Vikings SVG are early medieval Scandinavian seafarers in the 8th and 11th centuries who sailed from Vinland to Biarmia and North Africa. In the bulk these were tribes in the stage of decomposition of the tribal system, living on the territory of modern Sweden, Denmark and Norway, which were pushed beyond the native countries of overpopulation and famine. The Vikings were overwhelmingly pagan in religion.
The Swedish, Norwegian and Danish Vikings, who moved west, are known from Latin sources as the Normans. The exact ethnic composition of the Vikings in Eastern Europe (in the Baltic States and Russia) is unknown, but European historians suggest that they may have been Swedes. In annals of the Kiev Russia they were known as Vikings. However on the Laurentian annals: ” Those Vikings were called Russ, as others are called by luminescence, and other Normans and Englishmen, and still other Dutchmen – here so and these “.
Written culture of Scandinavian peoples was formed only after the advent of Christianity, that is, already at the end of the Viking Age, so most of the Viking history has no written sources. Scandinavian sagas give some idea about the life of the Vikings, but this source should be approached with caution, because of the late time of their compilation and recording.
As a rule, in Scandinavian chronicles, the term “Viking” was not used in its current sense, and rather characterized a social phenomenon, when landless bonds (free people who did not belong to the nobility) were forced to look for a better share outside the homeland.
Vikings SVG History
Reasons for expansion
The reasons for the Vikings’ expansion, which took various forms (search for new lands and relocations, looting, piracy and large military campaigns, trade trips, closely intertwined with piracy and robbery), were diverse. The decay of the tribal system of the Swedes, Danes and Norwegians was accompanied by the strengthening of the nobility, for whom military prey was the most important source of enrichment; many ordinary community members (bonds) fled their homeland due to the relative overpopulation of the coastal areas of the Scandinavian peninsula and the lack of cultivable land. The progress of shipbuilding in the Scandinavians – from the ancient times of skilled sailors – made it possible for them to sail not only in the Baltic Sea, but also in the waters of the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea.
Vikings SVG in England
On June 8, 793 A.D. Vikings landed on the island of Lindisfarn in Northumbria, destroying and devastating the monastery of St. Cuthbert. This is the first Viking attack clearly documented in written sources, although it is clear that Scandinavians have visited British shores before.
Since at first the Vikings used the tactics of “pinstrikes” (quickly robbed and retaken to the sea), the chroniclers did not attach much importance to their raids. Nevertheless, the Anglo-Saxon chronicle mentions a raid by sea robbers of unknown origin on Portland in Dorset in 787.
In the ancient English poem “Vidsid”, folded no later than VII century, but recorded in the IX century, mentioned “Vikings”, “Lid-Vikings” and “Viking army” under the leadership of a certain Ingeld, defeated by the leaders Hrodvulf and Hrodgar.
A serious success of the Danish Vikings was the conquest of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the occupation of western and northern England. In 866, the sons of the Danish konung Ragnar Lothbrok brought a large army to the shores of England, christened by the chroniclers “the great army of pagans”. In 867-871 the sons of Ragnar subjected kings of East England and Northumbria to cruel execution, and their possessions divided among themselves. After that, the Danes began to conquer Mercia.
King Alfred the Great of Wessex after the battle with the Danes at Eddington (878) was forced to conclude with them first a truce, and then a full-fledged peace treaty (about 886), thus legitimizing their possessions in Britain. The English capital of the Vikings was the city of Jorvik (present-day York). Despite the influx of fresh forces from Scandinavia in 892 and 899, Alfred and his son Edward the Elder successfully resisted the Danish conquerors, clearing the territory of East England and Mercia by 924. The Scandinavian domination in remote Northumbria proceeded till 954 (war of Edred with Eiric Bloody Secira).
The new wave of Viking raids on the British coast began in 980. Its culmination was the conquest of England in 1013 by Danish Vikings Sven Viloborodogo. In 1016-1035 the united Anglo-Danish monarchy was headed by Knud the Great. After his death, the Wessex dynasty in the person of Edward the Confessor regained the English throne (1042). In 1066, the British repulsed another Scandinavian invasion, this time led by the Norwegian konung Harald Surov.
The last of the Danish monarchs to claim English lands was Sven Estridsen, Knuda’s nephew. In 1069 he sent a huge fleet (up to 300 ships) to the aid of Edgar Etling in the fight against William the Conqueror, and the following year he personally arrived in England. However, having captured York and met William’s army, he chose to receive a large ransom and returned with the fleet back to Denmark.
Vikings SVG Moving west
Scandinavian influence on the political culture, social structure and language of Ireland and other Celtic lands was much more significant than in England, but the chronology of their invasions due to the scarcity of sources can not be restored with the same accuracy. The first raid on Ireland was mentioned in 795. With the arrival of the Vikings was the foundation of Dublin, which the Scandinavians had owned for two centuries. Their Scandinavian konungs were available in Limerick and Waterford, while the Dublin konungs spread their power in the early X century, even in Northumbria.
Scandinavian colonization of Iceland began under Harald Prekrasnovolos (about 900), who forced them to look for good luck “in the western seas” with his onslaught on the small Norwegian konungs. Moving west, the Vikings settled in the Orkney, Shetland, Hebrides, Faroe Islands and the Isle of Man. Ingolf Arnarsson was at the head of the Icelandic first settlers. The Islander Erik the Red in the 980s settled in Greenland, and his son Leif Eriksson founded the first settlement in Canada around 1000. There is a theory that the Scandinavians reached Minnesota in their westward movement. In the 16th century, Greenlandic Viking colonies of Scandinavian settlers fell into disrepair, and in the first half of the 16th century their population was completely extinct or assimilated by the Eskimos.
The Battle of Clontarfe (1014) put an end to the Scandinavian hopes of conquering Ireland. Nevertheless, the British invaded Ireland in the 12th century and discovered that the coastal areas of the island were still ruled by Scandinavians who were baptized.
Vikings SVG and Franks
The Vikings’ relationship with the Frankish Empire was complicated. During the reign of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, the empire was relatively immune from pressure from the north. Galicia, Portugal and some Mediterranean lands suffered from episodic Norman raids in the 9th and 10th centuries. Viking leaders such as Ryörik of Jutland went to the service of the Frankish rulers in order to protect the borders of the empire from their own tribesmen, while at the same time controlling the rich markets in the Rhine delta, such as Valjeren and Dorestad. The Jutland Conong Harald Kluck swore an oath of allegiance to Louis the Pious back in 823.
With the growth of feudal fragmentation, Viking defenses became more and more difficult, and they reached Paris in their raids. King Charles the Simpleish at last has dared to give to the Scandinavian leader to the north of France which has received the name Normandy in 911. This tactic was effective. The raids stopped, and the Northern squad soon dissolved into the local population. From Rollover in a straight line occurred William the Conqueror, who led the Normandy conquest of England in 1066. Simultaneously with that Norman sort Otville has subdued the south of Italy, having put the beginning to the Sicilian kingdom.