Viking
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[[Image:Wikinger.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Danish seamen, painted mid-12th century.]]
{{Scandinavia}}
'''Viking''' refers to a member of the [[Norsemen|Norse]] ([[Scandinavia]]n) peoples, famous as [[explorer]]s, [[warrior]]s, [[merchants]], and [[Piracy|pirates]], who raided and colonized wide areas of [[Europe]] from the late [[8th century|8th]] to the early [[11th century]].<ref>Roesdahl, p. 9-22.</ref> These [[Norsemen]] used their famed [[longship]]s to travel as far east as [[Constantinople]] and the [[Volga River]] in [[Russia]], and as far west as [[Iceland]], [[Greenland]], and [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]. This period of Viking expansion is known as the [[Viking Age]], and forms a major part of [[History of Scandinavia|Scandinavian history]], with a minor, yet significant part in [[History of Europe|European history]].
Once seen through the classical mindset of the "barbaric North", the historical image of the Vikings, although still under the shadow of traditional views, now shows the Vikings as aspirational, adventurous peoples, with ingenuity in ship and town construction, and a proficiency as seafarers and traders to match.<ref>Roesdahl, p. 9-11.</ref>
== Etymology ==
The word Viking comes from the Old Norse word "vikingr", lit. "one who came from the fjords", from "vik", meaning a bay, creek, fjord or inlet. By the end of the Viking period, the term referred to [[pirates]] or robbers operating by sea, known as "vikingr" in West Norse, and was used as a term for sea-born warfare and harrying in the West Norse "Viking". Though mostly used as a general term for pirates there are instances of another use in some of the [[Icelandic sagas]]. There some were considered vikings and to be "going on Viking" who sailed out to claim fame and fortune for themselves.<ref>The Icelandic Sagas</ref> This could involve seeking the stewardship of kings, trading in foreign parts and raiding. These names were common mainly in Scandinavia itself, however, and many other terms were generally used in the wider world. These included ''[[heathens]]'', ''northmen'', ''Lochlannachs'' in the Irish tongue, ''the people from the north'', ''the [[Danes]]'', ''[[Rus']]'', or simply ''the foreigners''. These terms, however, were used for the Viking peoples as a whole, and thus never accounted for the class distinction between vikings and other Norsemen nor the variety of the [[Nordic]] peoples.<ref>Roesdahl, p. 9.</ref>
==The Viking Age==
{{main|Viking Age}}
[[Image:Gokstadskipet1.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Gokstad ship|Gokstad Viking ship]] on display in [[Oslo]], [[Norway]].]]
The period from the earliest recorded raids in the 790s until the [[Norman Conquest]] of England in 1066 is commonly known as the Viking Age of [[Scandinavian History]]. The [[Normans]], however, were descended from [[Danish people|Danish]] Vikings who were given [[feudal]] overlordship of areas in northern France — the [[Duchy of Normandy]] — in the 8th century. In that respect, descendants of the Vikings continued to have an influence in northern Europe. Likewise, King [[Harold Godwinson]], the last [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] king of England who was killed during the Norman invasion in 1066, was descended from Danish Vikings. Many of the medieval kings of Norway and Denmark were married to English and Scottish royalty and Viking forces were often a factor in dynastic disputes prior to 1066.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}
Geographically, a "Viking Age" may be assigned not only to Scandinavian lands (modern Denmark, Norway and Sweden), but also to territories under [[Germanic peoples|North Germanic]] dominance, mainly the [[Danelaw]], which replaced the powerful [[England|English]] kingdom of [[Northumbria]].{{Fact|date=November 2007}} Viking navigators opened the road to new lands to the north, west and east, resulting in the foundation of independent settlements in the [[Shetland]], [[Orkney]], and [[Faroe Islands]], [[Iceland]], [[Greenland]], and [[L'Anse aux Meadows]], a short-lived settlement in [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], circa 1000 A.D.<ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16331154&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum The Norse discovery of America]</ref> Many of these lands, specifically Greenland and Iceland, may have been originally discovered by sailors blown off course.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} They also may well have been deliberately sought out, perhaps on the basis of the accounts of sailors who had seen land in the distance. The Greenland settlement eventually died out, possibly due to climate change. Vikings also explored and settled in territories in [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]]-dominated areas of [[Eastern Europe]]. By 950 AD these settlements were completely Slavicized.
From 839, [[Varangian]] mercenaries in the service of the [[Byzantine Empire]], notably [[Harald Hardrada]], campaigned in [[North Africa]], [[Jerusalem]], and other places in the [[Middle East]]. Important trading ports during the period include [[Birka]], [[Hedeby]], [[Kaupang]], [[Jorvik]], [[Staraya Ladoga]], [[Novgorod]] and [[Kiev]].
There is archaeological evidence that Vikings reached the city of [[Baghdad]], the center of the [[Islamic Empire]].<ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/02/0217_040217_vikings.html Vikings' Barbaric Bad Rap Beginning to Fade]</ref> The [[Norsemen|Norse]] regularly plied the [[Volga]] with their trade goods: furs, tusks, seal fat for boat sealant and [[slaves]]. However, they were far less successful in establishing settlements in the Middle East, due to the more centralized [[Islamic]] power.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}
Generally speaking, the [[Norwegians]] expanded to the north and west to places such as Ireland, Iceland and Greenland; the [[Danes]] to England and France, settling in the [[Danelaw]] (northern England) and [[Normandy]]; and the [[Swedish people|Swedes]] to the east. These nations, although distinct, were similar in culture and language. The names of Scandinavian kings are known only for the later part of the Viking Age, and only after the end of the Viking Age did the separate kingdoms acquire a distinct identity as nations, which went hand in hand with their [[Christianization]]. Thus the end of the Viking Age for the Scandinavians also marks the start of their relatively brief Middle Ages.
==Viking expansion==
[[Image:Viking Expansion.svg|thumb|right|350px|Map showing area of Scandinavian settlement in the eighth (dark red), ninth (red), tenth (orange) and eleventh (yellow) centuries. Green denotes areas subjected to frequent Viking raids.{{Imagefact|date=May 2008}}]]
The Vikings sailed most of the [[North Atlantic]], reaching south to [[North Africa]] and east to [[Russia]], [[Constantinople]] and the [[middle east]], as looters, traders, colonists, and mercenaries. Vikings under [[Leif Eriksson]], heir to [[Erik the Red]], reached [[North America]], and set up a short lived settlement in present-day [[L'Anse aux Meadows]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], [[Canada]].
===British Isles===
====England====
{{seealso|Danelaw}}
{{Unreferencedsection|date=March 2008}}
Traditionally, the earliest date given for a Viking raid is 789 when, according to the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]],'' three ships from [[Norway]] sailed to [[Isle of Portland|Portland Bay]], in Dorset.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} There, they were mistaken for merchants by a royal official, and they murdered him when he tried to get them to accompany him to the king's manor to pay a trading tax on their goods. The next recorded attack, dated June 8, 793, was on the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne, off the east coast of England. The resident monks were killed, thrown into the sea to drown or carried away as slaves along with some of the church treasures.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} After repeated Viking raids, the monks [[Durham Cathedral#Saxon|fled Lindisfarne in AD 875]], carrying the relics of Saint Cuthbert with them.
In 840 and 841, Norwegians raided during the winter months instead of summer, as was their usual tactic.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} They waited on an island off Ireland. In 865 a [[Great Heathen Army|large army]] of Danish Vikings, supposedly led by [[Ivar]], [[Halfdan]] and [[Guthrum]], arrived in East Anglia. They proceeded to cross England into Northumbria and captured York ([[Jorvik]]), where some settled as farmers. Most of the English kingdoms, being in turmoil, could not stand against the Vikings, but [[Alfred of Wessex]] managed to keep the Vikings out of his county. Alfred and his successors were able to drive back the Viking frontier and retake York.
