Over a thousand years ago, a people known as the Vikings appeared in England and Europe, forever leaving their mark upon history. For over 200 years, the violent and plundering arrivals of the Vikings changed both European and Viking culture. Although in movies and popular culture, the Vikings are depicted as simply violent, barbaric raiders and warriors, through more recent research, the Vikings are proving these modern misconceptions untrue. There was a lot more to the Vikings and their culture, it’s no wonder their arrival sent such shock waves through Europe. The Viking Invasion of Europe in the 9th to 13th centuries brought about a period of profound change and development in western society. Through conquest and cultural assimilation, the Vikings would bring with them significant technological advances and considerable cultural influence.
The more we discover about the Norse Viking peoples, mainly through archaeological evidence, the more modern perceptions and depictions of Vikings become inaccurate. The Viking people and their culture were in fact much more complex than violent barbarians. Originally from the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Denmark, the Vikings were intelligent, and technologically innovative people, with a rich and distinctive culture (Donovan). They were religious, eager to trade and also to explore. Artefacts found in recent archaeological digs such as iron-working tools and farm implements have provided us with further insight into the day to day life of the Vikings. Further artifacts such as . (Australia)
Above all, the Vikings were not only eager to trade and explore, but felt a deep need to settle outside of Scandinavia. Due to factors such as overpopulation, infertile soil, rocky terrains, and short growing seasons, the Vikings likely felt that they could not remain in Scandinavia if they wanted to grow, or even sustain their population. It is likely because of these push factors that the Vikings so expertly developed their seafaring skills and technologies. The Vikings were expert navigators, and built remarkable vessels such as the longship and the knarr. It is because of these technologies that the Vikings were able to travel such great distances with such efficiency and ease, venturing as far as North America, Greenland and perhaps as far is the Mediterranean. Another key factor which pushed the Vikings to leave Scandinavia was their desire for wealth, and it is speculated that the Vikings, especially coming from a shortage of land, were drawn to the prospect of settling somewhere where they had access to an abundance, more land than they could have ever needed (Sawyer). It is likely because of these specific needs and desires of the Vikings that they chose to focus their invasions on England and western Europe. Though they were able to travel great distances, it is in England and Europe that the Vikings, beginning in the 9th century, spent 200 years concentrating their efforts, as this region of Europe offered many significant factors that would have drawn the Vikings’ attention, and made it the obvious choice. (Australia).
At the time of the first Viking invasions, England and western Europe’s coasts would have been a particularly enticing target for the Vikings. Monasteries containing not just sacred traditions and knowledge but vast riches dotted the coasts of England and Europe, and were largely defenseless and unprotected. In addition to this, it was common in Europe for many lands and small towns not to have a central authority figure. In short, the English and western European coasts were an easy target for the violent, technologically advanced and well coordinated Vikings (Hurstwic). The Vikings, seeking not only better living conditions to settle in, but wealth and riches as well, saw these vulnerable monasteries as perfect opportunities. The first significant Viking attack in western Europe occurred on the 8th of June, 789, on a priory called Lindisfarne, on the English coast. From this point forward, monasteries, priories, and small towns and villages all throughout western Europe that were located near the coast or near inlets of water began to be viciously raided. The Viking Age had begun, the success of the Viking raids being in large part because of the Vikings’ unprecedented naval prowess. (England).
The Vikings built their boats to be long, and extremely shallow. Because of this, the Vikings were able to sail farther inland than was ever expected by the English and European people of this time. The Vikings would sail into inlets and rivers, appearing seemingly ‘out of nowhere’ in riverside villages, plundering inland monasteries, and accessing areas that were thought to have been safe as they were fairly far from the ocean. The people living in these places were taken by complete surprise by these invasions, and were therefore almost entirely unprepared to defend themselves, especially against the Vikings’ vicious and well organized military techniques.
