The Vikings essays

The Vikings essays Vikings, the term is given to a race of Scandinavian people who raided and settled in large areas of eastern and Western Europe during a period of Scandinavian expansion from about 800 to 1100. The term came from an old English word wic, which is a derivation from a Latin word meaning trading-place but for the people of the medieval age the term was used as synonym for barbarian paganism. The Vikings were an amazing race of people who immigrated and fought to survive. They originated from Norway, Sweden and Denmark. These three main groups of Vikings expanded through out Europe, but the ones this topic are interested in are the Danish and Norwegian Vikings who settled in Northern and Eastern Europe. These Scandinavians moved to find new lands, mainly because of overpopulation and scarcity. The Danish Vikings had an enormous impact on Britain and most of Charlemagnes empire, which was mainly France. They practically changed the culture with their art and craftsmanship; they influenced the language and government, with an idea of justice. They improved the European warfare with their famous boats. Vikings have influenced Europe in so many ways that it is hard to believe that the 18th Century idea that they were bloodthirsty warmongers was true. The idea of the fierce warrior was brought up when a group of Norsemen attacked a monastery on the island of Lindesfarne. A surviving monk wrote and account of the raid afterwards. "The same year the heathens arrived from the north to Brittany with a fleet of ships. They were like stinging wasps, and they spread in all directions like horrible wolves, wrecking, robbing, shattering and killing not only animals but also priests, monks and nuns. They came to the church of Lindesfarne, slayed everything alive, dug up the altars and took all the treasures of the holy church". The Norsemen probably picked churches and monasteries probably because they ha...