[[Image:England-878ad.jpg|thumb|right|Danelaw]]
A new wave of Vikings appeared in England in 947 when [[Eric Bloodaxe|Erik Bloodaxe]] captured York.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} The Viking presence continued through the reign of [[Canute the Great]] (1016-1035), after which a series of inheritance arguments weakened the family reign.
The Vikings did not get everything their way. In one instance in England, a small Viking fleet attacked a rich monastery at [[Jarrow]]. The Vikings were met with stronger resistance than they expected: their leaders were killed, the raiders escaped, only to have their ships beached at [[Tynemouth]] and the crews killed by locals.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} This was one of the last raids on England for about 40 years. The Vikings instead focused on Ireland and Scotland.
The Viking presence in the British Isles dwindled until 1066, when the Norwegians lost their final battle with the English.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}
It is important to bear in mind that not all the Norse arriving in the British Isles came as raiders. Many arrived with families and livestock, often in the wake of the capture of territory by their forces. DNA analysis shows that a major part of the ancestry of English people in northern East Anglia, eastern Yorkshire and in the Lake District is Scandinavian in origin, presumably from colonists around this time. The populations then merged over time by intermarriage into the Anglo-Saxon population of these areas. [[List of English words of Old Norse origin|Many words]] in the English language are from old Scandinavian languages, showing the importance of this contact.
====Scotland====
While there are few records from the earliest period, it is believed that Scandinavian presence in [[Scotland]] increased in the 830s.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} In 836, a large Viking force believed to be Norwegian invaded the [[River Earn|Earn valley]] and [[River Tay|Tay valley]] which were central to the [[Fortriu|Pictish kingdom]]. They killed [[Eoganan]], king of the Picts, and his brother, the vassal king of the Scots. They also killed many members of the Pictish aristocracy. The sophisticated kingdom that had been built fell apart, as did the Pictish leadership. The foundation of [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]] under [[Kenneth MacAlpin I|Kenneth MacAlpin]] is traditionally attributed to the aftermath of this event.
The isles to the north and west of Scotland were heavily colonized by Norwegian Vikings. [[Shetland]], [[Orkney]], the [[Western Isles]], [[Caithness]] and [[Sutherland]] were under Norse control, sometimes as fiefs under the King of Norway and other times as separate entities.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} Shetland and Orkney were the last of these to be incorporated into Scotland in as late as 1468. As well as Orkney and Shetland, Caithness and Sutherland, the Norse settled in the [[Hebrides]]. Some parts of the west coast were also settled, and [[Galloway]], which got its name from the Gall-Gael or Foreigner Gael (as the mixed Norse Scots were known).
====Cornwall====
[[Image:EmpireNorth.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Canute's territories 1014-1035]]
In 722, the [[Cornish people|Cornish]] allied with [[Denmark|Danish]] Vikings in order to hold [[Wessex]] from expanding into [[Cornwall]].<ref>Professor [[Philip Payton]] ''Cornwall'' (1996). [[Annales Cambriae]] Fowey: Alexander Associates</ref> A Wessex [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] army led by [[King Ine]] was beaten by an alliance of Cornish and Vikings near the [[River Camel|Camel estuary]] at "Hehil", possibly somewhere near modern day [[Padstow]]. This battle, recorded in the ''[[Annales Cambriae]]'', as well as the Vikings' continual attacks on Wessex, enabled Cornwall to stay autonomous from Wessex for the next 100 years.<ref>[[Philip Payton]]. (1996). ''Cornwall''. Fowey: Alexander Associates</ref> (Up until 838 the eastern [[Cornish people|Cornish]] border was still on the [[River Exe]]-[[River Taw]] line). The Danes provided tactical support to their Cornish allies by raiding Wessex which weakened the authority of the Saxons. In 831 AD, the Danes raided [[Charmouth]] in Dorset, in 997 AD they destroyed the [[Dartmoor]] town of [[Lydford]], and from 1001 AD to 1003 AD they occupied the old Roman city of [[Exeter]]. In 1013 Wessex was conquered by the Danes under the leadership of [[Sweyn Forkbeard]].<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:EmpireNorth.JPG Dominions of King Canute]</ref>
====Wales====
[[Wales]] was not colonized by the Vikings significantly as in eastern England or Scotland. The Vikings did, however, settle in small numbers in the south around [[St. David]]'s, [[Haverfordwest]], and the [[Gower peninsula|Gower]]. Place names such as [[Skokholm]], [[Skomer]], and [[Swansea]] remain as evidence of the Norse settlement.<ref>[http://www.gwp.enta.net/walhist.html Welsh place names.]</ref> The Vikings, however, were not able to set up a Viking state or control Wales, owing to the powerful forces of Welsh kings, and, unlike in Scotland, the aristocracy was relatively unharmed.
Nevertheless, following the successful Viking alliances with Cornwall in 722 and [[Britanny]] in 865, the Britons made their peace with the Danes, and a Viking/Welsh alliance in 878 defeated an Anglo-Saxon army from [[Mercia]], although there were still some occasional skirmishes between the Britons of Wales and the Danes.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}
The city of Swansea was founded by the imperialist Viking King of Denmark [[Sweyn Forkbeard]] who by 1013 was King of the Danes, Anglo-Saxons and Norwegians. Swansea is a corruption of the Norse "Sweyn's Ey", which means "Sweyn's island". The island refers to the area around the estuary of the river Tawe. The neighboring [[Gower peninsula]] has some place names of Norse origin (such as [[Worms Head]]; worm is the Norse word for dragon, as the Vikings believed that the serpent-shaped island was a sleeping dragon). Twenty miles (32 km) west of [[Cardiff]] on the [[Vale of Glamorgan]] coast is the semi-flooded island of [[Tusker Rock]], which takes its name from Tuska, the Viking who established a settlement in the area.
===Ireland===
The Vikings conducted extensive raids in [[Ireland]] and founded many towns, including [[Dublin]], [[Limerick]], [[Mullingar]]{{Fact|date=April 2008}}, [[Wexford]], [[Waterford]] and [[Leixlip]]. Literature, crafts, and decorative styles in Ireland and the British Isles reflected Scandinavian culture. Vikings traded at Irish markets in Dublin. Excavations found imported fabrics from England, Byzantium, Persia, and central Asia. Dublin became so crowded by the 11th century that houses were constructed outside the town walls.
The Vikings pillaged monasteries on Ireland’s west coast in 795, and then spread out to cover the rest of the coastline. The north and east of the island were most affected. During the first 40 years, the raids were conducted by small, mobile Viking groups. From 830 on, the groups consisted of large fleets of Viking ships. From 840, the Vikings began establishing permanent bases at the coasts. Dublin was the most significant settlement in the long term. The Irish became accustomed to the Viking presence and culture. In some cases they became allies and also intermarried throughout all of
Ireland.
In 832, a Viking fleet of about 120 ships under [[Turgesius]] invaded kingdoms on Ireland’s northern and eastern coasts. Some believe that the increased number of invaders coincided with Scandinavian leaders’ desires to control the profitable raids on the western shores of Ireland. During the mid-830s, raids began to push deeper into Ireland. Navigable waterways made this deeper penetration possible. After 840, the Vikings had several bases in strategic locations throughout Ireland.
In 838, a small Viking fleet entered the [[River Liffey]] in eastern Ireland, probably led by the chieftain Saxolb (Soxulfr) who was killed later that year.<ref>[http://www.ncte.ie/viking/dubhist.htm A History of Viking Dublin], Viking Network Ireland. Retrieved [[14 November]] [[2007]].</ref> The Vikings set up a base, which the Irish called [[longphort]]s. This longphort would eventually become Dublin. After this interaction, the Irish experienced Viking forces for about 40 years. The Vikings also established longphorts in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, and Wexford. The Vikings were driven out of Ireland for a short period around 900, but returned to Waterford in 914 to found what would become Ireland's first city. The other longphorts were soon re-occupied and developed into cities and towns.
