"From fury of Northmen, deliver us Lord"
- phrase of an English prayers
Who were the Vikings?
The
Vikings – synonymous with terror, savagery, and violence, often wrongfully
depicted wearing helmets with horns. But who were the Vikings really are?
The
word Viking came from Vik meaning to gather in a bay or harbor to raid. But
besides Vikings, they were also called Norsemen and Northmen, pointing out they
came from the Northern regions of Europe called Scandinavia, now composed of
the countries of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. They lived in very cold and tough
conditions than the rest of Europe.
Their
main source of livelihood were agriculture, animal husbandry, and fishing.
Their agriculture, however, suffered from short growing periods because of the
cold and damp climate of the north. Thus, many relied on growing livestock and
fishing from the numerous rivers, lakes, and fjords.
With
fishing, they developed shipbuilding, products of which stood as the foundation
for the success in the Middle Ages.
Craftsmanship
also flourished in the Viking world. Smiths and jewelers made decent living in
making axes, swords, and spears along with peaceful and aesthetic objects such
as pendants, necklaces, and other ornaments made with precious stones and
metal. Excavated burial ships filled with the riches of the deceased stood as
evidence of the excellent craftsmanship of the Vikings.
Another
way for Vikings to live was becoming a merchant. They made contact with Western
Europe but also with the Middle East. Coins from Baghdad, the capital of the
Abbasid Empire, reached Viking settlements.
Politically,
Vikings had no kingdoms nor principalities. They lived scattered across the
Scandinavian landscape with their respective clans and villages. Clan chiefs
reigned but important decisions for the community had to be decided by a thing, a body composed of the members of
the village. An early form of parliament, which later evolved to modern-day
legislative bodies Storting of Norway, Althing of Iceland, and Folketing of
Denmark.
In
the arts, Vikings also developed their own. Besides jewelry and ornaments, they
also have rune stones that depicted their letters called the fupark, which
composed of 24-16 characters depending on the group of people. Rune stones were
used as a memorial to fallen warriors or relative. Also, Vikings had poetries
such as the runic and eddaic. The rune poems gave a poetic introduction to the
runic alphabet, while Eddaic depicted stories and sagas of Gods and Kings.
Responsible for the creation of these literary works were skalds or poets who
composed in the courts of Scandinavian leaders.
Vikings
also had a religion and rich mythology. Today, gods like Thor, popularized by
Marvel, were worshiped by the Vikings. Other Gods include Odin and Freya, whom
the Vikings worship with festivals and sacrifices, sometimes with human life. Their
religion highly upheld warriors, especially those who perished in battle, by
giving them an exclusive place in Valhalla alongside Odin and other Gods. While
the rest of Viking society had to content with nothing in their afterlife.
The
Vikings had a rich culture, from arts, literature, and religion. They had
difficult way of life due to their harsh climate. But what made the Vikings
emerged from their everyday life in the Scandinavia and rampaged across Europe?
What propelled them
to World History?
Many
Vikings took the seas to take lives in order to live in their homelands. From
the icy fringes of Scandinavia, they set out on a 300-year reign of fear,
plunder, and terror to find riches as well as new homes. And Western Europe,
licking from its setback from the fall of Rome, fell prey to them. With a
brutal attack in 793, the Viking Age dawned.
Emergence as Fearsome
Barbarians
The
most widely known reason for the sudden change in the Vikings was overpopulation.
This is what drove the Vikings to move from living simple lives in Scandinavia
to spreading terror and plundering Europe.
During
the Medieval Era, the climate in Scandinavia and in the rest of world increase
with few degrees. It resulted to an increase in food production for the Vikings
as winter became less harsher and growing period longer. The increase sustained
a growth in population that later on outpaced the rate of increase in food
production. Therefore, overpopulation set in. Vikings fought for land to grow
more food for their large families. Some in desperation then looked for their
salvation overseas.
In
793, in a holy island off Northumbria called Lindisfarne, a monastery stood that
will bear witness to the start of the Viking Age. As monks of the Lindisfarne
monastery go about their daily routines, they had no idea nor warnings when
suddenly Viking ships landed in the coast and rough thuggish men with round
shields and axes charged their monastery. The defenseless monastery gave in
immediately and the Vikings did as they wish. They looted gold and silver,
killed monks, and desecrated sacred images. They let some monks live,
especially the abbot of the monastery, who they returned only after ransom
payments. Some of the monks, however, suffered enslavement in the hands of the
Vikings.
The Viking Age
The
attack on Lindisfarne brought condemnation from Europe, but this attack only
signaled more onslaught throughout the continent. Danish Vikings attacked
England and Northern France. Norwegians raided modern day France, Spain, Italy,
Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Swedish on the other hand concentrated east, to
modern day Russia, striking on defenseless Slavs.
Villages
and towns along the Vistula, Oder, Elbe, Rhine, Seine, Loire, among many rivers
in Europe, fell victim to Viking onslaught. An atmosphere of fear, terror, and
uncertainty befallen Europe.
In
844, audacious Vikings attacked the Cordoba Caliphate, raiding Seville, Lisbon,
and Cadiz.
In
845, cities of Hamburg and Paris suffered from Viking attacks. King Charles the
Bald, after failing to stop the Viking advance, paid the Vikings with gold and
silver as protection money and convince them to spare Paris. Protection money
to Vikings became known as danegeld.
However, danegeld had the opposite effect. Rather than convincing the Vikings
to stop, it just attracted them to raid more to be paid more.
Nevertheless,
the Vikings faced staunch resistance from Europe from time to time. By the
middle of the 9th century, Vikings saw Northern France defending themselves by
living inside fortified towns and walled villages. In 861, Vikings suffered a
resounding defeat in the hands of Spanish Muslims that ended the exploits of
Vikings in Mediterranean.
But
even with European resistance, Vikings only continued to flow into Europe in
search of booty and violence. In 865, the Danish Viking warlord Ivar the
Boneless led his Great Heathen Army to Anglo-Saxon England and captured East
Anglia. They captured the city of York and made it as their base of operation.
Their conquest of England almost succeeded if not for a single kingdom in the
south stopping them.
The
Vikings met strong resistance from the Kingdom of Wessex, ruled by King Alfred
the Great. In 871, they won a battle against King Alfred, which forced him to
hiding. After 7 years, in 878, the leader of the Danish Viking Guthrum met
Alfred once again in a battle in Edington. This time, however, the Vikings
suffered a defeat and forced to negotiate a settlement with Alfred. The settlement
between Guthrum and Alfred resulted to the division of England between Kingdom
of Wessex and the Viking English state called Danelaw, with York serving as its
capital. The Danelaw existed until 954 when Alfred’s grandson Edward the Elder
expelled them from the British Isles.
See also:
Bibliography:
Backman, Clifford. The Worlds of Medieval Europe. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
"VIkings." In Encyclopedia of European Peoples. Edited by Carl Waldman et. al. New York, New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006.
"Vikings." In Encyclopedia of World History. Edited by Marsha Ackermann et. al. New York, New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008.
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