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Viking expansion was the historical movement which led Norse explorers, traders and warriors, the latter known in modern scholarship as Vikings, to sail most of the North Atlantic, reaching south as far as North Africa and east as far as Russia, and through the Mediterranean as far as Constantinople and the Middle East, acting as looters, traders, colonists and mercenaries.
[3] [4] In 860, according to an account by the Norman monk Dudo of Saint-Quentin, a Viking fleet co-commanded by Alstignus, believed to be Hastein, and Björn Ironside, landed in Italy seeking to sack the city of Rome. [5] The Viking force arrived at the town of Luna, whose walls were too heavily defended for an outright assault. The force ...
The Viking world was as much populated by missionary kings, bishops and saints as it was by raiders, gods and giants. Vikings didn't just murder monks and pillage monasteries – they helped ...
It is unclear why the short-term settlements did not become permanent, though it was likely in part because of hostile relations with the indigenous peoples, referred to as the Skræling by the Norse. [82] Nevertheless, it appears that sporadic voyages to Markland for forages, timber, and trade with the locals could have lasted as long as 400 ...
The Viking Age image stone Sövestad 1 from Skåne depicts a man carrying a cross. The Norwegian king Hákon the Good had converted to Christianity while in England. On returning to Norway, he kept his faith largely private but encouraged Christian priests to preach among the population; some pagans were angered and—according to Heimskringla ...
The Viking attackers sought to capture the treasures stored at monasteries - easy prey considering monks were generally unable to put up much if any resistance. An expedition in 845 went up the Seine and reached Paris. The raids took place primarily in the summers, with the Vikings initially wintering in Scandinavia.
In about 986, the monks of Ramsey Abbey commissioned Abbo of Fleury to write Edmund's passio, or account of his martyrdom. [53] According to Abbo, St Dunstan , Archbishop of Canterbury, was the source of the story of the martyrdom, which he had heard told long before, in the presence of Æthelstan, by an old man who swore an oath that he had ...
Viking swords were pattern welded and most commonly decorated with copper inlays and icons, featuring a fuller down the centre of the blade in order to reduce the weight of the blade; [71] a few single-bladed swords around a meter in length have been unearthed but the most commonly found swords in Viking graves are double-edged with blades ...