Hurstwic: Viking Raids Viking Raids The aspect of Norse society that most captures the modern popular imagination is the Viking raids. The historical records of Europe (written for the most part by the educated clergy who often were the victims of these raids) called the raiders "a most vile people". But the raiders themselves certainly didn't hold that opinion. To them, the raids were a normal and desirable consequence of the pressures on a growing society and of the religious beliefs of the time. It's worth noting that raids similar to those conducted by the Vikings occurred in other parts of Europe during the Viking era. What made the Viking raids so notable was their success (due in large part to the superiority of Viking ships) and their extent (well outside the borders of the Norse lands). In the mind of the Norse people, raiding was very distinct from theft. Theft was abhorrent. According to the Norse mythology as told in Snorra Edda, theft was one of the few acts that would condemn a man to a place of torment after his death. On the other hand, raiding was an honorable challenge to a fight, with the victor retaining all of the spoils.

A story from chapter 46 of Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar illustrates this distinction. While raiding a coastal farm, Egill and his men were captured by the farmer and his family, who bound all of the raiders. In the night that followed, Egill was able to slip his bonds. He and his men grabbed their captors' treasure and headed back to the ship. But along the way, Egill shamefully realized he was acting like a thief, saying, "This journey is terrible and hardly suitable for a warrior. We have stolen the farmerï¿½s money without his knowledge. We should never allow such shame to befall us." So, Egill returned to his captors' house, set it ablaze, and killed the occupants as they tried to escape the fire. He then returned to the ship with the treasure, this time as a hero. Because he had fought and won the battle, he could justly claim the booty. Raiding was a desirable occupation for a young man, although a more mature man was expected to settle down and raise a family.

This view of raiding is described by Ketill to his son, ï¿½orsteinn, in chapter 2 of Vatnsdï¿½la saga. Ketill was not pleased that his son had taken no initiative in rooting out a highwayman working nearby who had killed dozens of travelers. Ketill said to his son, "The behavior of young men today is not what it was when I was young." He said that it was once the custom of powerful men to go off raiding, in order to win riches and renown for themselves. Even if sons inherited their family lands, they were unable to sustain their high status unless they put themselves and their men at risk and went into battle, winning wealth and renown for themselves. Ketill concluded by saying to his son, "You have now reached the age when it would be right for you to put yourself to the test and find out what fate has in store for you." Raiding increased a man's stature in Viking society. A successful raider returned home with wealth and fame, the two most important qualities needed to climb the social ladder. Raiding was often a part-time occupation.

Chapter 105 of Orkneyinga saga describes the habits of Sveinn ï¿½sleifarson. In the spring, he oversaw the planting of grain on his farm at Gï¿½reksey. When the job was done, he went off raiding in the Hebrides and Ireland, but he was back to the farm in time to take in the hay and the grain in mid-summer. Then he went off raiding again until the arrival of winter. A Viking raid on a farmhouse is Norway is described in the chapter 1 of Hallfreï¿½ar saga. Sokki, a vicious Viking, came to the house of ï¿½orvaldur, a wealthy farmer. In the night, the Vikings set the house ablaze. ï¿½orvaldur came to the door and called out, asking who was responsible and why he deserved such ill treatment. Sokki replied, "We Vikings are after your life and your goods," and they attacked with fire and with weapons. Some of the household escaped, but most perished. The Vikings took away all the loot they could carry.

The loot that Vikings desired was anything of value that was compact enough to carry on-board their ships. That included gold and silver, but also included iron tools and weapons, as well as clothing and food, all valuable items. Captured livestock was often slaughtered on the spot to provide fresh food for the raiders. Another form of valuable taken in raids were people, to be sold as slaves. The sagas provide few details of this kind of booty, but in chapter 13 of Laxdï¿½la saga, Melkorka Mï¿½rkjartansdï¿½ttir says she was taken as war booty when she was fifteen years old. One has the sense that Viking raiders also conducted legitimate trade while on their voyages. Chapter 46 of Egils saga says that while Egill and ï¿½ï¿½rï¿½lfur were raiding in Kï¿½rland on the Baltic one summer, they halted their raids, called a two-week truce, and began trading with their former victims. Once the truce was up, the Vikings returned to attacking and plundering, raiding the places that seemed most attractive.

One has to wonder if during the truce, the hapless Kï¿½rlanders bought back some of the things taken from them in the raids, and afterwards if the Vikings targeted certain farms to take back through force some of the more desirable goods that had been purchased from them. The raids escaped the notice of the rest of Europe until the raiders started attacking targets outside of Scandinavia. It's not clear what triggered this outward movement at the end of the 8th century. Perhaps it was due to population pressure, since portions of Scandinavia were overpopulated by the standards of the time. Alternatively, changes in trading patterns in northwest Europe in the century before the Viking age may have been the trigger that started the outward movement from the Norse lands. The new trade routes and trade centers exposed the Norse people to the magnitude of the wealth changing hands, and to the conflicts and politics of European kingdoms, revealing both the benefits of and the opportunities for raiding outside the Norse lands. Regardless of the trigger, the Norse people started moving outwards from Scandinavia at the end of the 8th century, interacting with and making their mark upon other Europeans. The start of this movement defines the beginning of the Viking age.

The first recorded Viking raid occurred in the year 793, against the great monastery of Lindisfarne off the northeast coast of England. The grave marker from Lindisfarne shown to the left records that attack. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (a contemporary history of the Anglo-Saxon people) for that year reads: In this year dire portents appeared over Northumbria and sorely frightened the people. They consisted of immense whirlwinds and flashes of lightning, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the air. A great famine immediately followed these signs, and a little after that in the same year, on 8 June, the ravages of heathen men miserably destroyed God's church on Lindisfarne, with plunder and slaughter. The attack sent shock waves throughout Europe: why had God allowed such a holy place to be defiled by pagans? Monasteries were frequent targets of Norse raiders not because the raiders were particularly anti-Christian, but rather because that's where the money was. The tithes collected by the church concentrated the wealth in the monasteries during this period. The raiders recognized that fact and took advantage of it.

As they expanded, the Norse were looking for three things: new victims to raid; new partners with which to trade; and new land on which to settle. In many cases, Norse voyages included all three activities. The raids were usually opportunistic, against targets that could be attacked, plundered, and departed from quickly. Vikings stayed along the coast or on navigable rivers; overland marches were avoided. The goal was to grab as much valuable booty as possible before an effective defense could be raised. Typical booty included weapons, tools, clothing, jewelry, precious metals, and people who could be sold as slaves. The size of the raiding parties varied. A small raiding party is described in chapter 46 of Egils saga. Egill and ï¿½ï¿½rï¿½lfur led separate groups of twelve men each from their shared longship. A larger party is described in chapter 29 of Njï¿½ls saga. Gunnar and Hallvarï¿½ur began their raiding party with two ships, one with forty oars, and one with sixty. At the end of the summer, they returned from their raids with ten ships.

One of the largest raiding parties was the Great Army which harried in England and the Continent and which probably numbered in the few thousands. Raiding parties were tightly knit groups, working together, with the spoils shared out amongst the group. Chapter 43 of Vatnsdï¿½la saga tells of a raiding party which included ï¿½orkell. He was outraged to have been left behind during a raid, especially because he was delayed by fighting alone against six opponents to acquire a valuable treasure. He chastised the earl who led the party: "I have heard you say that men should run from ship to shore, but never that one should run back to the ships in such a way that each man abandons the next." The earl agreed and ordered than any man running away would have no share of the spoils. The Viking raiders depended on the superiority of their ships in order to make their raids a success. The shallow draft of Viking age ships meant that they could navigate shallow bays and rivers where other contemporary ships couldn't sail. The broad bottom of the Viking ships made it possible to land on any sandy beach, rather than requiring a harbor or pier or other prepared landing spot.

