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The Vikings
700-1100 AD
For nearly three centuries, from around AD 800 to 1100, the Vikings dominated the European scene.
In the late 700s, warriors from Scandinavia began attacking the British Isles, most famously the monastery at Lindisfarne.
Known as "Vikings" after an Old English word meaning "plundering," they explored, raided, traded, and colonized over a vast area thanks to their fast, easily manoeuvrable ships.
Some Viking navigators sailed south along the shores of Africa, while others went west and discovered Iceland, Greenland, and even North America. They sailed down the Dniepr River to the Black Sea and to Constantinople, where they came to serve as members of the emperor's imperial guard.
The stereotypical image of the Viking is blonde, burly and brutal, and hungry for loot and land. Violent they certainly were, but they lived in a turbulent age whose values were not ours, and they were mostly farmers, desperately searching for land for agriculture.
However, archaeology has revealed much more: towns, villages and farms have been uncovered, illuminating every aspect of Viking life - from the clothes they wore to the food they ate.
They created cities from York to Kiev, and spoke many different languages. The 'Vikings' also changed over time. They gave up paganism, adopted Christianity, and assimilated into the local cultures which they encountered. It is fair to say that the world of the Vikings was complex and ever changing.
The Viking people came from the three countries of Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway and Sweden, although the term Viking covers the Norse (Norwegians), Danes, Svear (Swedes), Rus (Russian Vikings), Anglo-Danes, Anglo-Norse, Hiberno-Norse, Icelanders, and Greenlanders.
Archaeological remains can be found all over Britain and northern Europe, and includes the remains of houses, burial sites, treasure hoards, stone sculptures and writing carved in 'runes'.
Language
Many familiar words such as 'husband', 'egg', 'law', 'knife' and 'window' originally came from the Vikings' language. Some days of the week are named after their gods: for example, Wednesday is 'Wodan's Day and Thursday is 'Thor's Day'.
Place names
Any place with a name ending in -by, -thorpe, or -ay was originally settled by the Vikings.
Stories
The Vikings left behind many stories about real people, called 'sagas' i.e. the Icelandic Sagas.
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