TEIO-Vikings-art - 1/10/97 ਀ഊ"The Earl's Info on ... the Vikings" by S.J. Lean. ਀ഊNOTE: See also the files: Norse-msg, pst-Vik-Norse-msg, N-drink-ves-msg, Norse-games-art, N-drink-trad-art, Norse-archery-msg, N-calenders-art. ਀ഊ************************************************************************ ਀一伀吀䤀䌀䔀 ⴀഊ ਀吀栀椀猀 昀椀氀攀 椀猀 愀 挀漀氀氀攀挀琀椀漀渀 漀昀 瘀愀爀椀漀甀猀 洀攀猀猀愀最攀猀 栀愀瘀椀渀最 愀 挀漀洀洀漀渀 琀栀攀洀攀 琀栀愀琀 䤀 栀愀瘀攀 挀漀氀氀攀挀琀攀搀 昀爀漀洀 洀礀 爀攀愀搀椀渀最 漀昀 琀栀攀 瘀愀爀椀漀甀猀 挀漀洀瀀甀琀攀爀 渀攀琀眀漀爀欀猀⸀ 匀漀洀攀 洀攀猀猀愀最攀猀 搀愀琀攀 戀愀挀欀 琀漀 ㄀㤀㠀㤀Ⰰ 猀漀洀攀 洀愀礀 戀攀 愀猀 爀攀挀攀渀琀 愀猀 礀攀猀琀攀爀搀愀礀⸀ഊ ਀吀栀椀猀 昀椀氀攀 椀猀 瀀愀爀琀 漀昀 愀 挀漀氀氀攀挀琀椀漀渀 漀昀 昀椀氀攀猀 挀愀氀氀攀搀 匀琀攀昀愀渀✀猀 䘀氀漀爀椀氀攀最椀甀洀⸀ 吀栀攀猀攀 昀椀氀攀猀 愀爀攀 愀瘀愀椀氀愀戀氀攀 漀渀 琀栀攀 䤀渀琀攀爀渀攀琀 愀琀㨀 栀琀琀瀀㨀⼀⼀眀眀眀⸀昀氀漀爀椀氀攀最椀甀洀⸀漀爀最ഊ ਀䤀 栀愀瘀攀 搀漀渀攀 愀 氀椀洀椀琀攀搀 愀洀漀甀渀琀 漀昀 攀搀椀琀椀渀最⸀ 䴀攀猀猀愀最攀猀 栀愀瘀椀渀最 琀漀 搀漀 眀椀琀栀 猀攀瀀愀爀愀琀攀 琀漀瀀椀挀猀 眀攀爀攀 猀漀洀攀琀椀洀攀猀 猀瀀氀椀琀 椀渀琀漀 搀椀昀昀攀爀攀渀琀 昀椀氀攀猀 愀渀搀 猀漀洀攀琀椀洀攀猀 攀砀琀爀愀渀攀漀甀猀 椀渀昀漀爀洀愀琀椀漀渀 眀愀猀 爀攀洀漀瘀攀搀⸀ 䘀漀爀 椀渀猀琀愀渀挀攀Ⰰ 琀栀攀 洀攀猀猀愀最攀 䤀䐀猀 眀攀爀攀 爀攀洀漀瘀攀搀 琀漀 猀愀瘀攀 猀瀀愀挀攀 愀渀搀 爀攀洀漀瘀攀 挀氀甀琀琀攀爀⸀ഊ ਀吀栀攀 挀漀洀洀攀渀琀猀 洀愀搀攀 椀渀 琀栀攀猀攀 洀攀猀猀愀最攀猀 愀爀攀 渀漀琀 渀攀挀攀猀猀愀爀椀氀礀 洀礀 瘀椀攀眀瀀漀椀渀琀猀⸀ 䤀 洀愀欀攀 渀漀 挀氀愀椀洀猀 愀猀 琀漀 琀栀攀 愀挀挀甀爀愀挀礀 漀昀 琀栀攀 椀渀昀漀爀洀愀琀椀漀渀 最椀瘀攀渀 戀礀 琀栀攀 椀渀搀椀瘀椀搀甀愀氀 愀甀琀栀漀爀猀⸀ഊ ਀倀氀攀愀猀攀 爀攀猀瀀攀挀琀 琀栀攀 琀椀洀攀 愀渀搀 攀昀昀漀爀琀猀 漀昀 琀栀漀猀攀 眀栀漀 栀愀瘀攀 眀爀椀琀琀攀渀 琀栀攀猀攀 洀攀猀猀愀最攀猀⸀ 吀栀攀 挀漀瀀礀爀椀最栀琀 猀琀愀琀甀猀 漀昀 琀栀攀猀攀 洀攀猀猀愀最攀猀 椀猀 甀渀挀氀攀愀爀 愀琀 琀栀椀猀 琀椀洀攀⸀ 䤀昀 椀渀昀漀爀洀愀琀椀漀渀 椀猀 瀀甀戀氀椀猀栀攀搀 昀爀漀洀 琀栀攀猀攀 洀攀猀猀愀最攀猀Ⰰ 瀀氀攀愀猀攀 最椀瘀攀 挀爀攀搀椀琀 琀漀 琀栀攀 漀爀椀最椀渀愀琀漀爀⠀猀⤀⸀ഊ ਀吀栀愀渀欀 礀漀甀Ⰰഊ Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous ਀                                          匀琀攀昀愀渀 愀琀 昀氀漀爀椀氀攀最椀甀洀⸀漀爀最ഊ************************************************************************ ਀ഊFrom: earlofwarwick at msn.com (S.J. Lean) ਀匀甀戀樀攀挀琀㨀 嘀䤀䬀䤀一䜀匀ഊDate: 4 Jan 97 13:59:57 -0800 ਀一攀眀猀最爀漀甀瀀猀㨀 爀攀挀⸀漀爀最⸀猀挀愀ഊ ਀          吀䠀䔀 䔀䄀刀䰀✀匀 䤀一䘀伀 伀一 ⸀⸀⸀ 吀䠀䔀 嘀䤀䬀䤀一䜀匀ഊ ਀ഊVIKINGS (also called NORSEMAN, or NORTHMAN) ਀ഊThese pagan Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish warriors were probably prompted to undertake their raids by a combination of factors ranging from overpopulation at home to the relative helplessness of victims abroad. ਀ഊ"Viking" originally meant a man from the Vik, the shore between Cape Lindesnes in South Norway and the mouth of the Gota River in Sweden (called Skagerrak since 1500). Their burning, plundering, and killing meant that the word "vikingr", became identical in meaning with "pirate" in the early Scandinavian languages. ਀ഊThe "Viking Age" is approx. 800 AD to 1050 AD, when Vik dwellers plundered abroad through surplus population. Through superior ships and weapons and a well-developed military organization this expansion was successful. ਀ഊThe Norwegians raided (and settled in) already-peopled areas: ਀ഊ England ਀ 一漀爀琀栀攀爀渀 䘀爀愀渀挀攀ഊ Ireland ਀ 匀挀漀琀氀愀渀搀ഊ the Hebrides ਀ 琀栀攀 䤀猀氀攀 漀昀 䴀愀渀Ⰰ 愀渀搀ഊ the Orkneys ਀ 琀栀攀 匀栀攀琀氀愀渀搀猀ഊ ਀愀渀搀 猀攀琀琀氀攀搀 椀渀 甀渀瀀漀瀀甀氀愀琀攀搀 漀爀 瘀攀爀礀 猀瀀愀爀猀攀氀礀 瀀漀瀀甀氀愀琀攀搀 愀爀攀愀猀㨀ഊ ਀ 䘀愀攀爀漀攀 䤀猀氀愀渀搀猀ഊ Iceland ਀ 匀漀甀琀栀攀爀渀 䜀爀攀攀渀氀愀渀搀ഊ possibly Labrador (Vinland) ਀ഊMany Vikings returned home ensuring the unification and Christianization of Norway. ਀ഊSmall scattered Viking raids began in the last years of the 8th C. In the 9th C, large-scale plundering incursions were made in Britain and in the Frankish empire as well. In 838 the