Dulwich Despatch
Page 10
All you need to know about Vikings!
Are you interested in how the world’s most fierce fighters conquered the UK and how? If you are interested… then read on The Vikings were seafaring Scandinavians engaged in exploring, raiding and trading in waters and lands outside of Scandinavia from the eighth to eleventh centuries. They spoke the Old Norse language that today not many people speak. The Viking age in European history was about AD 700 to 1100. During this period many Vikings left Scandinavia and travelled to other countries, such as Britain and Ireland. Some went to fight and steal treasure. Others settled in new lands as farmers, craftsmen or traders. The Vikings in Britain Southern Britain (England) had been settled by the Anglo-Saxons. In AD 787 three Viking longships landed in southern England. The Vikings fought the local people, then sailed away. This first raid is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. It was the start of a fierce struggle between English and Vikings. The English called the Viking invaders 'Danes' but they came from Norway as well as Denmark. Norwegian Vikings or 'Norsemen' sailed to Scotland, where they made settlements in the north and on the islands of Orkney and Shetland. Vikings also settled on the Isle of Man. Vikings raided Wales, but few made homes there. Why did the Vikings attack monasteries?
In 793 Vikings attacked the Christian monastery at Lindisfarne in Northumbria. They were pagans, not Christians like most people in Britain. A Viking robber did not think twice about robbing a Christian church. Christian monasteries in Britain were easy to attack, because the monks in the monasteries had no weapons. Churches and monasteries kept valuable treasures, such as gold, jewels and books. There were food, drink, cattle, clothes and tools too - tempting for greedy Vikings. Where did Vikings settle? Some Viking ships brought families to Britain looking for land to farm.
Good farmland was scarce in the Vikings' own countries. The parts of Britain where most Vikings settled were northern Scotland and eastern England. For 500 years, from about AD 900, Vikings ruled the north of Scotland, the Orkney and Shetland Isles and the Hebrides islands off the west coast. In Ireland, Vikings founded the city of Dublin. Viking areas in east and northern England became known as the Danelaw. Viking settlements brought new words into the English language, and new ideas about government too. For a short time England had Danish kings (King Cnut and his sons, from 1016 to 1042). How far did Vikings roam? Norwegian Vikings sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean to Iceland and Greenland. About AD 1000, Vikings sailed to North America and started a settlement, though it did not last long. Danish Vikings went to France and founded Normandy ('Land of the North-men'). Danish Vikings also sailed south around Spain, and into the Mediterranean Sea. Swedish Vikings roamed along rivers into Russia. Viking traders could be found as far east as Constantinople (Turkey), where they met people from Africa, Arabia and Asia. Thank you very much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Alex Sicking, 7L
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