The last major battle involving Vikings was the [[Battle of Clontarf]] in 1014, in which a large force from the pan-Viking world and their Irish allies opposed [[Brian Boru]], then the High King of Ireland and his forces, a small contingent of which were Viking defectors. The battle was fought in what is the now Dublin suburb of [[Clontarf]] on Good Friday of that year. Boru, the Irish High King had gracefully allowed the Viking King of Dublin; Sigtrygg Silkbeard, one year to prepare for his coming assault. Silkbeard responded by offering the bed of his mother to several Viking lords from Scandinavia and the British Isles. The savage melee between the heavily mailed Norse and the unarmoured, yet undaunted Gaels ended in a rout of the Vikings and their Irish allies. Careful accounts were taken by both sides during the battle, and thus many famous warriors sought each other out for personal combat and glory. High King Brian, who was nearly eighty, did not personally engage in the battle but retired to his tent where he spent the day in quiet prayer. The Viking Earl Brodir of Man chanced upon Brian's tent as he fled the field. He and a few followers seized the opportunity, and surprised the High King, killing the aged Brian before being captured. Brian's foster son [[Wolf the Quarrelsome]] later tracked down and dispatched Brodir by disembowelment; Wolf watching as Brodir marched and wound his own innards around the trunk of a large tree. The battle was fairly matched for most of the day and each side had great respect for the prowess of the other; however, in the end, the Irish forced the Norse to return to the sea. Many of the fleeing Vikings were drowned in the surf due to their heavy mail coats as they struggled for the safety of their longships; others were pursued and slain further inland. After the battle, Viking power was broken in Ireland forever, though many settled Norse remained in the cities and prospered greatly with the Irish through trade. With Brian dead, Ireland returned to the fractured kingdom it had once been, but was now cleared of further Viking predation.
===West Francia===
[[West Francia]] suffered more severely than [[East Francia]] during the Viking raids of the ninth century. The reign of [[Charles the Bald]] coincided with some of the worst of these raids, though he did take action by the [[Edict of Pistres]] of 864 to secure a standing army of cavalry under royal control to be called upon at all times when necessary to fend off the invaders. He also ordered the building of fortified bridges to prevent inland raids.
Nonetheless, the [[Bretons]] allied with the Vikings and [[Robert the Strong|Robert]], the [[margrave]] of [[Neustria]], (a march created for defence against the Vikings sailing up the [[Loire]]), and [[Ranulf I of Aquitaine|Ranulf of Aquitaine]] died in the [[Battle of Brissarthe]] in 865. The Vikings also took advantage of the civil wars which ravaged the [[Duchy of Aquitaine]] in the early years of Charles' reign. In the 840s, [[Pepin II of Aquitaine|Pepin II]] called in the Vikings to aid him against Charles and they settled at the mouth of the [[Garonne]]. Two [[Duke of Gascony|dukes of Gascony]], [[Seguin II of Gascony|Seguin II]] and [[William I of Gascony|William I]], died defending [[Bordeaux]] from Viking assaults. A later duke, [[Sancho Mitarra]], even settled some at the mouth of the [[Adour]] in an act presaging that of [[Charles the Simple]] and the [[Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte]] by which the Vikings were settled in [[Rouen]], creating [[Normandy]] as a bulwark against other Vikings.
===Low Countries===
In the 9th and 10th centuries the Vikings raided the largely defenceless [[Frisian]] and [[Frankish]] towns laying on the coast and along the rivers of the [[Low Countries]]. Although Vikings never settled in large numbers in these areas, they did set up long-term bases and were even acknowledged as lords in a few cases.
[[Antwerp]] was raided in 836. Later there were raids of [[Ghent]], [[Kortrijk]], [[Tournai]], [[Leuven]] and the areas around the [[Meuse]] river, the [[Rhine]], the [[Rupel]] river and the tributaries of these rivers. Raids were conducted from bases established in [[Asselt]], [[Walcheren]], [[Wieringen]] and [[Elterberg]]. In Dutch and Frisian historical tradition the trading centre of [[Dorestad]] declined after Viking raids from 834 to 863; however, since no convincing Viking archaeological evidence has been found at the site (as of 2007), doubts about this have grown in recent years.
One of the most important Viking families in the Low Countries was that of [[Rorik of Dorestad]] (based in [[Wieringen]]) and his brother Harald (based in [[Walcheren]]). Around 850 [[Lothair I]] acknowledged Rorik as ruler of most of Friesland. And again in 870 Rorik was received by [[Charles the Bald]] in [[Nijmegen]], to whom he became a vassal. Viking raids continued during this period. Harald’s son Rodulf and his men were killed by the people of [[Oostergo]] in 873. Rorik died sometime before 882.
Buried Viking treasures consisting mainly of silver have been found in the Low Countries. Two such treasures have been found in Wieringen. A large treasure found in Wieringen in 1996 dates from around 850 and is thought perhaps to have been connected to Rorik. The burial of such a valuable treasure is seen as an indication that there was a permanent settlement in Wieringen.<ref>
[http://www.museumkennis.nl/lp.rmo/museumkennis/i000412.html Vikingschat van Wieringen] Retrieved [[26 June]][[2008]].(Dutch only)</ref>
Around 879 Godfrid arrived in Frisian lands as the head of a large force that terrorised the Low Countries. Using Ghent as his base, they ravaged [[Ghent]], [[Maastricht]], [[Liège]], [[Stavelot]], [[Prüm]], [[Cologne]], and [[Koblenz]]. Controlling most of Frisia between 882 and his death in 885, Godfrid became known to history as [[Godfrid, Duke of Frisia]]. His lordship over Frisia was acknowledged by [[Charles the Fat]], to whom he became a vassal. Godfried was assassinated in 885, after which [[Gerolf of Holland]] assumed lordship and Viking rule of Frisia came to an end.
Viking raids of the Low Countries continued for over a century. Remains of Viking attacks dating from 880 to 890 have been found in [[Zutphen]] and [[Deventer]]. The last attacks took place in [[Tiel]] in 1006 and [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]] in 1007.
===Iberia===
By the mid 9th century, though apparently not before<ref>Fletcher 1984, ch. 1, note 51</ref> there were Viking attacks on the coastal [[Kingdom of Asturias]] in the far northwest of the peninsula, though historical sources are too meagre to assess how frequent or how early raiding occurred. By the reign of [[Alfonso III of León|Alfonso III]] Vikings were stifling the already weak threads of sea communications that tied [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] to the rest of Europe. Richard Fletcher attests raids on the Galician coast in 844 and 858: "Alfonso III was sufficiently worried by the threat of Viking attack to establish fortified strong points near his coastline, as other rulers were doing elsewhere." In 861, a group of Vikings ransomed the king of Pamplona, whom they had captured the previous year, for 60,000 gold pieces.
Raiding continued for the next two centuries. In 968 Bishop Sisnando of [[Compostela]] was killed, the monastery of Curtis was sacked, and measures were ordered for the defence of the inland town of [[Lugo]]. After [[Tui]] was sacked early in the 11th century, its bishopric remained vacant for the next half-century. Ransom was a motive for abductions: Fletcher instances Amarelo Mestáliz, who was forced to raise money on the security of his land in order to ransom his daughters who had been captured by the Vikings in 1015. Bishop [[Cresconio of Compostela]] (ca. 1036 – 66) repulsed a Viking foray and built the fortress at ''Torres do Oeste'' (Council of [[Catoira]]) to protect Compostela from the Atlantic approaches. The city of [[Póvoa de Varzim]] in Northern [[Portugal]], then a town, was settled by Vikings around the 9th century and its influence kept strong until very recently, mostly due to the practice of [[endogamy]] in the community.
