What do we know about the Vikings? In the minds of most people, these are powerful warriors who lived somewhere in the north. They made fierce raids, traveled the seas, wore horned helmets and heavy weapons. But what does official history say about the Vikings?
Many historical documents, chronicles and archaeological finds have been preserved that can tell about the Vikings in sufficient detail.
First of all, you need to understand that Viking is a self-name, that is, a word that the ancient Scandinavians themselves called themselves. More precisely, those people who abandoned their habitable places and set off on distant voyages in search of new habitats.
The Vikings were seafarers who came from the tribes that inhabited modern Scandinavia. The Vikings made their travels and conquests in the 8-11 centuries. This was the period when the tribal structure was decomposing in Northern Europe and early feudal relations were formed.
Other peoples called the Vikings differently. In Europe they were called Normans (literally - "Northern people" ), and the Russians called them Varangians... Thus, in the Russian tradition, the Viking and the Varangian are about the same.
The Vikings left their native lands and embarked on risky campaigns not because of a good life. The tribal system was shaking, the power of the nascent nobility was strengthening, and many free people simply did not have enough resources to exist.
Since ancient times, the Scandinavians have lived by the sea, had excellent sailing skills, were able to. It is not surprising that the most active and courageous people began to unite and start traveling. It is known that the Vikings sailed not only in the North and Baltic Seas: they went out to the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea.
According to the testimony of contemporaries, the Vikings were distinguished by their belligerence, cruelty, and decisiveness. They traded in raids on the coastal lands of other peoples, piracy, the capture of entire regions. At the same time, the Normans very quickly mixed with the enslaved peoples, mastered their language and way of life. 
Initially, the Vikings were pagans, they worshiped ancient common Germanic deities. But gradually, many of them adopted Christianity and assimilated in the conquered territories. The Christian religion, the establishment of tough feudal relations, as well as a favorable economic situation contributed to the fact that the violent disposition of the Vikings was gradually pacified, and in the 11th century the Norman conquests ceased.
The Vikings made their raids throughout Northern Europe, but also visited other, more distant regions. The two largest Norman conquests are known: England and France.
In the 10th century, the Normans conquered Northern France, which to this day is called Normandy. In the British Isles, Viking attacks have occurred in waves over several centuries. At the beginning of the 11th century, the king of Normandy, William the Conqueror, reigned on the English throne.
In their campaigns of conquest, the Vikings reached Ireland and Sicily. Completely colonized Iceland, left their traces on the American continent.
Relations between the Slavs and Vikings were more peaceful. There were periods when the ancient Russians fought with the Scandinavians, at other times alliances were concluded. The ancient Novgorodians invited the Vikings as military mercenaries, providing them with land to live and a special status. Numerous Scandinavian burials are found on the territory of our country, indicating that the Vikings lived among the Slavs, but until some time did not assimilate with them.
Many historians are adherents of the "Norman theory", according to which the Vikings were the founders of princely power and the state itself in Ancient Russia.
An amazing fact: harsh-minded, unpretentious in everyday life, accustomed to difficult conditions, the Vikings have created a unique cultural tradition. 
We are talking about scaldic poetry and ancient sagas, which in many ways became a source of information about the Normans.
Interest in the Vikings, formidable and ruthless, excellent warriors and skilled navigators, is constantly fueled by historical novels and films. As soon as the next work comes out, heated debates immediately flare up. Not a single person of art escaped accusations of antihistoricality, distortion of facts and their rigging. Where is the truth? As usual, somewhere in between.
There is also no consensus in the answer to this question. Some historians argue that those who are called Vikings did not belong to the same clan-tribe. The territorial spread is great and covers the lands of three countries - Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Other researchers decisively exclude Sweden from this list. The Swedes, in their opinion, are none other than the Byzantines and the Russians.
The first name is the northern people, that is, the Normans. It's easy to explain: the gallant guys came from the north, that's what we'll call them.
The second name is ash people, that is, Askemanns. What does ash tree have to do with it? The question, of course, is pertinent, but there is no clear answer to it. Adam of Bremen (namely, the Vikings owe this name to him) in 1076, talking about the attack of these robbers on a peaceful settlement, claimed that they used ash clubs. It’s ridiculous and hard to believe. There is another opinion: the Vikings needed ash wood for ships, and they allegedly cut down these trees everywhere. Closer to the truth, but doubts still remain.
The third name was invented for the Vikings by the Spaniards. They called them madhus, in translation it sounds very ominous - pagan monsters. Everything is clear and logical here: the Vikings were barbarians and pagans, they did not share the beliefs of their enemies. Their main goal is to seize land and loot. That is, an elementary robbery, but they don't do it with white gloves. Destroyed dwellings, in the place of cities and villages - ashes and mountains of corpses. The Vikings lived up to their name.
