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😉 Greetings to history lovers and curious readers! Vikings: who are they and where are they from? The article briefly tells about the Vikings, early medieval Scandinavian sailors, in the VIII-XI centuries. who made sea trips.
These were tribes in the stage of decomposition of the tribal system, living in the territory of modern Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Overpopulation and famine pushed them outside their home countries. In the chronicles of Kievan Rus, they were known as the Varangians.
Where did the Vikings come from?
In the summer of 789, one incident occurred in one of the coastal settlements of the Kingdom of Wessex. Three boats moored to the shore, from which came tall men with blond hair and beards. Tan Beokhtrik met them with a small squad.
After a short conversation, a quarrel broke out. The strangers killed the thane with his people, took the weapon and sailed away to no one knows where. If medieval chroniclers noted every internecine clash of the Anglo-Saxons of that time, then no books would be enough. But this episode made it into the chronicles precisely because it was the beginning of a new era.
The Anglo-Saxons and their closest neighbors, the Irish, Scots and Welsh, have been Christians for over two centuries. And the inhabitants of the continent, Franks, Bretons, Germans, professed the faith of Christ even longer.
The bearded strangers who came were pagans. This circumstance attracted the attention of the medieval chronicler, who described, in fact, the first meeting with the Vikings – a force that changed the borders, culture and even the demographic situation in Europe over the next three centuries.
The settlement of the Scandinavian Islands took place long before the onset of our era. The first settlements are dated by archaeologists to the Mesolithic era. But the isolation and inaccessibility of the Scandinavian Peninsula contributed to the fact that the population of this harsh land remained far from the events in Europe.
The great migration of peoples only remotely affected Scandinavia. The fall of the Roman Empire and the subsequent formation of states with their constant wars, the spread of Christianity – all this did not affect the harsh land of fjords.
The inhabitants of these places had their own culture and religion. They solved their problems and would not have floated anywhere if insurmountable circumstances had not forced them to withdraw from their homes.
The reason that forced the Vikings to seek their fortune overseas was climate change. Around the XNUMXth century, the average temperature in Europe dropped sharply by several degrees. The lands, especially in the north, became unsuitable for agriculture and could not feed all people.
Even in the northern regions of present-day France, many fields were abandoned. What can we say about snow-covered Norway, where mountains predominate. And only narrow valleys along the river banks are suitable for the economy.
It was precisely the lack of means of food that forced many of the younger sons in the family, which could not inherit the inheritance, poor landless peasants and even just adventure seekers, to go overseas.
Drakari
The military successes of the Vikings were promoted by their unusual ships – Drakars. These combat boats could accommodate about 20 oarsmen, had a shallow draft, could go by oars and sail both on the sea and along the river beds, even the smallest ones.
The first boat, the Hjortspring Boat, which became the prototype of the Drakars, dates back to the XNUMXth century. It was discovered in Denmark.
The Vikings were excellent sailors. Knowing the coastline well and being able to enter the rivers, these fearless warriors always attacked suddenly, quickly and in the most unexpected places and always left before the enemy could muster forces to repel the attack.
Viking travel map
The Europeans were completely unprepared for an attack from the sea. Small detachments of well-armed, strong warriors, appearing from nowhere, panicked the inhabitants of not only the English isles, but also the inhabitants of the continent.
“Lord deliver us from the fury of the Normans!”
Frequent and always brutal Viking raids became a real disaster for Christians in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries. In the prayers, there was even a special petition “Save us, Lord, from the wrath of the Normans!”
Indeed, pirates in essence, driven from their native lands by hunger and poverty, the Vikings could only count on what they would get with the sword. The craft, condemned in Scandinavia, gradually gained respect, supported by the cult of the war gods Thor, Odin and others.
Over time, not only the inhabitants of Scandinavia, but also the Danes, Balts, and Slavs appeared in the Viking detachments.
The very word “Viking” in translation means “inhabitant of the bay”. Viking is not a nationality, but a certain social status. These are homeless bandits who robbed everything and everyone, even the nearest neighbors. But under the influence of unforgiving time, this trouble was also gone.
Gradually, the Vikings, having satisfied and lost their original cruelty, took up trade and politics. They made a number of geographical discoveries (Iceland, Greenland, America).
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