Viking Age The Viking Age is the period from 793 AD to 1066 AD in European History , especially Northern European and Scandinavian history , following the Germanic Iron Age . It is the period of history when Scandinavian Norsemen explored Europe by its oceans and rivers for trade and conquest . In this period , the Vikings also settled in present - day Faroe Islands , Scotland , Ireland , Iceland , Greenland , Newfoundland , Russia and Anatolia . Historical considerations . In England , the Viking Age began on 8 June 793 when Vikings destroyed the abbey on Lindisfarne , a centre of learning that was famous across the continent . Monks were killed in the abbey , thrown into the sea to drown , or carried away as slaves along with the church treasures . Three Viking ships had beached in Portland Bay four years earlier ( although due to a scribal error the " Anglo - Saxon Chronicle " dates this event to 787 rather than 789 ) , but that incursion may have been a trading expedition that went wrong rather than a piratical raid . Lindisfarne was different . The Viking devastation of Northumbria ' s Holy Island was reported by the Northumbrian scholar Alcuin of York , who wrote : " Never before in Britain has such a terror appeared " . Vikings were portrayed as uniformly violent and bloodthirsty . The chronicles of medieval England portrayed them as rapacious " wolves among sheep " . The first challenges to the many anti - Viking images in Britain emerged in the 17th century . Pioneering scholarly works on the Viking Age reached a small readership in Britain . Archaeologists began to dig up Britain ' s Viking past . Linguistic enthusiasts traced the Viking - Age origins of rural idioms and proverbs . New dictionaries of the Old Norse language enabled more Victorians to read the Icelandic Sagas . In Scandinavia , the 17th century Danish scholars Thomas Bartholin and Ole Worm and Swedish scholar Olaus Rudbeck were the first to use runic inscriptions and Icelandic Sagas as primary historical sources . During the Enlightenment and Nordic Renaissance , historians such as the Danish - Norwegian Ludvig Holberg and Swedish Olof von Dalin developed a more " rational " and " pragmatic " approach to historical scholarship . By the later half of the 18th century , while the Icelandic Sagas were still used as important historical sources , the Viking Age had again come to be regarded as a barbaric and uncivilised period in the history of the Nordic countries . Not until the 1890s , during Victoria ' s reign in Britain , did scholars outside Scandinavia begin to extensively reassess the achievements of the Vikings , recognizing their artistry , technological skills , and seamanship . Until recently , however , the history of the Viking Age was still largely based on " Icelandic Sagas " , the history of the Danes written by Saxo Grammaticus , the Russian " Primary Chronicle " and " The War of the Irish with the Foreigners " . Today , few scholars still accept these texts as reliable sources , relying instead on findings from archaeology , numismatics , and other scientific disciplines . Historical background . The Vikings who invaded western and eastern Europe were chiefly pagans from Denmark , Norway and Sweden . They also settled in the Faroe Islands , Ireland , Iceland , Scotland ( Caithness , the Hebrides and the Northern Isles ) , Greenland , and Canada . Their North Germanic language , Old Norse , became the mother - tongue of present - day Scandinavian languages . By 801 , a strong central authority appears to have been established in Jutland , and the Danes were beginning to look beyond their own territory for land , trade and plunder . In Norway , mountainous terrain and fjords formed strong natural boundaries . Communities there remained independent of each other , unlike the situation in Denmark which is lowland . By 800 , some 30 small kingdoms existed in Norway . The sea was the easiest way of communication between the Norwegian kingdoms and the outside world . It was in the 8th century that Scandinavians began to build ships of war and send them on raiding expeditions to initiate the Viking Age . The North Sea rovers were traders , colonisers and explorers as well as plunderers . Probable causes of Norse expansion . Norse society was based on agriculture and trade with other peoples and placed great emphasis on the concept of honour , both in combat and in the criminal justice system . It was , for example , unfair and wrong to attack an enemy already in a fight with another . It is unknown what triggered the Norse expansion and conquests . This era coincided with the Medieval Warm Period ( 800 – 1300 ) and stopped with the start of the Little Ice Age ( about 1250 – 1850 ) . The start of the Viking Age , with the sack of Lindisfarne , also coincided with Charlemagne ' s Saxon Wars , or Christian wars with pagans in Saxony . Historians Rudolf Simek and Bruno Dumézil theorise that the Viking attacks may have been in response to the spread of Christianity among pagan peoples . Professor Rudolf Simek believes that " it is not a coincidence if the early Viking activity occurred during the reign of Charlemagne " . Because of the penetration of Christianity in Scandinavia , serious conflict divided Norway for almost a century . With the means of travel ( longships and open water ) , their desire for goods led Scandinavian traders to explore and develop extensive trading partnerships in new territories . It has been suggested that the Scandinavians suffered from unequal trade practices imposed by Christian advocates and that this eventually led to the breakdown in trade relations and raiding . British merchants who declared openly that they were Christian and would not trade with heathens and infidels ( Muslims and the Norse ) would get preferred status for availability and pricing of goods through a Christian network of traders . A two - tiered system of pricing existed with both declared and undeclared merchants trading secretly with banned parties . Viking raiding expeditions were separate from and coexisted with regular trading expeditions . A people with the tradition of raiding their neighbours when their honour had been impugned might easily fall to raiding foreign peoples who impugned their honour . Historians also suggest that the Scandinavian population was too large for the peninsula and there was not enough good farmland for everyone . This led to a hunt for more land . Particularly for the settlement and conquest period that followed the early raids , internal strife in Scandinavia resulted in the progressive centralisation of power into fewer hands . Formerly empowered local lords who did not want to be oppressed by greedy kings emigrated overseas . Iceland became Europe ' s first modern republic , with an annual assembly of elected officials called the " Althing " , though only " goði " ( wealthy landowners ) had the right to vote there . Historic overview . The earliest date given for a Viking raid is 787 AD when , according to the " Anglo - Saxon Chronicle " , a group of men from Norway sailed to the Isle of Portland in Dorset . There , they were mistaken for merchants by a royal official . 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 beginning of the Viking Age in the British Isles is , however , often given as 793 . It was recorded in the " Anglo - Saxon Chronicle " that the Northmen raided the important island monastery of Lindisfarne ( note that the generally accepted date is actually 8 June , not January ) : In 794 , according to the " Annals of Ulster " , there was a serious attack on Lindisfarne ' s mother - house of Iona , which was followed in 795 by raids upon the northern coast of Ireland . From bases there , the Norsemen attacked Iona again in 802 , causing great slaughter amongst the " Céli Dé " Brethren , and burning the abbey to the ground . The end of the Viking Age is traditionally marked in England by the failed invasion attempted by the Norwegian king Harald III ( Haraldr Harðráði ) , who was defeated by Saxon King Harold Godwinson in 1066 at the Battle of Stamford Bridge ; in Ireland , the capture of Dublin by Strongbow and his Hiberno - Norman forces in 1171 ; and 1263 in Scotland by the defeat of King Hákon Hákonarson at the Battle of Largs by troops loyal to Alexander III . Godwinson was subsequently defeated within a month by another Viking descendant , William , Duke of Normandy ( Normandy had been conquered by Vikings ( Normans ) in 911 ) . Scotland took its present form when it regained territory from the Norse between the 13th and the 15th centuries ; the Western Isles and the Isle of Man remained under Scandinavian authority until 1266 . Orkney and Shetland belonged to the king of Norway as late as 1469 . In Scandinavia the Viking age is considered to have ended with the establishment of royal authority in the Scandinavian countries and the establishment of Christianity as the dominant religion . The date is usually put somewhere in the early 11th century in all three Scandinavian countries . The end of the Viking - era in Norway is marked by the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030 . Although Olafr Haraldsson ' s ( later known as Olav the Holy ) army lost the battle , Christianity spread , partly on the strength of rumours of miraculous signs after his death . Norwegians would no longer be called Vikings . In Sweden , the reign of king Olov Skötkonung ( appr 995 - 1020 ) is considered to be the transition from the Viking age to the Middle Ages , because he was the first Christian king of the Swedes and he is associated with a growing influence of the church in what is today southwestern and central Sweden . The clinker - built longship s used by the Scandinavians were uniquely suited to both deep and shallow waters . They extended the reach of Norse raiders , traders and settlers along coastlines and along the major river valleys of north - western Europe . Rurik also expanded to the east and in 859 became ruler either by conquest or invitation by local people of the city of Novgorod ( which means " new city " ) on the Volkhov River . His successors moved further , founding the state of Kievan Rus with the capital in Kiev . This persisted until 1240 , the time of Mongol invasion . Other Norse people , particularly those from the area that is