The fourth name is most often used today. This is the word "Vikings". There are many explanations and translations, and each new version excludes the previous one. According to the first, this short word has a very long translation - "to sail the sea for fame and fortune." The word is beautiful, sonorous and perfectly explains the purpose of the campaigns of these people. The second option draws attention to the word vik, that is, "bay". The explanation is this: the lands in which the Vikings lived were poor. It was impossible to grow large harvests on them, so many young men had to engage in sea robbery. The Vikings pirated in their bays. They hid their small ships among thickets or coastal rocks. Seeing someone else's ship, they swiftly attacked it - a favorite tactic of all coastal pirates. The third option takes us to the Viken region, the center of which is in the Oslofjord. That is, it turns out that the Viking is simply a native of this area. The fourth option draws attention to the similarity of the word "viking" with the Latin "vicus". So in Rome all the trading cities were called. According to this theory, it turns out that the Vikings are not robbers and pirates at all, but peaceful traders. It sounds somehow unconvincing. The fifth option is the most convincing. Researchers have found that the very word "viking" is much older than any sailing vessel. It translates as “a rower who can withstand intense rowing at vika distance. And here again the dispute: what is this very Vika equal to? Some say about one nautical mile. Others shorten the distance to half a mile, while others measure the vetch with an hour of rowing. In principle, it does not matter how much the Viking had to row, the main thing is that this was the name of the person who went out to sea and sat down at the oars.
The first campaigns, most likely, were organized by those peasant guys who were deprived of fertile land and women. Yes Yes exactly. There were not enough women for all men who did not belong to the clan of the leader. Those just had everything with the women in order, they had big "harems". The custom of polygamy made it impossible for all men to start a family. In order not to beggar and get themselves a woman, they found (as an option: built or stole) a ship and set off along the coast in search of luck. She, of course, was waiting for them with open arms. The coastal settlements left unattended were easy prey. The guys returned home with the looted goods and women, who, by the way, were also in short supply. The rest of the men, of course, envied and rushed to equip the ships. Over time, raids became commonplace.
Not all returned back, many remained in the occupied lands. After a little rest and enjoying the fruits of victory, we moved on towards new prey. The Vikings fought through Great Britain and France, but relatively easily. Then they established themselves on the Mediterranean coast, in Africa. Settled Greenland, swam across the ocean and appeared in America.
How not to be afraid of them? Huge detachments of strong and ferocious men attacked unexpectedly, did not waste time on negotiations, beat immediately and very brutally. They were proud of the number of those killed, they fought desperately for the booty, they did not know pity. If they stayed, they immediately imposed their own laws and forced them to obey them unconditionally. Each invasion is a real disaster, an apocalypse.
On the conquered lands, they mingled with the locals, accepted their customs, and most importantly, their faith. Christian commandments can not be tied to the old ideas about good and evil, it was necessary to humble the impudent disposition. But the Vikings did not lose their fighting skills, especially since they always found where to use them. Either, as part of the army of the Sicilian kingdom, it was necessary to go to war against the Byzantine Empire, then to visit the Holy Lands in order to remind the unbelievers about themselves in the crusade. Yes, a good warrior is always ready to fight.
But what about filmmakers and writers with their ever newer versions of the Viking adventures? Yes, let them film and write: it is interesting to read and watch, but the truth is reliably hidden for centuries.
Vikings
Vikings
(Normans), sea robbers, immigrants from Scandinavia, committed in the 9-11 centuries. hikes up to 8000 km, maybe even longer distances. These daring and fearless people in the east reached the borders of Persia, and in the west - the New World.
The word "viking" goes back to the ancient Norse "vikingr". There are a number of hypotheses regarding its origin, the most convincing of which leads it to "vik" - fiord, bay. The word "viking" (literally "man from the fiord") was used to refer to robbers who operated in coastal waters, hiding in secluded bays and bays. In Scandinavia, they were known long before they gained notoriety in Europe. The French called the Vikings Normans or various variants of this word (Norseman, Northman - literally "people from the north"); Englishmen indiscriminately called all Scandinavians Danes, and Slavs, Greeks, Khazars, Arabs called Swedish Vikings Rus or Varangians.
Wherever the Vikings went - to the British Isles, to France, Spain, Italy or North Africa - they mercilessly plundered and seized foreign lands. In some cases, they settled in the conquered countries and became their rulers. Danish Vikings conquered England for a while, settled in Scotland and Ireland. Together they conquered a part of France known as Normandy. Norwegian Vikings and their descendants established colonies on the islands of the North Atlantic - Iceland and Greenland and founded a settlement on the coast of Newfoundland in North America, which, however, did not last long. Swedish Vikings began to rule in the east of the Baltic. They spread widely across Russia and, descending along the rivers to the Black and Caspian Seas, even threatened Constantinople and some regions of Persia. The Vikings were the last Germanic barbarian conquerors and the first European pioneer navigators.