These two factors made it possible for Vikings to land and raid in places that their victims thought it impossible to land, contributing to the surprise of the raids. Additionally, the efficiency of Viking ships under sail meant they could outrun contemporary ships under favorable conditions. And the combination of sail and oar meant that Viking ships could outrun contemporary ships under unfavorable conditions as well. These two factors made it possible for Viking raiders to depart from a raid with little danger from any defenders who might try to give chase. The cruel and bloody portrayal of these raids has probably been overstated. The exaggerations have occurred in the writings of authors from several eras: by the contemporary authors who originally described the raids (learned Christians who were inimical to the pagan Norse and who may have been the victims of the raids); by the later Nordic authors who had pride in the exploits of their forebears (such as the authors of the Icelandic family sagas); by later historians from other European lands who wanted to highlight the courage shown by their forebears against the Viking onslaught; by later Nordic historians who had developing feelings of nationalism (such as the authors of some of the first Scandinavian histories); and by modern authors who may have misinterpreted earlier texts.

For example, the sadistic ritual killing known as a "blood-eagle" in some of the descriptions of Viking raids is almost certainly a literary invention from later times. One has the sense that while the motives of raiders shared some similarities (wealth, fame, and occasionally revenge), the details of how they operated differed in significant ways. The sagas talk about "Robin Hood"- like raiders, such as ï¿½orgils and Gyrï¿½ur, described in chapter 16 of Flï¿½amanna saga. They attacked gangs of thieves and robbers and plunderers, but let farmers and traders go in peace. Svarfdï¿½la saga (ch.3) tells of ï¿½ï¿½rï¿½lfur and his brother, ï¿½orsteinn, who was a successful trader. The brothers decided to go raiding together because they wanted to enhance their bravery, rather than their prestige. ï¿½orsteinn sold his knï¿½rr (trading ship) and bought two longships. After three years of raiding, the brothers owned twelve ships and great wealth.

At the other extreme, Surtur jï¿½rnhaus (Iron-Skull) was a great viking and evil-doer who raided all over the British Isles, abducting women and fighting duels, as is told in chapter 15 of Flï¿½amanna saga. When Surtur challenged Earl ï¿½lafur to a duel over the earl's sister, ï¿½orgils took the earl's place in the duel and killed Surtur. The Norse pagan religion helped to propel the Norse expansion through two key beliefs. The first is the belief that for most people, there is no existence after death. Death is the end for all but a few. These few include the chosen warriors who enjoyed the pleasures of Valhöll after death. And they include oath breakers, thieves, and the like who, after death, were taken to Niflheim for torment. Since there was no afterlife, the only thing that survived after death was one's reputation, one's "good name". Norsemen risked everything to gain and protect their good name.

The second key belief of Norsemen is that the time of one's death is determined by fate and is chosen by the Norns at the time of one's birth. Therefore, nothing one did could change the moment of one's death. However, what one did up until that moment was strictly one's own doing. Therefore, one ought to make the very best of every moment of life, because the worst that could happen would be death, and the best that could happen would be fame and an enhancement to one's reputation. Since one couldn't effect the time of one's own death, which was predestined anyway, there was nothing to lose and everything to gain by being bold and adventurous. This attitude towards life is expressed in an address made by King Sverrir of Norway to his troops before the Battle of Ilevolden (described in chapter 47 of Sverris saga). The king related a parable to his men: A farmer accompanied his son to the warships and gave him counsel, telling him to be valiant and hardy in perils.

"How would you act if you were engaged in battle and knew beforehand that you were destined to be killed?" The son answered, "Why then should I refrain from striking right and left?" The farmer said, "Now suppose someone could tell you for certain that you would not be killed?" The son answered, "Why then should I refrain from pushing forward to the utmost?" The farmer said, "In every battle you fight, one of two things will happen: you will either fall or come away alive. Be bold, therefore, for everything is preordained. Nothing can bring a man to his death if his time has not come, and nothing can save one doomed to die. To die in flight is the worst death of all." A good man (drengr) was expected to face challenges with courage and equanimity. Worrying or complaining did nothing to improve the situation and only diminished a man. The greatest test of a man was to fight to the bitter end, even in the face of certain defeat and death. Norsemen expected a share of trouble, and the best of them attempted to use it, and to rise above it creating fame for themselves through bravery, loyalty, and generosity.

As a result of these two key tenets of the Norse pagan religion, it is only natural that raiding became a common way to increase one's stature in the community. Historians call this era the Viking era. Throughout these pages, I've tried to avoid that term because while most Vikings were Norse, very few Norsemen were Vikings. In the old Norse language, the word vï¿½kingr would normally be translated as raider or pirate. While this aspect of Norse life was very important, most Norsemen were not pirates, but rather farmers, traders, smiths, and so on. The Viking raids didn't come to an end with any singular event. Some would say the widespread conversion to Christianity in the Norse lands at the beginning of the 11th century signaled the end of the Viking age. The teachings of the Christian religion did not encompass the kinds of activities that took place on a typical raid. In the year 1066, King Haraldr harï¿½rï¿½ï¿½i of Norway died trying to conquer England. It would be the last major Norse raid. In the same year, Polish tribesmen overran and destroyed Hedeby, the primary Norse trading center.

The climate turned colder that century, making life more difficult in the north. The Norse influence in continental Europe gradually declined. BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: Loot and Land Print this page Terror from the sea In 789, three Viking ships arrived on the Wessex shore. The local reeve had been sent to greet them but he was killed on the spot. This event was recorded in a short entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. But worse was to come. Four years later, Lindisfarne, one of Britain's most sacred sites, was sacked. Word of the Viking threat spread throughout Europe. 'Lo, it is nearly 350 years that we and our fathers have inhabited this most lovely land, and never before has such terror appeared in Britain as we have now suffered from a pagan race, nor was it thought that such an inroad from the sea could be made. Behold the church of St Cuthbert spattered with the blood of the priests of God, despoiled of all its ornaments; a place more venerable than all in Britain is given as a prey to pagan peoples...'.

Letter from Alcuin to Ethelred, king of Northumbria The first Viking raids were hit-and-run affairs. There was no co-ordination and no long-term plan behind them. Raids were not even a new hazard in a society well-used to warfare on any scale from local skirmishes to great battles. The Vikings' sin was to attack and pillage the holy monasteries, the sacred places of the Christian world. And the leaders of that world were quick to condemn them. One of those leaders whose words have come down to us was Alcuin of York. Top Lindisfarne sacked Alcuin was a scholar and monk living in Germany, who heard the news of a devastating Viking raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne in Northumbria on 8 June, 793. He wrote long letters to the Northumbrian king and to the Bishop of Lindisfarne, commiserating with their plight and blaming it on the sinful lives of their people. 'Consider carefully, brothers, and examine diligently, lest perchance this unaccustomed and unheard-of evil was merited by some unheard-of evil practice...