In the Islamic south, the first navy of the [[Caliph of Cordoba|Emirate]] was built after the humiliating Viking ascent of the [[Guadalquivir]] in 844 when they sacked Seville. Nevertheless, in 859, Danish [[pirates]] sailed through Gibraltar and raided the little [[Moroccan]] state of Nakur. The king's harem had to be ransomed back by the emir of Cordoba. These and other raids prompted a shipbuilding program at the dockyards of [[Seville]]. The Andalusian navy was thenceforth employed to patrol the Iberian coastline under the caliphs [[Abd al-Rahman III]] (912 – 61) and [[Al-Hakam II]] (961 – 76). By the next century, piracy from North Africans superseded Viking raids.
[[Image:Pireuslejonet.jpg|right|thumb|In [[Athens]], [[Greece]],Swedish Vikings wrote a runic inscription on the [[Piraeus Lion]].]]
===Byzantine Empire, Russia, Ukraine===
{{Main|Varangians}}
{{seealso|Rus' Khaganate|Volga trade route}}
The Vikings settled coastal areas along the [[Baltic Sea]], and along inland rivers in Russian territories such as [[Staraya Ladoga]], [[Novgorod]] and along major waterways to the [[Byzantine]] empire.
The Varangians or Varyags (Russian, Ukrainian: Варяги, Varyagi) sometimes referred to as Variagians were Scandinavians who [[Human migration|migrated]] eastwards and southwards through what is now [[Russia]], [[Belarus]] and [[Ukraine]] mainly in the 9th and 10th centuries. Engaging in trade, colonization, piracy and mercenary activities, they roamed the river systems and portages of [[Gardariki]], reaching and settling at the [[Caspian Sea]] and in [[Constantinople]].
===Greenland===
Two areas along Greenland's southwest coast were colonized by Norse settlers around 986. The land was marginal at best. The settlers arrived during a warm phase, when short-season crops such as rye and barley could be grown. Sheep and hardy cattle were also raised for food, wool, and hides. Their main export was [[walrus]] ivory, which was traded for iron and other goods which could not be produced locally. Greenland became a dependency of the king of Norway in 1261. During the 13th century, the population may have reached as high as 5,000, divided between the two main settlements of ''[[Eastern Settlement|Eystribygð]]'' (Eastern Settlement) and ''[[Western Settlement|Vestribygð]]'' (Western Settlement). Greenland had several churches and a cathedral at [[Gardar]]. The [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] diocese of Greenland was subject to the archdiocese of [[Nidaros]]. However, many bishops chose to exercise this office from afar. As the years wore on, the climate shifted (see [[little ice age]]). In 1379 the northernmost settlement was attacked by the [[Skræling]]s (Norse word for [[Inuit]]).<ref>[http://personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/history/grontime2.html History of Medieval Greenland]</ref> Crops failed and trade declined. The Greenland colony gradually faded away. By 1450 it had lost contact with Norway and Iceland and disappeared from all but a few Scandinavian legends.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/science/features/societies/default.htm Why societies collapse]</ref>
===North America===
{{main|Norse colonization of the Americas}}
Some exploration and expansion occurred still further west, in modern-day North America, with exploration led by [[Erik the Red]] and his son, [[Leif Eriksson]] from Iceland. Leif Eriksson, known from [[Icelandic sagas]] as a descendant from a line of Norwegian Viking chieftains, who had established the first European settlement in [[Greenland]] in about 985, was most likely the first people from the [[old world]] to discover [[Americas|America]] in about 1000.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=A6UiME-M0BYC&dq The Complete Idiot's Guide to American History By Alan Axelrod; p. 8] ISBN 0028644646</ref> Regular activity from Greenland extended to [[Ellesmere Island]], [[Skraeling Island]] and Ruin Island for hunting and trading with [[Inuit]] groups. A short-lived seasonal settlement was established at [[L'Anse aux Meadows]], located in [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], [[Canada]]. The Norwegian Vikings called the new found territory "[[Vinland]]."
=== Motives for expansion ===
[[Image:Vikings-Voyages.png|thumb|left|Map showing area of Scandinavian settlements during the 9th to 10th centuries. Also the trade and raid routes, often inseparable, are marked.]]
The motives driving the Viking expansion form a topic of much debate in Nordic history. One common theory posits that the Viking population had [[Overpopulation|outgrown]] agricultural potential of their Scandinavian homeland.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} For a coastal population with superior naval technologies, it made sense to expand overseas in the face of a [[Population pyramid#Youth Bulge|youth bulge]] effect. However, this theory does little to explain why the expansion went overseas rather than into the vast, uncultivated forest areas on the interior of the [[Scandinavian Peninsula]]. Moreover, no such rise in population or decline in agricultural production has been definitively proven.
Another explanation is that the Vikings exploited a moment of weakness in the surrounding regions. For instance, the Danish Vikings were aware of the internal divisions within [[Charlemagne]]'s empire that began in the 830s and resulted in schism.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} The Danish expeditions in [[England]] also profited from the disunity of the different English kingdoms.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}
The decline in the profitability of old trade routes could also have played a role. Trade between western Europe and the rest of Eurasia suffered a severe blow when the [[Roman Empire]] fell in the 5th century.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} The expansion of [[Islam]] in the 7th century had also affected trade with western Europe.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} Trade on the [[Mediterranean Sea]] was historically at its lowest level when the Vikings initiated their expansion.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} By opening new trade routes in Arabic and Frankish lands, the Vikings profited from international trade by expanding beyond their traditional boundaries.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} Finally, the destruction of the [[Frisia]]n fleet by the Franks afforded the Vikings an opportunity to take over their trade markets.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}
Viking expansion could also have originated as a means of resistance to forced Christianisation, in particular Charlemagne’s persecutions against all the Pagan people, who would’ve had to accept “conversion, or the massacre."
==Decline==
Following a period of thriving trade and settlement, cultural impulses flowed from the rest of Europe to affect Viking dominance. Christianity had an [[Christianization of Scandinavia|early and growing presence in Scandinavia]], and with the rise of centralized authority and the development of more robust coastal defense systems, Viking raids became more risky and less profitable.
[[Snorri Sturluson]] in the [[saga]] of St. Olafr chapter 73, describes the brutal process of Christianisation in [[Norway]]: “…those who did not give up paganism were banished, with others he (St. Olafr) cut off their hands or their feet or extirpated their eyes, others he ordered hanged or decapitated, but did not leave unpunished any of those who did not want to serve God (…) he afflicted them with great punishments (…) He gave them clerks and instituted some in the districts.”
As the new quasi-[[feudal]]ilistic system became entrenched in Scandinavian rule, organized opposition sealed the Viking's fate – 11th century chronicles note Scandinavian attempts to combat the Vikings from the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, which eventually led to Danish and Swedish participation in the [[Baltic crusades]] during the 12th and 13th centuries, and contributed to the development of the [[Hanseatic League]].<ref>The Northern Crusades: Second Edition by Eric Christiansen; p.93; ISBN 0140266534</ref>
==Weapons and warfare==
{{main|Viking Age arms and armor}}
Our knowledge about arms and armor of the Viking age is based on relatively sparse archaeological finds, pictorial representation, and to some extent on the accounts in the [[Norse sagas]] and [[Norse law]]s recorded in the 13th century.
According to custom, all free Norse men were required to own weapons, as well as permitted to carry them at all times. These arms were also indicative of a Viking's social status. A wealthy Viking would have a complete ensemble of a [[helmet]], [[shield]], [[chainmail]] shirt, and animal-skin coat, possibly reindeer hides, among various other [[armament]]s. A lesser off man, however, could only afford a single weapon, and perhaps a shield.