There are different interpretations of the reasons for the violent outbreak of Viking activity in the 9th century. There is evidence that Scandinavia was overpopulated and many Scandinavians went abroad in search of their happiness. The wealthy but undefended cities and monasteries of its southern and western neighbors were easy prey. It was hardly possible to get a rebuff from the scattered kingdoms in the British Isles or the weakened empire of Charlemagne, consumed by dynastic strife. During the Viking Age, national monarchies gradually consolidated in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Ambitious leaders and powerful clans fought for power. The defeated leaders and their supporters, as well as the younger sons of the victorious leaders, shamelessly perceived unhindered robbery as a way of life. Energetic young people from influential families usually gained credibility through participation in one or more campaigns. Many Scandinavians plundered in the summer and then turned into ordinary landowners. However, the Vikings were attracted not only by the lure of prey. The prospect of establishing trade opened the door to wealth and power. In particular, immigrants from Sweden controlled the trade routes in Russia.
The English term "viking" is derived from the Old Norse word víkingr, which could have several meanings. The most acceptable, apparently, is the origin from the word vík - a bay, or a bay. Hence, the word víkingr translates as "man from the bay". The term was used to refer to robbers taking refuge in coastal waters long before the Vikings gained ill-fame in the outside world. However, not all Scandinavians were sea robbers, and the terms "Viking" and "Scandinavian" cannot be considered synonymous. The French usually called the Vikings Normans, and the British indiscriminately attributed all Scandinavians to the Danes. The Slavs, Khazars, Arabs and Greeks who communicated with the Swedish Vikings called them Rus or Varangians.
LIFESTYLE
Abroad, the Vikings acted as robbers, conquerors and traders, and at home they mainly worked the land, hunted, fished and raised livestock. An independent peasant, working alone or with his family, formed the backbone of Scandinavian society. No matter how small his allotment was, he remained free and was not tied as a serf to the land that belonged to another person. Kinship ties were highly developed in all strata of Scandinavian society, and in important matters its members usually acted together with relatives. The clans jealously guarded the good names of their fellow tribesmen, and the violation of the honor of one of them often led to violent feuds.
Women in the family played an important role. They could own property, decide on their own about marriage and divorce from the wrong spouse. However, outside the family home, women's participation in public life remained insignificant.
Food. During Viking times, most people ate twice a day. The main products were meat, fish and cereal grains. Meat and fish were usually boiled, less often fried. For storage, these products were dried and salted. The cereals used were rye, oats, barley and several types of wheat. Usually porridge was made from their grains, but sometimes bread was baked. Vegetables and fruits were rarely eaten. For drinks, they consumed milk, beer, fermented mead, and in the upper classes of society - imported wine.
Clothing. Peasant clothing consisted of a long woolen shirt, short baggy pants, stockings, and a rectangular cape. The upper class Vikings wore long pants, socks, and capes in bright colors. Woolen mittens and hats were in use, as well as fur hats and even felt hats. High society women usually wore long clothes, which consisted of a bodice and a skirt. Thin chains hung from the buckles on the clothes, to which were attached scissors and a case for needles, a knife, keys and other small items. Married women wore their hair in a bun and wore tapered white linen caps. The unmarried girls had their hair tied up with a ribbon.
Dwelling. Peasant dwellings were usually simple one-room houses, built either from tightly fitted vertical beams, or more often from wicker vine coated with clay. Wealthy people usually lived in a large rectangular house, which housed numerous relatives. In heavily forested Scandinavia, such houses were built from wood, often combined with clay, while in Iceland and Greenland, in conditions of a shortage of wood, local stone was widely used. Walls 90 cm or more thick were folded there. Roofs were usually covered with peat. The central living room of the house was low and dark, with a long hearth in the middle. They cooked, ate and slept there. Sometimes inside the house, along the walls, pillars were installed in a row to support the roof, and the side rooms that were fenced off in this way were used as bedrooms.
Literature and art. The Vikings appreciated skill in combat, but they also revered literature, history and art.
Viking literature existed in oral form, and only some time after the end of the Viking Age did the first written works appear. The runic alphabet was then used only for inscriptions on tombstones, for magic spells and short messages. But Iceland has a rich folklore. It was recorded at the end of the Viking Age using the Latin alphabet by scribes who wanted to immortalize the exploits of their ancestors.
Among the treasures of Icelandic literature stand out the long prose narratives known as sagas. They are classified into three main types. In the most important, the so-called. family sagas describe real characters of the Viking Age. Several dozen family sagas have survived, five of which are comparable in size to large novels. The other two types are historical sagas about the Norse kings and the settlement of Iceland, and fictional adventure sagas from the end of the Viking age, reflecting the influence of the Byzantine Empire and India. Another major prose work that appeared in Iceland is Younger Edda- a collection of myths recorded by Snorri Sturluson, an Icelandic historian and politician of the 13th century.
Poetry was held in high esteem among the Vikings. Icelandic hero and adventurer Egil Skallagrimsson prided himself on being a poet as much as on his achievements in battle. Poets-improvisers (skalds) sang the merits of the jarls (leaders) and princes in complex poetic stanzas. Much simpler than the poetry of the Skalds were songs about the gods and heroes of the past, preserved in a collection known as Elder Edda.
Viking art was primarily decorative. The predominant motifs - whimsical animals and energetic abstract compositions of intertwining ribbons - have been used in wood carvings, fine gold and silver work, and runestones and monuments that have been erected to capture important events.
