Who were the Vikings?

                   During the 8th century, the Viking people began to leave their homes in Scandinavia and explore Europe in search of treasure and places to settle. The first Vikings appeared in Britain in AD789. They came as raiders along the coast, and then settled in the northeast of Britain. They also invaded Ireland and Normandy. Other Vikings travelled into Russia and as far as Constantinople, trading and selling their services as mercenaries.

                 In Britain the Vikings were finally defeated by Alfred, the Saxon king of Wessex. He forced the invaders to sign a treaty agreeing to live only in the northeast of Britain. This treaty was known as the Danelaw. Britain was finally united as a single kingdom after AD954, when the last Viking king died.

 

How far did the Vikings travel?

                    At a time when sailors dared not venture far from the coasts, the Vikings boldly sailed out, far across the Atlantic in their small open long ships. Wherever Vikings landed, they mingled with local people, and they began to set up colonies in Iceland and Greenland, and sailed on to North America. Leif Ericsson named this country Vinland, and a colony was set up there in AD1003. Traces of Viking settlements have also been found in Maine, in the United States, and in Newfoundland in Canada. However, these colonies soon vanished, together with the colony in Greenland. Other Vikings travelled around the Mediterranean, and when in Byzantium they even traded for goods from China.

                             The Viking religion eventually died out after contact with Christian missionaries in the 12th century.

Pictures Credit: Google