Viking expansion

Viking expansion was the historical movement which led

Another theory is that it was a quest for revenge against continental Europeans for past aggressions against the Vikings and related groups,[14] Charlemagne's campaign to force Saxon pagans to convert to Christianity by killing any who refused to become baptized in particular.^{[15][16][17][18][19]} Those who favor this explanation point out that the penetration of Christianity into Scandinavia caused serious conflict and divided Norway for almost a century.^[20] However, the first target of Viking raids was not the Frankish Kingdom, but Christian monasteries in England. According to the historian Peter Sawyer, these were raided because they were centers of wealth and their farms well-stocked, not because of any religious reasons.^[21]

A different idea is that the Viking population had exceeded the agricultural potential of their homeland. This may have been true of western Norway, where there were few reserves of land, but it is unlikely that the rest of Scandinavia was experiencing famine.^[22]

Alternatively, some scholars propose that the Viking expansion was driven by a

However, no rise in population, youth bulge, or decline in agricultural production during this period has been definitively demonstrated. Nor is it clear why such pressures would have prompted expansion overseas rather than into the vast, uncultivated forest areas in the interior of the Scandinavian Peninsula, although perhaps emigration or sea raids may have been easier or more profitable than clearing large areas of forest for farm and pasture in a region with a limited growing season.

It is also possible that a decline in the profitability of old trade routes drove the Vikings to seek out new, more profitable ones. Trade between western Europe and the rest of Eurasia may have suffered after the

One of the main aims of the Viking expansion throughout Europe was to acquire and trade silver.[24]^[25] Bergen and Dublin are still important centres of silver making.^[26][27] An example of a collection of Viking-age silver for trading purposes is the Galloway Hoard.^[28]

A great motivation for raids was the international slave trade conducted by the Vikings with the Abbasid Caliphate in the Muslim Middle East, who supplied the slave market of the Muslim world with European slaves in exchange for Arab silver. People taken captive during the Viking raids in Western Europe, such as Ireland, could be sold to

The Viking slave trade was the source of the Arab dirham silver hoards found in Scandinavia and functioned from at least 786 until 1009, when such coins have been found there, and it would have been so lucrative that it contributed to the continuing Viking raids in Europe, which was used by the Vikings as a slave supply source for this trade with the Islamic world.^[33] Among such hoards can be mentioned the Spillings Hoard and the Sundveda Hoard.

Settlement demographics

Viking settlements in Ireland and Great Britain are thought to have been primarily male enterprises; however, some graves show nearly equal male/female distribution. Disagreement is partly due to method of classification; previous archaeology often guessed biological sex from burial artifacts, whereas modern archaeology may use osteology to find biological sex, and isotope analysis to find origin (DNA sampling is usually not possible).^[34][35] The males buried during that period in a cemetery on the Isle of Man had mainly names of Norse origin, while the females there had names of indigenous origin. Irish and British women are mentioned in old texts on the founding of Iceland, indicating that the Viking explorers were accompanied there by women from the British Isles who either came along voluntarily or were taken along by force. Genetic studies of the population in the Western Isles and Isle of Skye also show that Viking settlements were established mainly by male Vikings who mated with women from the local populations of those places.^{[citation needed]}

However, not all Viking settlements were primarily male. Genetic studies of the Shetland population suggest that family units consisting of Viking women as well as men were the norm among the migrants to these areas.^[36]

This may be because areas like the

England

During the reign of King Beorhtric of Wessex (786–802), three ships of "Northmen" landed at Portland Bay in Dorset.^[38] The local reeve mistook the Vikings for merchants and directed them to the nearby royal estate, but the visitors killed him and his men. On 8 June 793, "the ravages of heathen men miserably desecrated God's church on Lindisfarne, with plunder and slaughter".^[39] According to the 12th-century Anglo-Norman chronicler Symeon of Durham, the raiders killed the resident monks or threw them into the sea to drown or carried them away as slaves – along with some of the church treasures.^[40] In 875, after enduring eight decades of repeated Viking raids, the monks fled Lindisfarne, carrying the relics of Saint Cuthbert with them.^[41]

In 794, according to the

This represented one of the last raids on England for about 40 years. The Vikings focused instead on Ireland and Scotland.

In 865, a group of hitherto uncoordinated bands of predominantly Danish Vikings joined to form a large army and landed in East Anglia.

Jorvik).^[45] In 871, the Great Heathen Army was reinforced by another Danish force known as the Great Summer Army led by Guthrum. In 875, the Great Heathen Army split into two bands, with Guthrum leading one back to Wessex, and Halfdan taking his followers north.^[50][51] Then in 876, Halfdan shared out Northumbrian land south of the Tees amongst his men, who "ploughed the land and supported themselves", founding the territory later known as the Danelaw.^[a][51]

Most of the English kingdoms, being in turmoil, could not stand against the Vikings, but King

Alfred of Wessex defeated Guthrum's army at the Battle of Edington in 878. There followed the Treaty of Wedmore the same year^[55][56] and the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum in 886.^[57][58] These treaties formalised the boundaries of the English kingdoms and the Viking Danelaw territory, with provisions for peaceful relations between the English and the Vikings. Despite these treaties, conflict continued on and off. However, Alfred and his successors eventually drove back the Viking frontier and retook York.^[59]

A new wave of Vikings appeared in England in 947, when

Cnut the Great

(reigned as King of England: 1016–1035), after which a series of inheritance arguments weakened the hold on power of Cnut's heirs.