The terror that these Viking raids inflicted upon Europe had many effects socially and culturally. The first significant changes to European society because of the Viking raids was as a result of the fear the Vikings inflicted. The European population was terrorized, one of the first examples being the Monks of Lindisfarne, who retreated from their priory farther inland, eventually leaving Lindisfarne for good (England). Like many people at that time, the Monks of Lindisfarne were motivated to flee because of their fear of further Viking raids. Many people of England and Europe shared this fear, which caused many people to move away from coastal areas out of fear that their village would be raided. Although many people fled, European and certainly English people had a lot of contact with the Vikings and their culture, this contact and cultural exchange enduring for two centuries. “” (Australia). The Vikings stayed in many parts of England and Europe before eventually settling, and it is during these long periods of contact with the Europeans that Viking culture began to influence European culture. One of the most evident examples of this influence is the traces of Norse in the English language, Scandinavian origins appearing in many English place names, words, and surnames, with over 60 percent of personal names in Yorkshire in early Middle English having had Scandinavian influence. “” (Australia).
In addition to influences in the English language and literature, the Vikings brought with them the Norse religion. The presence of Norse religion in England and Europe, particularly because it was so different from Christianity, would likely have had an impact on Europeans. Many fundamental elements and facets of who the Vikings were as a people reflected the beliefs of their religion,“ (Norse). Despite the Vikings’ tendency to ready adopt Christianity when settled in areas that were quite Christian (Williams), the Vikings who adhered more strongly to their Norse religion and culture would have put pressure upon Christians, assimilating Christianity and enforcing Norse beliefs and influences. The appearance of this religion in Europe not only would have had impacts on society and religion, but influenced architecture/art, and likely placed a greater importance on trade as well. “” (Norse). Furthermore, as is seen when looking at early peoples such as Mesopotamians or Ancient Egyptians, the Vikings’ ideas of the afterlife via their religion impacted what they did and how they acted. “” (Norse).
Perhaps the most significant cultural influence of the Vikings was their impact on society in England and Europe. Like the Ancient Greeks, Viking society contained ideals such as democracy and law. “”. (Australia). All free men could partake in this parliament which had the power to both make laws and enforce them, the Althing resembling a court of law in the sense that those found guilty would be punished for their crimes. “” (Australia). Furthermore, Vikings were quite modern (and strikingly different from European culture) in that Viking women had a substantial amount of equality. Although they could not vote at the Althing, women were permitted to own land and to divorce their husbands, rights which were not common in Europe until centuries later. The presence of the Vikings’ modern concepts in 9th to 13th century, monarchy-ruled England would have spread revolutionary thoughts throughout Europe, and would have planted seeds for the democratic and equality movements that would come later in history. (Australia).
Although the Vikings greatly impacted England and Europe, it was arguably the Vikings who changed most dramatically after invading and settling in Europe. The Vikings as a people, though extremely violent in their invasions and battles (likely fueled by desperation to settle elsewhere), the Vikings were in fact a people quite willing to adapt and settle. The Vikings, by nature and because of the Norse religion, were a people who readily and happily traded and were willing to strike deals, these qualities that Vikings possessed were a large part of why the Viking Age of invasions came to an end. Further reasons why this era came to a close would be because soon after settling in England and Europe, the Vikings tended to adopt Christianity quite easily. “” (Hurstwic). It appears that once the Vikings were able to settle, they were content to adapt to life in England and Europe. Eventually, the Vikings became Europeans, their bloodlines and family names tracing down through English and European family trees.
The Vikings, during the 9th to 13th centuries, plundered and invaded England and coastal Europe on a quest to settle in conditions more favourable to their growing population. Their swift and violent invasions, for over 200 years, succeeded in not only influencing and changing European culture, but ultimately changing Vikings culture significantly as they adapted and settled in Europe. It is certain that the arrival of the Vikings’ technology, culture and innovative ideals set in motion a period of profound change in European history, the developments brought about by these two very different cultures meeting head-to-head still being seen to this day, one thousand years having passed since the legendary invasions of the Viking peoples.