As we all know, the Nordic region where the Vikings lived was covered with thick ice and snow all year round. The winters were extremely cold and the living environment was extremely cruel. There are only a few areas of land available for farming and grazing, and resources are scarce. In order to survive, the native Scandinavian residents have to fight with nature all the time. Therefore, on the one hand, they are irritable and difficult to train, advocate bravery, and have violent and savage wildness. On the other hand, they also develop a hardworking and frugal spirit. , strong vitality and other fine traditions. Due to the lack of resources, they knew how to make the most efficient use of every limited resource and never waste it easily. In the future, the Vikings would expand whether they were sailing in the violent sea or heading into the unknown world to find a new place to live. The fact that they can live well in extremely harsh and harsh environments should be attributed to their culture and tradition.
Due to the shortage of local resources in Northern Europe, there is great pressure on population, land and other survival. Small countries are fighting endlessly to snatch resources. In order to survive and develop, local people are also eager to explore across the sea and communicate with foreign countries. Carrying out trade and finding new places to live formed their natural adventurous nature and spirit of exploration.
In 5 AD, a Roman fleet sent by Caesar Augustus landed on the Jutland Peninsula, marking the arrival of Scandinavia, the main European power and the direct ancestor of the Vikings. The first contact between the tribes of Argo. In the 5th century AD, the Roman Empire collapsed and the entire Western world was shaken. Germanic tribes swarmed across the European continent in search of spoils and fertile land, causing such a large wave of immigration that historians called the period from 400 to 600 AD the Age of Migration. In Scandinavia, this turbulent period of history was also a time of wealth building. The Scandinavians drove small boats and engaged in maritime trade everywhere. (At this time, these guys were still polite and shrewd small businessmen, so they were not considered Vikings. The word VIKING has strong connotations such as "plundering and killing". Derogatory meaning) The slowly growing profits from trade stimulated their natural wildness and adventurous nature. As the Scandinavians made breakthroughs in shipbuilding technology, plunder and conquest gradually replaced trade.
From 800 to 1100 AD, the Vikings left their home in Scandinavia, crossed their known areas, and ventured into the unknown world. (Modern historians have come to another view through research. Due to the trade exchanges in previous centuries, the later Vikings were familiar with the geographical conditions of the European coast. Their attack routes had obvious destinations and were not aimless. Some pirates sailed north, crossed the Baltic Sea, established trading bases in towns such as Staraya Ladoga and Novgorod, and sailed to Russia, reaching Kiev and Bulgar. . Some fleets sailed as far as the Caspian Sea, and some Nordic merchants stayed there?
Other pirates expanded to the southwest, causing an uproar in the heart of Europe. They pillaged the British peninsula and captured Normandy. As colonists, the Vikings also immigrated to Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, Faroe Islands and other places on their way to Iceland. The Icelanders also established two settlement areas in Greenland. One theory is that as early as 500 years before Columbus discovered the New World, Nordic colonists had already reached the coast of North America and stayed briefly on the island of Newfoundland.
In June 793, Viking pirates landed on Lindisfarne Island on the north coast of England, attacked and plundered the monastery there, massacred a large number of priests, and drove the local The clergy and inhabitants became their slaves. This unexpected attack was like a bolt from the blue to Christian Europe and heralded the advent of the age of piracy.
Before 800 years ago, the scope of such attacks was often limited to the coastal areas. Usually only a small team of one or two boats was dispatched, and they quickly withdrew as soon as they grabbed the property. But not long after, well-organized fleets were born one after another in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Under the command of ambitious kings and military leaders, they began large-scale external expansion and colonization - invading other countries and claiming Tributes and ransoms, land plundering.
Around 810, King Godfred of Denmark raided the Frisian coast (in today's Netherlands) and began attacking parts of Charlemagne's empire, causing considerable damage. Encouraged by his initial victory, Godfred threatened to conquer the entire empire, but was assassinated before his plan could be implemented. Charlemagne also took this opportunity to strengthen his defenses and basically kept the pirates out of the heart of Germany. (But France couldn't care less)
After that, the Vikings turned their attention to the British Isles and Frankia. In 851, the Danes began to attack Britain. From 865 to 880, the Danes' war The flag traveled through most of England. In 873, King Emond of East Yanggru, a small country in England, was captured and shot to death with random arrows. Only the Kingdom of Wessex in southwest England, under the command of Alfred the Great, used fortresses and fortifications arranged in a circular chain to keep invaders out of the kingdom. At the same time, he personally designed and organized an army with extremely high sides. (to prevent pirates from landing operations), a new fast fleet with shallow draft and high speed (also to deal with the Vikings' longships) fought with the Vikings at sea.