The [[spear]] and [[shield]] were the most basic armaments of the Viking warrior; most would probably also wear a [[knife]] of some description, commonly of the [[seax]] type. As an alternative, or perhaps in addition, to the spear a warrior might carry a [[Bow (weapon)|bow]] or [[axe]]. The wealthiest Vikings would have worn a [[sword]] in addition to his primary arms and have had access to body armor, such as a [[helmet]] and a mail [[hauberk]].
==Archaeology==
With a distinct lack of totally reliable written sources on the topic, much of the historical investigation of the Viking period relies on Archaeology.<ref>Roesdahl, p. 16-22.</ref>
===Runestones===
{{main|Runestone}}
The vast majority number of runic inscriptions from the Viking period come from [[Sweden]], especially from the tenth and eleventh century. Many [[runestone]]s in Scandinavia record the names of participants in Viking expeditions, such as the [[Kjula Runestone]] which tells of extensive warfare in Western Europe and the [[Turinge Runestone]] which tells of a warband in Eastern Europe. Other runestones mention men who died on Viking expeditions, among them the around 25 [[Ingvar Runestones]] in the [[Mälardalen]] district of [[Sweden]] erected to commemorate members of a disastrous expedition into present-day [[Russia]] in the early 11th century. The runestones are important sources in the study of Norse society and early medieval Scandinavia, not only of the 'Viking' segment of the population (Sawyer, P H: 1997).
Runestones attest to voyages to locations, such as [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]],<ref>baþum (Sm101), see [http://www.sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1472 Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF]</ref> [[Greece]],<ref>In the nominative: ''krikiaR'' (G216). In the genitive: ''girkha'' (U922$), ''k--ika'' (U104). In the dative: ''girkium'' (U1087†), ''kirikium'' (SöFv1954;20, U73, U140), ''ki(r)k(i)(u)(m)'' (Ög94$), ''kirkum'' (U136), ''krikium'' (Sö163, U431), ''krikum'' (Ög81A, Ög81B, Sö85, Sö165, Vg178, U201, U518), ''kri(k)um'' (U792), ''krikum'' (Sm46†, U446†), ''krkum'' (U358), ''kr''... (Sö345$A), ''kRkum'' (Sö82). In the accusative: ''kriki'' (Sö170). Uncertain case ''krik'' (U1016$Q). Greece also appears as ''griklanti'' (U112B), ''kriklati'' (U540), ''kriklontr'' (U374$), see [http://www.sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1472 Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF]</ref> [[Khwaresm]],<ref>''Karusm'' (Vs1), see [http://www.sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1472 Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF]</ref> [[Jerusalem]],<ref>''iaursaliR'' (G216), ''iursala'' (U605†), ''iursalir'' (U136G216, U605, U136), see [http://www.sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1472 Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF]</ref> [[Italy]] (as Langobardland),<ref>''lakbarþilanti'' (SöFv1954;22), see [http://www.sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1472 Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF]</ref> [[London]],<ref>''luntunum'' (DR337$B), see [http://www.sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1472 Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF]</ref> [[Serkland]] (i.e. the Muslim world),<ref> ''serklat'' (G216), ''se(r)kl''... (Sö279), ''sirklanti'' (Sö131), ''sirk:lan:ti'' (Sö179), ''sirk*la(t)...'' (Sö281), ''srklant''- (U785), skalat- (U439), see [http://www.sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1472 Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF]</ref> [[England]],<ref>''eklans'' (Vs18$), ''eklans'' (Sö83†), ''ekla-s'' (Vs5), ''enklans'' (Sö55), ''iklans'' (Sö207), ''iklanþs''
(U539C), ''ailati'' (Ög104), ''aklati'' (Sö166), ''akla''-- (U616$), ''anklanti'' (U194), ''eg×loti'' (U812), ''eklanti'' (Sö46, Sm27), ''eklati'' (ÖgFv1950;341, Sm5C, Vs9), ''enklanti'' (DR6C), ''haklati'' (Sm101), ''iklanti'' (Vg20), ''iklati'' (Sm77), ''ikla-ti'' (Gs8), ''i...-ti'' (Sm104), ''ok*lanti'' (Vg187), ''oklati'' (Sö160), ''onklanti''
(U241), ''onklati'' (U344), -''klanti'' (Sm29$), ''iklot'' (N184), see [http://www.sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1472 Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF]</ref> and various locations in Eastern Europe.
The word ''Viking'' appears on several [[runestone]]s found in [[Scandinavia]].
===Burial sites===
{{See also|Viking funeral}}
There are numerous burial sites associated with Vikings. As well as providing information on Viking religion, burial sites also provide information on social structure, and the items buried with the deceased often give some indication as to what was considered important to possess in the afterlife.<ref>Roesdahl, p. 20.</ref> Some examples of notable burial sites include:
* Gettlinge gravfält, [[Öland]], Sweden, ship outline
* [[Jelling]], Denmark, a World Heritage Site
* [[Oseberg]], Norway.
* [[Gokstad]], Norway.
* [[Borrehaugene]], [[Horten]], Norway
* [[Tuna]], Sweden.
* [[Gamla Uppsala]], Sweden.
* Hulterstad gravfält, near the villages of [[Alby, Sweden|Alby]] and Hulterstad, [[Öland]], Sweden, ship outline of standing stones
===Ships===
[[Image:Vikingeskibsmuseet 12.jpg|thumb|Miniatures of two different types of longships, on display at the [[Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde]], [[Denmark]].]]
[[Image:Viking-ship-head.JPG|thumb|right|Viking ship head of dragon, has a dog's nostrils, canines, and rounded ears.]]
{{main|Viking ship}}
There were two distinct classes of Viking ships: the [[longship]] (sometimes erroneously called "drakkar", a corruption of "dragon" in Norse) and the [[knarr]]. The longship, intended for warfare and exploration, was designed for speed and agility, and were equipped with oars to complement the sail as well as making it able to navigate independently of the wind. The longship had a long and narrow hull, as well as a shallow draft, in order to facilitate landings and troop deployments in shallow water. The knarr, on the other hand, was a slower merchant vessel with a greater cargo capacity than the longship. It was designed with a short and broad hull, and a deep draft. It also lacked the oars of the longship.
Longships were used extensively by the [[Leidang]], the Scandinavian defence fleets. The term "Viking ships" has entered common usage, however, possibly because of its romantic associations (discussed below).
In Roskilde are the well-preserved remains of five ships, excavated from nearby [[Roskilde Fjord]] in the late 1960s. The ships were scuttled there in the 11th century to block a navigation channel, thus protecting the city, which was then the Danish capital, from seaborne assault. These five ships represent the two distinct classes of Viking ships, the longship and the knarr. The remains of these ships can be found on display at the [[Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde]].
Longships are not to be confused with [[longboats]].
