Vikings years of existence. Scandinavian discovery of America

They belonged to different peoples, but they understood each other perfectly. They were united by many things: the fact that their homeland was the northern limit of the earth, and the fact that they prayed to the same gods, and that they spoke the same language. However, what united these recalcitrant and desperate people most strongly was the thirst for a better life. And it was so strong that almost three centuries - from the 8th to the 11th centuries - entered the history of the Old World as the Viking Age. The way they lived and what they did was also called Viking.

The word "Viking" comes from the Old Norse "vikingr", which literally translates as "man from the fjord". It was in the fjords and bays that their first settlements appeared. These warlike and cruel people were very religious and worshiped their deities, performing cult rites and making sacrifices to them. The main god was Odin - the Father of all Gods and the God of those who fell in battle, who after death became his adopted sons. The Vikings firmly believed in the afterlife, and therefore they were not afraid of death. The most honorable was considered death in battle. Then, according to ancient legends, their souls fell into the wonderful country of Valhalla. And the Vikings did not want a different fate for themselves and for their sons.

The overpopulation of the coastal regions of Scandinavia, the lack of fertile land, the desire for enrichment - all this inexorably drove the Vikings from their native places. And under the force it was only strong, easily enduring hardships and inconvenience to the soldiers. From the Vikings prepared for battles, detachments were formed, each of which consisted of several hundred warriors, implicitly obeying the leader of the clan and the king-prince. Throughout the Viking Age, these units were exclusively voluntary.

During the battle, one of the warriors always carried the banner of the clan. This was an extremely honorable duty, and only the chosen one could become a standard-bearer - it was believed that the banner had miraculous power, helping not only to win in battle, but also to leave the carrier unharmed. But when the advantage of the enemy became obvious, the main task for the warriors was to save the life of their king. To do this, the Vikings surrounded him with a ring and shielded him with shields. If the king still died, they fought to the last drop of blood next to his body.

Berserkers had a special fearlessness (among the Scandinavians - a powerful, frantic hero). They did not recognize the armor and went ahead "as if insane, like mad dogs and wolves", terrifying the enemy troops. They knew how to inject themselves into a euphoric state and, breaking through the front line of enemies, dealt crushing blows and fought to the death in the name of Odin. Battle-hardened Vikings, as a rule, won victories both at sea and on land, earning themselves the glory of being invincible. Everywhere armed to the teeth, detachments acted in approximately the same way - their landing took cities and villages by surprise.

So it was in 793 on the "holy" island of Lindisfarne off the east coast of Scotland, where the Vikings plundered and destroyed the monastery, which was considered one of the largest centers of faith and a place of pilgrimage. The same fate soon befell several other famous monasteries. Having loaded their ships with church goods, the pirates went to the open sea, where they were not afraid of any pursuit. Just like the curses of the entire Christian world.

A quarter of a century later, the Vikings gathered a large force to attack Europe. Neither the scattered island kingdoms, nor the Frankish empire of Charlemagne, which had weakened by that time, could offer them serious resistance. In 836 they ravaged London for the first time. Then six hundred warships besieged Hamburg, which suffered so badly that the episcopate had to move to Bremen. Canterbury, secondarily London, Cologne, Bonn - all these European cities were forced to share their wealth with the Vikings.

In the autumn of 866, ships with twenty thousand soldiers landed on the shores of Britain. On the lands of Scotland, the Danish Vikings founded their state of Denlo (translated as the Strip of Danish Law). And only 12 years later the Anglo-Saxons regained their freedom.

In 885, Rouen fell under the onslaught of the Normans, then the Vikings laid siege to Paris again (before that, it had already been plundered three times). This time about 40,000 soldiers landed at its walls from 700 ships. Having received compensation, the Vikings withdrew to the northwestern part of the country, where many of them settled permanently.

After decades of robbery, the uninvited northern guests realized that it was more profitable and easier to impose tribute on the Europeans, since they were happy to pay off. Medieval chronicles testify: from 845 to 926, the Frankish kings laid out about 17 tons of silver and almost 300 kilograms of gold to the pirates in thirteen steps.

Meanwhile, the Vikings were moving further and further south. Spain and Portugal were subjected to their raids. A little later, several cities on the northern coast of Africa and the Balearic Islands were plundered. The pagans also landed in western Italy and captured Pisa, Fiesole and Luna.

At the turn of the 9th - 10th centuries, Christians did find weaknesses in the combat tactics of the Vikings. It turned out that they were incapable of long sieges. By order of the King of the Franks, Charles the Bald, rivers began to be blocked with chains, and fortified bridges were built at their mouths, deep ditches were dug on the outskirts of cities and palisades were erected from thick logs. In England, at about the same time, they began to build special fortresses - burghs.

As a result, the raids of pirates more and more often ended badly for them. The myth of their invincibility was dispelled, among others, by the British King Alfred, who put up higher ships against the "sea dragons", which the Vikings could not board with their usual ease. Then, off the southern coast of England, two dozen Norman warships were destroyed at once. The blow inflicted on the Vikings in their native element turned out to be so sobering that after it the robbery noticeably subsided. An increasing number of them left the Viking as an occupation. They settled on the occupied land, built houses, married off their daughters to Christians, and returned to peasant labor. In 911, the Frankish king Charles III the Simple granted Rouen with the adjacent lands to one of the leaders of the northerners - Rollon, honoring him with the ducal title. This region of France is now called Normandy, or the Country of the Normans.

But the most important turning point of the Viking Age was the adoption of Christianity by King Harald Bluetooth of Norway in 966. Following him, under the growing influence of Catholic missionaries, many soldiers were baptized. Among the last pages of the military chronicle of the Vikings is their seizure of royal power in England in 1066 and the enthronement of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130 by the Norman Roger II. A descendant of Rollon, Duke William the Conqueror transported 30,000 soldiers and 2,000 horses from the continent to Albion in 3,000 ships. The Battle of Hastings ended with his complete victory over the Anglo-Saxon monarch Harold II. And the newly-made knight of the Christian faith Roger, who distinguished himself in the crusades and battles with the Saracens, with the blessing of the Pope, united the Viking possessions in Sicily and southern Italy.

From the raids of small pirate detachments to the conquest of royal power - the path of the warlike northerners from primitive savagery to feudalism fits into such a framework.

Viking ships

Of course, the Vikings would not have gained their gloomy fame if they did not have the best ships for those times. The hulls of their "sea dragons" were perfectly adapted to sailing in the turbulent northern seas: low sides, gracefully upturned bow aft end; aft side - stationary steering oar; painted in red or blue stripes or checkered canvas sails on the mast, were installed in the center of the spacious deck. Merchant ships of the same type and military ships, much more powerful, inferior in size to the Greek and Roman ones, significantly surpassed them in maneuverability and speed. Time really helped to evaluate their superiority. At the end of the 19th century, a well-preserved 32-oared drakar was found by archaeologists in a burial mound in southern Norway. Having built its exact copy and tested it in ocean waters, the experts came to the conclusion: with a fresh wind, a Viking ship under sail could develop almost ten knots - and this is one and a half times more than Columbus's caravels while sailing to the West Indies ... through more than five centuries.

Viking weapons

Battle ax. The ax and ax (double-edged ax) were considered the favorite weapons. Their weight reached 9 kg, the length of the handle - 1 meter. Moreover, the handle was bound with iron, which made the blows inflicted on the enemy as crushing as possible. It was with this weapon that the training of future warriors began, therefore they owned it, and excellently, without exception.

Viking spears were of two types: throwing and for hand-to-hand combat. In throwing spears, the length of the shaft was small. Often a metal ring was fixed on it, indicating the center of gravity and helping the warrior to give the throw the right direction. Spears intended for land combat were massive with a shaft length of 3 meters. Four-five-meter spears were used for combat, and in order for them to be lifting, the diameter of the shaft did not exceed 2.5 cm. The shafts were made mainly from ash and decorated with applications of bronze, silver or gold.