Consider the dress, the way of wearing the hair, the luxurious habits of the princes and people.' Letter from Alcuin to Ethelred, King of Northumbria. It was unthinkable that such a holy place should suffer attack from foreign heathens. The raid of 793 was the first recorded Viking raid on Britain. Alcuin's words express the horror of his Christian world at the ferocity of pagan raiders, whose attack was sudden, unexpected and devastating. Lindisfarne (Holy Island) lies just off the coast of Northumberland and its monastery was revered for its link with St Cuthbert more than a century earlier. It was unthinkable that such a holy place should suffer attack from foreign heathens, that its monks should be slaughtered and its treasures taken. Yet this was to happen again and again to other monasteries throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Alcuin's letters are just one piece of historical evidence for Viking attacks. Other raids were recorded in the annals kept in monasteries at Iona and in Ireland: 'devastation of all the islands of Britain' reads an entry for 794 in the Annals of Ulster.

Columba's famous monastery on the Scottish island of Iona was pillaged the following year, and again in 802, in 806 and in 825. Nowhere was safe from the Vikings. Top Who were the Vikings? The Ardagh Chalice - jewel of Celtic culture © We tend to think of the Vikings as a single phenomenal race of Scandinavian warriors, but the reality is more complex. Raids on the British Isles and the coasts of France and Spain were the work of Vikings from Norway and Denmark (Swedish Vikings set out across the Baltic Sea into Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia). The word Viking means one who lurks in a 'vik' or bay, in effect, a pirate. The word 'Viking' has come to describe a whole new age in Europe between about 800 and 1150. This is despite the fact that Vikings were not just pirates and warriors but also traders and colonists. But at the start of the Viking Age in the last decade of the eighth century, loot and adventure were the main goals of the Norwegians who raided in Scotland and Ireland and of the Danes who attacked England.

Gold and silver treasures accumulated by the great monasteries could be converted into personal wealth, and thus power, and captives could be sold as slaves. What better way for the young sons of good families to earn their way and see the world? 'The work of angels' were looted and taken home by Vikings. The monks who recorded Viking activities could not know the origins of their tormentors, but discoveries of precious metalwork from Britain in Norway and Denmark are clues to their homelands. Decorative mounts from church plate such as the Ardagh Chalice could be removed and made into brooches, the rest of the chalice could also be melted down and the silver re-used. Such pieces have been found in pagan graves of around 800 in Scandinavia. The Ardagh Chalice escaped this fate, but many other beautiful examples of what has been called 'the work of angels' were looted and taken home by Vikings. One exquisite reliquary box, made in the eighth century to hold a saint's relic, became a Norwegian lady's jewellery casket in the tenth century, when an inscription in runes was carved on its base: 'Ranvaik owns this casket'.

Top Ships and navigation The sleek Viking Gokstad ship © Successful raiding and adventures overseas required good fast ships, and that is exactly what the development of boat technology had provided by the eighth century. The use of a sturdy keel meant that a mast could be properly supported and that boats could be sailed as well as rowed. Long sea voyages were possible even if navigation was still a matter of watching the movement of the sun and of observing landmarks and seabirds. Vikings preferred not to spend the night at sea if they could avoid it... We know what their ships looked like because many Vikings were buried with their worldly goods, and sometimes this included their boat. The Gokstad ship, from a burial south of Oslo, is the sort of warship to which the Viking raiders aspired - an elegant 23 metres of curving oak planks that would skim the waves. Tree-ring dating has shown that this particular ship was built towards the end of the ninth century, but its efficient design was developed earlier - fast, flexible and, with its shallow draught, easy to beach.

Few warlords could afford to send such a magnificent vessel to the grave, and no Viking boat of the size of Gokstad has been found in Britain. Smaller rowing boats could be spared for funerary use, and the most recent discovery of a boat-burial at Scar in Orkney contained a vessel some 7 metres long. But the existence of large warships in British waters can be inferred from the historical evidence - Vikings preferred not to spend the night at sea if they could avoid it and would rather camp in tents on shore. Top A fair wind for raiding The distinctive prow of a Viking ship © Alongside the efforts of boat builders was a gradual improvement in climate and overall weather patterns. This led to calmer seas and fewer storms in summer. There are many clues that point to this change in climate. If you slice a tree trunk horizontally, you can see the rings that represent annual growth: thick rings in good years and thin rings in bad years. If you dig down into a peat bog, you will find that there are horizontal layers, caused by variations in climate: in dry summers the surface of the bog will dry out and compact, whereas high rainfall will encourage the peat to grow.

Plants can also provide evidence. They have different needs in terms of temperature and moisture, and the presence or absence of the pollen of certain plants on an archaeological site can indicate what the climate was like when people were living there. A cool and wet climate, for instance, will encourage the growth of ferns. So we know that the summers were getting warmer but that was not the whole story. For Norwegians intent on reaching Scotland and the honeyed seaway to Ireland, the wind was on their side too. The prevailing winds helpfully blew westwards into their sails in springtime to take them to the Scottish islands, and eastwards in the autumn to bring them home. Top The need for land Remains of Viking buildings © Raids and loot were not the whole story. Land to farm was also a desirable commodity, especially for the families along the western seaboard of Norway, where fertile land was in short supply. Younger sons, political exiles, mercenary warriors and traders all had the option of becoming colonists in the lands now familiar from the tales of returning raiders. Once based in the northern and western islands of Scotland, they could farm and trade and still turn their hand to raiding whenever convenient.

And we know from the 12th-century Icelandic Sagas that this is exactly what they did. Svein Asleifarson lived on the island of Gairsay in Orkney in the 12th century, and his lifestyle was recorded in one of these sagas. 'This was how Svein used to live. Winter he would spend at home on Gairsay, where he entertained some 80 men at his own expense. His drinking hall was so big, there was nothing in Orkney to compare with it. In the spring he had more than enough to occupy him, with a great deal of seed to sow, which he saw to carefully himself. Then when that job was done, he would go off plundering in the Hebrides and in Ireland on what he called his 'spring-trip', then back home just after mid-summer, where he stayed till the cornfields had been reaped and the grain was safely in. After that he would go off raiding again, and never came back till the first month of winter was ended.

This he used to call his 'autumn-trip'.' Orkneyinga Saga, chapter 105 Protection money had been extorted from the English. The pattern of Danish colonisation in England was more organised, as had been Danish raids after about 850. In that year a Viking army had spent the winter encamped on the Isle of Thanet at the mouth of the River Thames, and protection money had been extorted from the English. Large forces of warriors, winter camps and payments in silver or food became the norm, even deep inland - a Viking camp of 873 has been excavated at Repton in Derbyshire. In 876 a Viking leader shared out the farmlands of Northumbria among his warriors. The Danish colonisation of England had begun.

Books Chronicles of the Vikings: records, memorials and myths by RI Page (British Museum Press, 1995) Cultural Atlas of the Viking World by James Graham-Campbell, Colleen Batey, Helen Clarke, RI Page and Neil S Price (Andromeda, 1994) Viking Scotland by Anna Ritchie (Batsford, 1993) Viking Age England by Julian D Richards (Batsford, 1991) The Viking Dig: The Excavations at York by Richard Hall (Bodley Head, 1984) Scar: A Viking Boat Burial on Sanday, Orkney by Olwyn Owen and Magnar Dalland (Tuckwell Press/East Linton, 1999) The Age of Charlemagne by Donald Bullough (Paul Elek, 1965) Orkneyinga Saga translated by Hermann Palsson and Paul Edwards (Hogarth Press, 1978) A History of the English Language by NF Blake (Macmillan, 1996). An accessible and modern discussion of the growth of English.

The Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names by E Eckwall (Oxford University Press, 1960). Still the most useful book on place names. The Origins and Development of the English Language by Thomas Pyles and John Algeo (Harcourt Brace Jovanich, 1993). A comprehensive guide to the evolution of English, well organised into sections. The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England edited by Michael Lapidge, John Blair, Simon Keynes and DG Scragg (Blackwell, 1999). A thorough guide by leading scholars into all aspects of Anglo-Saxon culture, including entries on the Vikings, Old Norse, place-names, and numerous individuals, texts and places. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Viking edited by P Sawyer (Oxford University Press, 1997). A colourful, full discussion of the activities of the Vikings. Places to visit The most obvious place to visit to learn more about the Vikings is the Jorwik Centre in York. York itself was the seat of Viking kings, and the Centre recreates the sights, sounds and smells of the 10th-century city.

Other cities with excellent museums that include finds from Viking settlements are Leicester (Jewry Wall Museum) and Nottingham (Castle Museum). Most cities also have dedicated museums, including Lincoln, Derby, Peterborough and Norwich. In these, information about the history of the regions and archaeological discoveries bring the Viking and early medieval periods to life. Museum of Scotland , Edinburgh. Viking artefacts from across Scotland and a reconstructed grave from the Westness cemetery, Orkney. Heritage Trails. Most cities now offer heritage trails, available from Tourist Information centres, which allow you to retrace the footsteps of medieval ancestors, and investigate the surviving architecture from earlier centuries. Or visit the islands themselves - Brough of Birsay, Orkney. On this spectacular tidal island are the remains of Viking houses and a 12th-century church. Jarlshof, Shetland. A stunning site that spans five and a half millennia, including four centuries of a Viking farmstead. Libraries and local history. Local libraries will provide a wealth of interesting material for the medieval period and the Viking settlements. Look especially for local history books and pamplets, which will provide a guide to places of interest in your locality.

Local history and archaeology groups often have public lectures on aspects of early England. These should be advertised in your local library or look up special interest groups in the telephone directory. Sign-spotting. Travelling around the old Danelaw counties investigating place names is a fun and rewarding activity. You can also do this with a map from your armchair! Try to find as many places as possible with Old English origins (ending in -tun, -burh, -feld, for example), and with Scandinavian origins (-by, -thorpe, -toft, -thwaite) to work out where the Viking settlers chose to make their homes, how close they were to their English neighbours, and the kinds of activities in which they might have engaged. Living history. There are numerous re-enactment groups who stage annual events where villages and battles are recreated. These are advertised by English Heritage, local newspapers and Tourist Information centres. The Vikings , a living history group, puts on a whole range of activities. To see how the Anglo-Saxons lived and worked, visit West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village in Suffolk.

St Edmund himself, martyred by the Vikings in the 9th century, was interred at the abbey of nearby Bury St Edmunds. Bede's World in Jarrow , Northumberland is a wonderful site recreating many aspects of early Anglo-Saxon England. The nearby church of Jarrow was where Bede himself lived and worked, and it still retains the original foundation stone for all to see. In 991, the East Anglian Anglo-Saxons, led by Earl Byrthnorth, were totally defeated by the Vikings at the Battle of Maldon. The site of this battle, commemorated in the famous Old English poem, The Battle of Maldon, can still be visited today, near the River Pante in Essex. Additional links Viking Ship Museum . Images and descriptions of finds from the great ship burials at Oseberg, Gokstad and Tune, as well as finds from the chieftain grave at Borre in Norway. Anglo-Saxon England (Minnesota State University) . The Anglo-Saxon England Ring contains some interesting material on King Canute. The Vikings .

The National Association of Re-enactment Societies offers the chance to watch or take part in re-created moments from the past. Regia Anglorum . A living history club recreating English life 1000 years ago. BBC - History - Overview: The Vikings, 800 to 1066 Overview: The Vikings, 800 to 1066 By Professor Edward James Last updated 2011-03-29 The story of the Vikings in Britain is one of conquest, expulsion, extortion and reconquest. Their lasting legacy was the formation of the independent kingdoms of England and Scotland. On this page Print this page Viking raids Raids by seaborne Scandinavian pirates on sites in Britain, especially largely undefended monastic sites, began at the end of the eighth century AD. By the end of the ninth century there were large-scale settlements of Scandinavians in various parts of Britain, and they had achieved political domination over a significant territory. Early in the 11th century the king of Denmark became king of England as well.

And in 1066 there were separate invasions by the king of Norway, Harald Hardrada, and duke of Normandy, William, the latter the descendant of Scandinavian settlers in northern France. Many monasteries in the north were destroyed, and with them any records of the raids. Yet the most significant development of the period was an indirect result of Scandinavian involvement in the affairs of Britain - the emergence of two kingdoms of newly unified territories, England and Scotland. In 793 AD, an anguished Alcuin of York wrote to the Higbald, the bishop of Lindisfarne and to Ethelred, King of Northumbria, bemoaning the unexpected attack on the monastery of Lindisfarne by Viking raiders, probably Norwegians sailing directly across the North Sea to Northumbria. It is clear from the letter that Lindisfarne was not destroyed. Alcuin suggested that further attack might be averted by moral reform in the monastery. Over the next few decades, many monasteries in the north were destroyed, and with them any records they might have kept of the raids. We know no historical details of the raids in Scotland, although they must have been extensive.

Iona was burnt in 802 AD, and 68 monks were killed in another raid in 806 AD. The remaining monks fled to Kells (County Meath, Ireland) with a gospel-book probably produced in Iona, but now known as the 'Book of Kells'. Other monasteries in Scotland and northern England simply disappear from the record. Lindisfarne was abandoned, and the monks trailed around northern England with their greatest possession, the relics of St Cuthbert, until they found a home in Durham in 995 AD. Top England and Scotland We cannot be sure of the impact the Vikings had on Scotland due to a real scarcity of written material from the area. But the surviving place names show us that the Orkneys and Shetlands, and the mainland of Caithness and Sutherland, were heavily settled by Norwegians. Those Norwegians were probably involved in the greatest political upset in the north - the disappearance of the kingdom of the Picts. The Vikings began to assemble larger armies with the clear intent of conquest. In the eighth century, the Picts had one of the most important kingdoms in Britain. By the end of the ninth century they had vanished.

In their place was a kingdom of Scotland, controlled by the Scots, who were the descendents of immigrants from Ireland in the fifth and sixth centuries. The Scots took advantage of the presence of the Vikings, and, above all under King Cináed mac Alpín (Kenneth MacAlpine), they did so with considerable aggression and intelligence. They promoted themselves as the kings of all those in northern Britain, or 'Alba'. They wove a new national history, which emphasised (or invented) many links between the Scottish and Pictish dynasties. They also promoted the idea that St Columba, the founder of the monastery of Iona, was the apostle of all those in the north. The Viking raids in England were sporadic until the 840s AD, but in the 850s Viking armies began to winter in England, and in the 860s they began to assemble larger armies with the clear intent of conquest. In 865 AD they forced the East Angles to help supply an army, which in 866 AD captured York and in 867 AD took over the southern part of the kingdom of Northumbria.

