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According to legend, this is how the famous Viking ships got their distinctive shape. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow dealt with the story of King Olaf and Raud the Strong in his Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863), Part First, The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf X. Raud the Strong .
Viking knife, based on the finds exhibited at Jorvik Viking Centre. Two distinct classes of knives were in use by Vikings. The more common one was a rather plain, single edge knife of normal construction, called a knifr. These are found in most graves, being the only weapon allowed for all, even slaves.
The opportunity for rich pickings drew other Vikings to the area, and by the end of the decade all the main rivers of West Francia were being patrolled by Viking fleets. [34] In 862, the West Frankish king responded to the Vikings, fortifying his towns and defending his rivers, making it difficult for the Vikings to raid inland.
Viking Age swords were common in battles and raids. They were used as a secondary weapon when fighting had fallen out of formation or their primary weapon was damaged. While there were many variations of swords, the Vikings used double-edged swords, often with blades 90 centimetres long and 15 centimetres wide. [2]
Swedish Vikings predominantly traveled eastward, into Russia. The Swedes took part in many Western raids against England alongside the Danes and Norwegians of which many successfully acquired Danegeld as seen on the England Runestones. The Swedes were also very active traders and raiders in the eastern and southeastern parts of Europe.
The Jomsvikings were a legendary order of Viking mercenaries or conquerors of the 10th and 11th centuries. Though reputed to be staunchly dedicated to the worship of the Old Norse gods , they would allegedly fight for any lord who could pay their substantial fees, even if they may be Christian .
The Battle of Reading was a victory for a Danish Viking army over a West Saxon force on about 4 January 871 at Reading in Berkshire. The Vikings were led by Bagsecg and Halfdan Ragnarsson and the West Saxons by King Æthelred and his brother, the future King Alfred the Great. It was the second of a series of battles that took place following an ...
This shows that there were already close contacts between the two peoples, and the Vikings would have been well informed about their targets. [ 14 ] The next recorded attack against the Anglo-Saxons came the following year, in 793, when the monastery at Lindisfarne , an island off England's eastern coast, was sacked by a Viking raiding party on ...