now modern - day Sweden and Norway , continued south to the Black Sea and then on to Constantinople . Whenever these Viking ships ran aground in shallow waters , the Vikings would reportedly turn them on their sides and drag them across the shallows into deeper waters . The Eastern connections of these " Varangians " brought Byzantine silk , coins from Samarkand , even a cowrie shell from the Red Sea , to Viking York . The Kingdom of the Franks under Charlemagne was particularly hard - hit by these raiders , who could sail up the Seine with near impunity . Near the end of Charlemagne ' s reign ( and throughout the reigns of his sons and grandsons ) , a string of Norse raids began , culminating in a gradual Scandinavian conquest and settlement of the region now known as Normandy . In 911 , French King Charles the Simple was able to make an agreement with the Viking warleader Rollo , a chieftain of disputed Norwegian or Danish origins . Charles gave Rollo the title of duke and granted him and his followers possession of Normandy . In return , Rollo swore fealty to Charles , converted to Christianity , and undertook to defend the northern region of France against the incursions of other Viking groups . Several generations later , the Norman descendants of these Viking settlers not only identified themselves as Norman but carried the Norman language ( a Romance language with Germanic influence ) , and their Norman culture , into England in 1066 . With the Norman Conquest , they became the ruling aristocracy of Anglo - Saxon England . Geography . There are various theories concerning the causes of the Viking invasions . For people living along the coast , it would seem natural to seek new land by the sea . Another reason was that during this period England , Wales and Ireland , which were divided into many different warring kingdoms , were in internal disarray and became easy prey . The Franks , however , had well - defended coasts and heavily fortified ports and harbours . Pure thirst for adventure may also have been a factor . A reason for the raids is believed by some to be over - population caused by technological advances , such as the use of iron . Although another cause could well have been pressure caused by the Frankish expansion to the south of Scandinavia and their subsequent attacks upon the Viking peoples . Another possible contributing factor is that Harald I of Norway ( " Harald Fairhair " ) had united Norway around this time , and the bulk of the Vikings were displaced warrior s who had been driven out of his kingdom and who had nowhere to go . Consequently , these Vikings became raiders , in search of subsistence and bases to launch counter - raids against Harald . One theory that has been suggested is that the Vikings would plant crops after the winter and go raiding as soon as the ice melted on the sea , then returned home with their loot , in time to harvest the crops . One important centre of trade was at Hedeby . Close to the border with the Franks , it was effectively a crossroads between the cultures , until its eventual destruction by the Norwegians in an internecine dispute around 1050 . York was the centre of the kingdom of Jórvík from 866 , and discoveries there ( e . g . a silk cap , a counterfeit of a coin from Samarkand and a cowry shell from the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf ) suggest that Scandinavian trade connections in the 10th century reached beyond Byzantium . However , those items could also have been Byzantine imports , and there is no reason to assume that the Varangian s travelled significantly beyond Byzantium and the Caspian Sea . Northwestern Europe . England . According to the " Anglo - Saxon Chronicles " , Viking raiders struck England in 793 and raided Lindisfarne , the monastery that held Saint Cuthbert ’ s relics . The raiders killed the monks and captured the valuables . This raid marks the beginning of the " Viking Age of Invasion " , made possible by the Viking longship . There was great but sporadic violence from the last decade of the 8th century on England ’ s northern and eastern shores : Viking raids continued on a small scale across coastal England . While the initial raiding groups were small , it is believed that a great amount of planning was involved . The Norwegians raided during the winter between 840 and 841 , rather than the usual summer , having waited on an island off Ireland . In 850 Vikings overwintered for the first time in England , on the island of Thanet , Kent . In 854 a raiding party overwintered a second time , at the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames estuary . In 864 they reverted to Thanet for their winter encampment . The following year the Great Heathen Army led by the Brothers Ivar the Boneless , Halfdan and Ubbe Ragnarsson , and also by another Viking Guthrum , arrived in East Anglia . They proceeded to cross England into Northumbria and captured York , establishing the Viking community of Jorvik , where some settled as farmers and craftsmen . Most of the English kingdoms , being in turmoil , could not stand against the Vikings . In 867 Northumbria became the northern kingdom