Later traditions saw Ragnar Hairy-Breeks and his son Ívarr the Boneless as the two main Viking leaders, responsible not only for killing Ælla, King of Northumbria in 867 AD but also Edmund, King of the East Angles in 869 AD, and for destroying Dumbarton, the fortress of the British kings of Strathclyde. The normally reliable 'Annals of Ulster' recorded Ívarr's death in Ireland in 873 AD and described him as 'king of the Northmen in the whole of Ireland and Britain'. The man we then see more clearly in the sources as the Viking leader, Hálfdan, was later believed to be Ívarr's brother. He led the Viking army to a conquest of Mercia in 874 AD, organised a parcelling out of land among the Vikings in Northumbria in 876 AD, and in 878 AD moved south and forced most of the population of Wessex to submit. The Vikings had conquered almost the whole of England.

Alfred's dynasty An excerpt from the 'Parker Chronicle', the oldest surviving manuscript from the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' (890 AD) © The idea that the Vikings had forced Wessex to submit may have been invented to magnify the achievement of its king, Alfred, the only English king to be called 'the Great'. Famously, he hid in the marshes near Athelney (Somerset) in 878 AD, but then emerged, re-formed his army, and defeated the Vikings later that year at Edington (Wiltshire). After the peace that Alfred forced on the Vikings, the Viking army seems to have moved across the Channel (it established winter quarters in Paris in 886 AD), giving the king some time to organise for war. Æthelstan's victory did not end the Viking threat or the slow expansion by the Scots. He built fortresses, established a defensive strategy, and built up a navy. By the time the Vikings returned in the 890s, the West Saxons were able to resist, leaving Alfred, at his death in 899 AD, king of the only independent English kingdom.

Thanks to Alfred's own propaganda machine, we know more about him than about most early medieval kings in Britain. He ordered the compilation of the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle', a major source of information that was continued as contemporary chronicles in various centres until the 12th century. Under Alfred's auspices, the Welshman Asser prepared a 'Life of Alfred', after the model of Einhard's 'Life of Charlemagne'. Like Charlemagne, Alfred was deeply interested in promoting literacy and learning, and he sponsored (and perhaps even took part in) the translation of various Latin works into English. Alfred was succeeded by his son Edward the Elder (899-924 AD) and grandson Æthelstan (924-939 AD). Both these rulers were in many ways even more important in the history of England than Alfred himself. In a few expeditions Edward (with the direct military help of his sister Æthelflæd, widow of the Mercian king) conquered the south of England from the Danes, and incorporated Mercia itself into his kingdom.

The 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' tells us that Edward built a fortress at Bakewell (Derbyshire), and there he was chosen 'father and lord' by the king of the Scots, the king of the Strathclyde Welsh, and the people of Northumbria. All of them were perhaps in need of protection from aggression by the Vikings of Dublin. There was a similar submission to Æthelstan in 927 AD, at Eamont (Cumbria), when Welsh kings as well as the Scottish king submitted to him. The great Welsh king Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good) was apparently a close ally. In fact, he was so Anglophile that he named one of his sons Edwin, and sponsored a written law code after the English model. Æthelstan's greatest success was the victory at Brunanburh, somewhere in the north. A Viking army led by Olaf Guthfrithson, allied with the kings of Scotland and Strathclyde, invaded Northumbria in 937 AD. Our source tells us that five kings and seven of Olaf's earls died on the battlefield, as well as the son of Constantine II of Scotland.

Æthelstan's reputation was immense on the continent, and an Irish monk called him 'the pillar of the dignity of the western world'. But his victory did not put an end to the Viking threat in the north, nor to the slow expansion of the power of the Scots. The last Viking king of York, Eric Bloodaxe, was only expelled from Northumbria in 954 AD, after Æthelstan's rule. In that same year the Scots took Edinburgh from the English. Top Danegeld After 955 AD there was a generation of peace on the island of Britain. As the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' says of Edgar, King of England (959 - 975 AD) 'without battle he brought under his sway all that he wished'. He issued laws for 'all the nations, whether Englishmen, Danes, or Britons', an interesting recognition of the multi-ethnic character of England at the time. Edgar took advantage of his strong position to foster the reorganisation of the church that is generally known as the '10th-century Reformation'. New bishoprics were established in the areas conquered from the Vikings. Raids were on a large scale and their object was extortion.

But above all this reformation was about the re-establishment and strict reform of monasticism. Edgar relied on three men in particular - Dunstan (archbishop of Canterbury, 960 - 988 AD), Oswald (bishop of Worcester, 961 - 992 AD, and archbishop of York, 971 - 992 AD) and Æthelwold (bishop of Winchester, 963 - 984 AD). The process was sealed by the 'Regularis Concordia' of 973 AD, a document of monastic reform that relied heavily on continental models. It was cemented by the building of some magnificent churches (mostly replaced by the Normans) and some lavish illuminated manuscripts, such as the 'Benedictional of St Æthelwold'. After Edgar's death, his successor Edward I reigned briefly. He was murdered in 978 AD at Corfe (Dorset), possibly by the followers of his young half-brother Æthelred, and possibly by his stepmother.

Edgar's half-brother, Æthelred II, who later would acquire the nickname 'the Unready', started his long reign (978-1016 AD) at the same time as the emergence of Denmark. The country was newly converted to Christianity and newly unified under Harald Bluetooth. It was becoming a major power. This was the dawning of the 'second Viking age', and it was very different from the first. Raids were on a large scale, frequently organised by royal leaders, and their object was extortion. In 991 AD the Danes acquired 4,500 kg of silver in return for going home. By 1012, payments to the Danes, known as 'Danegeld', had increased to 22,000 kg. England was wealthy, and it developed a taxation system that was probably more sophisticated than any other in Europe, which was both a cause and a consequence of the raiding. Conquest and fall Silver penny of Cnut (Canute) © The extortion came to an end in 1013, when Harald's son, Swein Forkbeard, decided to conquer England.

He forced Æthelred into exile, although the definitive conquest of England was only achieved under his son Cnut (or Canute). In 1016, Cnut became king of England, and after further campaigns in Scandinavia he could claim in 1027 to be 'king of the whole of England and Denmark and Norway and of parts of Sweden'. William won and the last English royal dynasty perished. Cnut was a strong and effective king. He introduced some Danish customs to England, but England also influenced Denmark. For instance, Cnut appointed several Englishmen as bishops in Denmark, and even today most of the ordinary Danish words of church organisation are English in origin. In an attempt at reconciliation with the English he had conquered, Cnut married Emma, the widow of Æthelred. She was the daughter of the duke of Normandy, himself the descendant of Vikings or Northmen (Normans). She bore Cnut a son, Harthacnut, but she had also had a son by Æthelred, who succeeded Harthacnut as Edward II, the Confessor (1042 - 1066).

When Edward died without children, it was natural that Emma's great-nephew, Duke William, should lay claim to the throne. It was just as natural that this claim should be resisted by Harold, the son of Godwin, Edward's most powerful noble. Harold II successfully beat off the invasion by Harald Hardrada of Norway, defeating him at Stamford Bridge near York in September 1066. Even when he and his troops arrived, exhausted, at Hastings three weeks later to face William's Norman invaders, he nearly prevailed. But William won, and the last English royal dynasty perished.

Find out more Books From the Vikings to the Normans (Short Oxford History of the British Isles) edited by Wendy Davies (Oxford University Press, 2003) Britain in the First Millennium by Edward James (Edward Arnold, 2001) Early Medieval Ireland, AD 400-AD 1200 Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (Longman, 1995) Scotland: Archaeology and Early History Graham Ritchie and Anna Ritchie (Edinburgh University Press, 1991) The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings edited by Peter Sawyer (Oxford University Press, 1997) Unification and Conquest: Political and Social History of England in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries by Pauline Stafford (Hodder Arnold, 1989) Top About the author Edward James is Professor of Medieval History at University College Dublin. Previously he had been Senior Lecturer at the University of York and Professor of Medieval History at Reading. He has published a number of books and articles on early medieval France, including The Franks (Blackwell, 1988) and is currently writing a book called Europe's Barbarians for Longman.