When King

Edgar the Ætheling, the last surviving male member of the English royal family. However, after capturing York, Sweyn accepted a payment from William to desert Edgar.^[62][63] Five years later one of Sweyn's sons set sail for England to support another English rebellion, but it had been crushed before the expedition arrived, so they settled for plundering the city of York and the surrounding area before returning home.^[62]

In 1085, Sweyn's son, now Canute IV of Denmark, planned a major invasion of England but the assembled fleet never sailed. No further serious Danish invasions of England occurred after this.^[62] Some raiding occurred during the troubles of Stephen's reign, when King Eystein II of Norway took advantage of the civil war to plunder the east coast of England, where they sacked Hartlepool, County Durham and Whitby, Yorkshire in 1152. These raids marked the conclusion of the Viking Age in England.^[64][65]

Scotland

Main articles:

Norse-Gaels

The monastery at Iona on the west coast was first raided in 794, and had to be abandoned fifty years later after several devastating attacks.^[66] While there are few records from the earliest period, it is believed that Scandinavian presence in Scotland increased in the 830s.^{[citation needed]}

The isles to the north and west of Scotland were heavily colonised by Norwegian Vikings. Shetland, Orkney and the Hebrides came under Norse control, sometimes as fiefs under the King of Norway, and at other times as separate entities under variously the Kings of the Isles, the Earldom of Orkney and the later Kings of Mann and the Isles. Shetland and Orkney were the last of these to be incorporated into Scotland in 1468.

Wales

Viking colonies were not a feature of Wales as much as the other nations of the British Isles. This has traditionally been attributed to the powerful unified forces of the contemporary Welsh kings, particularly

Rhodri the Great.^[67]

Thus, the Vikings were unable to establish any states or areas of control in Wales and were largely limited to raids and trading.

The

West Saxons and north Welsh along the River Severn.^[72] This combined army eventually overtook the Vikings before defeating them at the Battle of Buttington.^[73]

Impact on English toponymy in Wales

The early Normans in Wales shared the maritime history of the Vikings, tracing their lineage back to the same wave of raiders and settlers that harried the Welsh coast in the ninth century.^[74] As such, it was often the Viking names that were favoured by the Cambro-Normans and passed into Middle English. This impact can be seen today where many coastal names in Wales have an English name derived from the Vikings and unrelated to the original Welsh name.^[75]

The modern English name Anglesey (

Old Norse: ormr, the word for snake or dragon, from the Vikings' tradition that the serpent-shaped island was a sleeping dragon.^[77]

Cornwall

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reported that heathen men (the Danes) raided Charmouth, Dorset in 833, then in 997 destroyed the Dartmoor town of Lydford, and from 1001 to 1003 occupied the old Roman city of Exeter.^[78]

The Cornish were subjugated by King Æthelstan, of England, in 936 and the border finally set at the River Tamar. The Cornish remained semi-autonomous until their annexation into England after the Norman Conquest.^[79]

Ireland

Main articles:

Norse-Gaels

In 795, small bands of Vikings began plundering monastic settlements along the coast of

Thorgest is said to have raided the whole midlands of Ireland until he was killed by Máel Sechnaill I

in 845.

In 853, Viking leader Amlaíb (Olaf) became the first king of Dublin. He ruled along with his brothers Ímar (possibly Ivar the Boneless) and Auisle.^[83] Over the following decades, there was regular warfare between the Vikings and the Irish, and between two groups of Vikings: the Dubgaill and Finngaill (dark and fair foreigners). The Vikings also briefly allied with various Irish kings against their rivals. In 866, Áed Findliath burnt all Viking longphorts in the north, and they never managed to establish permanent settlements in that region.^[84] The Vikings were driven from Dublin in 902.^[85]

They returned in 914, led by the

slave trade in Viking Dublin was the biggest slave port in western Europe,^[87] from which they could be sold to Moorish Spain.^[29]

These Viking territories became part of the patchwork of kingdoms in Ireland. Vikings intermarried with the Irish and adopted elements of Irish culture, becoming the

mint, in Dublin.^[88]

In 980, Máel Sechnaill Mór defeated the Dublin Vikings and forced them into submission.^[89] Over the following thirty years, Brian Boru subdued the Viking territories and made himself High King of Ireland. The Dublin Vikings, together with Leinster, twice rebelled against him, but they were defeated in the battles of Glenmama (999) and Clontarf (1014). After the battle of Clontarf, the Dublin Vikings could no longer "single-handedly threaten the power of the most powerful kings of Ireland".^[90] Brian's rise to power and conflict with the Vikings is chronicled in Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib ("The War of the Irish with the Foreigners").