of the coalescing Danelaw , after its conquest by the brothers Halfdan Ragnarsson and Ivar the Boneless , who installed an Englishman , Ecgberht , as a puppet king . By 870 the " Great Summer Army " arrived in England , led by a Viking leader called Bagsecg and his Five Earls . Aided by the Great Heathen Army ( which had already overrun much of England from its base in Jorvik ) , Bagsecg ' s forces , and Halfdan ' s forces ( through an alliance ) , the combined Viking forces raided much of England until 871 , when they planned an invasion of Wessex . On 8 January 871 , Bagsecg was killed at the Battle of Ashdown along with his Earls . As a result , many of the Vikings returned to northern England , where Jorvic had become the centre of the Viking kingdom but Alfred of Wessex managed to keep them out of his country . Alfred and his successors continued to drive back the Viking frontier and take York . A new wave of Norwegian Vikings appeared in England in 947 when Erik Bloodaxe captured York . The Viking presence continued throughout the reign of the Danish King Cnut the Great ( 1016 – 1035 ) , after which a series of inheritance arguments weakened power of his descendants . By 1012 , the Vikings were in service in England as Thingmen , a personal bodyguard to the King of England . They were offered payment , the Danegeld , which lasted from 1012 to 1066 and stopped Viking raids for almost twenty years . The Viking presence dwindled until 1066 , when the invading Norsemen lost their final battle with the English at Stamford Bridge . Nineteen days later the Normans , themselves descended from Norsemen , invaded England and defeated the weakened English army at the Battle of Hastings . Ireland . Longphort phase . The Vikings conducted extensive raids in Ireland at first they founded Limerick in 812 , then established a settlement near Waterford in 853 , invaded Dublin and maintained control until 1169 , and founded trading ports in Cork in the 9th century . The Vikings and Scandinavians settled down and intermixed with the Irish . Literature , crafts , and decorative styles in Ireland and Britain 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 . By 830 , 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 . In some cases they became allies and married each other . In 832 , a Viking fleet of about 120 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 , as opposed to just touching the coasts . Navigable waterways made this deeper penetration possible . After 840 , the Vikings had several bases in strategic locations dispersed throughout Ireland . In 838 , a small Viking fleet entered the River Liffey in eastern Ireland . The Vikings set up a base , which the Irish called a longphort . This longphort eventually became 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 could sail through on the main river and branch off into different areas of the country . Battle of Clontarf . One of the last major battles involving Vikings was the Battle of Clontarf on the 23 April 1014 , in which Vikings fought both for the Irish over - king Brian Boru ' s army and for the Viking - led army opposing him . Irish and Viking literature depict the Battle of Clontarf as a gathering of this world and the supernatural . For example , witches , goblins , and demons were present . A Viking poem portrays the environment as strongly pagan . Valkyries chanted and decided who would live and die . Scotland . While there are few records , the Vikings are thought to have led their first raids in Scotland on the holy island of Iona in 794 , the year following the raid on the other holy island of Lindisfarne , Northumbria . In 839 , a large Norse fleet invaded via the River Tay and River Earn , both of which were highly navigable , and reached into the heart of the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu . They defeated Eogán mac Óengusa , king of the Picts , his brother Bran and the king of the Scots of Dál Riata , Áed mac Boanta , along with many members of the Pictish aristocracy in battle . The sophisticated kingdom that had been built fell apart , as did the Pictish leadership , which had been stable for more than a hundred years since the time of Óengus mac Fergusa ( The accession of Cináed mac Ailpín as king of both Picts and Scots can be attributed to the aftermath of this event ) . Earldom of Orkney . By the mid - 9th century the Norsemen had settled in Shetland , Orkney ( the Nordreys - " Norðreyjar " ) , the Hebrides and Man , ( the Sudreys - " Súðreyjar " - this survives in the Diocese of Sodor and Man ) and parts of mainland Scotland . The Norse settlers were to some extent integrating with the local Gael ic population ( " see - Gall Gaidheal " ) in the Hebrides and Man . These areas were ruled over by local Jarls , originally captains of ships or Hersir s . The Jarl of Orkney and Shetland however , claimed supremacy . In 875 , King Harald Fairhair led a fleet from Norway to Scotland . In his attempt to unite Norway , he found that many of those opposed to his rise to power had taken refuge in the Isles . From here , they were raiding not only foreign lands but were also attacking Norway itself . He