The Vikings in Britain

Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms

Vikings

• Also called Norsemen• The word „Viking“ means „Pirate

raid“• Great seafarers• Skillful craftsmen• Their expansion ended with

Christianization• Fierce warriors

Earliest raids

• 787 - First raid in Dorset• 793 - Monastery of Lindisfarne

• Small raids common since• 865 - Large army of Danes

invaded East Anglia• Northumbria conquered

and settled by the Danes• Invasion of Wessex repelled

by Alfred the Great

Map of Viking attack routes

Viking Invasion continues…

• Most of occupied lands captured back by the army of Wessex

• Danelaw established• 947 - New wave of viking attacks• Norwegian king Eric Bloodaxe

captured York• Sweyn I (1013-1014)• Canute the Great (1016-1035)

Danelaw Map

Kingdom of Canute the Great

What happened next?

• Troubles with inheritance• Harthacanute vs. Harold Harefoot• Return of Edward the Confessor from

exile in Normandy• 1042 - Restoration of Saxon Wessex

dynasty• 1066 – Last attempt of Norwegians to

invade England, defeated by Anglo-Saxons who were in turn defeated by William of Normandy

Vikings in Scotland

• Scotland – Norwegians defeated Picts who lost their power and Kingdom of Scotland was found

• Islands off Scotland coast were part of Norway until 1468

Vikings in Wales and Cornwall

• Of all parts of nowadays Great Britain Wales was least settled by Vikings

• Vikings were not able control Wales for longer period

• Cornwall became an ally of Vikings and helped them conquer Wessex, remained independent of Vikings

Vikings in Ireland

• Ireland was devided into many small kingdoms

• Heavily settled by the Vikings• Norsemen could not conquer whole

island and were finally defeated by Irish allied forces

• High Kingdom of Ireland was founded though after danger was overthrown it felt apart

Areas settled by Vikings

Ships

• Longship - „Drakkar“• Merchantship – „Knarr“

Famous Misconceptions

• Horned helms were used only for ritual ceremonies not in combat

• Vikings were not savage marauders, they had advanced trade and culture

• They did not use sculls of their enemies as cups

• Uncleanliness? No way, look at the Anglo-Saxons instead