In Old Norse the word means a pirate raid, from either vikja (to move swiftly) or vik (an inlet). Historians disagree about the origin of the word Viking. Vikings in Britain: background and legacy However, by the end of the 11th century the great days of Viking expansion were over. They traded extensively with the Muslim world and fought as mercenaries for the Byzantine emperors of Constantinople (Istanbul). Their expansion during the Viking Age took the form of warfare, exploration, settlement and trade.ĭuring this period, around 200,000 people left Scandinavia to settle in other lands, mainly Newfoundland (Canada), Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, England, Scotland, the islands around Britain, France (where they became the Normans), Russia and Sicily. What we call the Viking Age, and their relationship with England, lasted from approximately 800 to 1150 AD – though Scandinavian adventurers, merchants and mercenaries were of course active before and after this period.
As well as warriors, they were skilled craftsmen and boat-builders, adventurous explorers and wide-ranging traders. They left very little written evidence themselves. We know about them through archaeology, poetry, sagas and proverbs, treaties, and the writings of people in Europe and Asia whom they encountered. From here they travelled great distances, mainly by sea and river – as far as North America to the west, Russia to the east, Lapland to the north and the Mediterranean World (Constantinople) and Iraq (Baghdad) to the south. The Vikings' homeland was Scandinavia: modern Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers and subject leaders, join the Historical Association today
0 kommentar(er)