organised a fleet and was able to subdue the rebels , and in doing so brought the independent Jarls under his control , many of the rebels having fled to Iceland . He found himself ruling not only Norway , but the Isles , Man and parts of Scotland . Kings of the Isles . In 876 the Gall - Gaidheal of Man and the Hebrides rebelled against Harald . A fleet was sent against them led by Ketil Flatnose to regain control . On his success , Ketil was to rule the Sudreys as a vassal of King Harald . His grandson Thorstein the Red and Sigurd the Mighty , Jarl of Orkney invaded Scotland were able to exact tribute from nearly half the kingdom until their deaths in battle . Ketil declared himself King of the Isles . Ketil was eventually outlawed and fearing the bounty on his head fled to Iceland . The Gall - Gaidheal Kings of the Isles continued to act semi independently , in 973 forming a defensive pact with the Kings of Scotland and Strathclyde . In 1095 , the King of Mann and the Isles Godred Crovan was killed by Magnus Barelegs , King of Norway . Magnus and King Edgar of Scotland agreed a treaty . The islands would be controlled by Norway , but mainland territories would go to Scotland . The King of Norway nominally continued to be king of the Isles and Man . However , in 1156 , The kingdom was split into two . The Western Isles and Man continued as to be called the " Kingdom of Man and the Isles " , but the Inner Hebrides came under the influence of Somerled , a Gaelic speaker , who was styled ' King of the Hebrides ' . His kingdom was to develop latterly into the Lordship of the Isles . In eastern Aberdeenshire the Danes invaded at least as far north as the area near Cruden Bay . The Jarls of Orkney continued to rule much of Northern Scotland until 1196 , when Harald Maddadsson agreed to pay tribute to William the Lion , King of Scots for his territories on the Mainland . The end of the Viking age " proper " in Scotland is generally considered to be in 1266 . In 1263 , King Haakon IV of Norway , in retaliation for a Scots expedition to Skye , arrived on the west coast with a fleet from Norway and Orkney . His fleet linked up with those of King Magnus of Man and King Dougal of the Hebrides . After peace talks failed , his forces met with the Scots at Largs , in Ayrshire . The battle proved indecisive , but it did ensure that the Norse were not able to mount a further attack that year . Haakon died overwintering in Orkney , and by 1266 , his son Magnus the Law - mender ceded the Kingdom of Man and the Isles , with all territories on mainland Scotland to Alexander III , through the Treaty of Perth . Orkney and Shetland continued to be ruled as autonomous Jarldoms under Norway until 1468 , when King Christian I pledged them as security on the dowry of his daughter , who was betrothed to James III of Scotland . Although attempts were made during the 17th and 18th centuries to redeem Shetland , without success , and Charles II ratifying the pawning in the 1669 Act for annexation of Orkney and Shetland to the Crown , explicitly exempting them from any " dissolution of His Majesty ’ s lands " , they are currently considered as being officially part of the United Kingdom . Wales . Wales was not colonised by the Vikings as heavily as eastern England . The Vikings did , however , settle in the south around St . David ' s , Haverfordwest , and Gower , among other places . Place names such as Skokholm , Skomer , and Swansea remain as evidence of the Norse settlement . The Vikings , however , did not subdue the Welsh mountain kingdoms . Iceland . According to Sagas , Iceland was discovered by Naddodd , a Viking from the Faroe Islands , after which it was settled by mostly Norwegians fleeing the oppressive rule of Harald Fairhair ( late 9th century ) . While harsh , the land allowed for a pastoral farming life familiar to the Norse . According to the saga of Erik the Red , when Erik was exiled from Iceland he sailed west and pioneered Greenland . Greenland . The Viking Age settlements in Greenland were established in the sheltered fjords of the southern and western coast . They settled in three separate areas along approximately 650 kilometres of the western coast . While harsh , the microclimate s along some fjords allowed for a pastoral lifestyle similar to that of Iceland . Southern and eastern Europe . The Varangians or Varyags ( Russian , , " Varyagi " ; , " Varahi " ; Greek : Βάραγγοι , Βαριάγοι , " Varangoi " ) sometimes referred to as " Variagians " were Scandinavians , often Swedes , who migrated eastwards and southwards through what is now Russia , Belarus and Ukraine mainly in the 9th and 10th centuries . Engaging in trade , piracy and mercenary activities , they roamed the river systems and portages of Gardariki , reaching the Caspian Sea and Constantinople . Contemporary English publications also use the name " Viking " for early Varangians in some contexts . The term Varangian remained in usage in the Byzantine Empire until the 13th century , largely disconnected from its Scandinavian roots by then . Having settled Aldeigja ( Ladoga ) in the 750s , Scandinavian colonists were probably an element in the early