How Did The Vikings Lived In The Middle Ages

The most common consensus was that though the time period of 800 AD to the 11th century (1066 AD), the Vikings did not last long enough, but within that time period, they had some major impacts on the European civilizations.

Coming from Scandinavian countries, predominantly Denmark and Norway, the Vikings began raiding the British Isles in the late 700s (James). The Vikings primarily targeted monasteries, because that is where most of the wealth was concentrated (Loughrey). These raids were very violent, people were killed, and the survivors were sold into slavery (Loughrey). These violent raids earned the Vikings the reputation of barbarians, much like the Mongols a few centuries later in Asia. After some time, once the Vikings exhausted most of the wealth in the monasteries, they turned their interest into settling the British Isles (James). By the late 9th century the Vikings had conquered most of England (James). However, even though these Viking kingdoms did not last very long, the Scandinavians who resided there stayed. These Scandinavians would go on to change the British Isles in many ways. Despite the violent and negative impacts of Viking raids on the British Isles, once the Vikings settled down, they had a significant and positive peaceful impact on the British Isles culturally, politically, and economically.

The Vikings were Norse seafarers, who mainly spoke the Old Norse language. They raided and traded from their Northern European homelands across wide areas of northern, central and eastern Europe, during the 9th to 11th century. The Vikings originated from Scandinavia, and the beginning of the Vikings expansion often originates from the raid of the Lindisfarne Monetary on 8 June 793. The Vikings were the first Westerners to sail to Iceland, Greenland, and over to the New World. However, the story of the Vikings is also an important story for the development of the Christian world in the West. Throughout this essay, I will explain the importance of Viking religion, Viking trade, and how the Viking age had an impact on the way Western and

The strengths of the Vikings surely was the most significant factor in enabling them to be successful in terms of their strategies and tactics. Their strategies for example included the ‘Great Army’ which consisted of small forces therefore allowing them to use the element of surprise to their advantage and so raid completely undetected. They first gathered in East Anglia (866/7) and were skillfully able to live of this land by taking horses and supplies from the locals. The success of these Great Armies is clearly represented by their ability to destroy 3 kingdoms including Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. The Great Army was certainly key as it was believed to have been able to ‘dramatically change the political and demographic

burn and pillage their way across civilized Europe. During this period much progress was achieved in terms of Scandinavian art and craftsmanship, marine technology, exploration, and the development of commerce. It seems the Vikings did as much trading as they did

“Everywhere the Christians were the victims of massacres, burnings, plunderings: the Vikings conquer all in their path, and no one resists them” (Doc. C). This shows that when people saw the Vikings, they didn’t even bother trying to defend themselves, and instead immediately surrendered. That is how well known they were. The Vikings have also been described as devils or warriors. “The monks. . . described it often as if the devils from hell are being unleashed on them” (Doc. D). The Vikings were very similar to the Mongols, in the sense that they both were warriors who raided Central Europe, and survived off of fear, intimidation, and terrorism. The Carolingians were so scared of the Vikings raiding, that they began to pay them protection money. “And these payments were so enormous that there were years when the empire had no currency anymore” (Doc. F). Because of this, people living in Central or Western Europe had to barter for what they

The Vikings were a group of Scandinavian raiders that were around from about the 8th century to the 11th. They mainly attacked the British Islands , the Frankish empire, England, but they also plundered places such as the Iberian peninsula and northern Africa. Vikings did not always settle into the places that they found, for instance after exploring North America they left the place never to return again. Even so, after landing on Greenland they colonized themselves there, and ancestors of the Vikings still live there today. So now that you know a little about the history of the Vikings lets go into detail about the specifics of the Viking age. (Peter Sawyer, Oxford Ill. History of the Vikings p. 1-19)

When one sees the word Viking, the mind firstly shifts to men who are uncivilized and unprincipled. Using evidence of achievements and victories will not only show how much they impacted Europe, but how sophisticated Vikings actually were. As Charlemagne’s empire ended, the people of Europe showed extraordinary resilience toward the new movements of the era. From 800 to 1200 CE, Vikings ruled medieval Europe. These Vikings, along with thick soil, are credited with shifting Europe from endemic violence toward cooperation and legal order. An attack on the Lindisfarne monastery off the coast of Northumberland in northeastern England marked the beginning of the Viking Age. Vikings began to appear in Europe due to Scandinavian raiders repeatedly visiting the Christian countries of Europe. At first they were content with just raiding lands, but soon they began to seize land and proclaim rule. They sought riches, not land. With this established rule, Vikings promised safety and began to reform the lands they had acquired. The people agreed due to starvation and possible attacks from eneimes. The new lands had a need for settled agriculture, defensive warfare and commerce. As the Vikings began to fulfill these needs they saw an expansion in cooperation and rule of law among the villagers.

The Vikings lived about one thousand years ago in the lands that we now call Iceland, Lapland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. To most people the Vikings were raiders that got in their longboats and sailed somewhere and then went from town to town killing and pillaging. This is not completely true, because the Vikings were also

The people from the north, Norsemen, lived in villages and on dispersed farms in various regions. The Norwegian Vikings were from Iceland and Ireland. The Danish Vikings were from France and Britain. The Swedish Vikings were from Russia. Regardless of region, Vikings are addressed as one group of people. Written documentation from this era, sagas specify the region of Vikings being recorded.

The Viking Ages was basically a misunderstanding for the Vikings and the English. People from Scandinavia went to England to find gold. They thought about attacking the castles, but

The Vikings emerged from the present-day area in Northern Europe known as Scandinavia, which consists of the countries of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Named for their legendary raids, the name “Viking” is said to mean “a pirate raid” and originates from a dead language called “Old Norse”, which was the native tongue of the Vikings.

The Vikings spent most of their time raiding villages and killing people. They sailed very far distances in their longships to find land to raid. The Vikings mostly raided western and eastern parts of Europe. They also raided places like Greenland and Canada. While raiding the Vikings would basically kill anyone that got in their way and they would destroy villages completely. If you survived a Viking raid, you were extremely lucky. When the Vikings raided they would steal anything they could, including money, food, cattle and loot from churches. The Vikings would usually not leave places alone. Once they had raided them one time, they would do it again and keep stealing and killing. One famous raid that the Vikings did was in Northumbria, North-east England. Here the Vikings arrived in their longships and burned down buildings, murdered monks, stole things and frightened everyone. Apparently some of the Christian church leaders said

The Vikings came from three countries Norway, Sweden and Finland these three countries are known as Scandinavia. These three countries were where the Vikings originated from and were where all their towns and independent villages were until they settled on new land. I believe that people did not know these things because a majority of information that has been provided about the Vikings has stated that Vikings did not really live in these Countries. Information that people would have mostly heard was false.

The Vikings were famous for sailing long distances from their home between AD 800 and 1066 to raid and steal goods, but they also traded with people from other countries.