Religion. In the beginning, the Vikings worshiped pagan gods and goddesses. The most important of them were Thor, Ódin, Frey and the goddess Freya, while Njord, Ull, Balder and several other household gods were of lesser importance. The gods were worshiped in temples or in sacred forests, groves and springs. The Vikings also believed in many supernatural beings: trolls, elves, giants, aquatic and magical inhabitants of forests, hills and rivers.
Bloody sacrifices were often performed. The sacrificial animals were usually eaten by the priest and his entourage at the feasts that were held in the temples. There were also human sacrifices, even ritual murders of kings for the welfare of the country. In addition to the priests and priestesses, there were sorcerers who practiced black magic.
People of the Viking age attached great importance to luck as a type of spiritual strength inherent in any person, but especially leaders and kings. Nevertheless, this era was characterized by a pessimistic and fatalistic attitude. Fate was presented as an independent factor standing above gods and people. According to some poets and philosophers, people and gods were doomed to go through a powerful struggle and cataclysm known as Ragnarök (Iceland - "end of the world").
Christianity spread slowly northward and presented an attractive alternative to paganism. In Denmark and Norway, Christianity was established in the 10th century, the Icelandic leaders adopted a new religion in 1000, and Sweden in the 11th century, but in the north of this country pagan beliefs persisted until the beginning of the 12th century.
MILITARY ART
Viking treks. Detailed information about the Viking campaigns is known mainly from the written messages of the victims, who did not spare paints to describe the devastation that the Scandinavians carried with them. The first campaigns of the Vikings were made according to the principle of "fight and flight". Without warning, they appeared from the sea on light high-speed vessels and struck at poorly protected objects known for their wealth. The Vikings chopped down a few defenders with swords, and the rest of the inhabitants were enslaved, seized values, all the rest they set on fire. Gradually, they began to use horses in their campaigns.
Weapon. The Vikings' weapons were bow and arrows, as well as a variety of swords, spears and battle axes. Swords and spearheads and arrows were usually made of iron or steel. For bows, yew or elm wood was preferred, and braided hair was usually used as a bowstring.
Viking shields were round or oval in shape. Usually, light pieces of linden wood, chipped along the edge and across with iron strips, went to the shields. A pointed plaque was located in the center of the shield. For protection, warriors also wore metal or leather helmets, often with horns, and warriors from the nobility often wore chain mail.
Viking ships. The highest technical achievement of the Vikings was their warships. These boats, kept in exemplary order, were often described with great love in Viking poetry and were a source of pride for them. The narrow frame of such a vessel was very convenient for approaching the shore and fast passage along rivers and lakes. Lighter ships were especially suited for surprise attacks; they could be dragged from one river to another in order to bypass rapids, waterfalls, dams and fortifications. The disadvantage of these ships was that they were not sufficiently adapted for long voyages on the high seas, which was compensated by the navigational art of the Vikings.
Viking boats varied in the number of pairs of rowing oars, large ships - in the number of rowing benches. Thirteen pairs of oars determined the minimum size of a combat vessel. The very first ships were designed for 40–80 people each, and the large keeled ship was from the 11th century. accommodated several hundred people. Such large combat units exceeded 46 m in length.
Ships were often built from planks laid in rows with overlapping and fastened with curved frames. Above the waterline, most of the warships were brightly colored. Carved dragon heads, sometimes gilded, adorned the prows of ships. The same decoration could be at the stern, and in some cases there was a wriggling dragon's tail. When sailing in the waters of Scandinavia, these decorations were usually removed so as not to frighten the good spirits. Often, when approaching the port, shields were hung out in a row on the sides of the ships, but this was not allowed on the high seas.
Viking ships moved with sails and oars. A simple square sail, made of rough canvas, was often painted in stripes and checkers. The mast could be shortened and even removed altogether. With the help of skillful devices, the captain could lead the ship against the wind. The ships were controlled by a paddle-shaped rudder mounted aft on the starboard side.
Several surviving Viking ships are on display in Scandinavian museums. One of the most famous, discovered in 1880 in Gokstad (Norway), dates back to around 900 AD. It reaches 23.3 m in length and 5.3 m in width. The vessel had a mast and 32 oars, and it had 32 shields. In some places, elegant carved decorations have been preserved. The navigational capabilities of such a vessel were demonstrated in 1893, when a faithful replica sailed from Norway to Newfoundland in four weeks. This copy is now in Lincoln Park, Chicago.
HISTORY
Vikings in Western Europe. The first significant Viking raid dates back to 793 AD, when a monastery at Lindisfarne on Holey Island off the east coast of Scotland was looted and burned. Nine years later, the monastery at Aion in the Hebrides was devastated. These were pirate raids by the Norse Vikings.
Soon the Vikings moved on to seize large territories. At the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th century. they took possession of the Shetland, Orkney and Hebrides and settled in the far north of Scotland. In the 11th century. for unknown reasons, they left these lands. The Shetland Islands remained in Norwegian hands until the 16th century.