ethnogenesis of the Rus ' people , and likely played a role in the formation of the Rus ' Khaganate . The Varangians ( Varyags , in Old East Slavic ) are first mentioned by the Primary Chronicle as having exacted tribute from the Slavic and Finnic tribes in 859 . It was the time of rapid expansion of the Vikings in Northern Europe ; England began to pay Danegeld in 859 , and the Curonian s of Grobin faced an invasion by the Swedes at about the same date . In 862 , the Finnic and Slavic tribes rebelled against the Varangian Rus , driving them overseas back to Scandinavia , but soon started to conflict with each other . The disorder prompted the tribes to invite back the Varangian Rus " to come and rule them " and bring peace to the region . This was a somewhat bilateral relation with the Varagians defending the cities that they ruled . Led by Rurik and his brothers Truvor and Sineus , the invited Varangians ( called Rus ' ) settled around the town of Novgorod ( Holmgard ) . In the 9th century , the Rus ' operated the Volga trade route , which connected Northern Russia ( Gardariki ) with the Middle East ( Serkland ) . As the Volga route declined by the end of the century , the Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks rapidly overtook it in popularity . Apart from Ladoga and Novgorod , Gnezdovo and Gotland were major centres for Varangian trade . Western historians tend to agree with the Primary Chronicle that these Scandinavians founded Kievan Rus ' in the 880s and gave their name to the land . Many Slavic scholars are opposed to this theory of Germanic influence on the Rus ' ( people ) and have suggested alternative scenarios for this part of Eastern European history . In contrast to the intense Scandinavian influence in Normandy and the British Isles , Varangian culture did not survive to a great extent in the East . Instead , the Varangian ruling classes of the two powerful city - states of Novgorod and Kiev were thoroughly Slavicised by the end of the 10th century . Old Norse was spoken in one district of Novgorod , however , until the 13th century . Central Europe . Viking Age Scandinavian settlements were set up along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea , primarily for trade purposes . Their appearance coincides with the settlement and consolidation of the Slavic tribes in the respective areas . Scandinavians had contacts to the Slavs since their very immigration , these first contacts were soon followed by both the construction of Scandinavian emporia and Slavic burghs in their vicinity . The Scandinavian settlements were larger than the early Slavic ones , their craftsmen had a considerably higher productivity , and in contrast to the early Slavs , the Scandinavians were capable of seafaring . Their importance for trade with the Slavic world however was limited to the coastal regions and their hinterlands . Scandinavian settlements at the Mecklenburgian coast include Reric ( Groß Strömkendorf ) on the eastern coast of Wismar Bay , and Dierkow ( near Rostock ) . Reric was set up around the year 700 , but following later warfare between Obodrites and Danes , the merchants were resettled to Haithabu . Dierkow prospered from the late 8th to the early 9th century . Scandinavian settlements at the Pomeranian coast include Wolin ( on the isle of Wolin ) , Ralswiek ( on the isle of Rügen ) , Altes Lager Menzlin ( at the lower Peene river ) , and Bardy - Świelubie near modern Kołobrzeg . Menzlin was set up in the mid - 8th century . Wolin and Ralswiek began to prosper in the course of the 9th century . A merchants ' settlement has also been suggested near Arkona , but no archeological evidence supports this theory . Menzlin and Bardy - Świelubie were vacated in the late 9th century , Ralswiek made it into the new millennium , but at the time when written chronicles reported the site in the 12th century it had lost all its importance . Wolin , thought to be identical with legendary Vineta and semilegendary Jomsborg , base of the Jomsvikings , was destroyed by the Danes in the 12th century . Scandinavian arrowheads from the 8th and 9th centuries were found between the coast and the lake chains in the Mecklenburgian and Pomeranian hinterlands , pointing at periods of warfare between the Scandinavians and Slavs . Scandinavian settlements existed along the southeastern Baltic coast in Truso and Kaup ( Old Prussia ) , and in Grobin ( Courland , Latvia ) . Western Europe . France . The French region of Normandy takes its name from the Viking invaders who were called " Normanni " , which means ‘ men of the North ’ . The first Viking raids began between 790 and 800 along the coasts of western France . They were carried out primarily in the summer , as the Vikings wintered in Scandinavia . Several coastal areas were lost during the reign of Louis the Pious ( 814 – 840 ) . But the Vikings took advantage of the quarrels in the royal family caused after the death of Louis the Pious to settle their first colony in the south - west ( Gascony ) of the kingdom of Francia , which was more or less abandoned by the Frankish kings after their two defeats at Roncevaux . The incursions in 841 