The viking expansion and their impact on the medieval world

http://www.sourcinginnovation.com/archaeology/Arch07.htm

What did the vikings do?

The Vikings sailed most of the North Atlantic, reaching south to North Africa and east to Russia, Constantinople and the Middle East, as looters, traders, colonists, and mercenaries. Vikings reached North America, and set up a short-lived settlement in present-day Newfoundland and Labrador, (Canada). More established settlements were formed in Greenland, Iceland, Great Britain, and Normandy.

more places...

Important people

Ireland

• The Vikings pillaged monasteries on Ireland's west coast in 795, and then spread out to cover the rest of the coastline
• From 830 on, the groups consisted of large fleets of Viking ships.

Normandy

• The Viking presence in Normandy began with the raids deep into the territory of the Frankish Empire, from the middle of 9th century.

Iceland

• Iceland was first settled around 870

Greenland

• Two areas along Greenland's southwest coast were colonized by Norse settlers around 986

Rollo (c. 846 – c. 932)

was a Norse Viking who was founder and first ruler of the Viking principality which soon became known as Normandy.

Erik Thorvaldsson (950 AD-1003), known as Erik the Red, is remembered in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first Norse settlement in Greenland.

Leif Erikson (Died 1020) or Leif Ericson was an Icelandic explorer regarded as the first European to land in North America, nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

Cnut the Great (990 AD- 1035), more commonly known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway, and parts of Sweden, together often referred to as the Anglo-Scandinavian or North Sea Empire.

http://study.com/academy/lesson/history-of-the-vikings.html

Contributing Factors (indirect causes)

Historians do not know the exact reason to why the vikings decided to expand. One widely held idea is that it was a quest for retaliation against continental Europeans for their previous invasions of Viking homelands, such as Charlemagne's campaign to force Scandinavian pagans to convert to Christianity by killing any who refused to become baptized.

Alternatively, some scholars propose that the Viking expansion was driven by a youth bulge effect: since the eldest son of a family customarily inherited the family's entire estate, younger sons had to seek their fortune by emigrating or engaging in raids.

Places visited

England

• During the reign of King Beorhtric of Wessex (786-802) three ships of "Northmen" landed at Portland Bay in Dorset. The local reeve mistook the Vikings for merchants and directed them to the nearby royal estate, but they killed him and his men.The earliest recorded planned raid, on 6 January, 793.
• A new wave of Vikings appeared in England in 947, when Erik Bloodaxe captured York.

Scotland

• The monastery at Iona on the west coast was first raided in 794, and had to be abandoned some fifty years later after several devastating attacks. While there are few records from the earliest period, it is believed that Scandinavian presence in Scotland increased in the 830s.

Viking Impact ?????

Viking culture had a lasting impact on the art, technology, society, religion, and trade of every population they encountered

Their religion made a huge impact to other religions we have today such as Christianity. For example a "Christmas tree" originated from a Norse tradition of worshiping a large tree on one of their holidays. Also the legends of their religion still live on today.

While some Vikings were raiders and warriors, the majority were explores and traders. The Vikings undertook extensive trade and built a trade network that eventually covered all of modern Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Northern India, and even China.

Oh Canada !

L'Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Discovered in 1960, it is the most famous site of a Norse or Viking settlement in North America outside Greenland.

Dating to around the year 1000, L'Anse aux Meadows is the only site widely accepted as evidence of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact. It is notable for its possible connection with the attempted colony of Vinland established by Leif Erikson around the same period or, more broadly, with Norse exploration of the Americas.

They also had an influence on...

The Vikings made great achievements in technology on a wide variety of fronts. They mastered the construction and sailing of the longship. Because of the technology of their long ships they were able to sail all the way to Canada :)

One of the finest surviving examples of Viking art is the ornate carving on the prow of the Oseberg burial ship which was elaborately decorated in the characteristic "gripping beast" style. Their skill in metalworking allowed them to produce fine hacksilver and jewelry, including brooches and lockets, in addition to beautifully decorated and embellished weapons and armor.

so..

In conclusion the vikings went everywhere and left an impact on every european culture they were encounter with.

sadly around 1066 is when the vikings disappeared ( either dead or integrated with other cultures ).

The viking expansion and their impact on the medieval world

BY: Mackenzie