Shields usually did not exceed 90 cm in diameter. The field of the shield was made from a single layer of boards 6–10 mm thick, fastened together, and covered with leather on top. The strength of this design was given by the umbon, the handle and the rim of the shield. Umbon - a hemispherical or conical iron plaque protecting a warrior's hand - was usually nailed to the shield with iron nails, which were riveted on the back. The handle for holding the shield was made of wood according to the yoke principle, that is, crossing the inside of the shield, it was massive in the center, and became thinner closer to the edges. An iron bar was superimposed on it, often inlaid with silver or bronze. To strengthen the shield, a metal strip passed along the edge, nailed with iron nails or staples and covered with leather on top. The leather cover was sometimes painted with colored patterns.

Burmese - protective chain mail shirts, consisting of thousands of interlaced rings, were of great value to the Vikings and were often inherited. True, only rich Vikings could afford to have them. The bulk of the warriors wore leather jackets for protection.

Viking helmets - metal and leather - had either a rounded top with shields to protect the nose and eyes, or a pointed one with a straight nose bar. Laid on planks and shields were decorated with bronze or silver embossing.

Arrows VII - IX centuries. had wide and heavy metal tips. In the 10th century, arrowheads became thin and long, with silver inlays.

The bow was made from a single piece of wood, usually yew, ash or elm, with braided hair serving as a bowstring.

Only wealthy Vikings, who also possessed remarkable strength, could have swords. This weapon was very treasured, keeping it in a wooden or leather scabbard. The swords were even given special names, such as the Mail Ripper or the Miner.

Their average length was 90 cm, they had a characteristic narrowing to the point and a deep groove along the blade. The blades were made from several iron rods intertwined with each other, which were flattened together during forging.

This technique made the sword flexible and very durable. The swords had guards and pommel - parts of the hilt protecting the hand. The latter were equipped with hooks that could be attacked by pulling aside the main blade of the enemy. Both the guards and the pommel, as a rule, had regular geometric shapes, were made of iron and decorated with overlays of copper or silver. The decorations of the blades, squeezed out during the forging process, were unpretentious and were either simple ornaments or the name of the owner. The Viking swords were very heavy, so sometimes during a long battle it had to be held with both hands, in such situations the enemy's retaliatory blows were repelled by shield bearers. One of the most common fighting techniques depended entirely on their skill: they positioned the shield in such a way that the Viking sword did not stick into its surface, but slid along and chopped off the enemy’s leg.

For several centuries, before and after the year 1000, Western Europe was constantly attacked by "Vikings" - warriors who sailed on ships from Scandinavia. Therefore, the period from about 800 to 1100 years. AD in the history of Northern Europe is called the "Viking Age". Those who were attacked by the Vikings perceived their campaigns as purely predatory, but they pursued other goals as well.

Viking detachments were usually led by representatives of the ruling elite of Scandinavian society - kings and hövdings. Through robbery, they acquired wealth, which they then divided among themselves and with their people. Victories in foreign countries brought them fame and position. Already in the early stages, the leaders also began to pursue political goals and take control of territories in the conquered countries. Little is said in the chronicles that trade increased significantly during the Viking Age, but archaeological finds attest to this. In Western Europe there was a flourishing of cities, the first urban formations appeared in Scandinavia. The first city in Sweden was Birka, located on an island in Lake Mälaren, about 30 kilometers west of Stockholm. This city existed from the end of the 8th to the end of the 10th century; its successor in the Mälaren area was the city of Sigtuna, which today is an idyllic small town about 40 kilometers northwest of Stockholm.

The Viking Age is also characterized by the fact that many inhabitants of Scandinavia forever left their native places and settled in foreign countries, mainly as farmers. Many Scandinavians, primarily those from Denmark, settled in the eastern part of England, no doubt with the support of the Scandinavian kings and hevdings who ruled there. Large-scale Norse colonization took place in the Scottish Isles; Norwegians also sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to previously unknown, uninhabited places: the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland (Even attempts were made to settle in North America). During the 12th and 13th centuries, vivid stories about the Viking Age were recorded in Iceland, not entirely reliable, but still indispensable as historical sources that give an idea of ​​the pagan faith and way of thinking of the people of that time.

Contacts made during the Viking Age with the outside world radically changed Scandinavian society. Missionaries from Western Europe arrived in Scandinavia as early as the first century of the Viking Age. The most famous of these is Ansgar, the "Scandinavian Apostle", who was sent by the Frankish king Louis the Pious to Birka around 830 and returned there again around 850. In the late Viking Age, an intensive process of Christianization began. The Danish, Norwegian and Swedish kings realized what power Christian civilization and organization could give to their states, and carried out a change of religions. The process of Christianization was most difficult in Sweden, where at the end of the 11th century there was a fierce struggle between Christians and pagans.

Viking Age in the East.

The Scandinavians not only traveled west, but also made long journeys to the east during the same centuries. For natural reasons, it was primarily the inhabitants of the places that now belong to Sweden that rushed in this direction. Campaigns to the east and the influence of eastern countries left a special imprint on the Viking Age in Sweden. Travel to the east was also undertaken whenever possible by ship - through the Baltic Sea, along the rivers of Eastern Europe to the Black and Caspian Seas, and, along them, to the great powers south of these seas: Christian Byzantium in the territory of modern Greece and Turkey and the Islamic Caliphate in eastern lands. Here, as well as to the west, the ships sailed and oared, but these ships were smaller than those used for campaigns in the westerly direction. Their usual length was about 10 meters, and the team consisted of approximately 10 people. Larger ships were not needed to navigate the Baltic Sea, and besides, they could not move along the rivers.

Artist V. Vasnetsov "The calling of the Varangians". 862 - invitation of the Varangians Rurik and his brothers Sineus and Truvor.

This fact that the marches to the east are less known than the marches to the west is partly due to the fact that there are not many written sources about them. The letter came into use in Eastern Europe only in the later period of the Viking Age. However, from Byzantium and the Caliphate, which were the real great powers of the Viking Age from an economic and cultural point of view, there are travel descriptions contemporary to this era, as well as historical and geographical works telling about the peoples of Eastern Europe and describing trade travels and military campaigns from Eastern Europe to countries south of the Black and Caspian Seas. Sometimes among the characters in these images, we can notice the Scandinavians. As historical sources, these images are often more reliable and more complete than the Western European chronicles written by monks and bearing a strong imprint of their Christian zeal and hatred of pagans. A large number of Swedish runestones are also known from the 11th century, almost all of them are from the vicinity of Lake Mälaren; they are erected in memory of relatives who often traveled to the east. As for Eastern Europe, there is a wonderful Tale of Bygone Years dating back to the beginning of the 12th century. and telling about the ancient history of the Russian state - not always reliable, but always lively and with an abundance of details, which greatly distinguishes it from Western European chronicles and gives it a charm comparable to the charm of the Icelandic sagas.

Ros - Rus - Ruotsi (Rhos - Rus - Ruotsi).

In 839, an ambassador from Emperor Theophilus from Constantinople (modern Istanbul) arrived to the Frankish king Louis the Pious, who was at that moment in Ingelheim on the Rhine. With the ambassador also came several people from the people of the “Ros”, who traveled to Constantinople by such dangerous routes that they now wanted to return home through the kingdom of Louis. When the king asked in more detail about these people, it turned out that they were Svei. Louis knew the pagan Svei well, as he himself had previously sent Ansgar as a missionary to their trading city of Birka. The king began to suspect that the people who called themselves "ros" were in fact spies, and decided to detain them until he found out their intentions. Such a story is contained in one Frankish chronicle. Unfortunately, it is not known what happened to these people afterwards.