The Norse Vikings' raids on Ireland began in the 9th century. In 830 they established a wintering settlement in Ireland and by 840 they had taken control of large areas of that country. The position of the Vikings was mainly strong in the south and east. This situation persisted until 1170, when the British invaded Ireland and drove the Vikings out of there.
It was mainly Danish Vikings who penetrated into England. In 835 they made a trip to the Thames estuary, in 851 they settled on the Sheppey and Thanet Islands in the Thames estuary, and in 865 they began the conquest of East Anglia. King Alfred the Great of Wessex eventually stopped their advance, but was forced to cede lands north of the line running from London to the northeastern outskirts of Wales. This territory, called Danelag (Region of Danish Law), was gradually recaptured by the British in the next century, but repeated Viking raids in the early 11th century. led to the restoration of the power of their king Cnut and his sons, this time over all of England. Ultimately, in 1042, as a result of a dynastic marriage, the throne passed to the British. However, even after that, the raids of the Danes continued until the end of the century.
The Norman raids on the coastal areas of the Frankish state began at the end of the 8th century. Gradually, the Scandinavians established themselves at the mouth of the Seine and other rivers in northern France. In 911, the French king Charles III the Rustic concluded a forced peace with the Norman leader Rollon and granted him Rouen with the adjacent lands, to which new territories were added a few years later. The Duchy of Rollon attracted a lot of immigrants from Scandinavia and soon received the name Normandy. The Normans adopted the language, religion and customs of the Franks.
In 1066, Duke William of Normandy, who went down in history as William the Conqueror, the illegitimate son of Robert I, a descendant of Rollon and the fifth Duke of Normandy, invaded England, defeated King Harold (and killed him) at the Battle of Hastings and took the English throne. The Normans undertook campaigns of conquest in Wales and Ireland, many of them settled in Scotland.
At the beginning of the 11th century. the Normans infiltrated southern Italy, where they fought against the Arabs in Salerno as hired soldiers. Then new settlers began to arrive here from Scandinavia, who settled in small towns, forcibly taking them away from their former employers and their neighbors. The most notorious among the Norman adventurers were the sons of Count Tancred of Hauteville, who conquered Apulia in 1042. In 1053 they defeated the army of Pope Leo IX, forcing him to make peace with them and give Apulia and Calabria as a fief. By 1071, all of southern Italy fell under the rule of the Normans. One of Tancred's sons, Duke Robert, nicknamed Guiscard ("Sly"), supported the pope in the fight against Emperor Henry IV. Robert's brother Roger I started a war with the Arabs in Sicily. In 1061 he took Messina, but only 13 years later the island came under the rule of the Normans. Roger II united under his rule the Norman possessions in southern Italy and Sicily, and in 1130 Pope Anaclet II declared him king of Sicily, Calabria and Capua.
In Italy, as elsewhere, the Normans have demonstrated their amazing ability to adapt and assimilate in a foreign cultural environment. The Normans played an important role in the Crusades, in the history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and other states formed by the crusaders in the East.
Vikings in Iceland and Greenland. Iceland was discovered by Irish monks, and then at the end of the 9th century. inhabited by Norse Vikings. The first settlers were the leaders with their entourage, who fled from Norway from the despotism of King Harold, nicknamed the Fair-haired. For several centuries Iceland remained independent, ruled by powerful leaders called Godar. They met annually in the summer at meetings of the althing, which was the prototype of the first parliament. However, the Althingi could not settle the feuds of the leaders, and in 1262 Iceland submitted to the Norwegian king. It regained its independence only in 1944.
In 986 Icelander Eric the Red took several hundred colonists to the southwestern coast of Greenland, which he had discovered several years earlier. They settled in the area Vesterbygden ("western settlement") at the edge of the ice cap on the banks of the Ameralikfjord. Even for hardy Icelanders, the harsh conditions of southern Greenland have proven difficult. Hunting, fishing and whaling, they lived in the area for approx. 400 years old. However, by about 1350 the settlements were completely abandoned. Historians have yet to find out why the colonists, who had accumulated considerable experience of life in the North, suddenly left these places. A cooling climate, a chronic grain shortage, and the almost complete isolation of Greenland from Scandinavia after the plague epidemic in the mid-14th century could probably play a major role here.
Vikings in North America. One of the most controversial issues in Scandinavian archeology and philology is related to the study of the attempts of the Greenlanders to establish a colony in North America. In two Icelandic family sagas - Saga of Eric the Red and Greenlandic saga- the visit to the American coast is reported in detail approx. 1000. According to these sources, North America was discovered by Byadni Herjulfsson, the son of the Greenlandic pioneer, but the main heroes of the sagas are Leif Eriksson, the son of Eric the Red, and Thorfinn Thordarson, nicknamed Karlsabni. Leif Ericsson's base appears to have been in L'Anse aux Meadow, on the far north of the Newfoundland coastline. Leif and his associates carefully surveyed the more temperate region much further south, which he called Vinland. Karlsabni assembled a party to to establish a colony in Vinland in 1004 or 1005 (the location of this colony could not be established.) The aliens met resistance from the local residents and three years later were forced to return to Greenland.
