Viking Attack Research Paper

In 793 a monastery in northern England called Lindisfarne Island was attacked, looted and destroyed by marauders from Norway. This incident was the first recorded reference to Vikings in historical documents. After this first, Viking raids continued consistently on Britain, mainland Europe and Russia over the next 50 years and before long they dominated the seas of northern Europe. By this time the Vikings had control over northern England, Ireland and parts of Russia. After 150 years of raids and looting across Europe, Viking expeditions traveled west to discover Iceland, Greenland and establish colonies on Newfoundland 600 years before any other European groups. Additionally they expanded their seafaring network south and attacked the Byzantine

While some Viking age Scandinavians were berserkers and warriors the majority were traders and explorers with an extensive trade network that covered all of modern Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Northern India, and even some parts of China. During the Viking age the economy of Europe was changed from a simple exchange of goods type system into a mercantile and market based system. The Viking raids in the 9th and 10th centuries took a heavy toll on the stability and political development of ancient Europe. The Scandinavian attackers caused much fear in the populations of Europe and historians at the time were usually priests who saw the pagan Scandinavians as marauders and murders, which they were largely in their primary interactions with the outside world. Additionally the Church, was an extremely rich and defenseless target for the raiders and may have been more frequently targeted than many other parts of European kingdoms. Regardless, the notoriety of the Vikings, within a century or two was gone. Many of them had converted to Christianity and settled in their occupied territories. At the same time, Scandinavians were developing new settlements in Iceland, Greenland, North America, and the North Atlantic, and created European style kingdoms in Scandinavia. As they became assimilated in their new lands