This story is important for the study of the Viking Age in Scandinavia. It and some other manuscripts from Byzantium and the Caliphate more or less clearly show that in the east in the 8th-9th centuries the Scandinavians were called "ros" / "rus" (rhos / rus). At the same time, this name was used to designate the Old Russian state, or, as it is often called, Kievan Rus (see map). The state grew during these centuries, and from it modern Russia, Belarus and Ukraine trace their origins.

The ancient history of this state is told in the Tale of Bygone Years, which was recorded in its capital, Kyiv, shortly after the end of the Viking Age. In the record of 862, one can read that unrest reigned in the country, and it was decided to look for a ruler on the other side of the Baltic Sea. Ambassadors were sent to the Varangians (that is, the Scandinavians), namely to those who were called "Rus"; Rurik and his two brothers were invited to rule the country. They came "with all Russia", and Rurik settled in Novgorod. "And the Russian land got its name from these Varangians." After the death of Rurik, the rule passed to his relative Oleg, who conquered Kyiv and made this city the capital of his state, and after the death of Oleg, Rurik's son Igor became prince.

The legend about the calling of the Varangians, contained in the Tale of Bygone Years, is a story about the origin of the ancient Russian princely family, and as a historical source is very controversial. The name "Rus" has been tried to be explained in many ways, but now the most common opinion is that this name should be compared with the names from the Finnish and Estonian languages ​​​​- Ruotsi / Rootsi, which today mean "Sweden", and previously indicated peoples from Sweden or Scandinavia. This name, in turn, comes from the Old Norse word meaning "rowing", "rowing expedition", "members of the rowing expedition". Obviously, the people who lived on the western coast of the Baltic Sea were known for their sea voyages on oars. There are no reliable sources about Rurik, and it is not known how he and his "Rus" came to Eastern Europe - however, this hardly happened as simply and peacefully as the legend says. When the clan established itself as one of the ruling in Eastern Europe, soon the state itself and its inhabitants began to be called "Rus". The fact that the family was of Scandinavian origin is indicated by the names of the ancient princes: Rurik is the Scandinavian Rörek, a common name in Sweden even in the late Middle Ages, Oleg - Helge, Igor - Ingvar, Olga (Igor's wife) - Helga.

To speak more definitely about the role of the Scandinavians in the early history of Eastern Europe, it is not enough just to study a few written sources, one must also take into account archaeological finds. They show a significant number of objects of Scandinavian origin dating from the 9th-10th centuries in the ancient part of Novgorod (Rurik's settlement outside modern Novgorod), in Kyiv and in many other places. We are talking about weapons, horse harness, as well as household items, and magical and religious amulets, for example, Thor's hammers found at the sites of settlements, in burials and treasures.

It is obvious that in the region under consideration there were many Scandinavians who were engaged not only in war and politics, but also in trade, crafts and agriculture - after all, the Scandinavians themselves came from agricultural societies, where urban culture, just like in Eastern Europe, began to develop only during these centuries. In many places, the northerners left clear imprints of Scandinavian elements in culture - in clothing and the art of jewelry making, in weapons and religion. But it is also clear that the Scandinavians lived in societies whose structure was based on Eastern European culture. The central part of the early cities was usually a densely populated fortress - citadel or kremlin. Such fortified cores of urban formations are not found in Scandinavia, but were characteristic of Eastern Europe for a long time. The way of construction in the places where the Scandinavians settled was mainly Eastern European, and most household items, such as household ceramics, also bore a local imprint. Foreign influence on culture came not only from Scandinavia, but also from countries to the east, south and southwest.

When Christianity was officially adopted in the Old Russian state in 988, Scandinavian features soon practically disappeared from its culture. Slavic and Christian Byzantine cultures became the main components in the culture of the state, and Slavic became the language of the state and church.

Caliphate - Serkland.

How and why did the Scandinavians participate in the development of events that eventually led to the formation of the Russian state? It was probably not only war and adventure, but also a lot of trade. The leading civilization of the world during this period was the Caliphate - an Islamic state that extended east to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan in Central Asia; there, far to the east, were the largest silver mines of that time. A huge amount of Islamic silver in the form of coins with Arabic inscriptions spread throughout Eastern Europe as far as the Baltic Sea and Scandinavia. The largest number of finds of silver objects was made in Gotland. From the territory of the Russian state and mainland Sweden, primarily from the area around Lake Mälaren, a number of luxury items are also known, which indicate connections with the East that were of a more social nature - for example, details of clothing or banquet items.

When Islamic written sources mention "rus" - by which, generally speaking, one can mean both the Scandinavians and other peoples from the Old Russian state, interest is shown primarily in their trading activity, although there are also stories about military campaigns, for example, against the city Berd in Azerbaijan in 943 or 944. In the world geography of Ibn Khordadbeh, it is said that Russian merchants sold the skins of beavers and silver foxes, as well as swords. They came on ships to the lands of the Khazars, and, having paid a tithe to their prince, they set off further along the Caspian Sea. Often they carried their goods on camels all the way to Baghdad, the capital of the Caliphate. "They pretend to be Christians and pay the tax established for Christians." Ibn Khordadbeh was the minister of security in one of the provinces along the caravan route to Baghdad, and he was well aware that these people were not Christians. The reason they called themselves Christians was purely economic - Christians paid a lower tax than pagans who worshiped many gods.

Besides fur, perhaps the most important commodity coming from the north were slaves. In the Caliphate, slaves were used as labor force in most public sectors, and the Scandinavians, like other peoples, could get slaves during their military and predatory campaigns. Ibn Khordadbeh relates that slaves from the country of "Saklaba" (roughly meaning "Eastern Europe") served as interpreters for the Rus in Baghdad.

The flow of silver from the Caliphate dried up at the end of the 10th century. Perhaps the reason was the fact that silver mining in the mines in the east was reduced, perhaps the war and unrest that reigned in the steppes between Eastern Europe and the Caliphate influenced. But another thing is also possible - that in the Caliphate they began to conduct experiments to reduce the silver content in the coin, and in connection with this, interest in coins in Eastern and Northern Europe was lost. Eonomics in these territories was not monetary, the value of the coin was considered according to its purity and weight. Silver coins and ingots were cut into pieces and weighed on a scale to get the price that a person was willing to pay for the goods. Silver of varying purity made this type of payment transaction difficult or nearly impossible. Therefore, the views of Northern and Eastern Europe turned towards Germany and England, where in the late period of the Viking Age a large number of full-weight silver coins were minted, which were distributed in Scandinavia, as well as in some regions of the Russian state.

However, as early as the 11th century, it happened that the Scandinavians reached the Caliphate, or Serkland, as they called this state. The most famous campaign of the Swedish Vikings in this century was led by Ingvar, whom the Icelanders called Ingvar the Traveler. An Icelandic saga is written about him, however, very unreliable, but about 25 East Swedish runestones tell about the people who accompanied Ingvar. All these stones indicate that the campaign ended in disaster. On one of the stones near Gripsholm in Södermanland you can read (according to I. Melnikova):

“Tola ordered this stone to be installed after her son Harald, brother of Ingvar.

They bravely left
far beyond the gold
and in the east
fed the eagles.
Died in the south
in Serkland.

So on many other rune stones, these proud lines about the campaign are written in verse. "To feed the eagles" is a poetic simile meaning "to kill enemies in battle". The meter used here is the old epic meter and is characterized by two stressed syllables in each verse line, and also by the fact that the verse lines are connected in pairs by alliteration, that is, repeated initial consonants and changing vowels.

Khazars and Volga Bulgars.