Vikings - Exploration - HISTORY.com Google Who Were the Vikings? Contrary to some popular conceptions of the Vikings, they were not a “race” linked by ties of common ancestry or patriotism, and could not be defined by any particular sense of “Viking-ness.” Most of the Vikings whose activities are best known come from the areas now known as Denmark, Norway and Sweden, though there are mentions in historical records of Finnish, Estonian and Saami Vikings as well. Their common ground–and what made them different from the European peoples they confronted–was that they came from a foreign land, they were not “civilized” in the local understanding of the word and–most importantly–they were not Christian. Did You Know? The name Viking came from the Scandinavians themselves, from the Old Norse word "vik" (bay or creek) which formed the root of "vikingr" (pirate). The exact reasons for Vikings venturing out from their homeland are uncertain; some have suggested it was due to overpopulation of their homeland, but the earliest Vikings were looking for riches, not land.

In the eighth century A.D., Europe was growing richer, fueling the growth of trading centers such as Dorestad and Quentovic on the Continent and Hamwic (now Southampton), London, Ipswich and York in England. Scandinavian furs were highly prized in the new trading markets; from their trade with the Europeans, Scandinavians learned about new sailing technology as well as about the growing wealth and accompanying inner conflicts between European kingdoms. The Viking predecessors–pirates who preyed on merchant ships in the Baltic Sea–would use this knowledge to expand their fortune-seeking activities into the North Sea and beyond. Early Viking Raids In A.D. 793, an attack on the Lindisfarne monastery off the coast of Northumberland in northeastern England marked the beginning of the Viking Age. The culprits–probably Norwegians who sailed directly across the North Sea–did not destroy the monastery completely, but the attack shook the European religious world to its core. Unlike other groups, these strange new invaders had no respect for religious institutions such as the monasteries, which were often left unguarded and vulnerable near the shore.

Two years later, Viking raids struck the undefended island monasteries of Skye and Iona (in the Hebrides) as well as Rathlin (off the northeast coast of Ireland). The first recorded raid in continental Europe came in 799, at the island monastery of St Philibert’s on Noirmoutier, near the estuary of the Loire River. For several decades, the Vikings confined themselves to hit-and-run raids against coastal targets in the British Isles (particularly Ireland) and Europe (the trading center of Dorestad, 80 kilometers from the North Sea, became a frequent target after 830). They then took advantage of internal conflicts in Europe to extend their activity further inland: after the death of Louis the Pious, emperor of Frankia (modern-day France and Germany), in 840, his son Lothar actually invited the support of a Viking fleet in a power struggle with brothers. Before long other Vikings realized that Frankish rulers were willing to pay them rich sums to prevent them from attacking their subjects, making Frankia an irresistible target for further Viking activity.

Conquests in the British Isles By the mid-ninth century, Ireland, Scotland and England had become major targets for Viking settlement as well as raids. Vikings gained control of the Northern Isles of Scotland (Shetland and the Orkneys), the Hebrides and much of mainland Scotland. They founded Ireland’s first trading towns: Dublin, Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow and Limerick, and used their base on the Irish coast to launch attacks within Ireland and across the Irish Sea to England. When King Charles the Bald began defending West Frankia more energetically in 862, fortifying towns, abbeys, rivers and coastal areas, Viking forces began to concentrate more on England than Frankia. In the wave of Viking attacks in England after 851, only one kingdom–Wessex–was able to successfully resist. Viking armies (mostly Danish) conquered East Anglia and Northumberland and dismantled Mercia, while in 871 King Alfred the Great of Wessex became the only king to decisively defeat a Danish army in England.

Leaving Wessex, the Danes settled to the north, in an area known as “Danelaw.” Many of them became farmers and traders and established York as a leading mercantile city. In the first half of the 10th century, English armies led by the descendants of Alfred of Wessex began reconquering Scandinavian areas of England; the last Scandinavian king, Erik Bloodaxe, was expelled and killed around 952, permanently uniting English into one kingdom. Viking Settlements: Europe and Beyond Meanwhile, Viking armies remained active on the European continent throughout the ninth century, brutally sacking Nantes (on the French coast) in 842 and attacking towns as far inland as Paris, Limoges, Orleans, Tours and Nimes. In 844, Vikings stormed Seville (then controlled by the Arabs); in 859, they plundered Pisa, though an Arab fleet battered them on the way back north. In 911, the West Frankish king granted Rouen and the surrounding territory by treaty to a Viking chief called Rollo in exchange for the latter’s denying passage to the Seine to other raiders.

This region of northern France is now known as Normandy, or “land of the Northmen.” In the ninth century, Scandinavians (mainly Norwegians) began to colonize Iceland, an island in the North Atlantic where no one had yet settled in large numbers. By the late 10th century, some Vikings (including the famous Erik the Red) moved even further westward, to Greenland. According to later Icelandic histories, some of the early Viking settlers in Greenland (supposedly led by the Norwegian Viking hero Leif Eriksson , son of Erik the Red) may have become the first Europeans to discover and explore North America. Calling their landing place Vinland (Wine-land), they built a temporary settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows in modern-day Newfoundland. Beyond that, there is little evidence of Viking presence in the New World, and they didn’t form permanent settlements. Danish Dominance The mid-10th-century reign of Harald Bluetooth as king of a newly unified, powerful and Christianized Denmark marked the beginning of a second Viking age. Large-scale raids, often organized by royal leaders, hit the coasts of Europe and especially England, where the line of kings descended from Alfred the Great was faltering.

Harald’s rebellious son, Sven Forkbeard, led Viking raids on England beginning in 991 and conquered the entire kingdom in 1013, sending King Ethelred into exile. Sven died the following year, leaving his son Knut (or Canute) to rule a Scandinavian empire (comprising England, Denmark, and Norway) on the North Sea. After Knut’s death, his two sons succeeded him, but both were dead by 1042 and Edward the Confessor, son of the previous (non-Danish) king, returned from exile and regained the English throne from the Danes. Upon his death (without heirs) in 1066, Harold Godwinesson, the son of Edward’s most powerful noble, laid claim to the throne. Harold’s army was able to defeat an invasion led by the last great Viking king–Harald Hardrada of Norway–at Stamford Bridge, near York, but fell to the forces of William, Duke of Normandy (himself a descendant of Scandinavian settlers in northern France) just weeks later. Crowned king of England on Christmas Day in 1066, William managed to retain the crown against further Danish challenges.

End of the Viking Age The events of 1066 in England effectively marked the end of the Viking Age. By that time, all of the Scandinavian kingdoms were Christian, and what remained of Viking “culture” was being absorbed into the culture of Christian Europe. Today, signs of the Viking legacy can be found mostly in the Scandinavian origins of some vocabulary and place-names in the areas in which they settled, including northern England, Scotland and Russia. In Iceland, the Vikings left an extensive body of literature, the Icelandic sagas, in which they celebrated the greatest victories of their glorious past. Tags The Viking Age in Ireland. THE VIKING AGE IN IRELAND The First Raids At the end of the eighth century the first Viking raiders appeared in Irish waters. These raiders came exclusively from Norway. The first recorded raid was in 795 on Rathlin Island off the coast of Antrim where the church was burned. On the west coast the monasteries on Inismurray and Inisbofin were plundered possibly by the same raiders. The Scottish island of Iona was also attacked in the same year.

