Age of the Vikings

The Âge of the Vikings is the name of the period defined between 793 and 1066 of our era in Scandinavia and England, according to the Âge of iron Germanique (the Âge of Vendel in Sweden). For this period, the Viking Scandinavian S, warriors and merchants, plundered and explored most of the Europe, south-west of the Asia, the north of the Africa and the North-East of the North America. Except the exploration of Europe by its oceans and rivers thanks to their advanced knowledge of navigations and the extension of their roads of trade through vast parts of the continent, they also engaged in wars, plundered and put in slavery of many Christian communities of medieval Europe during centuries, thus contributing to the development of the Feudal system in Europe, which includes the Château X and barons (being used as defenses against the raids Vikings).

The company Viking was based on agriculture and the trade with other people and insisted much on the concept of honor as well in the combat as in their system of criminal justice.

The causes and reasons of the expansion and conquests of the Vikings is unknown, of the historians suggested that the imported technological innovations of civilizations of the the Mediterranean as well as the softening of the climate brought an increase in the population thanks to one long period of good harvests. Another factor would be the destruction of the Friesian fleet by Charlemagne towards 785, which stopped the flow of many trade of goods with the Central Europe towards Scandinavia and forced the Vikings to go to seek them themselves. A big factor with all that, particularly for the periods of colonization and conquests which followed the first raids, is also the internal conflicts in Scandinavia, which result in the centralization of the capacities between some hands. It can be allowed that all these factors contributed to the birth of the Age of the Vikings.

See too

Sources and references

Carey, Brian Todd. “Technical marvels, Viking longships sailed seas and rivers, but served ace floating battlefields,” Military History 19, No 6 (2003): 70-72.

Strong, Angelo. Oram, Richard. Pedersen, Frederik. Viking Empires . Cambridge: Cambridge University Near, 2005.

Henry, Francoise. Irish Art in the Early Christian Period . London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1940.

Hudson, Benjamin. Viking Pirates and Christian Princes: Dynasty, Religion, and Empire in North America . Oxford: Oxford University Near, 2005.

Maier, Bernhard. The Celts: With history from earliest times to the present . Notre Dame, Indiana: University off Notre Dame Near, 2003.