During the Viking Age, there were two important states in Eastern Europe dominated by Turkic peoples: the state of the Khazars in the steppes north of the Caspian and Black Seas, and the state of the Volga Bulgars on the Middle Volga. The Khazar Khaganate ceased to exist already at the end of the 10th century, but the descendants of the Volga Bulgars live today in Tatarstan, a republic within the Russian Federation. Both of these states played an important role in the transfer of eastern influences to the Old Russian state and the countries of the Baltic region. A detailed analysis of Islamic coins showed that approximately 1/10 of them is an imitation and was minted by the Khazars or, more often, by the Volga Bulgars.

The Khazar Khaganate early adopted Judaism as the state religion, and the Volga Bulgar state officially adopted Islam in 922. In this regard, the country was visited by Ibn Fadlan, who wrote a story about his visit and meeting with merchants from Russia. The most famous is his description of the burial of the heading of the Rus in the ship - a burial custom characteristic of Scandinavia and also found in the Old Russian state. The funeral ceremony included the sacrifice of a slave girl, who was raped by the warriors from the squad before they killed her and burned her along with their hevding. This is a story full of brutal details that can hardly be guessed from the archaeological excavations of the graves of the Viking Age.

Varangians at the Greeks in Miklagard.

The Byzantine Empire, which in Eastern and Northern Europe was called Greece or the Greeks, according to the Scandinavian tradition was perceived as the main goal of campaigns to the east. In the Russian tradition, links between Scandinavia and the Byzantine Empire also figure prominently. The Tale of Bygone Years contains a detailed description of the path: “There was a path from the Varangians to the Greeks, and from the Greeks along the Dnieper, and in the upper reaches of the Dnieper it dragged to Lovot, and along Lovot you can enter Ilmen, a great lake; Volkhov and flows into the Great Lake Nevo (Ladoga), and the mouth of that lake flows into the Varangian Sea (Baltic Sea).

The emphasis on the role of Byzantium is a simplification of reality. The Scandinavians came primarily to the Old Russian state and settled there. And trade with the Caliphate through the states of the Volga Bulgars and the Khazars should have been of the most important economic importance for Eastern Europe and Scandinavia during the 9th-10th centuries.

However, during the Viking Age, and especially after the Christianization of the Old Russian state, the importance of ties with the Byzantine Empire increased. This is evidenced primarily by written sources. For unknown reasons, the number of finds of coins and other objects from Byzantium is relatively small in both Eastern and Northern Europe.

Around the end of the 10th century, the Emperor of Constantinople established a special Scandinavian detachment at his court - the Varangian Guard. Many believe that the beginning of this guard was laid by those Varangians who were sent to the emperor by Kyiv Prince Vladimir in connection with his adoption of Christianity in 988 and his marriage to the emperor's daughter.

The word vringar originally meant a people bound by an oath, but in the late Viking Age it became a common name for the Scandinavians in the east. Waring in the Slavic language began to be called Varangian, in Greek - Varangos (varangos), in Arabic - Varank (warank).

Constantinople, or Miklagard, the great city, as the Scandinavians called it, was incredibly attractive to them. The Icelandic sagas tell of many Norwegians and Icelanders who served in the Varangian guard. One of them, Harald the Severe, became King of Norway on his return home (1045-1066). Swedish runestones of the 11th century often speak of a stay in Greece than in the Old Russian state.

On the old path leading to the church at Ede in Uppland, there is a large stone with runic inscriptions on both sides. In them, Ragnvald talks about how these runes were carved in memory of his mother Fastvi, but above all he is interested in talking about himself:

"These runes commanded
carve Ragnvald.
He was in Greece
was the leader of a detachment of warriors.

Soldiers from the Varangian Guard guarded the palace in Constantinople and took part in military campaigns in Asia Minor, the Balkan Peninsula and Italy. The country of the Lombards, mentioned on several runestones, implies Italy, the southern regions of which were part of the Byzantine Empire. In the port suburb of Athens, Piraeus, there used to be a huge luxurious marble lion, which was transported to Venice in the 17th century. On this lion, one of the Varangians, during a holiday in Piraeus, carved a runic inscription in a serpentine shape, which was typical of Swedish runestones of the 11th century. Unfortunately, when it was discovered, the inscription was so badly damaged that only a few words can be read.

Scandinavians in Gardarik in the late period of the Viking Age.

At the end of the 10th century, as already mentioned, the flow of Islamic silver dried up, and instead, a flood of German and English coins poured east into the Russian state. In 988 the prince of Kyiv and his people took the quantities to Gotland, where they were also copied, and to mainland Sweden and Denmark. Several belts have even been discovered in Iceland. Perhaps they belonged to people who served with the Russian princes.

Relations between the rulers of Scandinavia and the Old Russian state during the 11th-12th centuries were very lively. Two of the great princes of Kiev took wives in Sweden: Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054, formerly reigned in Novgorod from 1010 to 1019) married Ingegerd, the daughter of Olaf Schötkonung, and Mstislav (1125-1132, formerly reigned in Novgorod from 1095 to 1125) - on Christina, daughter of King Inga the Old.

Novgorod - Holmgard and trade with the Saami and Gotlanders.

Eastern, Russian influence also reached the Saami in northern Scandinavia in the 11th-12th centuries. In many places in Swedish Lapland and Norrbotten there are places of sacrifice on the banks of lakes and rivers and near rocks of bizarre shape; there are deer antlers, animal bones, arrowheads, and also tin. Many of these metal objects come from the Old Russian state, most likely from Novgorod - for example, the fitting of Russian belts of the same kind that were found in southern Sweden.

Novgorod, which the Scandinavians called Holmgard, acquired great importance over the centuries as a trading metropolis. The Gotlanders, who continued to play an important role in Baltic trade in the 11th-12th centuries, created a trading post in Novgorod. At the end of the 12th century, the Germans appeared in the Baltic, and gradually the main role in the Baltic trade passed to the German Hansa.

End of the Viking Age.

On a simple casting mold for cheap jewelry, made from a bar and found at Timans in Rum in Gotland, two Gotlanders at the end of the 11th century carved their names, Urmiga and Ulvat, and, in addition, the names of four distant countries. They let us know that the world for the Scandinavians in the Viking Age had wide borders: Greece, Jerusalem, Iceland, Serkland.

It is impossible to name the exact date when this world shrank and the Viking Age ended. Gradually, during the 11th and 12th centuries, the ways and connections changed their character, and in the 12th century, travel deep into the Old Russian state and to Constantinople and Jerusalem ceased. When the number of written sources in Sweden increased in the 13th century, the campaigns to the east became only memories.

In the Elder Edition of the Westgötalag, written in the first half of the 13th century, in the Chapter on Succession, there is, among other things, the following statement regarding one who is acquired abroad: He does not inherit anyone while he is sitting in Greece. Did the Westgets really still serve in the Varangian guard, or did this paragraph remain from bygone times?

In Gutasag, an account of the history of Gotland recorded in the 13th or early 14th century, it is said that the first churches on the island were consecrated by bishops on their way to or from the Holy Land. At that time there was a way to the east through Russia and Greece to Jerusalem. When the saga was being written, the pilgrims made their way around Central or even Western Europe.

Translation: Anna Fomenkova.

Do you know that...

The Scandinavians who served in the Varangian Guard were probably Christians - or they converted to Christianity during their stay in Constantinople. Some of them made pilgrimages to the Holy Land and Jerusalem, which was called Yorsalir in the Scandinavian language. The runestone from Brubyu to Täby in Uppland is placed in memory of Eystein, who went to Jerusalem and died in Greece.

Another runic inscription from Uppland, from Stacket in Kungsengen, speaks of a determined and fearless woman: Ingerun, daughter of Hord, ordered runes to be carved in memory of herself. She goes east and to Jerusalem.

In 1999, the largest hoard of silver objects dating back to the Viking Age was found on Gotland. Its total weight is about 65 kilograms, of which 17 kilograms are Islamic silver coins (approximately 14,300).

