The Viking raids on Britain took the Anglo Saxons by surprise — and ushered in a new era of terror.
The Viking raids on Britain took the Anglo Saxons by surprise — and ushered in a new era of terror.
The first small-scale attack took place in 789.
Four years later the Norsemen were back in force for their infamous assault on the island monastery at Lindisfarne, Northumberland.
The savagery of the raiders stunned the Anglo Saxons. A chronicler wrote: “The harrying of the heathen miserably destroyed God’s church in Lindisfarne by rapine and slaughter.”
The sense of shock was captured by the Eighth Century scholar Alcuin, who wrote: “Never before has such terror appeared in Britain as we have now suffered from a pagan race.
“Nor was it thought possible that such an inroad from the sea could be made.
"Behold the church of St Cuthbert, spattered with the blood of the priests of God, despoiled of all its ornaments.
“A place more venerable than any other in Britain has fallen prey to pagans.”
Within 40 years the Vikings were ravaging the south of England.
In 835 they attacked the isle of Sheppey in Kent. From then on barely a year passed without a raid.
In 850 the Vikings changed their strategy. Instead of hit-and-run raids, they decided to spend the winter on the isle of Thanet.
Then in 865 a “great fleet of pagans” arrived in East Anglia. This was no raid — the Vikings had come to stay.
It was not only England that was tormented by the Vikings. They plundered Ireland, Scotland and struck far into the interior of France by sailing their boats along the Seine and Loire rivers.
In the east the Swedish Vikings pushed south into modern-day Russia along the rivers that poured into the Baltic.
Eventually they formed a trading colony at Kiev.
All these expeditions were made possible by the Vikings’ famous longships.
These were made of wood and usually carried between 20 and 60 men.
They were powered by a large square sail and oars.
The raiders themselves were usually armed with a sword or axe, a spear and a round shield.
Wealthier warriors would have had a metal helmet and perhaps a chain-mail coat.
Some of the raiders were fanatics known as berserkers — a Viking word meaning “bear-shirt” and referring to the fact they often fought wearing an animal skin.
Before a battle these men would work themselves into a frenzy, then charge into the enemy.
The Dark Ages
The Dark Ages is the traditional name given to the early medieval period which begins with the end of Roman rule in Europe in the Fifth Century. The demise of Rome and the classical way of life led to a breakdown in civilisation and a steady decline in learning and art.
By the time of the first Viking raids, few apart from monks and clerics could read. Historians know relatively little about what went on in Britain between 400 and 1066 because few records were kept and hardly any survive.
The breakdown of learning was essentially a western European phenomenon. In the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic dynasties of the Middle East, art and literature continued to thrive.
