Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE VIKINGS
Scandinavia's greatest impact on world history probably occurred during the Viking Age.
In the 8th century, an increase in the numbers of restless, landless young men in western
Norway coincided with advances in technology, as Nordic shipbuilders developed fast,
manoeuvrable boats sturdy enough for ocean crossings.
Norwegian farmers had settled peacefully in Orkney and the Shetlands as early as the
780s, but the Viking Age officially began in bloodshed in 793, when Norsemen plundered
St Cuthbert's monastery on Lindisfarne, an island off Britain's Northumberland coast.
The Vikings took to monasteries with delight, realising that speedy raids could bring
handsome rewards. They destroyed Christian communities and slaughtered the monks
of Britain and Ireland, who could only wonder what sin they had committed to invite the
heathen hordes. However, the Vikings' barbarism was probably no greater than the
standard of the day - the suddenness and extent of the raids led to their fearsome repu-
tation.
In the following years Viking raiders returned with great fleets, terrorising, murdering,
enslaving and displacing local populations, and capturing whole regions across Britain,
Ireland, France and Russia. They travelled to Moorish Spain and the Middle East, attack-
ing Constantinople six times, and even served as mercenaries for the Holy Roman Em-
pire.
Icelandic tradition credits the Norse settlement of Iceland to tyrannical Harald Hårfagre
(Harald Fairhair), king of Vestfold in southeastern Norway. Filled with expansionist aspira-
tions, Harald won a significant naval victory at Hafrsfjord (Stavanger) in 890. The de-
posed chieftains chose to flee rather than surrender, and many wound up in Iceland.
While Viking raids continued in Europe, Eiríkur Rauðe (Erik the Red) headed west with
around 500 others to found the first permanent European colony in Greenland in 986.
Eiríkur's son, Leif the Lucky, went on to explore the coastline of northeast America in the
year 1000, naming the new country Vínland (Wineland). Permanent settlement was
thwarted by the skrælings(Native Americans), who were anything but welcoming.
Viking raids gradually petered out, and the Viking Age ended with the death of King
Harald Harðráði, last of the great Viking kings, who died in battle at Stamford Bridge, Eng-
land, in 1066.