===Genetics===
The Vikings’ prolific expansion is still exhibited in modern genetics. Relatively high frequencies of Haplogroup [[R1a1]] are found in [[Northern Europe]], the largest being 23% in Iceland, and it is believed to have been spread across [[Europe]] by the [[Indo-Europeans]] and later migrations of [[Vikings]], which accounts for the existence of it in, among other places, the [[British Isles]].<ref>[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/%7Edgarvey/DNA/hg/YCC_R1a1.html Y Haplogroup R1a1]. [[The Generations Network|Ancestry.com community]]. Retrieved [[14 November]] [[2007]].</ref>
==Historical opinion and cultural legacy==
In [[England]] the Viking Age began dramatically on [[June 8]] [[793]] when Norsemen destroyed the [[abbey]] on the island of [[Lindisfarne]]. The devastation of [[Northumbria]]'s Holy Island shocked and alerted the royal Courts of Europe to the Viking presence. "Never before has such an atrocity been seen," declared the Northumbrian scholar, [[Alcuin of York]].{{Fact|date=November 2007}} More than any other single event, the attack on Lindisfarne demonized perception of the Vikings for the next twelve centuries. Not until the 1890s did scholars outside Scandinavia begin to seriously reassess the achievements of the Vikings, recognizing their artistry, technological skills and seamanship.<ref> Northern Shores by Alan Palmer; p.21; ISBN 0719562996</ref>
The first challenges to anti-Viking sentiments in Britain emerged in the 17th century. Pioneering scholarly editions of the Viking Age began to reach a small readership in Britain, archaeologists began to dig up Britain's Viking past, and linguistic enthusiasts started to identify the Viking-Age origins for rural idioms and proverbs. The new dictionaries of the Old Norse language enabled the [[Victorians]] to grapple with the primary [[Icelandic sagas]].<ref name="bbc">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/revival_01.shtml The Viking Revival By Professor Andrew Wawn at] bbc</ref>
In Scandinavia, the 17th century Danish scholars [[Thomas Bartholin]] and [[Ole Worm]], and [[Olof Rudbeck]] of Sweden were the first to set the standard for using runic inscriptions and Icelandic Sagas as historical sources.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} During the [[Age of Enlightenment]] and the [[Nordic Renaissance]], historical scholarship in Scandinavia became more rational and pragmatic, as witnessed by the works of a Danish historian [[Ludvig Holberg]] and Swedish historian [[Olof von Dalin]].{{Fact|date=November 2007}} Until recently, the history of the Viking Age was largely based on Icelandic sagas, the history of the Danes written by [[Saxo Grammaticus]], the Russian [[Primary Chronicle]] and the [[The War of the Irish with the Foreigners]]. Although few scholars still accept these texts as reliable sources, historians nowadays rely more on archeology and numismatics, disciplines that have made valuable contributions toward understanding the period.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=AXzrQvv51tEC&dq The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings By Peter Hayes Sawyer]ISBN 0198205260</ref>
Until the 19th century reign of Queen [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Victoria]], public perceptions in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] continued to portray Vikings as violent and bloodthirsty.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} The chronicles of medieval England had always portrayed them as rapacious 'wolves among sheep'.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} In 1920, a winged-helmeted Viking was introduced as a radiator cap figure on the new [[Rover (car)|Rover car]], marking the start of the cultural rehabilitation of the Vikings in Britain.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}
===Icelandic sagas and other texts===
[[Norse Mythology|Norse mythology]], [[Norse saga|sagas]] and [[Old Norse literature|literature]] tell of Scandinavian culture and religion through tales of heroic and mythological heroes. However, early transmission of this information was primarily oral, and later texts were reliant upon the writings and transcriptions of Christian scholars, including the Icelanders [[Snorri Sturluson]] and [[Sæmundur fróði]]. Many of these sagas were written in [[Iceland]], and most of them, even if they had no Icelandic provenance, were preserved there after the Middle Ages due to the Icelanders' continued interest in Norse literature and law codes.
The 200 year Viking influence on [[History of Europe|European history]] is filled with tales of plunder and colonization, and the majority of these chronicles came from western witnesses and their descendants. Less common, though equally relevant, are the Viking chronicles that originated in the east, including the [[Nestor]] chronicles, [[Novgorod]] chronicles, [[Ibn Fadlan]] chronicles, [[Ibn Ruslan]] chronicles, and many brief mentions by the [[Fosio]] bishop from the first big attack on the [[Byzantine]] empire.
Other chroniclers of Viking history include [[Adam of Bremen]], who wrote "There is much gold here (in [[Zealand]]), accumulated by piracy. These pirates, which are called ''wichingi'' by their own people, and ''Ascomanni'' by our own people, pay tribute to the Danish king" in the fourth volume of his ''Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum'', and [[Egil Skallagrimsson]], who mentioned that "Björn was a great traveler; sometimes as Viking, sometimes as tradesman."
In 991, the [[Battle of Maldon]] between Viking raiders and the inhabitants of the town of [[Maldon]] in [[Essex]], England was commemorated with a poem of the same name.
===Modern revivals===
{{seealso|19th century Viking revival}}
[[Image:Vikings fight.JPG|right|thumb|[[combat reenactment|Modern reenactment of viking battle]]]]
Early modern publications, dealing with what we now call Viking culture, appeared in the 16th century, e.g. ''Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus'' (Olaus Magnus, 1555), and the first edition of the 13th century ''Gesta Danorum'' of [[Saxo Grammaticus]] in 1514. The pace of publication increased during the 17th century with Latin translations of the [[Edda]] (notably Peder Resen's ''Edda Islandorum'' of 1665).
===Romanticism===
The word ''Viking'' was popularized, with positive connotations, by [[Erik Gustaf Geijer]] in the poem, ''The Viking'', written at the beginning of the 19th century. The word was taken to refer to romanticized, idealized naval warriors, who had very little to do with the historical Viking culture. This renewed interest of [[Romanticism]] in the Old North had political implications. A myth about a glorious and brave past was needed to give the Swedes the courage to retake [[Finland]], which had been lost in 1809 during the [[Finnish War|war between Sweden and Russia]]. The [[Geatish Society]], of which Geijer was a member, popularized this myth to a great extent. Another Swedish author who had great influence on the perception of the Vikings was [[Esaias Tegnér]], member of the [[Geatish Society]], who wrote a modern version of ''[[Friðþjófs saga ins frœkna]]'', which became widely popular in the Nordic countries, the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Germany]].
A focus for early British enthusiasts was George Hicke, who published a ''Linguarum vett. septentrionalium thesaurus'' in 1703 – 05. During the 18th century, British interest and enthusiasm for Iceland and Nordic culture grew dramatically, expressed in English translations as well as original poems, extolling Viking virtues and increased interest in anything Runic that could be found in the Danelaw, rising to a peak during [[Victorian era|Victorian times]].
===Nazi and fascist imagery===
{{main|Nazi mysticism}}
Political organizations of the same tradition, such as the Norwegian fascist party, [[Nasjonal Samling]], used an amount of Viking symbolism combined with Roman symbolism and imagery widely in their propaganda and aesthetical approach.
Similar to Wagnerian mythology, the [[romanticism]] of the heroic Viking ideal appealed to the Germanic supremacist thinkers of [[Nazi Germany]]. Political organizations of the same tradition, such as the Norwegian fascist party, [[Nasjonal Samling]], used Viking symbolism and imagery widely in its propaganda. The Viking legacy had an impact in parts of Europe, especially the Northern Baltic region, but in no way was the Viking experience particular to Germany. However, the Nazis did not claim themselves to be the descendants of any Viking settlers. Instead, they resorted to the historical and ethnic fact that the Vikings were descendants of other Germanic peoples; this fact is supported by the shared ethnic-genetic elements, and cultural and linguistic traits, of the Germans, Anglo-Saxons, and Viking Scandinavians. In particular, all these peoples also had traditions of [[Germanic paganism]] and practiced [[runes|runelore]]. This common Germanic identity became - and still is - the foundation for much National Socialist iconography. For example, the runic emblem of the [[SS]] utilized the [[sig rune]] of the [[Elder Futhark]] and the youth organization [[Wiking-Jugend]] made extensive use of the [[odal rune]]. This trend still holds true today (see also [[fascist symbolism]]).
===Reenactments===
Since the 1960s, there has been rising enthusiasm for [[historical reenactment]]. While the earliest groups had little claim for historical accuracy, the seriousness and accuracy of re-enactors has increased.
