Throughout history, the Vikings have been portrayed as great explorers that travel the seas, pillaging villages every now and then. Over several hundreds of years, the perception of Vikings has gradually transformed. Currently, Vikings are continuously portrayed as savage brutes in a very clichéd manner. However, there is more to them than the typical mental picture of a large, heavily built, bearded brute wearing a wooden helmet with attached horns. The Vikings were the traders and colonists that left an everlasting influence on modern day Britain.
The first recorded Viking raids occurred around the 7th century. Raids by Scandinavian pirates on sites located all over Britain. Approximately 800CE to 1066CE (the Norman Conquest) is commonly known as the Viking Age of Scandinavian History. Small-scale raids continued to occur and by the late ninth century, there were settlements that dotted various parts of Britain. The Vikings had managed to gain control over some areas of Britain.
However, one of the most significant that the Scandinavian had caused, were the emergence of two newly united and powerful kingdoms: England and Scotland. This occurred as an indirect result of Scandinavian involvement with the of Britain.
Much of the information about the Viking raids was simply burnt or destroyed by the Vikings themselves, many monasteries destroyed and the records along with them. Not much is known about the raids in Scotland, due to the scarcity of written material.
The Norwegian were caused possibly the greatest political upset to areas around the north. Around the 860s, the Viking Army began grow larger, armies clearly meant for conquest of surrounding land. During the mid 860s, they captured areas such as York while also forcing East Angles to supply them with more troops.
The two main leaders of the Viking army were Ragnar Hairy-Breeks and his son Ivarr the Boneless. These two mean were responsible for killing the King of Northrumbia in 867 and the King of East Angles in 869. At this point, the Vikings had conquered nearly all of England.
From about the year 900 onwards, many English Kings were able to resist the Vikings and actively fight against them. The last Viking king, Eric Bloodaxe, was forced out in the year 954.
After the year 955, the island of Britain experienced an era of peace, as King Edgar united the kingdom and re-organized the church, while strengthening monasticism. The beginning of the “second Viking age” began in the year 991. These raids were on a much larger scale compared to previous ones and were even organized by members of royalty. Most of these raids had the main objective of extortion. These raids caused the wealth in the kingdom to be spread out equally, and tax that was given to prevent raids caused England to develop a tax system that was far more sophisticated than anywhere else in Europe.
Over time the Viking raiders, having travelled all throughout Europe had given influences to many parts of Europe. Many areas in Europe can have their ancestry and influences traced back to the Vikings. There are several burial sites associated with Vikings all throughout Europe, proof of their spread and constant raiding. While short term effects of their raids might have been total destruction of towns and causing fear and a general contempt against the Vikings, in the long term, wealth was able to spread equally through Europe, enabling Britain to develop as a whole rather than have one kingdom that was superior to the others.
Most of the Viking raids were solely to gain wealth and power, in addition to trade, and spreading their religion.
Although many of the Vikings may have been assimilated into medieval during the 11th century, their influence can still be found around the world even today. Though most people may view Vikings in a more clichéd way due to media, it is important to note that Vikings have been instrumental in the development of Europe.