caused severe damage to Rouen and Jumièges . The Viking attackers sought to capture the treasures stored at monasteries , easy prey given the monks ' lack of defensive capacity . In 845 an expedition up the Seine reached Paris . The presence of Carolingian " deniers " of " ca " 847 , found in 1871 among a hoard at Mullaghboden , County Limerick , where coins were neither minted nor normally used in trade , probably represents booty from the raids of 843 - 6 . After 851 , Vikings began to stay in the lower Seine valley for the winter . Twice more in the 860s Vikings rowed to Paris , leaving only when they acquired sufficient loot or bribes from the Carolingian rulers . The Carolingian kings tended to have contradictory politics , which had severe consequences . In 867 , Charles the Bald signed the Treaty of Compiègne , by which he agreed to yield the Cotentin Peninsula to the Breton king Salomon , on the condition that Salomon would take an oath of fidelity and fight as an ally against the Vikings . Nevertheless , in 911 the Viking leader Rollo forced Charles the Simple to sign the Treaty of Saint - Clair - sur - Epte , under which Charles gave Rouen and the area of present - day Upper Normandy to Rollon , establishing the Duchy of Normandy . In exchange , Rollo pledged vassalage to Charles in 940 , agreed to be baptised , and vowed to guard the estuaries of the Seine from further Viking attacks . While many buildings were pillaged , burned , or destroyed by the Viking raids , ecclesiastical sources may have been overly negative as no city was completely destroyed . On the other hand , many monasteries were pillaged and all the abbeys were destroyed . Rollo and his successors brought about rapid recoveries from the raids . The Scandinavian colonization was principally Danish , with a strong Norwegian element . A few Swedes were present . The merging of the Scandinavian and native elements contributed to the creation of one of the most powerful feudal states of Western Europe . The naval ability of the Normans would allow them to conquer England and southern Italy , and play a key role in the Crusades . Spain . After 842 , when the Vikings set up a permanent base at the mouth of the Loire River , they could strike as far as northern Spain . They attacked Cadiz in AD 844 . In some of their raids they were crushed either by Kingdom of Asturias or Emirate armies . These Vikings were Hispanised in all Christian kingdoms , while they kept their ethnic identity and culture in Al - Andalus . In 1015 , a Viking fleet entered the river Minho and sacked the episcopal city of Tui ( Galicia ) ; no new bishop was appointed until 1070 . Portugal . In 844 , many dozens of drakkars appeared in the " Mar da Palha " ( " the Sea of Straw " , mouth of the Tagus river ) . After a siege , the Vikings conquered Lisbon ( at the time , the city was under Muslim rule and known as Al - Ushbuna ) . They left after 13 days , following a resistance led by Alah Ibn Hazm and the city ' s inhabitants . Another raid was attempted in 966 , without success . Other territories . North America . In about 986 , Bjarni Herjólfsson , Leif Ericson and Þórfinnr Karlsefni from Greenland reached North America and attempted to settle the land they called Vinland . They created a small settlement on the northern peninsula of present - day Newfoundland , near " L ' Anse aux Meadows " . Conflict with indigenous peoples and lack of support from Greenland brought the Vinland colony to an end within a few years . The archaeological remains are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Old Norse influence on the English language . The long - term linguistic effect of the Viking settlements in England was threefold : over a thousand Old Norse words eventually became part of Standard English ; numerous places in the East and North - east of England have Danish names , and many English personal names are of Scandinavian origin . Scandinavian words that entered the English language included " landing , score , beck , fellow , take , busting " and " steersman " . The vast majority of loan words did not appear in documents until the early 12th century ; these included many modern words which used " sk - " sounds , such as " skirt , sky , " and " skin " ; other words appearing in written sources at this time included " again , awkward , birth , cake , dregs , fog , freckles , gasp , law , moss , neck , ransack , root , scowl , sister , seat , sly , smile , want , weak " and " window " from Old Norse meaning " wind - eye " . Some of the words that came into use are among the most common in English , such as " to go , to come , to sit , to listen , to eat , both , same , get " and " give " . The system of personal pronouns was affected , with " they , them " and " their " replacing the earlier forms . Old Norse influenced the verb " to be " ; the replacement of " sindon " by " are " is almost certainly Scandinavian in origin , as is the third - person - singular ending " - s " in the present tense of verbs . There are more than 1 , 500 Scandinavian place names in England , mainly in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire ( within the