Saxon king Egbert defeated a large Viking force that had combined with the Britons of Cornwall. ਀ഊIn 851 Aethelwulf won a great victory over a Viking army that had stormed Canterbury and London and put the Mercian king to flight, but it was difficult to deal with an enemy that could attack anywhere on a long and undefended coastline. Destructive raids are recorded for Northumbria, East Anglia, Kent, and Wessex. ਀ഊA large Danish army came to East Anglia in the autumn of 865, apparently intent on conquest. By 871, when it first attacked Wessex, it had already captured York, been bought off by Mercia, and had taken possession of East Anglia. Many battles were fought in Wessex, including one that led to a Danish defeat at Ashdown in 871. ਀ഊ ALFRED ਀ഊAlfred the Great, a son of Aethelwulf, succeeded to the throne in 871 and made peace. This gave him a respite until 876. Meanwhile the Danes drove out Burgred of Mercia, putting a puppet king in his place, and one of their divisions made a permanent settlement in Northumbria. ਀ഊAlfred was able to force the Danes to leave Wessex in 877, and they settled northeastern Mercia. A Viking attack in the winter of 878 came near to conquering Wessex. It did not succeed because of Alfred's tenacity. He retired to the Somerset marshes, and in the spring he secretly assembled an army that routed the Danes at Edington. Their king, Guthrum, accepted Christianity and took his forces to East Anglia, where they settled. ਀ഊThe importance of Alfred's victory cannot be exaggerated. It prevented the Danes from becoming masters of the whole of England. Wessex was never again in danger of falling under Danish control, and in the next century the Danish areas were reconquered from Wessex. Alfred's capture of London in 886 and the resultant acceptance of him by all the English outside the Danish areas was a preliminary to this reconquest. That Wessex stood when the other kingdoms had fallen must be put down to Alfred's courage and wisdom, to his defensive measures in reorganizing his army, to his building fortresses and ships, and to his diplomacy, which made the Welsh kings his allies. Renewed attacks by Viking hosts in 892-896, supported by the Danes resident in England, caused widespread damage but had no lasting success. ਀ഊIn the second half of the 9th century, the Viking chief Harald I Fairhair from the Oslo Fjord area managed, in alliance with chiefs of the Frostatingslag and parts of the Gulatingslag, to pacify the western coast. The final battle took place in Hafrs Fjord near Stavanger sometime between 872 and 900. Harald proclaimed himself king of the Norwegians. His son and successor, Erik I (called "Bloodaxe" -- he murdered seven of his eight brothers), ruled about 930-935. He was replaced by his only surviving brother, Haakon I, who had been reared in England. ਀ഊHaakon was Norway's first missionary king, but his efforts failed. He died in battle in 960. ਀ഊ * * * ਀ഊ VIKING SOCIAL ORGANIZATION ਀ഊThe Vikings were made up of landowning chieftains and clan heads, their retainers, freemen, and any energetic young clan members who sought