The material used drawings from the article.
games for girls

We have all heard of the Vikings. Sometimes, this word evokes in a person the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwicked and bloodthirsty people who are dressed in coarse wool, and on their heads they have horned helmets armed with axes, looking for profit. But in fact, everything is different. Who the Vikings really are, where they came from and where they lived, you will find out by reading this article. It tells all the most important about the history of the Vikings.

Vikings - origin story

The concept of "Viking" comes from the Old Norse word "vikingr". This word is associated with the designation of bays and fjords. In addition, there is the Vik region in Norway, and some scholars believe that the Vikings began to gather there. The Vikings were ordinary free peasants in Scandinavia. Archaeologists have not found a single "helmet with horns", this is just a trick of the directors to give the Vikings a more bloodthirsty look in the films. They lived in groups in villages with a small population. It was a harsh people, because. it was impossible to survive otherwise in Scandinavia. While vassal-suzerain relations began to take shape in Europe and castles were built, this was not the case in Scandinavia, all the peasants were free and worked for themselves.

Viking customs were very interesting. So, if a child was born, he was immediately taken out naked into the street in order to show the baby to mother nature. From childhood, children were taught military affairs, because the Scandinavian tribes were often at enmity with each other. After reaching the age of sixteen, the youths were taken to an "obstacle course", which they had to pass in a certain time, and then fight with an adult member of the tribe. If a young man successfully passed the test, he received the status of a warrior, and he was allowed to marry. As for the family, the Vikings lived in a big house with the whole family. The concept of the family included not only parents, but also sons and their families. Children from siblings were considered family to each other. If one brother died, the other was to marry his wife and take the children.

Vikings - history of conquest

The conditions for survival in the north were not the best, which prompted the northern peoples to wander and conquer. Initially, the Viking campaigns were aimed at finding new lands to live in, but over time they began to raid the settlements of Britain and Northern Europe. However, first things first.

Viking ships

In order to cross the seas, the Vikings needed suitable ships. And they had such courts. Often the name of the ship of the militant Vikings flashes in a crossword puzzle and a crossword puzzle - they were called "Drakkars". The name of the ships on which the Vikings moved was given in honor of dragons, mythical creatures that the Vikings respected and believed that they existed and could bring good luck to sailors, and installed a statue of a dragon on the bow of the ship. The Drakkar was an excellent ship for that time. Narrow and long, with a wide bottom, it could reach a length of up to 60 meters, and a width of 5 to 12. Such a ship was driven by a sail or oars. On such a ship it was convenient not only to cross the seas, but even the oceans. If you are wondering how to draw a Viking ship, then the answer is simple: look at the relevant thematic illustrations on this page. You will immediately have an idea of ​​​​how these harsh ships looked like.

The first Viking raid took place in 789. Three ships sailed to South West England, attacked the settlement of Dorset and sacked it. This date is considered to be the point of departure for the expansion of the Vikings. The Vikings were pagans, and often began to attack the coastal monasteries of Britain and Northern Europe. They killed the monks, took out all the jewelry and their conscience did not torment them. Over time, the people of Scandinavia realized that robbery was quite profitable, and the number of Vikings increased, and the territory of their expansion expanded. In 839, the Norwegians established their kingdom in Ireland, and in 844 they reached the shores of Muslim Spain. In the same year, Cordoba, the capital of Muslim Spain, was captured and partially plundered. Paris was captured in 845. After 15 years, the Vikings Askold and Dir became princes in the city of Kyiv, in the same year the Vikings appeared under the walls of Constantinople. This was the apogee of their expansions, the Vikings were known and feared by all of Europe. Nowadays, many people confuse the concepts of Normans, Vikings and Varangians. In fact, everything is very simple - in the north of Europe and in Italy the Vikings were called Normans, in Russia and Byzantium they were called Vikings. So, in Russia and in Byzantium, the courage and combat skills of the Varangians were very much appreciated, and the rulers of these states had personal Varangian guards. Over time, the Vikings will conquer England, create their own states in northern France and southern Italy, and become the rulers of the Russian lands.

Some geographical discoveries of the Vikings

However, the Vikings were engaged not only in robbery and robbery, but also discovered new lands for themselves. So, in 860, the island of Iceland was discovered. Several colonies were built on it, which over time grew very large, the largest population totaled 40,000 people. Soon the Vikings sailed to Greenland, and then to the shores of North America. There they began to try to establish colonies (about 1000), but the remoteness from the main lands of residence, the harsh climate and poor relations with the native American peoples forced the Vikings to give up this idea. Despite this, it was the Vikings who first sailed to America, and not Christopher Columbus.

Egbert, king of Wessex, managed to unite almost all of England under his rule. Let me remind you that after the victory at Ellendun in 823 over the Mercians, a chain reaction of recognition of the supreme power of Egbert began. In 825 Mercia recognized the sovereignty of Wessex, then the kings of Kent and Essex, who had previously been clients of Mercia, also recognized the overlordship of Wessex. Then came the turn of Sussex, East Anglia and Northumbria. On the wave of success, Egbert set about conquering the Welsh lands and captured Chester and the island of Anglesey, which was the center of the Celtic religion of all the British Isles. At the end of his life, the Celts rebelled in Cornwall, but Egbert managed to crush their resistance, and finally subjugated all of Cornwall to his power in 835.

In 839, Egbert died, and descendants began to call him the eighth "Brettwald". It would seem that everything was fine, and Wessex could continue its conquests. But...

Simultaneously with the processes we have described, other events took place in Western Europe. Such a grandiose event as the re-creation of the Empire by Charlemagne attracted the attention of the whole world. And some minor events accidentally fell into the pages of the chronicles in those years when nothing happened. So in 742, a monk described the first Viking landing in Europe. Nothing special happened: most likely, it was one of the reconnaissance flights. But then the Vikings began to appear more and more often: first, the usual robbery, then the capture of small settlements and theft of captives. Viking appetites grew, and the British Isles found themselves in the path of the main stream of the Viking invasion.

The Saxon chronicle records regular, that is, annual, raids by the Vikings, beginning in 789. In 793, the Danes captured and completely plundered the monastery of St. Cuthbert on the island of Lindisfarne, in 794 the monastery in Yarrow was burned, the same one in which Beda the Venerable lived and worked, and in 795 the Vikings appeared immediately off the coast of East, South and West England and off the eastern coast of Ireland.

So when Egbert united England, predators were already biting her from all sides. They began to tear it apart a little later. And Egbert managed to inflict several defeats on the Vikings, the largest at Hengestden, and cool the interest of the Vikings in Wessex for several years. But not to the British Isles... By the way, some data suggest that the uprising in Cornwall was provoked and supported by the Vikings. So, the Danes attacked England mainly from the east and south, and the Norwegians - from the north and west. The Norwegians quickly conquered the Orkney and Shetland Islands, which became their possessions for several centuries, landed in northern and central Ireland, on the Isle of Man, which they made one of their main strongholds, in Western England and Wales.

Until the thirties of the IX century, the Vikings attacked settlements and monasteries located on the coast and at the mouths of the rivers. They rarely traveled more than 10-15 kilometers from the coast. The raids usually took place in the summer, and then the Vikings went home with the loot until the next year. For contemporaries, the annual Viking raids were a far worse disaster than pestilence or famine. An anonymous chronicler wrote:

"Almighty God sent crowds of fierce pagans - Danes, Norwegians, Goths and Svei; they devastated the sinful land of England from one seashore to another, killed people and cattle and did not spare either women or children."

The English kingdoms continued their internecine wars and were unable to rally for a united rebuff to the Vikings. In addition, the Angles and Saxons lost their sailing skills over several centuries of life on the island and were defenseless against attacks by tens or even hundreds of ships from which well-armed and ruthless young warriors landed on the shore. And their allies often became the Welsh and Celts. From the mid-thirties of the 9th century, the Viking raids began to acquire a more organized character.

