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The Viking Age (about 800–1050 CE) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America.
- The Early Days
- Far and Wide
- Control and Establishment
- Vikings in Southern Europe
- Battles in Britain
- Even Farther, Even Wider
- Growing Influence of Christianity
- The Last Days
Late-700s: Viking Raids Begin. By the late 8th century, Norse society had evolved into a formidable seafaring culture of raiders, traders, and explorers. Norsemen targeted vulnerable Christian monasteries and settlements, particularly on small, isolated islands. These early raids were swift and brutal, capitalising on the lack of protection in thes...
844: Muslims repel a Viking raid in Spain. Viking raiders ventured far beyond their traditional northern territories, sailing into the Iberian Peninsula. sailed up the Guadalquivir River and sacked the wealthy city of Seville within the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba. However, Emir Abd al-Rahman II swiftly organised a counterattack, defeating the Vikin...
872: Harald I gains control of Norway. According to medieval Icelandic historians, Harald Fairhair (Harald hårfagre) became the first King of Norway and would rule to 930. He was regarded to have unified Norway after the the Battle of Hafrsfjord. The famous swords sculpture in Stavanger (Sverd i fjell) commemorates this moment. 878-890: Danelaw beg...
900s: Trade with the Byzantine Empire: Viking traders, known as the Varangians, established important trade routes along the rivers of Eastern Europe, eventually reaching Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). The Varangian Guard, composed of Viking warriors, became an elite unit of the Byzantine Emperor’s forces. 911: Rollo founds Normandy in Franc...
910: Battle of Tettenhall / Wednesfield. A major turning point in the fight between the English kingdoms and the Danish Vikings. Allied forces from Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward the Elder and his sister, Æthelflæd, Lady of Mercia, decisively defeated the Northumbrian Vikings. The Viking forces had been raiding deep into Mercian and Wessex t...
930: Icelandic Parliament. Norse settlers in Iceland formed the Althing, one of the world’s oldest parliaments. This firmed up the settlement of Iceland and spurred further Viking exploration, leading to the discovery of Greenland and North America. 941: Rus Vikings attack Constantinople. The Rus and their allies took advantage of the Byzantine fle...
995: Norway's Viking King builds a Christian church. The founder of Trondheim, Olav Tryggvassonbuilt the first Christian church in Norway. He had spent time on the Scilly Isles, where a seer is said to have foreseen a battle in which Tryggvason would suffer great wounds and then convert. Shortly after the meeting he survived a vicious attack, and d...
1015: The North American settlement is abandoned. The Viking settlement in Vinland (modern-day Newfoundland, Canada) was abandoned, likely due to hostile encounters with indigenous peoples, limited supplies, and the challenges posed by the long, hazardous journey required to trade with Scandinavia. 1030: The Battle of Stiklestad. Norway's Christian...
Nov 4, 2009 · In A.D. 793, an attack on the Lindisfarne monastery off the coast of Northumberland in northeastern England marked the beginning of the Viking Age. The culprits–probably Norwegians who sailed...
The Viking Age had begun. Historians use the term the Viking Age to describe the turbulent expansion of the Scandinavian people into Europe and Russia. Beginning in A.D. 793 with the Lindisfarne raid, Norwegians, Swedes and Danes set to raiding. Any unprotected community was a target.
During the Viking Age, the Norse homelands were gradually consolidated from smaller kingdoms into three larger kingdoms: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The Vikings spoke Old Norse and made inscriptions in runes. For most of the period, they followed the Old Norse religion, but later became Christians.
Jan 29, 2018 · Beginning in 793 CE and continuing on for the next 300 years, the Vikings raided coastal and inland regions in Europe and conducted trade as far as the Byzantine Empire in the east, even serving as the elite Varangian Guard for the Byzantine Emperor.
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The Vikings were originally diverse Scandinavian seafarers from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark (though other nationalities were later involved) whose raids and subsequent settlements significantly impacted the cultures of Europe and were felt as far as the Mediterranean regions c. 790 - c. 1100 CE.
