The Vikings Research Paper

1018 Words3 Pages

The Vikings were a group of people that originated from the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. During the 8th to 11th centuries AD, the Vikings sailed across the oceans to reach Europe, Africa, and even to North America, for trade, expansion, and raiding. This period is often called the 'Viking Age', and it was typified by violent clashes between the Vikings and the people they met on their travels. The Viking Age The beginning of the Viking Age is usually assigned to the Viking attack on a religious monastery in northern England in AD 793. On the island of Lindisfarne, which was only inhabited by monks, the Vikings attacked suddenly and left with anything of value that they could find. To Christian Europe, …show more content…

However, at some time in the 8th century AD, the act of raiding began. Once it started, the new idea took on quite quickly and many Scandinavian ships began sailing out to attack. Therefore, modern scholars are trying to work out what motivated these cultures to begin raiding in the first place. There is no simple answer as to why this began, but here are some of the most popular theories. Climate change has caused a series of bad crops, and starvation has forced the Vikings to look for new ways of making money. There was a lack of land in Scandinavia and young men were encouraged to find new homes by invading other countries. The Viking cultures began meeting rich people from other lands through trade and, when they learnt that churches were undefended and very wealthy, they took advantage of the situation for their own gain. History Skills Longships When the Vikings began raiding, they developed a sophisticated kind of ship unique to their culture. Most ocean-going ships had to sit deep in the water to avoid sinking in rough seas. What was remarkable about Viking longships is that they were very …show more content…

With these clever longboats, the Vikings were even able to sail from Europe to North America safely. They managed this by settling at two key locations along the way: Iceland and Greenland. They used these sites as resting places on the long journey. As a result, the Vikings were the first Europeans to reach the Americas, five hundred years before Christopher Columbus. The Vikings were the first Europeans to settle in North America, around 1000 AD. They set up a short-lived settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in present-day Newfoundland, Canada. However, this settlement was eventually abandoned, and the Vikings did not set up a permanent presence in North America. The exact reasons for the abandonment of the settlement are unknown, but it is thought to be due to a combination of factors, such as the harsh climate, conflicts with indigenous populations, and the limited resources available to sustain a settlement. End of the Viking Age Most historians date the end of the Viking age to AD 1066. One group of Vikings, called the Normans, settled in

Open Document