Leif's brothers Ericsson Thorstein and Thorvald also took part in the development of the New World. It is known that Thorvald was killed by the natives. The Greenlanders made journeys to America for the forest after the end of the Viking Age.
End of the Viking Age. The vigorous activity of the Vikings ended at the end of the 11th century. A number of factors contributed to the cessation of campaigns and discoveries that lasted more than 300 years. In Scandinavia itself, monarchies were firmly entrenched, and orderly feudal relations were established among the nobility, similar to those that existed in the rest of Europe, opportunities for uncontrolled raids diminished, and incentives for aggressive activity abroad began to wane. Political and social stabilization in countries outside Scandinavia allowed them to resist the Viking raids. The Vikings, who had already settled in France, Russia, Italy and the British Isles, were gradually assimilated by the local population. see also EDDA;ICELAND LITERATURE;SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY;
LITERATURE
Gurevich A.Ya. Viking treks... M., 1966
Ingstad H. In the footsteps of Leyva the Happy... L., 1969
Icelandic sagas... M., 1973
Firks I. Viking ships... L., 1982
Encyclopedia Around the World. 2008 .
Films and fiction have shaped the image of the Vikings, which people represent as savages in skin, leather armor, helmets with horns on it. But all this is the invention of directors and writers, in fact, the Vikings did not wear such hats, they were free farmers, they conquered neighboring territories, and built wooden drakkars.
The Vikings lived on the Scandinavian Peninsula, and already at the end of the 8th century. began to attack neighboring England and France. Residents of other parts of Europe, who first encountered Danes and Norwegians, called them Normans, that is, northern people; askemanns or ash people; madhus - pagan monsters. In Kievan Rus, the Vikings were called Varangians, in Ireland, two names for the inhabitants of Scandinavia were common - Finngalls (light foreigners) and Dubgalls (dark foreigners), in Byzantium - Varangs.
There is no unequivocal opinion among linguists and historians as to why the Vikings were called with this particular word. According to one of the versions, the verb wiking in Scandinavia meant "to go to the sea in order to obtain wealth and glory."
According to another version, the term appeared thanks to the province (region) of Vik, which is located in Norway. It is located near Oslo. In medieval sources, the inhabitants of the area were not called Vikings, but vestfaldingi or vikverjar.
The term Viking could also come from the word vik, which among the Scandinavians meant a bay or a bay, and the Vikings were those who were hiding in the bay. There is also a version that says that the Viking could mean wic / vicus, which meant a trading post, a camp, fortified from different sides, a city.
According to the latest studies by Swedish scientists, the name "viking" may have come from vikja - to turn and deviate. Vikings were, in this context, people who sailed from home, left home, sea warriors and pirates who went on a hike for prey. The term vikja was used to describe a predatory expedition, so the people who participated in such events were Vikings. In the chronicles of Iceland, this word was used to designate navigators who were rude, bloodthirsty, unbridled, robbed and attacked other ships.
At the beginning of the 4th century. AD Germanic tribes, represented by Utes, Angles and Saxons, and living at the mouth of the Elbe River, began to make the first aggressive campaigns. The objectives of the military campaigns were:
Most of all, the Germans caused problems for the Roman garrisons in the British Isles, forcing the latter to defend. In 407, the Romans and the fleet were withdrawn from England to defend Italy. As a result, the settlements of the Saxons, Jutes and Angles began to increase in size and strengthen.
At the end of the 5th century. AD, the conquest of Wessex took place. There is a legend that King Kerdik did it, having sailed to the islands on a flotilla of five ships. After that, the Angles and Saxons began to quickly move deep into the British Isles, displacing the Romans and Celts from there. The consequence of this was the gradual conquest of the colony, the process was finally completed by the 6th century. In the occupied territories, the Angles and Saxons created small kingdoms.
The Celts, who adopted Christianity from the Romans, began to move to the mountainous regions of Wales, and then began to move to mainland Europe. For example, one of the Celtic settlements on the continent was called Britain, gradually turning into Brittany.
England changed the Vikings and the way they lived. If at the time of their arrival and then for several decades, the Anglo-Saxon tribes lived, engaging in robbery and piracy, then they began to gradually move to a more sedentary way of life.
Already at the end of the 8th century. sailing was not the main occupation of the Vikings. Its place was taken by agriculture, which was the basis for the development of the society of the descendants of the former northern peoples.
The coast of the North Sea, which was abandoned by the Jutes, Angles and Saxons in the 6th century, was settled by Danes who came from Halland and Skane (territories in southwestern Sweden). Two centuries later, they formed a kingdom, which in 800 turned into a large and powerful Danish state. The kingdom included Norway and Sweden. In order to defend against the attacks of the Franks, a defensive rampart was built, which was called Danevirke. The country at that time was ruled by King Gottrick, who was in power until 810. After his death, the kingdom ceased to exist, as a result of which the Danes and the Norwegians began to engage in predatory campaigns, to conquer neighboring territories. This era lasted for about three hundred years.