For the first four decades, 795-c.836, the raids followed a clear pattern of hit-and -run affairs by small, probably independent, free-booters. Attacks were usually on coastal targets no Viking raid is recorded for areas further inland than about twenty miles. These attacks were difficult to defend but the Vikings were sometimes defeated. In 811 a raiding party was slaughtered by the Ulaid and the following year raiding parties were defeated by the men of Umall and the king of E�ganacht Locha L�in. By 823 the Vikings had raided around all the coast and in 824 the island monastery of Sceilg, off the Kerry coast, was attacked. The monastic city of Armagh was attacked three times in 832. In the first quarter century of Viking attacks only twenty-six plunderings by Vikings are recorded in the Irish Annals. During the same time eighty-seven raids by the Irish themselves are recorded. An average of one Viking raid a year can have caused no great disorder or distress in Irish society. Attacks on Irish monasteries were common before the Viking Age. The burning of churches also was an integral part of Irish warfare.

Wars and battles between monasteries also occurred in Ireland before the coming of the Vikings. Irish monasteries had become wealthy and politically important with considerable populations. The Vikings attacked the monasteries because they were rich in land, stock and provisions. They also took valuable objects but this was not their primary concern. Intensified Raids and Settlements From c. 830 Viking raids became more intense in Ireland. In 832 for instance, there were extensive plunderings in the lands of the Cianachta who lived near the sea in Louth. In 836 the Vikings attacked the land of the U� N�ill of southern Brega and attacked the lands of Connacht. In 837 a fleet of sixty ships appeared on the Boyne and a similar fleet on the Liffey. Soon afterwards Vikings made their way up the Shannon and the Erne and put a fleet on Lough Neagh. The Vikings wintered for the first time on Lough Neagh in 840-41. In 841 they established a longphort at Annagassan in Louth and at Dublin and used these bases for attacks on the south and west.

They wintered for the first time at Dublin in 841-842 and in 842 another large fleet arrived. Also in this year there is the first reference to co-operation between Vikings and the Irish though this may have occurred previously. A fleet was based on Lough Ree and the Shannon and built a fortified position on the shores of Lough Ree from where they ravaged the surrounding countryside in 844. M�el Seachnaill, overking of the U� N�ill attacked the Vikings, captured a leader called Turgesius and drowned him in Lough Owel in Westmeath. From now on Irish kings began to fiercely fight back against the Vikings. Because they now had fixed settlements or fortified positions they were vulnerable to attack. M�el Seachnaill routed a Viking force near Skreen, County Meath and killed 700 of them. At Castledermot, in Kildare, the joint armies of the kings of Munster and Leinster defeated a large force of Vikings. The newly founded Viking settlement at Cork was destroyed and in 849 the Norse territory of Dublin was ravaged by M�el Seachnaill.

The Vikings were now a factor in the internal politics of Ireland and were accepted as such. Norse-Irish alliances became commonplace. During the years 849-852 new Vikings, probably from Denmark, arrived in the Irish Sea area and many battles took place between the new arrivals and the more established Vikings. In 853 Olaf the White arrived in Dublin and with Ivar, another Viking, assumed sovereignity of the Viking settlement there. Along the Irish coast were other Viking settlements. Vikings at Waterford attacked the King of Osraige but were slaughtered in 860. There was a longphort settlement at Youghal which was destroyed in 866. In 887 the Limerick Vikings were slaughtered by Connachtmen and in 892 the Vikings of Waterford, Wexford and St. Mullins were defeated. Ivar, joint king of Dublin died in 873 and there were struggles and division in Dublin for the next two decades. In 902 the kings of Brega and of Leinster combined again the Norse of Dublin and defeated them, destroyed their settlement and expelled them from Ireland.

By his time extensive cultural assimilation had taken place between the Irish and the Norse. Olaf, king of Dublin in the middle of the ninth century was married to the daughter of �ed Finnliath, king of the northern U� N�ill. The Hiberno-Norse also had gradually become christianised. The annals in recording the death of Ivar in 872 said that "he rested in Christ". The Second Phase of Viking Attacks on Ireland By the first decades of the tenth century opportunities for Vikings in Britain and the Europe were limited. It is not surprising that they chose to attack Ireland again. From 914 large fleets again began to attack Ireland, these Vikings came from those already settled elsewhere in Britain. Munster was ravaged widely in 915 and the king of Tara was defeated when he went to the aid of the Munstermen. The king of Leinster was killed in a battle with Vikings under the leadership of Sitric at Leixlip. The king of Tara was killed in a combined Irish attack on the Norse of Dublin in 919. For the next two decades the Norse kings of Dublin were also trying to establish their power in York.

Their activities in Ireland gradually became more confined to Dublin and its immediate hinterland. The Irish began to counter attack with growing success. Dublin was burned by the king of Tara in 936 and was sacked in 944. Its power had declined considerably by the second half of the tenth century. The Wars of the Great Dynasties One of the great leaders of this period was Brian Boru of D�l Cais in County Clare. He had defeated the Vikings of Munster. His great rival was M�el Sechnaill 2, King of Tara who had defeated the Norse of Dublin in 980. Brian at times made alliances with Norse as in 984 when the Norse of Waterford attacked Leinster by sea while he attacked by land. In 977 an agreement was made between Brian and M�el Sechnaill that the former would be king of the southern part of Ireland while the latter would be king of the northern part. In 998 the two kings co-operated in an attack on the Norse of Dublin. A sculpture of M�el Seachnaill in Trim, Co. Meath, by James McKenna.

The next year the Dublin Norse allied with the Leinstermen revolted and were defeated by Brian. He spent January and February 1000 in Dublin, plundering the city and destroying its fortress. He expelled Sitric, king of Norse Dublin who could find refuge nowhere else in Ireland. He returned, gave hostages to Brian and was restored. Brian now claimed the kingship of the whole island and M�el Sechnaill submitted. In 1012 Leinster revolted against Brian and the Norse of Dublin assisted them. Brian and M�el Sechnaill together attacked Leinster and blockaded the city of Dublin from September to Christmas before returning home. Knowing that the attack would be renewed the Norse set about getting help from allies. Sitric, king of Dublin visited Sigurd, earl of the Orkneys who agreed to be in Dublin on Palm Sunday 1014. Sitric then went to the Isle of Man and persuaded two Viking leaders Brodar and Ospak to support him. Brian and M�el Sechnaill marched to Dublin but a dispute arose between them and M�el Sechnaill took no part in the battle.

Battle was joined at Clontarf on Good Friday 1014 and after a long battle Brian's forces were victorious. Brian himself was killed. Sigurd and Brodar were also killed though Sitric who remained inside the town during the battle survived. In subsequent traditions, both Irish and Norse, Clontarf became a heroic battle of saga and story-telling. Fearsome portents and visions were said to have been seen by both sides on the eve of the battle. A fairy woman appeared to Brian's followers and foretold disaster. Saint Senan appeared to Brian's followers the night before the battle demanding compensation for an attack by Brian on a monastery years before. In the Isle of Man there were ghostly assaults on Brodar's ships and ravens with iron beaks and claws attacked his followers. Evil portents were seen throughout the Norse world even in Iceland. Everyone wished his ancestors to have participated in the great battle. While the battle of Clontarf was not a simple Irish against Norse battle it did signal the end of the power of Norse Dublin and the effective end of the Viking Age in Ireland.