adventure and booty overseas. At home these Scandinavians were independent farmers, but at sea they were raiders and pillagers. During the Viking period the Scandinavian countries seem to have possessed a practically inexhaustible surplus of manpower, and leaders of ability, who could organize groups of warriors into conquering bands and armies, were seldom lacking. These bands would negotiate the seas in their longships and mount hit-and-run raids at cities and towns along the coasts of Europe. ਀ഊThe exact ethnic composition of the Viking armies is unknown in particular cases, but the Vikings' expansion in the Baltic lands and in Russia can reasonably be attributed to the Swedes. On the other hand, the non-military colonization of the Orkneys, Faroes, and Iceland was clearly due to the Norwegians. ਀ഊ * * * ਀ഊ ENGLAND ਀ഊIn England desultory raiding occurred in the late 8th C. but began more earnestly in 865, when a force led by the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok -- Healfdene, Inwaer, and perhaps Hubba -- conquered the ancient kingdoms of East Anglia and Northumbria and reduced Mercia to a fraction of its former size. Yet it was unable to subdue the Wessex of Alfred the Great, with whom in 878 a truce was made, which became the basis of a treaty in or soon after 886. This recognized that much of England was in Danish hands. Although hard pressed by fresh armies of Vikings from 892 to 899, Alfred was finally victorious over them, and the spirit of Wessex was so little broken that his son Edward the Elder was able to commence the reconquest of Danish England. Before his death in 924 the small Danish states on old Mercian and East Anglian territory had fallen before him. The more remote Northumbria resisted longer, largely under Viking leaders from Ireland, but the Scandinavian power there was finally liquidated by Edred in 954. Viking raids on England began again in 980, and the country ultimately became part of the empire of Canute. Nevertheless, the native house was peacefully restored in 1042, and the Viking threat ended with the ineffective passes made by Canute II in the reign of William I. The Scandinavian conquests in England left deep marks on the areas affected, in social structure, dialect, place-names, and personal names. ਀ഊ * * * ਀ഊ THE WESTERN SEAS AND IRELAND ਀ഊIn the western seas, Scandinavian expansion touched practically every possible point. Settlers poured into Iceland from at least about 900, and from Iceland colonies were founded in Greenland and attempted in North America. The same period saw settlements arise in the Orkneys, the Faroes, the Shetlands, the Hebrides, and the Isle of Man. ਀ഊScandinavian invasions of Ireland are recorded from 795, when Rechru, an island not identified, was ravaged. Thenceforth fighting was incessant, and although the natives often more than held their own, Scandinavian kingdoms arose at Dublin, Limerick, and Waterford. The kings of Dublin for a time felt strong enough for foreign adventure, and in the early 10th century several of them ruled in both Dublin and Northumberland. The