On [[1 July]] [[2007]], the reconstructed Viking ship Skuldelev 2, renamed Sea Stallion,<ref>[http://www.seastallion.ie Return of Dublin's Viking Warship]. Retrieved [[14 November]] [[2007]].</ref> began a journey from Roskilde, Denmark to Dublin, Ireland. The remains of that ship and four others were discovered during a 1962 excavation in the Roskilde Fjord. This multi-national experimental archeology project saw 70 crew members sail the ship back to its home in Ireland. Tests of the original wood show that it was made out of Irish trees. The Sea Stallion arrived outside Dublin's Custom House on [[14 August]] [[2007]].
The purpose of the voyage was to test and document the seaworthiness, speed and manoeuvrability of the ship on the rough open sea and in coastal waters with treacherous currents. The crew tested how the long, narrow, flexible hull withstood the tough ocean waves. The expedition also provided valuable new information on Viking longships and society. The ship was built using Viking tools, materials and much the same methods as the original ship.
===Neopaganism===
{{Expand-section|date=March 2008}}
{{main|Germanic neopaganism}}
Germanic neopagan groups place emphasis on reconstructing the culture and pre-Christian beliefs of the Germanic peoples, including the Viking era of Norse culture.
===In fiction===
Spearheaded by the operas of German composer [[Richard Wagner]] such as ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'', Vikings and the Romanticist Viking Revival have inspired many works of fiction, from historical novels directly based on historical events like [[Frans Gunnar Bengtsson]]'s ''[[The Long Ships]]'' (which was [[The Long Ships (1963 film)|also filmed]]) to extremely loosely based historical fantasies such as the film ''[[The Vikings (film)|The Vikings]]'', [[Michael Crichton]]'s ''[[Eaters of the Dead]]'' (movie version called ''[[The 13th Warrior]]'') and the comedy film ''[[Erik the Viking]]''.
Modern influence is also exhibited in the genre of [[Viking metal]]. A popular sub-genre of [[heavy metal]] music, originating in the early 1990s as an off-shoot of the [[black metal]] sub-genre. This style is notable for its lyrical and theatrical emphasis on Norse mythology as well as Viking lifestyles and beliefs. Popular bands that contribute to this genre include [[Turisas]], [[Amon Amarth]], [[Einherjer]], [[Valhalla (band)|Valhalla]], [[Týr (band)|Týr]], [[Ensiferum]], [[Falkenbach]], and [[Enslaved (band)|Enslaved]].
==Common misconceptions==
===Horned helmets===<!-- This section is linked from [[Minnesota Vikings]] -->
{{main|Horned helmet}}
Apart from two or three representations of (ritual) helmets – with protrusions that may be either stylized ravens, snakes or horns – no depiction of Viking Age warriors' helmets, and no actually preserved helmet, has horns. In fact, the formal close-quarters style of Viking combat (either in shield walls or aboard "ship islands") would have made horned helmets cumbersome and hazardous to the warrior's own side.
Therefore it can be ruled out that Viking warriors had horned helmets, but whether or not they were used in Scandinavian culture for other, ritual purposes remains unproven. The general misconception that Viking warriors wore horned helmets was partly promulgated by the 19th century enthusiasts of ''[[Geatish Society|Götiska Förbundet]]'', founded in 1811 in [[Stockholm, Sweden]], with the aim of promoting the suitability of Norse mythology as subjects of high art and other ethnological and moral aims.
The Vikings were also often depicted with winged helmets and in other clothing taken from Classical antiquity, especially in depictions of Norse gods. This was done in order to legitimize the Vikings and their mythology, by associating it with the Classical world which has always been idealized in European culture.
The latter-day ''mythos'' created by [[National Romanticism|national romantic ideas]] blended the Viking Age with glimpses of the [[Nordic Bronze Age]] some 2,000 years earlier, for which actual horned helmets, probably for ceremonial purposes, are attested both in [[petroglyph]]s and by actual finds (see [[Bohuslän]] and [[Vikso]] helmets<ref>[http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhornedhelmet.html Did Vikings really wear horns on their helmets?] [[The Straight Dope]], [[7 December]] [[2004]]. Retrieved [[14 November]] [[2007]].</ref>).
The cliché was perpetuated by cartoons like ''[[Hägar the Horrible]]'' and ''[[Vicky the Viking]]'', and sports uniforms such as those of the [[Minnesota Vikings]] and [[Canberra Raiders]] football teams.
The regular Viking helmets were conical, made from hard leather with wood and metallic reinforcement for the regular troops and the iron helmet with mask and chain mail for the chieftains, based on the previous [[Vendel]] age helmets from central Sweden. The only true Viking helmet found, is that from [[Gjermundbu]] in Norway. This helmet is made of iron and has been dated to the 10th century.
===Savage marauders===
Despite images of Viking marauders who live for [[looting|plunder]] and [[Endemic warfare|warfare]], the heart of Viking society was reciprocity, on both a personal, social level and on a broader political level. The Vikings lived in a time when numerous societies were engaged in many violent acts, and the doings of the Vikings put into context are not as savage as they seem. Others of the time period were much more savage than the Vikings {{Fact|date=October 2007}}, such as the Frankish king, [[Charlemagne]], who [[decapitation|cut off the heads]] of 4,500 Saxons for practicing paganism ([[Bloody Verdict of Verden]]) in one day. Most Vikings were traders, although some did plunder, often monasteries around Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England, as they had a lot of valuables in gold and silver. As monasteries were centers of learning and writing, their experiences were much more likely to enter the historical record. However, considerable literature in the monasteries would have been destroyed during the plunderings.
One of the Vikings' largest profit-centers was the [[slave trade]]; any group that acts as slave-takers is likely to be viewed with disdain by their victims. During the period of the Vikings, [[Slavery in medieval Europe|slavery]] was common throughout Northern Europe, and the fact that many slaves were captured persons was irrelevant in law. A person from [[Poland]] could be captured and later sold in [[England]], for example. Slavery was common amongst the Scandinavians themselves, as well.
In the 300-year period where Vikings were most active, there were approximately 347 recorded attacks that spread from the British Isles to Morocco, Portugal, and Turkey. In Ireland, where the Vikings are most famous for attacking [[monastery|monasteries]], there were 430 known attacks during this 300-year period.
===Skull cups===
{{Main|Skull cups}}
The use of human skulls as drinking vessels is also ahistorical. The rise of this myth can be traced back to an Ole Worm's ''Runer seu Danica literatura antiquissima'' of 1636), warriors drinking ''ór bjúgviðum hausa'' [from the curved branches of skulls, i.e. from horns] were rendered as drinking ''ex craniis eorum quos ceciderunt'' [from the skulls of those whom they had slain]. The skull-cup allegation may also have some history in relation with other Germanic tribes and [[Eurasian nomads]], such as the [[Scythians]] and [[Pechenegs]].
===Uncleanliness===
The image of wild-haired, dirty savages sometimes associated with the Vikings in popular culture is a distorted picture of reality.<ref>Roesdahl, p. 9-22.</ref> Non-Scandinavian Christians are responsible for most surviving accounts of the Vikings and, consequently, a strong possibility for bias exists. This attitude is likely attributed to Christian misunderstandings regarding paganism. Viking tendencies were often misreported and the work of [[Adam of Bremen]], among others, told largely disputable tales of Viking savagery and uncleanliness.<ref>Williams, G. (2001) [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/evidence_01.shtml How do we know about the Vikings?] [[BBC|BBC.co.uk]]. Retrieved [[14 November]] [[2007]].</ref>
However, it is now known that the Vikings used a variety of tools for [[personal grooming]] such as [[comb]]s, [[tweezers]], [[razor]]s or specialized "[[ear spoon]]s". In particular, combs are among the most frequent artifacts from Viking Age excavations. The Vikings also made [[soap]], which they used to bleach their hair as well as for cleaning, as blonde hair was ideal in the Viking culture.