The Norwegians first stepped up the pressure on Ireland. In 832, their leader Turgeis landed in Northern Ireland with a retinue, captured Ulster and the religious center of Armach, and then marched through all of Ireland with fire and sword and became its supreme ruler. Some of the Irish joined the conquerors, but most of the tribes continued to fight them. In 845 Turgeis was captured and executed. There was a lull for several years, but soon the Norwegians gathered fresh forces and in 853, led by King Olaf the White, approached Dublin. Seeing the weighty arguments of the Norwegians, the Irish recognized the authority of Olaf, paid the due tribute, as well as a solid wergeld for Turgeis. The Norwegian kingdom with its center in Dublin lasted more than two centuries and was, along with the Isle of Man captured back in 796, the main stronghold in the seizure and colonization of territories in Western England and Wales, which began in the same 853.

The Danes began organized campaigns against England a little later, in 835, but the scale of their expansion was more significant. First they ravaged East Anglia, Kent, Cornwall and the Isle of Sheppey at the mouth of the Thames. As I said before, Egbert managed to stop the Viking raids a bit. After his death, the new king Æthelwulf had to deal with them almost immediately. At the first battle of Sharmut he was defeated. The Welsh immediately raised their heads and joined the Vikings in their fight against Wessex. But at the battle of Akli, Æthelwulf personally led his troops, and he managed to win an important victory. Immediately after this victory, he pacified the Welsh. But raids and battles continued every year, until at the mouth of the Perret River, Æthelwulf inflicted a crushing defeat on the Vikings. There was a lull for several years, and the Vikings hardly disturbed Wessex, which cannot be said about other territories. Even after the death of Æthelwulf in 858, the Vikings did not attack Wessex for another eight years. They already had enough other things to do in other places!

In the meantime, significant changes had taken place in the tactics of the Danish campaigns. Already in 840 they first arrived in England with horses. In 851, for the first time in the fall, they did not leave for their homeland, but remained to winter in England. Thus began the Danish colonization of England. One of the most colorful figures of this era was the famous leader of the Danes, Ragnar Lodbrok (Leather Pants), about whose exploits a separate saga and records in English chronicles have been preserved. He stood out among his warriors for his huge growth, terrible strength and incredible cruelty, and his clothes consisted of animal skins, for which he received his nickname. He made several successful trips to England and believed in his invincibility. On his last trip to York, he went with a small detachment, but ran into the royal army (well, no luck man!). His entire detachment was killed, and Ragnar himself was thrown into a pit with snakes, where he died singing battle songs. His sons swore to avenge his death and kept their vow. But more on that later.

After the death of Æthelwulf and the short reign of his two eldest sons, the crown of Wessex went to Æthelred, Æthelwulf's third son. But he did not enjoy the peace for long. In 865, the "Great Army" of the Danes approached the shores of England, so called the "Saxon Chronicle". It was led by eight kings and about twenty jarls, and the entire fleet consisted of several hundred ships. It was already an invasion. The main force landed in East Anglia, but a small detachment also penetrated the mouth of the Thames. Among the leaders of the Danes were the sons of Ragnar Lobdrok, Ingvar the Boneless and Halfdan. The local authorities treated the newcomers quite loyally and provided them with food and horses.

The first blow of the Vikings fell on Northumbria, where at that time two pretenders disputed the throne from each other. At the sight of a common enemy, the pretenders united their troops, but were defeated and laid down their heads under the walls of York. On November 1, 866, the Danes entered York. Southeastern Northumbria went to the Danes, and northwestern to the Norwegians, who at the same time attacked Northumbria. It is difficult to say how coordinated this action was. Ingvar and Halfdan, as the saga says, captured one of the leader of the Northumbrians (king?) named Ella and put him to a painful death, carving the image of an eagle on his back. Thus was their father's death avenged!

Now the threat loomed over Mercia, to whose aid Ethelred came with his army, and after several battles concluded a peace with the Danes in 868 in Nottingham, according to which the Danes renounced their claims to Mercia and Wessex. Yes, these lands were not subsequently colonized by the Danes, but the peace turned out to be fragile. However, the Danes first moved to Fen, where they ruined several rich abbeys, and then put Peterborough, Crowland and Ely to fire and sword. Almost all the monks were killed, and the monuments of literature and art were looted or destroyed. Then the Danes unexpectedly attacked East Anglia, which received them so friendly. Her army was defeated, and the last king of East Anglia, young Edmund, was taken prisoner. The leader of the Danes, Guthrum, ordered him to be tied to a tree and shot with bows. This happened on November 20, 870. Subsequently, Edmund was canonized, his images are often found in the stained glass windows of churches on the east coast of England, and the magnificent building of St. Edmundsbury Abbey was built over his grave.

Guthrum put on the crown of Edmund, and a few years later he distributed all the lands of the kingdom to his soldiers for cultivation. Mercia shuddered from such a blow and already in 870 recognized the Danes as its overlords and paid the due tribute, since Ethelred no longer provided any real help to Mercia after the trip to Nottingham. All England north of the Thames was lost to Wessex, and the very existence of an independent Wessex was in question.

