Question

Looking for a summary of The Vikings. Where the vikings first originated from to where they took over and expanded. Looking for a good overview of them including important people in their history.

The subject is history!

Answer 1

The Vikings were the people who originated in Scandinavia a European ethnic group. They are of normal height and having red or blond hair.

They were the invaders and settlers, who used to travel by boat. They were the pirates and raided traveling to Central Asia in East and North America in the west.

All the Viking were not pirates there were peace-loving people as well who settled down, others either traveled to trade or raid and brought the goods back to Scandinavia. They used the Norse language thus they are even called Norseman, and Norse means pirates.

They took to pirating to survive because they had little means of survival, the land was not fit for agriculture it was sandy and rocky, as the population increased their need increased and they took to travel, raiding and settling down in new areas where they can get means to survive.

They took to attacking the land that was fertile in the Anglo-Saxons regions, after their successful raid the Viking era started that is around AD 793. They created panic and terror attacking unprotected and wealthy monastery island in Lindisfarne.

From their first successful attack, they came to know that the foreign land provides them what they do not have. For centuries the terror and raiding continued they even raided Constantinople to get wealth and glory and made people their slaves.

The monasteries were the easy targets for them as there were no weapons to protect themselves but filled with wealth. They were pagans and non-believers for them these religious places had no values they destroyed and looted it. Besides looting and raiding around AD 865 they started conquering and settling down on the conquered land primarily in the north and east of present-day England. They even conquered parts of Scotland and founded the city of Dublin.

King Alfred the Great was successful in stopping Viking's advancement of capturing England in the 9th century and they agreed to live peacefully in the north and east part of England and ruled by Dane's law of Vikings thus it became famous as Danelaw. The Anglo-Saxon was successful in stopping Viking's advancement. In 954 AD they defeated and killed Eric Bloodaxe, who was the Viking king of Jorvik ending their rule in Jorvik.

Over 200 years Vikings were constantly in conflict with the Anglo-Saxons.

But the death and killing of their king Harald Hardrada in 1066 by King Harold Godwinson of England at the Battle of Stamford Bridge there was no powerful person left to replace him and it was the end of Viking period they agreed to live peacefully under the English rule.

The few famous Viking kings were, Rollo, Olaf Tryggvason, Cnut the Great, and Harald Hardrada.

The Viking people were the good craftsman, and the excelled in boat making.