Among the main reasons that contributed to the conquest campaigns of the Vikings, it is worth noting such as:
Viking campaigns began at the end of the 8th century, when the first groups of Norwegians began to penetrate the coast of England. The Normans plundered islands and monasteries, bringing rich booty to Scandinavia.
All attacks of the Vikings took place according to a planned and tested scheme. Without any military action from the sea, the vessels of the Varangians approached the shores, then the soldiers landed on the coast and began to plunder. Everything happened very quickly, after themselves the Vikings left fires, killed. The ships allowed them to leave England, so the inhabitants of the British Isles could not pursue them.
The Scandinavians used the same scheme for campaigns in England in the 1920s. 9 c. In 825, they landed on the Frisian coast, and began to plunder, kill, and seize new territories. Already in 836 the Vikings conquered London for the first time. In 845, Hamburg fell under the onslaught of the Danes. The chronology of further Viking campaigns is as follows:
The Danes, after the conquest of the Norwegians, again began to attack England. The stones, on which the runes were applied, became the traces of their conquests. The first campaigns of the Normans at the end of the 10th century. - the beginning of the 11th century. were unsuccessful, most of the soldiers were destroyed. The situation began to change only by 1016, when the Vikings subjugated England. Only by the beginning of the 1040s. the Anglo-Saxon rulers began to conduct retaliatory offensives. By the middle of the 11th century. the Vikings were temporarily driven out of England. In 1066, the Vikings who lived in Normandy conquered England. Their leader, William the Conqueror, organized a ferry across the strait connecting the British Isles and continental Europe. On October 14, 1066, a major battle between the Vikings and the Angles took place at Hastings. The Normans finally conquered England, which made it possible to stop predatory attacks, begin the development of feudalism on the islands, and gain access to the throne and power in the kingdom.
The hikes were organized to the Mediterranean Sea. The navigational art of the Vikings allowed them to reach Byzantium, which happened in 895. The Normans sailed to the shores of America, Iceland and Greenland.
The first Norwegians landed in the Hebrides in 620. Two hundred years later, they settled on the Faroe Islands, Orkney and Shetland. In 820, the Vikings founded their own state in Ireland, which existed near present-day Dublin. The Kingdom of the Normans in Ireland lasted until 1170.
In the early 860s. The Swede Gardar Svafarsson, whose name was preserved by the chronicles, brought his wife's inheritance from the Hebrides to his native Scandinavia. On the way, his ship was carried off the northern coast of Iceland. There the Swede and his team spent the winter getting to know the peculiarities of this island territory. Iceland has been actively conquered by the Norwegians since the early 870s, when King Harald the Fair-haired came to power. Not everyone liked his rule, so the Norwegians began to develop Iceland. Until 930, from 20 thousand to 30 thousand inhabitants of the kingdom moved here. In Iceland, the Vikings were mainly engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding and fishing. Household items, seeds, pets were transported from Scandinavia.
Information about when the Vikings began to conquer Greenland, and when they discovered America, came from numerous Icelandic sagas of the 13-14 centuries.
According to historical data and documents, in the early 980s. Eirik, a resident of Iceland, swam away from his home as he was charged with murder. During the voyage, he reached the shores of Greenland, founding the settlement of Brattalid. Information about this island began to reach the Norwegians gradually, who several times explored the coast of Greenland, discovering the Labrador Peninsula. During one of their voyages, the Vikings discovered an area that they called Vinland, i.e. Country of Grapes. This name was given to the new territory due to the fact that a lot of wild grapes and maize grew here, salmon was found in the rivers. Fish were distributed in reservoirs at 41 latitude, and grapes at the 42nd parallel. Scientists have established that this place is now the city of Boston. But the Vikings could not conquer America-Vinland, because, having opened it once, they did not write down the exact coordinates of its location. Therefore, they simply did not manage to swim to her again.
But the Vikings explored Greenland very actively. There were almost 300 Scandinavian courtyards here. It was difficult to increase the number of settlements because there was not enough forest. It was brought from Labrador, but the voyages to the peninsula were full of dangers due to the rather dry climate. Therefore, building materials were brought from Europe, which was expensive. The ships did not always reach Greenland. By the 14th century. Viking settlements on the island ceased to exist. Archaeologists find the remains of Viking ships, forests from Europe, burials of the nobility, which suggests that the Vikings actively settled in this territory.
The Scandinavians undertook trips to other parts of continental Europe, for example, to Eastern Europe. The most famous conquests are considered the conquest of Kiev and its surrounding territories, the founding of the Rurik dynasty. In addition, the merits of the Vikings in Europe include:
In addition, virtually all royal dynasties in medieval states were founded by immigrants from Scandinavia.