likelihood that Ireland would be unified under Scandinavian leadership passed with the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, when the Irish Scandinavians, supported by the Earl of Orkney and some native Irish, suffered disastrous defeat. Yet in the 12th century the English invaders of Ireland found the Scandinavians still dominant (though Christianized) at Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, Wexford, and Cork. ਀ഊ * * * ਀ഊ FRANCE ਀ഊScandinavian influence on continental languages and institutions is, outside Normandy, very slight. Sporadic raiding occurred until the end of the Viking period, and in the 10th century settlements on the Seine River became the duchy of Normandy, the only permanent Viking achievement in what had been the empire of Charlemagne. These Normans were the people who successfully invaded England in 1066, which was the last effective invasion of that country. ਀ഊFarther south than France -- in the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and the Mediterranean coasts -- the Vikings raided from time to time but accomplished little of permanence. ਀ഊ * * * ਀ഊ THE RUS ਀ഊThe eastern Viking expansion was probably a less violent process than that on the Atlantic coasts. Although there was, no doubt, plenty of sporadic raiding in the Baltic and although to go on the "east-Viking" was an expression meaning to indulge in such activity, no Viking kingdom was founded with the sword in that area. ਀ഊThe greatest eastern movement of the Scandinavians was that which carried them into the heart of Russia. The extent of this penetration is difficult to assess, because although the Scandinavians were at one time dominant at Novgorod, Kiev and other centres they were rapidly absorbed by the Slavonic population, (who gave them the name Rus, or "Russians.") ਀ഊThe Rus were traders, and two of their commercial treaties with the Greeks are preserved in the Primary Chronicle under 912 and 945 -- the Rus signatories have Scandinavian names. Occasionally the Rus attempted voyages of plunder like their kinsmen in the West. Their existence as a separate people did not continue past 1050 at the latest. ਀ഊThe first half of the 11th C. appears to have seen a new Viking movement towards the East. Swedish rune stones record the names of men who went with Yngvarr on his journeys. These journeys were to the East, but only legendary accounts of their precise direction and intention survive. A further activity of the Scandinavians in the East was service as mercenaries in Constantinople (now Istanbul), where they formed the Varangian Guard of the Byzantine emperor. ਀ഊAfter the 11th C. the Viking chief became a figure of the past. Norway and Sweden had exhausted their external adventures and Denmark became a conquering power, able to absorb the more unruly elements of its population into its own royal armies. Olaf II Haraldsson of Norway, before he became king in 1015, was practically the last Viking chief of the old independent tradition. ਀ഊ ਀攀愀爀氀漀昀眀愀爀眀椀挀欀 愀琀 洀猀渀⸀挀漀洀ഊ ਀㰀琀栀攀 攀渀搀㸀ഊEdited by Mark S. Harris TEIO-Vikings-art Page 5 of 5 ਀ഊ