The greatest thing about Alfred was the diplomatic strategy he pursued. In 886 AD, in order to express peaceful coexistence and friendly exchanges with his new neighbors, he and the Danish military leader Gutrun A peace agreement was signed. According to the agreement, the Danes formally controlled a fertile land of 25,000 square miles in the north and east of England, from the Thames Estuary to the Irish Sea. This is the famous "Danish Law Enforcement Place" in history. But in fact, the English did not suffer much. Not only did they maintain peace in the west and south, but Alfred the Great persuaded Gutrun to accept Christian baptism and became his godfather. Gutrun swore that he would be the godfather in his lifetime. Be forever loyal to it. Although the Danes were allowed to retain their worship of the gods Odin and Thor, during the integration process of the locals, they were inevitably assimilated by the powerful cultural force of Christianity, and then they slowly became compliant people of England. . At the same time, in the 9th century AD, the Norwegians fighting in the east also controlled most of Ireland and established Dublin (now the capital of Ireland) and a series of towns.
In 885, the Danes marched onto the Seine River and besieged Paris. Although they eventually retreated after failing to capture Paris, they occupied a large number of colonies along the coast and settled there. Finally, they forced King Charles III of France to surrender in 911 and The Viking leader Rollo made a treaty and made him a duke. He placed the area around the mouth of the Seine under his rule and named it Rollo. Later, a large number of Vikings came to settle here. This group of Vikings slowly invaded and encroached, forming the Dukedom of Normandy. . By the 11th century, Normandy had been completely Frenchized and became a large feudal territory of France. In 907, the Swedes attacked Russia, then attacked Constantinople by sea, sweeping all the fortresses along the Byzantine Empire's coastline. Forcing the Byzantine Empire to pay tribute to them and sign a commercial agreement, giving the Rus (actually the Swedes who had settled in Russia) trading privileges.
The Viking pirates who settled down later gradually began to be slowly assimilated into the Christian world. Although their vigor was still there, their wildness had faded a lot, and the pirate age in Europe finally fell silent. Around 1000 AD, the Vikings were no longer so threatening and unruly and wild. Christianity has replaced the traditional worship of the ancient god Odin in Scandinavia and has spread widely, and the Vikings have become more and more "European" in their customs and etiquette. The two centuries of immigration activities and the basic political unification of various countries have somewhat eased the survival pressure on the Nordic mainland, and there are fewer and fewer young people eager to engage in overseas colonial adventures. In 1016, the Danish pirate leader Canute seized the throne of England by force and successfully ruled England for nearly 20 years (1016-1035). The military achievements of the Viking pirates reached their peak, and then they inevitably began to decline.
In 1042, the Canute Empire collapsed and England regained its independence. The "Council of Wise Men" proclaimed Edward the Confessor, the son of the late king ?thelred, as king (1042-1066). After Edward died without an heir, the Council of Wise Men put Edward's brother-in-law, Harold Godwinson, on the throne. Just as Harold was rejoicing, the King of Norway, Harald the Ruthless, who hoped to recreate the glory of his Viking ancestors, began to invade Yorkshire. William, Duke of Normandy, landed at Pevensey and both joined. The battle for the throne. William was Edward's cousin and sided with Edward in their dispute with his father-in-law, Earl Godwinson, in return for which Edward promised to inherit the English throne. However, Godwinson's son, Earl Harold, was named as Edward's heir before his death. William felt cheated and took action.
In October 1066, just after repelling the Norwegians, King Harold's army had not had time to breathe. (In fact, this guy was defeated again and again in battles with the ruthless king, but in a surprise attack Killed Harald Haraldi, and finally took the opportunity to repel the Norwegians who lost their leader) and launched a decisive battle with the waiting Norman army at Hastings in the southeast corner of England. As a result, King Harold and many English nobles were killed in the battle, and the Battle of Hastings laid the foundation for William, Duke of Normandy, to conquer England, after which William was officially named "William the Conqueror".
1066 was the year when the King of Norway, Harald the Ruthless, died in battle. As the last man with an insatiable and never-ending spirit of exploration, A true Viking leader who spent his life fighting everywhere, his death marked the end of the Vikings' crazy invasion and expansion era in Europe.
The glory of the Viking heroes has gone forever, but it will never be erased! (Although "William the Conqueror" was also a descendant of Vikings, Normandy had been Frenchized by this time, and he was considered a Norman)