Vikings

Vikings

(Normans), sea robbers, immigrants from Scandinavia, who committed in the 9th-11th centuries. hikes up to 8000 km long, maybe even longer distances. These bold and fearless people reached the borders of Persia in the east, and the New World in the west.
The word "Viking" comes from the Old Norse "Vikingr". Regarding its origin, there are a number of hypotheses, the most convincing of which raises it to "vik" - a fiord, a bay. The word "Viking" (lit. "man from the fiord") was used to refer to robbers who operated in coastal waters, hiding in secluded bays and bays. They were known in Scandinavia long before they became notorious in Europe. The French called the Vikings Normans or various variants of this word (Norsmans, Nortmanns - lit. "people from the north"); the British called all Scandinavians indiscriminately Danes, and the Slavs, Greeks, Khazars, Arabs called the Swedish Vikings Rus or Vikings.
Wherever the Vikings went - to the British Isles, to France, Spain, Italy or North Africa - they ruthlessly plundered and seized foreign lands. In some cases, they settled in conquered countries and became their rulers. The Danish Vikings conquered England for some time, settled in Scotland and Ireland. Together they conquered a part of France known as Normandy. The Norwegian Vikings and their descendants established colonies on the North Atlantic islands of Iceland and Greenland and founded a settlement on the coast of Newfoundland in North America, however, which did not last long. The Swedish Vikings began to rule in the east of the Baltic. They spread widely throughout Russia and, descending along the rivers to the Black and Caspian Seas, even threatened Constantinople and some regions of Persia. The Vikings were the last Germanic barbarian conquerors and the first European pioneer navigators.
There are different interpretations of the reasons for the violent outburst of Viking activity in the 9th century. There is evidence that Scandinavia was overpopulated and many Scandinavians went abroad in search of their fortune. The rich but undefended cities and monasteries of the southern and western neighbors were easy prey. It was hardly possible to get a rebuff from the scattered kingdoms in the British Isles or the weakened empire of Charlemagne, absorbed by dynastic strife. During the Viking Age, national monarchies gradually consolidated in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Ambitious leaders and powerful clans fought for power. The defeated leaders and their supporters, as well as the younger sons of the victorious leaders, shamelessly accepted unhindered robbery as a way of life. Energetic young men from influential families usually gained authority through participation in one or more campaigns. Many Scandinavians engaged in robbery in the summer, and then turned into ordinary landowners. However, the Vikings were attracted not only by the lure of prey. The prospect of establishing trade opened the way to wealth and power. In particular, immigrants from Sweden controlled trade routes in Russia.
The English term "Viking" is derived from the Old Norse word víkingr, which could have multiple meanings. The most acceptable, apparently, is the origin from the word vík - bay, or bay. Therefore, the word víkingr is translated as "man from the bay". The term was used to refer to robbers hiding in coastal waters long before the Vikings gained notoriety in the outside world. However, not all Scandinavians were sea robbers, and the terms "Viking" and "Scandinavian" cannot be considered as synonyms. The French usually called the Vikings Normans, and the British indiscriminately referred to all Scandinavians as Danes. Slavs, Khazars, Arabs and Greeks, who communicated with the Swedish Vikings, called them Russ or Varangians.
LIFESTYLE
Abroad, the Vikings acted as robbers, conquerors and traders, and at home they mainly cultivated the land, hunted, fished and raised cattle. The independent peasant, who worked alone or with relatives, formed the basis of Scandinavian society. No matter how small his allotment was, he remained free and was not tied like a serf to the land that belonged to another person. In all strata of Scandinavian society, family ties were strongly developed, and in important matters its members usually acted together with relatives. The clans jealously guarded the good names of their fellow tribesmen, and trampling on the honor of one of them often led to cruel civil strife.
Women in the family played an important role. They could own property, decide on their own about marriage and divorce from an unsuitable spouse. However, outside the family hearth, women's participation in public life remained negligible.
Food. In Viking times, most people ate two meals a day. The main products were meat, fish and grains of cereals. Meat and fish were usually boiled, rarely fried. For storage, these products were dried and salted. From cereals, rye, oats, barley and several types of wheat were used. Usually porridge was cooked from their grains, but sometimes bread was baked. Vegetables and fruits were rarely eaten. From the drinks consumed milk, beer, fermented honey drink, and in the upper classes of society - imported wine.
Cloth. Peasant clothing consisted of a long woolen shirt, short baggy trousers, stockings and a rectangular cape. Vikings from the upper classes wore long pants, socks and capes in bright colors. Woolen mittens and hats were in use, as well as fur hats and even felt hats. Women from high society usually wore long clothes, consisting of a bodice and a skirt. Thin chains hung from buckles on clothes, to which scissors and a case for needles, a knife, keys and other small items were attached. Married women put their hair in a bun and wore conical white linen caps. Unmarried girls had their hair tied up with a ribbon.
Dwelling. Peasant dwellings were usually simple one-room houses, built either from tightly fitted vertical beams, or more often from wicker wicker coated with clay. Wealthy people usually lived in a large rectangular house, which housed numerous relatives. In heavily forested Scandinavia, such houses were built of wood, often in combination with clay, while in Iceland and Greenland, in conditions of a shortage of wood, local stone was widely used. Walls 90 cm thick or more were folded there. The roofs were usually covered with peat. The central living room of the house was low and dark, with a long hearth in the middle. They cooked food, ate and slept there. Sometimes inside the house, along the walls, pillars were installed in a row to support the roof, and the side rooms fenced off in this way were used as bedrooms.
Literature and art. The Vikings valued skill in combat, but they also revered literature, history, and art.
Viking literature existed in oral form, and only some time after the end of the Viking Age did the first written works appear. The runic alphabet was then used only for inscriptions on tombstones, for magic spells and short messages. But in Iceland, a rich folklore has been preserved. It was written down at the end of the Viking Age using the Latin alphabet by scribes who wanted to perpetuate the exploits of their ancestors.
Among the treasures of Icelandic literature stand out the long prose narratives known as sagas. They are divided into three main types. In the most important, the so-called. family sagas describe real characters from the Viking Age. Several dozen family sagas have survived, five of them are comparable in volume to large novels. The other two types are the historical sagas, which deal with Norwegian kings and the settlement of Iceland, and the adventurous fictional sagas of the late Viking Age, reflecting the influence of the Byzantine Empire and India. Another major prose work that appeared in Iceland is Younger Edda- a collection of myths recorded by Snorri Sturluson, an Icelandic historian and politician of the 13th century.
The Vikings had a high regard for poetry. The Icelandic hero and adventurer Egil Skallagrimsson was as proud of being a poet as he was of his accomplishments in battle. Poets-improvisers (skalds) sang the virtues of jarls (leaders) and princes in complex poetic stanzas. Much simpler than the poetry of the skalds were songs about the gods and heroes of the past, preserved in a collection known as Elder Edda.
Viking art was primarily decorative. The predominant motifs - whimsical animals and energetic abstract compositions of intertwining ribbons - were used in wood carvings, fine gold and silver work, and decorations on runestones and monuments that were placed to commemorate important events.
Religion. In the beginning, the Vikings worshiped pagan gods and goddesses. The most important of these were Thor, Ódin, Frey and the goddess Freya, of lesser importance were Njord, Ull, Balder and several other household gods. The gods were worshiped in temples or in sacred forests, groves and near springs. The Vikings also believed in many supernatural creatures: trolls, elves, giants, water and magical inhabitants of forests, hills and rivers.
Bloody sacrifices were often made. Sacrificial animals were usually eaten by the priest and his entourage at feasts held in temples. There were also human sacrifices, even ritual killings of kings to ensure the welfare of the country. In addition to priests and priestesses, there were sorcerers who practiced black magic.
The people of the Viking Age attached great importance to luck as a type of spiritual power inherent in any person, but especially leaders and kings. Nevertheless, that era was characterized by a pessimistic and fatalistic attitude. Fate was presented as an independent factor standing above gods and people. According to some poets and philosophers, people and gods were doomed to go through a powerful struggle and cataclysm, known as Ragnarök (Isl. - "end of the world").
Christianity slowly spread to the north and presented an attractive alternative to paganism. In Denmark and Norway, Christianity was established in the 10th century, Icelandic leaders adopted a new religion in 1000, and Sweden in the 11th century, but in the north of this country pagan beliefs persisted until the beginning of the 12th century.
MILITARY ART
Viking expeditions. Detailed information about the campaigns of the Vikings is known mainly from the written reports of the victims, who spared no colors to describe the devastation that the Scandinavians carried with them. The first campaigns of the Vikings were made on the principle of "hit and run". They appeared without warning from the sea in light, high-speed vessels and struck at weakly guarded objects known for their riches. The Vikings cut down a few defenders with swords, and the rest of the inhabitants were enslaved, seized valuables, and everything else was set on fire. Gradually, they began to use horses in their campaigns.
Weapon. Viking weapons were bows and arrows, as well as a variety of swords, spears and battle axes. Swords and spearheads and arrowheads were usually made of iron or steel. For bows, yew or elm wood was preferred, and braided hair was usually used as a bowstring.