A. ALEKSEEV, historian.
Science and Life // Illustrations
Science and Life // Illustrations
Science and Life // Illustrations
Science and Life // Illustrations
More than a thousand years ago, kings ruled throughout Europe. Their kingdoms were small (England, France, Germany, Spain as states were not yet formed at that time). But the king had the right to judge any inhabitant, and noble people swore allegiance to him. It was believed that all the land in the kingdom belongs to the king, and he only allows the rest to use it. All kingdoms professed one faith - the Catholic, led by the Pope.
Only the inhabitants of Denmark and Scandinavia - Normans("Northern people") lived freely on their land, honored, as in the old days, their ancient gods. At general congresses, all issues were resolved, laws were established there and court cases were examined.
The Normans also had kings - they were called kings... They were respected, but did not have much power. When the king rode around the country, the Normans fed not only himself, but also his squad and horses. The people had no other duties to the king.
In addition to the economy, the Normans were engaged in trade and military campaigns. In Europe they were considered the best warriors, and their weapons were the best. Year after year, Norman squads in their long ships attacked coastal towns and settlements, plundered, burned and killed the inhabitants. In Western Europe, the participants in these robber campaigns began to be called the Vikings.
In 789, a squad of Vikings, pretending to be merchants, sailed on their boats to the British city of Dorset. When the local ruler came out to them, they killed him. From that moment on, the Normans ravaged Britain and Ireland for two centuries. The locals resisted as much as they could. So, in the middle of the 9th century, a king named Torgsil in Ireland was drowned in a lake, and in the kingdom of Northumbria, in the north of England, king Ragnar Lothbrok was thrown into a pit with snakes.
And nevertheless, the Normans took root in England so much - they got families, households, that they went to their homeland only occasionally.
It got from the Normans and people who lived in France, Holland, Germany. Almost every year, their lands were plundered. In 845, the Danish king Rurik ravaged the Elbe coast and raided northern France,
other Vikings burned Hamburg. Paris was also robbed many times. So, in 911, he was attacked by King Khrolf, nicknamed the Pedestrian (according to legend, he was so long that he could not ride a horse - his legs dragged along the ground). After several battles, the pagan Chrolf agreed to be baptized, and King Charles the Prostac gave him his daughter and allocated him land along the banks of the Lower Seine, which became the Duchy of Normandy. Under the rule of the economic Normans, it soon became the richest and most populous province of the French kingdom. In 1066, Duke William of Normandy (he was Chrolf's great-great-grandson) defeated the British at the Battle of Hastings and, having conquered England, became the English king. After this victory he was nicknamed William the Conqueror.
The Swedes "grazed" mainly in the vicinity of the Baltic Sea. In northwestern Russia, they settled with whole families (archaeologists have found much more Scandinavian items here than in Western Europe). The local Finns called the Norman bandits "Ruotsi"(a Finnish word with a Swedish root, meaning rowers), and the Slavs - "Rus", "rusy". Later, the name "Varangians" (from the word "Waring"- the so-called Norman warrior in the service of some ruler).
The strongest (in the present - steep) of the Varangian squads, who hunted between the lakes of Chudskoe, Ladoga, Ilmen, Onega and the upper reaches of the Volga, imposed tribute not only on the local Slavic and Finnish tribes - Slovenes, Krivichi, Chud, all and measure - but also robber bands ... Another "bandit formation" controlled the middle part of the route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" - the main trade route between the Baltic and Black Seas.
The Varangians-Rus, capturing the Slavs, brought them for sale to the Khazars who roamed the Caspian and Black Seas. Over the long years of a wandering life in the forests, the Rus themselves have become like the Khazars. They made themselves a Khazar hairstyle (a shaved head with a forelock hanging on their forehead), and their leader, following the example of the Khazar king, called himself kagan.
The ambassadors of this Swedish kagan later visited Byzantium, and from there went to Germany. And everywhere they said that their people were called "grew." “After thoroughly investigating the reason for their arrival, the emperor learned that they belonged to the Swedish people,” wrote the German monk Prudentius. The aliens were considered Norman spies and were sent back to Byzantium.
Around 862, the inhabitants of the vicinity of Lake Ilmen, having conspired, refused to pay tribute to the Varangian "mafia". They got rid of the "roof", but immediately fought among themselves. It turned out that free life is not so easy and fun.
Tired of constant war, the Slavs, Finns and Rus decided to invite the prince from outside so that he would judge and protect them. We stopped at Rurik. Whether it was Rurik, who, as already mentioned, raided Northern France, or another, is not known for sure. One way or another, but some Rurik with a Varangian squad came to Priilmenye and built a new town not far from Ladoga. It was from him that Novgorod grew later.
“And from those Varangians,” says our chronicle, “the Russian land and Novgorodians, who are from the Varangian clan, and used to be Slovenes, began to be called”. That is, when the chronicle was written (in the XII century), the Novgorodians still remembered that their ancestors - both local Slovenes and newcomers - were Varangians-Rus.
When Rurik died, his relative Oleg subdued the southern Slavic tribes - the Polyans, Vyatichs, Radimichs, Northerners, who had previously paid tribute to the Khazars. So, between the Baltic and Black Seas, the Russian state appeared with its capital in Kiev.
