came the dynasty, which in the near future united Russia and began to rule in Kiev.
The life of the inhabitants of Scandinavia
In their homeland, the Vikings lived in large peasant dwellings. Under the roof of one such building a family fit, which included three generations at once. Children, parents, grandparents lived together. This custom was an echo of the tribal system. The houses were built of wood and clay. The roofs were peaty. In the central large room was a common hearth, beyond which they not only ate, but also slept.
Even when the Viking era came, their cities in Scandinavia remained very small, in size inferior even to the settlements of the Slavs. People concentrated mainly around craft and shopping centers. Cities were built in the depths of the fjords. This was done in order to get a convenient harbor and in case of an attack by the enemy fleet, to know in advance about its approach.
Scandinavian peasants dressed in woolen shirts and short baggy pants. The costume of the Viking era was quite ascetic due to a shortage of raw materials in Scandinavia. Wealthy upper classes could wear colored clothes that set them apart from the crowd, showing prosperity and position. Women's costume of the Viking era necessarily included accessories - metal jewelry, brooch, pendants and belt buckles. If the girl was married, she laid her hair in a bun, unmarried picked up her hair with a ribbon.
Viking Armor and Weapons
In modern mass culture, the image of a Viking with a horned helmet on his head is widespread. In fact, such hats were rare and were no longer used for battle, but for rituals. Clothing of the Viking Age included mandatory lightweight armor for all men.
The weapons were much more diverse. Northerners often used a spear about one and a half meters long, which could be used to chop and stab the enemy. But the sword remained the most common. This weapon was very light in comparison with other species that appeared in the subsequent Middle Ages. The Viking Age sword was not necessarily produced in Scandinavia itself. Warriors often acquired Frankish weapons, as they were of the best quality. The Vikings also had long Saxon knives.
Scandinavian inhabitants made bows from ash or yew. As a bowstring, braided hair was often used. A common melee weapon was axes. The Vikings preferred a wide, symmetrically diverging blade.
The last Normans
In the first half of the 11th century, the end of the Viking era came. It was due to several factors. Firstly, in Scandinavia, the former clan system finally decomposed. He was replaced by classical medieval feudalism with overlords and vassals. A half- nomadic way of life has remained in the past . Scandinavian residents settled in their homeland.
The end of the Viking era came also due to the spread of Christianity among the northerners. The new faith, in contrast to the pagan, opposed the bloody campaigns in a foreign land. Many sacrificial rituals, etc., were gradually forgotten. The first was baptized to know which, with the help of a new faith, was legitimized in the eyes of the rest of the civilized European community. Following the rulers and the aristocracy, the ordinary inhabitants did the same.
In the changed conditions, the Vikings, who wanted to connect their lives with military affairs, went into mercenaries and served with foreign sovereigns. For example, the Byzantine emperors had their own Varangian guard. The inhabitants of the north were valued for their physical strength, unpretentiousness in everyday life and many fighting skills. The last Viking in power in the classical sense of the word was the King of Norway Harald III the Severe. He went to England and tried to conquer it, but died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. Then came the end of the Viking era. William the Conqueror from Normandy (also a descendant of the Scandinavian sailors) himself conquered England in the same year.