(References to Irish Counties in the above are of course to modern counties.) Sources Donnchadh � Corr�in, Viking Ireland - Afterthoughts in H.B. Clarke, M. N� Mhaonaigh and R. � Floinn (eds), Ireland and Scandinavia in the Early Viking Age (Dublin, 1998). Donnchadh � Corr�in, Ireland before the Normans(The Gill History of Ireland, 2, Dublin and London, 1972) Michael Ryan, `Irish art during the Viking invasions' in Michael Ryan (ed), The illustrated archaeology of Ireland (Dublin 1991). Raghnall � Floinn `Viking Age art influences' in Michael Ryan (ed), The illustrated archaeology of Ireland (Dublin 1991). Howard B. Clarke, The Vikings in Ireland: A historian's perspective in Archaeology Ireland, Vol 9 No 3, Autumn 1995 (The Viking Issue). John Bradley, Scandinavian rural settlement in Ireland in Archaeology Ireland, Vol 9 No 3, Autumn 1995 (The Viking Issue).

John Sheehan, Silver and gold hoards: Status, wealth and trade in the Viking Age in Archaeology Ireland, Vol 9 No 3, Autumn 1995 (The Viking Issue). John Sheehan, Early Viking Age Silver Hoards from Ireland and their Scandinavian Elements in H.B. Clarke, M. N� Mhaonaigh and R. � Floinn (eds), Ireland and Scandinavia in the Early Viking Age (Dublin, 1998). Aidan Walsh, Viking swords in Ireland in Archaeology Ireland, Vol 9 No 3, Autumn 1995 (The Viking Issue). Raghnall � Floinn, The Archaeology of the Early Viking Age in Ireland in H.B. Clarke, M. N� Mhaonaigh and R. � Floinn (eds), Ireland and Scandinavia in the Early Viking Age (Dublin, 1998). Charles Doherty, The Vikings in Ireland: a Review in H.B. Clarke, M. N� Mhaonaigh and R. � Floinn (eds), Ireland and Scandinavia in the Early Viking Age (Dublin, 1998).

Updated March 2001 by the Viking Network Wessex & Vikings In the latter half of the 8th Century, Wessex was a mere satellite of Mercia. Egbert (770-839) had fled abroad during Offa's rule, but on Beorhtric's death in 802, he returned to Wessex and took the throne. From 815 onwards, Egbert attacked West Wales (Cornwall), a campaign that culminated in the Battle of Hingston Down (838) confirming Wessex' control of the whole peninsula. Coenwulf of Mercia (796-821) had suppressed rebellions against Mercian rule in Kent and East Anglia During the 820's conflict erupted between Mercia and Wessex. A decisive battle was fought at Ellendun (825), and Mercia was subordinated to Wessex. The victorious forces of Wessex also enforced the submission of Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex.

Egbert was succeeded by Ethelwulf, who not only maintained the dominance of Wessex over Mercia, but who was one of the few Anglo-Saxon kings to fight successfully against the Vikings. He defeated a large Viking raiding force in 851. An agreement was reached that the fours sons of Ethelwulf should each succeed in turn to the throne. The youngest of these sons was Alfred, who acceded in 871. Wessex was increasing its power but England was still a politically-divided land and this disunity reduced its ability to withstand the Viking onslaught. The Viking invasions The name of Viking - pirate or sea-raider - was derived from "wic" - the temporary camps established by the marauders. The Vikings originated in Denmark and Norway, and the British Isles were not their only target. Vikings were skilled soldiers and sailors who sent expeditions to, and established settlements in, Russia, Greenland, Iceland, America, France, and Spain - as well as England. (The Emir of the Moorish kingdom of Spain, for example, sent the severed heads of 200 Vikings to Tangiers as evidence of his naval victory at Talayata in 844).

The earliest recorded Viking raid on England was in 789, soon followed by another in 793-4. Both of these aimed at plundering Northumbrian monasteries. A.D. 793: This year came dreadful fore-warnings over the land of the Northumbrians, terrifying the people most woefully: these were immense sheets of light rushing through the air, and whirlwinds, and fiery, dragons flying across the firmament. These tremendous tokens were soon followed by a great famine: and not long after, on the sixth day before the ides of January in the same year, the harrowing inroads of heathen men made lamentable havoc in the church of God in Holy-island, by rapine and slaughter. (The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) From the 830 to 860, the Vikings attacked almost every year and from almost every point of the compass. In 851, Vikings stormed London and Canterbury before being defeated by Ethelwulf of Wessex at Wicganbeorg. In 865, a "great Army" under Halfdan and Ivarr rhe Boneless arrived to make a more sustained attack.

It occupied much of East Anglia and attacked York. Initially, they met little organized resistance, as Northumbria was divided by a civil war. The Northumbrians did unite but were utterly defeated (867). Viking hammer amulet (left) minted in East Anglia during the 880's (right) in Northumbria in the 890's Guthrum's forces again attacked Wessex, but were defeated by King Alfred at the Battle of Edington (878). In the Peace of Wedmore, Guthrum and his followers accepted Christian conversion and withdrew eastwards. In western Mercia the Viking's stooge, Ceolwulf, was replaced by Ethelred of the Hwicce who married Alfred's daughter ï¿½thelflaed and accepted him as overlord. When Guthrum and his followers attacked Wessex again in 884, Alfred defeated them, and seized and fortified London, which he gave to Ethelred and ï¿½thelflaed. The peace of 886 confined the Danes to Danelagh (Danelaw) - the area north and east of a line marked by the old Roman Road of Watling Street .

A model of a late 9th Century Viking ship The Danes in England were not under unified leadership, faced a strong enemy in Wessex, and the newly distributed lands had to be farmed and administered, and so after 886 peace finally settled on most of England. The Vikings in England | History Today The Vikings in England Vikings , Anglo-Saxon The exhibition at York this summer, the Vikings in England was previewed in Addendum in the May issue of History Today. This month, James Graham-Campbell, one of the exhibition organisers, surveys the history of the Viking invasions and settlement, for which the York exhibition displays the evidence. 'On June 8th, the ravages of heathen men miserably destroyed God's church on Lindisfarne with plunder and slaughter.' The year is 793. The source is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for this first record of a Viking raid on Western Europe. Despite such terrifying assaults at the end of the eighth century, England was fortunate to be spared the worst of the Viking attacks on the British Isles until the 830s and 840s when they intensified, with the pattern gradually changing from one of plunder to one of conquest and settlement.

In 876 the Great Army of marauding Danes settled Northumbria; the Kingdoms of Mercia and East Anglia were soon also under Danish control. Only Wessex held out under King Alfred. It was Danish Vikings for the most part who fell upon Anglo-Saxon England and they had rich pickings from the towns, villages and monasteries of its wealthy Christian kingdoms that were unprepared for such an onslaught. They themselves were illiterate pagans, quite prepared to plunder ecclesiastical treasures to melt down or to ransom, such as the sumptuous eighth-century copy of the Gospels – now known as the Codex Aureus – whose fate is recorded in a ninth-century Old English inscription added to the margins of one of its most splendid pages (pl. 1): Want the full article and website archive access? Already a member? Log in now

Question: In which century was the first recorded Viking raid on England?
Answer: 8th century