Viking shields were round or oval in shape. Usually, light pieces of linden wood, upholstered along the edge and across with iron stripes, went to the shields. In the center of the shield was a pointed plaque. For protection, warriors also wore metal or leather helmets, often with horns, and warriors from the nobility often wore chain mail.
Viking ships. The highest technical achievement of the Vikings was their warships. These boats, kept in exemplary order, were often described with great love in the poetry of the Vikings and were a source of their pride. The narrow frame of such a vessel was very convenient for approaching the shore and quickly passing through rivers and lakes. The lighter vessels were especially suited to surprise attacks; they could be dragged from one river to another to bypass rapids, waterfalls, dams and fortifications. The disadvantage of these vessels was that they were not sufficiently adapted for long voyages on the high seas, which was compensated by the navigational skill of the Vikings.
Viking boats differed in the number of pairs of rowing oars, large ships - in the number of rowing benches. 13 pairs of oars determined the minimum size of a warship. The very first ships were designed for 40-80 people each, and a large keel ship of the 11th century. accommodated several hundred people. Such large combat units exceeded 46 m in length.
Ships were often built from boards laid in rows with overlapping and fastened with curved frames. Above the waterline, most warships were brightly painted. Carved dragon heads, sometimes gilded, adorned the prows of ships. The same decoration could be on the stern, and in some cases there was a wriggling dragon's tail. When sailing in the waters of Scandinavia, these decorations were usually removed so as not to frighten the good spirits. Often, when approaching the port, shields were hung in a row on the sides of the ships, but this was not allowed on the high seas.
Viking ships moved with the help of sails and oars. A simple square-shaped sail, made of coarse canvas, was often painted in stripes and checks. The mast could be shortened and even removed altogether. With the help of skillful devices, the captain could navigate the ship against the wind. The ships were steered by a paddle-shaped rudder mounted on the stern on the starboard side.
Several surviving Viking ships are exhibited in museums in the Scandinavian countries. One of the most famous, discovered in 1880 in Gokstad (Norway), dates back to about 900 AD. It reaches a length of 23.3 m and a width of 5.3 m. The ship had a mast and 32 oars, it had 32 shields. In places, elegant carved decorations have been preserved. The navigational capabilities of such a vessel were demonstrated in 1893, when a precisely made copy of it sailed from Norway to Newfoundland in four weeks. This copy is now in Lincoln Park in Chicago.
HISTORY
Vikings in Western Europe. Information about the first significant Viking raid dates back to 793 AD, when the monastery at Lindisfarne on Holy Island off the east coast of Scotland was sacked and burned. Nine years later, the monastery at Iona in the Hebrides was devastated. These were the pirate raids of the Norwegian Vikings.
Soon the Vikings moved on to seizing large areas. Late 9th - early 10th c. they took possession of Shetland, Orkney and the Hebrides and settled in the far north of Scotland. In the 11th century for unknown reasons, they left these lands. The Shetland Islands remained in the hands of the Norwegians until the 16th century.
Norwegian Viking raids on Ireland began in the 9th century. In 830 they established a wintering settlement in Ireland, and by 840 they had taken control of large areas of that country. The Viking positions were mostly strong in the south and east. This situation continued until 1170, when the British invaded Ireland and drove the Vikings out of there.
It was mainly the Danish Vikings who penetrated England. In 835 they made a campaign at the mouth of the Thames, in 851 they settled on the Isles of Sheppey and Thanet in the estuary of the Thames, and from 865 they began the conquest of East Anglia. King Alfred the Great of Wessex eventually stopped their advance, but was forced to cede the lands located north of the line running from London to the north-eastern edge of Wales. This territory, called the Danelag (Danish law area), was gradually reconquered by the British in the next century, but repeated Viking raids in the early 11th century. led to the restoration of the power of their king Cnut and his sons, this time over all of England. Ultimately, in 1042, as a result of a dynastic marriage, the throne passed to the British. However, even after that, Danish raids continued until the end of the century.
Norman raids on the coastal regions of the Frankish state began at the end of the 8th century. Gradually, the Scandinavians gained a foothold at the mouth of the Seine and other rivers of northern France. In 911, the French king Charles III the Simple concluded a forced peace with the leader of the Normans, Rollo, and granted him Rouen with the adjacent lands, to which new territories were added a few years later. The Duchy of Rollo attracted a lot of immigrants from Scandinavia and soon received the name Normandy. The Normans adopted the language, religion and customs of the Franks.
In 1066, Duke William of Normandy, who went down in history as William the Conqueror, the illegitimate son of Robert I, a descendant of Rollon and the fifth Duke of Normandy, invaded England, defeated King Harold (and killed him) at the Battle of Hastings and took the English throne. The Normans undertook aggressive campaigns in Wales and Ireland, many of them settled in Scotland.
At the beginning of the 11th c. the Normans penetrated into southern Italy, where, as hired soldiers, they participated in hostilities against the Arabs in Salerno. Then new settlers began to arrive here from Scandinavia, who established themselves in small towns, taking them by force from their former employers and their neighbors. The sons of Count Tancred of Hauteville, who in 1042 captured Apulia, enjoyed the loudest fame among Norman adventurers. In 1053 they defeated the army of Pope Leo IX, forcing him to make peace with them and give Apulia and Calabria as a fief. By 1071, all of southern Italy fell under the rule of the Normans. One of the sons of Tancred, Duke Robert, nicknamed Guiscard ("Sly"), supported the pope in the fight against Emperor Henry IV. Robert's brother Roger I started a war with the Arabs in Sicily. In 1061 he took Messina, but only 13 years later the island was under the rule of the Normans. Roger II united the Norman possessions in southern Italy and Sicily under his rule, and in 1130 Pope Anaclet II declared him king of Sicily, Calabria and Capua.
In Italy, as elsewhere, the Normans demonstrated their amazing ability to adapt and assimilate in a foreign cultural environment. The Normans played an important role in the crusades, in the history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and other states formed by the crusaders in the East.
Vikings in Iceland and Greenland. Iceland was discovered by Irish monks, and then at the end of the 9th century. inhabited by Norwegian Vikings. The first settlers were the leaders with their entourage, who fled from Norway from the despotism of King Harold, nicknamed Fair-Haired. For several centuries, Iceland remained independent, it was ruled by influential leaders, who were called godar. They met annually in the summer at meetings of the Althing, which was the prototype of the first parliament. However, the Althing could not resolve the feuds between the leaders, and in 1262 Iceland submitted to the Norwegian king. It regained its independence only in 1944.
In 986, the Icelander Eric the Red led several hundred colonists to the southwestern coast of Greenland, which he had discovered several years earlier. They settled in the locality of Vesterbygden ("western settlement") at the edge of the ice cap on the banks of the Ameralik Fjord. Even for hardy Icelanders, the harsh conditions of southern Greenland proved to be a difficult test. Engaged in hunting, fishing and whaling, they lived in the area for approx. 400 years. However, around 1350 the settlements were completely abandoned. Historians have yet to figure out why the colonists, who had accumulated considerable experience of living in the North, suddenly left these places. Here, the cooling of the climate, the chronic shortage of grain, and the almost complete isolation of Greenland from Scandinavia after the plague in the middle of the 14th century could probably play a major role.
Vikings in North America. One of the most contentious issues in Scandinavian archeology and philology has to do with the study of the Greenlanders' attempts to establish a colony in North America. In two Icelandic family sagas - Eric the Red Saga And Saga of the Greenlanders– Details of a visit to the American coast c. 1000. According to these sources, North America was discovered by Byadni Herjolfsson, the son of the first settler of Greenland, but the main heroes of the sagas are Leif Eriksson, the son of Erik the Red, and Thorfinn Thordarson, nicknamed Karlsabni. Leif Eriksson's base, apparently, was located in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bL "Ans-o-Meadow, located in the far north of the Newfoundland coast. Leif, along with his associates, carefully examined the more temperate region located much to the south, which he called Vinland. Karlsabni gathered a detachment to to establish a colony in Vinland in 1004 or 1005 (the location of this colony could not be established.) The newcomers met with resistance from the locals and after three years were forced to return to Greenland.
The brothers of Leif Eriksson Thorstein and Thorvald also took part in the exploration of the New World. It is known that Thorvald was killed by the natives. The Greenlanders made voyages to America for the forest after the end of the Viking Age.
End of the Viking Age. The violent activity of the Vikings ended at the end of the 11th century. A number of factors contributed to the cessation of campaigns and discoveries that lasted more than 300 years. In Scandinavia itself, monarchies were firmly established, and orderly feudal relations were established among the nobility, similar to those that existed in the rest of Europe, the opportunities for uncontrolled raids decreased, and the incentives for aggressive activity abroad waned. Political and social stabilization in countries outside of Scandinavia enabled them to resist Viking raids. The Vikings, who had already settled in France, Russia, Italy and the British Isles, were gradually assimilated by the local population. see also EDDA;ICELAND LITERATURE;SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY;
LITERATURE
Gurevich A.Ya. Viking campaigns. M., 1966
Ingstad H. In the footsteps of Leif the Happy. L., 1969
Icelandic sagas. M., 1973
Firks I. viking ships. L., 1982

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