HIST 107 Introduction to Medieval History Lecture 8 The Vikings and Other Invaders Main Questions 1 How and why did much of western Europe become prey to external aggessors in the ninth and tenth centuries 2 What were the most significant impacts that the aggressors made upon European society Key Points Three main issues to address A Other than the Vikings who were the aggressors B Who were the Vikings and what motivated them C What were the lasting consequences of their expansion A Other than the Vikings who were the aggressors 1 Arabs using north Africa and Mediterranean islands as bases real threat to Italy in 9th century residual presence in French Alps later 2 Magyars latest in long series of collisions between Europe and Steppe nomads cf the Huns Avars earlier Mongols later warfare characteristic of nomadic invaders mobility and speed setback defeat at Lechfeld 955 v Germans under Otto I more sedentary from mid 10th century Christianity Latin model accepted by King Stephen c 1000 Both Arabs and Magyars grave threats but relatively limited in space or duration This contrasts with the more widespread and chronologically sustained impact of the Vikings So the next question is B Who were the Vikings and what motivated them Vikings are among the most well known medieval commodities in modern popular culture long subject of romanticized vision of Nordic society In fact we know surprisingly little about the Vikings Scandinavia in 8th 10th centuries not yet Christianized pre literate partial exception of Runic inscriptions some cultural attainment e g L rbro Stone cf Jelling Monument Rosenwein Reading pp 266 7 but this culture hard to read written sources therefore either very late or written by the victims even the word Viking obscure pirate merchant Scandinavia had been off the Romans radar remote very thinly populated perhaps the original home of some of the Germanic settlers in the Roman world but this not much remembered except in Anglo Saxon England Beowulf set in southern Sweden Sutton Hoo may show Scandinavian cultural ties But from 790s western European sources begin to pick up references to pirate raiders from Scandinavia Signpost event sack of Lindisfarne abbey in northern England 793 isolated raids initially then more sustained attacks from 830s mostly France at first then England Norwegians set up bases in Ireland coincidence of 830s 40s period of Frankish civil war is very significant targets mostly rich pickings e g monasteries coastal trading centres smash and grab raids at first then more permanent operations What is driving the Vikings Very hard to explain multiple suggestions have been made e g climate change overpopulation political rivalries sheer adventurism one factor disruption to Denmark caused by Frankish expansion opportunism as Frankish world fragments politically already involved in North Sea and Baltic trade so not from nowhere advances in ship building skills making long distance voyages possible and go long distances inland up rivers evidence of remarkable survivals Gokstad and Oseberg ships Important not to over generalize variety of activities and goals clich traders not raiders but both at same time e g contrast between experience of Rhos Rus and north Atlantic Norse Rhos originate as Swedish traders in Baltic pushing south using rivers penetrate modern western Russia and Ukraine cf north Atlantic Norwegians settle Shetland Orkneys Faroes Western Isles then Iceland virtually a clean slate a distinctive society emerges see The Book of the Icelanders Rosenwein Reading pp 168 71 relatively egalitarian famous for its bloodfeuds from 12th century precocious literature in vernacular from Iceland fringe settlement of Greenland then brief foray into North America c 1000 These two fringes bracket the various types of Viking expansion But the core element was mostly Danish and directed at the British Isles and what is now France anguish of victims emerges from sources e g Frankish annals and Anglo Saxon Chronicle be careful tradition of exaggerated cruelty rhetoric How are the Vikings dealt with a military experiment e g fortified bridges Alfred the Great of Wessex build defensive burhs develop taxation to enlarge armies b political accommodations creation of the Danelaw in north and east England enduring impact on institutions and language in France Charles the Simple grants lands to Vikings in Seine valley origins of later Normandy North men land C What were the lasting consequences of the Viking expansion Extension of Nordic world especially Iceland Within mainstream European culture probably the main impact on England Alfred the Great and successors use the fight against Vikings to create a unitary England for the first time taxation extended when Vikings return in late 10th century Irony England emerges as a rich well governed state worth the attention of foreign aggressors ultimately this accounts for the Norman invasion in 1066 1066 actually last hurrah of Viking ambitions Harald Hardrada king of Norway killed by English just before Hastings Thereafter shift to national histories of increasingly Christianized Scandinavia Conclusions The Vikings are one of the best known if not fully understood elements of medieval civilization Recently scholars have been trying to play down their impact and importance But this revision can be taken too far the Vikings did make a difference and in a wide variety of places and ways They were often the symptom of change not the cause of it but this does not diminish their interest Proper Nouns and Technical Terms Magyars Lecheld Otto I runic inscriptions Gokstad Oseberg Beowulf Sutton Hoo Lindisfarne L Anse aux Meadows Danelaw Rollo burh Harald Hardrada Key Images 1 An Alfredian burh late 9th century 2 The Gokstad Ship c 900 3 The L rbro Stone 10th century