former boundaries of the " Danelaw " ) : over 600 end in " - by " , the Scandinavian word for " village " — for example " Grimsby , Naseby " and " Whitby " ; many others end in " - thorpe " ( " farm " ) , " - thwaite " ( " clearing " ) , and " - toft " ( " homestead " ) . The distribution of family names showing Scandinavian influence is still , as an analysis of names ending in " - son " reveals , concentrated in the north and east , corresponding to areas of former Viking settlement . Early medieval records indicate that over 60 % of personal names in Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire showed Scandinavian influence . Technology . The Vikings were equipped with the technologically superior longships ; for purposes of conducting trade however , another type of ship , the " knarr " , wider and deeper in draft , were customarily used . The Vikings were competent sailors , adept in land warfare as well as at sea , and they often struck at accessible and poorly defended targets , usually with near impunity . The effectiveness of these tactics earned Vikings a formidable reputation as raiders and pirates . Chroniclers paid little attention to other aspects of medieval Scandinavian culture . This slant was accentuated by the absence of contemporary primary source documentation from within the Viking Age communities themselves . Little documentary evidence was available until later , when Christian sources began to contribute . As historians and archaeologists have developed more resources to challenge the one - sided descriptions of the chroniclers , a more balanced picture of the Norsemen has become apparent . The Vikings used their longships to travel vast distances and attain certain tactical advantages in battle . They could perform highly efficient hit - and - run attacks , in which they quickly approached a target , then left as rapidly before a counter - offensive could be launched . Because of the ships ' negligible draft , the Vikings could sail in shallow waters , allowing them to invade far inland along rivers . The ships ' speed was also prodigious for the time , estimated at a maximum of . The use of the longships ended when technology changed , and ships began to be constructed using saws instead of axes . This led to a lesser quality of ships . While battles at sea were rare , they would occasionally occur when Viking ships attempted to board European merchant vessels in Scandinavian waters . When larger scale battles ensued , Viking crews would rope together all nearby ships and slowly proceed towards the enemy targets . While advancing , the warriors hurled spears , arrows , and other projectiles at the opponents . When the ships were sufficiently close , melee combat would ensue using axes , swords , and spears until the enemy ship could be easily boarded . The roping technique allowed Viking crews to remain strong in numbers and act as a unit , but this uniformity also created problems . A Viking ship in the line could not retreat or pursue hostiles without breaking the formation and cutting the ropes , which weakened the overall Viking fleet and was a burdensome task to perform in the heat of battle . In general , these tactics enabled Vikings to quickly destroy the meagre opposition posted during raids . Together with an increasing centralization of government in the Scandinavian countries , the old system of " leidang " — a fleet mobilization system , where every " skipen " ( ship community ) had to deliver one ship and crew — was discontinued . Changes in shipbuilding in the rest of Europe led to the demise of the longship for military purposes . By the 11th and 12th centuries , European fighting ships were built with raised platforms fore and aft , from which archers could shoot down into the relatively low longships . The nautical achievements of the Vikings were exceptional . For instance , they made distance tables for sea voyages that were remarkably precise . They have been found to differ only 2 - 4 % from modern satellite measurements , even on such long distances as across the Atlantic Ocean . The archaeological find known as the Visby lenses from the Swedish island of Gotland may be components of a telescope . It appears to date from long before the invention of the telescope in the 17th century . Recent evidence suggests that the Vikings also made use of an optical compass as a navigation aid , using the light - splitting and polarization - filtering properties of Iceland spar to find the location of the sun when it was not directly visible . An archaeological find in Sweden consists of a bone fragment fixated with in - operated material ; the piece is as yet undated . These bones might be the remains of a trader from the Middle East . Trade centres . Some of the most important trading ports during the period include both existing and ancient cities such as Aarhus ( Denmark ) , Ribe ( Denmark ) , Hedeby ( Germany ) , Vineta ( Pomerania ) , Truso ( Poland ) , Kaupang ( Norway ) , Birka ( Sweden ) , Bordeaux ( France ) , York ( England ) , Dublin ( Ireland ) and Aldeigjuborg ( Russia ) . Settlements outside Scandinavia . England Ireland Isle of Man Scotland