Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Viking Museums
Vikingskipshuset
, Oslo
Lofotr Viking Museum
, Vestvågøy, Lofoten
Nordvegen Historiesenter
, Karmøy island
No Longer Independent
The Vikings may have been fast disappearing into history, but Viking expansionism, along
with the coming of Christianity, planted the seeds - of success, of decline - for what was
to come. As Norway's sphere of international influence shrank, Norway's neighbours
began to close in, leaving this one-time world power having to fight for its own independ-
ence.
So ferocious were the Vikings that the word berserk comes from 'bare sark', which means
'bare shirt' and refers to the way that ancient, bare-chested Norsemen used to fight.
The word 'Viking' derives from
vik,
an Old Norse word that referred to a bay or cove, a ref-
erence to Vikings' anchorages during and after raids.
Trouble Abroad, Trouble at Home
In 1107 Sigurd I led an expedition of 60 ships to the Holy Land. Three years later, he cap-
tured Sidon, in modern-day Lebanon. But by this stage foreign conquest had become a
smokescreen for serious internal problems. Sigurd died in 1130 and the rest of the century
was fraught with brutal civil wars over succession to the throne. The victorious King
Sverre, a churchman-turned-warrior, paved the way for Norway's so-called 'Golden Age',
which saw Bergen claim the title of national capital, driven by Norway's perennial ties to
foreign lands and, in particular, trade between coastal towns and the German-based
Hanseatic League. Perhaps drawn by Norway's economic boom, Greenland and Iceland
voluntarily joined the Kingdom of Norway in 1261 and 1262, respectively.
But Norway's role as a world power was on the wane and Norway was turning inward.
Håkon V built brick and stone forts, one at Vardø to protect the north from the Russians,