The Vikings in [[England]] even had a particular reputation for excessive cleanliness, due to their custom of bathing once a week, on Saturdays (unlike the local [[Anglo-Saxons]]). To this day, Saturday is referred to as ''laugardagur'' / ''laurdag'' / ''lørdag'' / ''lördag'', "washing day" in the [[North Germanic languages|Scandinavian languages]], though the original meaning is lost in modern speech in most of the Scandinavian languages ("laug" still means "bath" or "pool" in Icelandic).
As for the [[Rus' (people)|Rus']], who had later acquired a subjected [[Varangian]] component, [[Ibn Rustah]] explicitly notes their cleanliness, while [[Ibn Fadlan]] is disgusted by all of the men sharing the same, used vessel to wash their faces and blow their noses in the morning. Ibn Fadlan's disgust is probably motivated by his ideas of personal hygiene particular to the Muslim world, such as running water and clean vessels. While the example intended to convey his disgust about the customs of the Rus', at the same time it recorded that they did wash every morning.
==Vikings of renown==
* [[Askold and Dir]], legendary [[Varangian]] conquerors of [[Kiev]].
* [[Björn Ironside]], son of [[Ragnar Lodbrok]], pillaged in [[Italy]].
* [[Brodir]], a Danish Viking who killed the High King of [[Ireland]], [[Brian Boru]].
* [[Canute the Great]], king of [[England]] and [[Denmark]], [[Norway]], and of some of [[Sweden]], was possibly the greatest Viking king. A son of [[Sweyn Forkbeard]], and grandson of [[Harold Bluetooth]], he was a member of the dynasty that was key to the unification and Christianisation of [[Denmark]]. Some modern historians have dubbed him the ''‘Emperor of the North’'' because of his position as one of the magnates of medieval Europe and as a reflection of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] to the south.
* [[Egill Skallagrímsson]], Icelandic warrior and [[skald]]. (See also [[Egils saga]]).
* [[Eric the Victorious]], a king of [[Sweden]] whose dynasty is the first known to have ruled as kings of the nation. It is possible he was king of Denmark for a time.
* [[Erik the Red]], colonizer of [[Greenland]].
* [[Freydís Eiríksdóttir]], a Viking woman who sailed to [[Vínland]].
* [[Gardar Svavarsson]], originally from Sweden, the discoverer of Iceland. There is another contender for the discoverer of Iceland: [[Naddoddr]], a Norwegian/Faeroese Viking explorer.
* [[Godfrid, Duke of Frisia]], a pillager of the Low Countries and the Rhine area and briefly a lord of Frisia.
* [[Godfrid Haraldsson]], son of [[Harald Klak]] and pillager of the Low Countries and northern France.
* [[Grímur Kamban]], a Norwegian or Norwegian/Irish Viking who around 825 was, according to the [[Færeyinga Saga]], the first Nordic settler in the [[Faroe Islands|Faeroes]].
* [[Guthrum]], colonizer of [[Danelaw]].
* [[Harald Klak]] (Harald Halfdansson), a 9th c. king in [[Jutland]] who made peace with [[Louis the Pious]] and was possibly the first Viking to be granted Frankish land in exchange for protection.
* [[Harald I of Denmark|Harald Bluetooth]] (Harald Gormson), who according to the [[Jelling Stones]] that he had erected, "won the whole of Denmark and Norway and turned the Danes to Christianity". Father of [[Sweyn Forkbeard]]; grandfather of [[Canute the Great]].
* [[Harald III of Norway|Harald Hardrada]], a Norwegian king who died, along with his men, at [[Stamford Bridge]] in an unsuccessful attempt to conquer [[England]] in [[1066]]. Only a fraction of the invasion force is thought to have made their escape.
* [[Hastein]], a chieftain who raided in the Mediterranean.
* [[Ingólfur Arnarson]], colonizer of [[Iceland]].
* [[Ingvar the Far-Travelled]], the leader of the last great Swedish Viking expedition to pillage the shores of the Caspian Sea.
* [[Ivar the Boneless]], the disabled Viking who conquered [[York]], despite having to be carried on a shield. Son of Ragnar Lodbrok.
* [[Leif Ericsson]], discoverer of [[Vínland]], son of [[Erik the Red]].
* [[Naddoddr]], a Norwegian/Faeroese Viking explorer.
* [[Olaf Tryggvason]], king of Norway from 995 to 1000. He forced thousands to convert to Christianity. He once burned London Bridge down out of anger because people were disobeying his orders (and this is conjectured to be origin of the children's rhyme "[[London Bridge is Falling Down]]").
* [[Olav Haraldsson|St Olaf]] (Olav Haraldsson), patron saint of Norway, and king of Norway from 1015 to approx. 1030.
* [[Oleg of Kiev]], led an offensive against Constantinople.
* [[Ragnar Lodbrok]], captured Paris.
* [[Rollo of Normandy]], founder of Normandy.
* [[Rorik of Dorestad]], a Viking lord of Frisia and nephew of [[Harald Klak]].
* [[Rurik]], founder of the Rus' rule in Eastern Europe.
* [[Sigmundur Brestisson]], [[Faroe Islands|Faeroese]], a Viking chieftain who, according to the [[Færeyinga Saga]], introduced Christianity and Norwegian supremacy to the [[Faroe Islands|Faeroes]] in 999.
* [[Sweyn Forkbeard]], king of [[Denmark]], [[Norway]], and [[England]], as well as founder of [[Swansea]] ("Sweyn's island"). In 1013, the Danes under Sweyn led a Viking offensive against the [[Anglo-Saxon]] kingdom of England. The English king was forced into exile, and in late 1013 Sweyn became King of England, though he died early in 1014, and the former king was brought out of exile to challenge his son.
* Thorgils ([[Thorgest]]), founder of [[Dublin]].
* [[Tróndur í Gøtu]], a [[Faroe Islands|Faeroese]] Viking chieftain who, according to the [[Færeyinga Saga]], was opposed to the introduction of Christianity to, and the Norwegian supremacy of, the [[Faroe Islands|Faeroes]].
* [[William the Conqueror]], ruler of Normandy and the victor at the [[Battle of Hastings]] in [[1066]]. His kingship of England saw the end of the Anglo-Saxon era and the encroachment of continental magnates and the ideals of [[Christendom]]. His great great uncle was [[Canute the Great]].
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
==References==
* Downham, Clare, ''Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to AD 1014''. Dunedin Academic Press, 2007. ISBN 1903765890
* Hadley, D.M., ''The Vikings in England: Settlement, Society and Culture''. Manchester University Press, 2006. ISBN 0719059828
* Hall, Richard, ''Exploring the World of the Vikings''. Thames and Hudson, 2007. ISBN 9780500051443
* Roesdahl, Else. ''The Vikings''. Penguin, 1998. ISBN 0140252827
* Sawyer, Peter, ''The Age of the Vikings'' (second edition) Palgrave Macmillan, 1972. ISBN 0312013655
{{commonscat|Viking Age}}
==External links==
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/ BBC: History of Vikings]
*[http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-628781/Viking Encyclopedia Britannica: Viking, or Norseman, or Northman, or Varangian (people)]
* [http://www.rte.ie/vikings/ RTÉ: Reenactment of Viking voyage]
* [http://www.lofotr.no/engelsk/index.htm Borg Viking museum, Norway]
* [http://www.uib.no/jais/v003/montgo1.pdf Ibn Fadlan and the Rusiyyah, by James E. Montgomery, with full translation of Ibn Fadlan]
* [http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/Onlineresources/RWWC/themes/1295/1288 Reassessing what we collect website – Viking and Danish London] History of Viking and Danish London with objects and images
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