European mainland

Normandy

The name of Normandy denotes its Viking origin, from "Northmannia" or Land of The Norsemen.

The Viking presence in Normandy began with raids into the territory of the Frankish Empire, from the middle of the 9th century. Viking raids extended deep into the Frankish territory, and included the sacking of many prominent towns such as Rouen, Paris and the abbey at Jumièges. The inability of the Frankish king Charles the Bald, and later Charles the Simple, to prevent these Viking incursions forced them to offer vast payments of silver and gold to prevent any further pillage. These pay-offs were short lived and the Danish raiders would always return for more.

The

Count of Rouen

. In addition, Rollo was to be baptized and marry Gisele, the illegitimate daughter of Charles. In exchange for his homage and fealty, Rollo legally gained the territory which he and his Viking allies had previously conquered.

The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local

Thor's hammers at Saint-Pierre-de-Varengeville and Sahurs^[93] and more recently the hoard of Viking coins at Saint-Pierre-des-Fleurs.^[94]

Rollo's descendant

King of England after he defeated Harold Godwinson and his army at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066. As king of England, he retained the fiefdom of Normandy for himself and his descendants. The kings of England made claim to Normandy, as well as their other possessions in France, which led to various disputes with the French. This culminated in the French confiscation of Gascony that precipitated what became known as the Hundred Years' War, in 1337.^[95]

West Francia and Middle Francia

See also: Viking raids in the Rhineland

Edict of Pistres

of 864 to secure a standing army of cavalry under royal control to be called upon at all times when necessary to fend off the invaders. He also ordered the building of fortified bridges to prevent inland raids.

Nonetheless, the

Antwerp was raided in 836. Later there were raids of Ghent, Kortrijk, Tournai, Leuven and the areas around the Meuse river, the Rhine, the Rupel river and the tributaries of those rivers. Raids were conducted from bases established in Asselt, Walcheren, Wieringen and Elterberg (or Eltenberg, a small hill near Elten). In Dutch and Frisian historical tradition, the trading centre of Dorestad declined after Viking raids from 834 to 863; however, since no convincing Viking archaeological evidence has been found at the site (as of 2007^[update]), doubts about this have grown in recent years.

One of the more important Viking families in the Low Countries was that of

Buried Viking treasures consisting mainly of silver have been found in the Low Countries. Two such treasures have been found in Wieringen. A large treasure found in Wieringen in 1996 dates from around 850 and is thought perhaps to have been connected to Rorik. The burial of such a valuable treasure is seen as an indication that there was a permanent settlement in Wieringen.^[96]

Around 879,

Compared with the rest of Western Europe, the Iberian Peninsula seems to have been little affected by Viking activity, either in the Christian north or the Muslim south.^[98] In some of their raids on Iberia, the Vikings were crushed either by the Kingdom of Asturias or the Emirate armies.^[99]

Knowledge of Vikings in Iberia is mainly based on written accounts, many of which are much later than the events they purport to describe, and often also ambiguous about the origins or ethnicity of the raiders they mention.^[100] A little possible archaeological evidence has come to light,^[101] but research in this area is ongoing.^[102] Viking activity in the Iberian peninsula seems to have begun around the mid-ninth century as an extension of their raids on and establishment of bases in Frankia in the earlier ninth century, but although Vikings may have over-wintered there, there is as yet no evidence for trading or settlement.^[103]

The most prominent and probably most significant event was a raid in 844, when Vikings entered the

They then proceeded south, raiding Lisbon and Seville. This Viking raid on Seville seems to have constituted a significant attack.^[105]

The period from 859 to 861 saw another spate of Viking raids, apparently by a single group. Despite some elaborate tales in late sources, little is known for sure about these attacks. After raids on both northern Iberia and

Tenth- or eleventh-century fragments of mouse bone found in Madeira, along with mitocondrial DNA of Madeiran mice, suggests that Vikings also came to Madeira (bringing mice with them), long before the island was colonised by Portugal.[101]

Quite extensive evidence for minor Viking raids in Iberia continues for the early eleventh century in later narratives (including some Icelandic sagas) and in northern Iberian charters. As the Viking Age drew to a close, Scandinavians and Normans continued to have opportunities to visit and raid Iberia while on their way to the Holy Land for pilgrimage or crusade, or in connection with Norman conquests in the Mediterranean. Key examples in the saga literature are

Around 860,

Three or four eleventh-century Swedish Runestones mention Italy, memorialising warriors who died in 'Langbarðaland', the Old Norse name for southern Italy (Longobardia). It seems clear that rather than being Normans, these men were Varangian mercenaries fighting for Byzantium.^[111] Varangians may first have been deployed as mercenaries in Italy against the Arabs as early as 936.^[112]

Later, several Anglo-Danish and Norwegian nobles participated in the

The well-known Harald Hardrada would also serve the Byzantine emperor in Palestine as well as raiding North Africa, the Middle East as far east as Armenia, and the island of Sicily in the 11th century, as recounted in his saga in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla.^[118]

Evidence for Norse ventures into Arabia and Central Asia can be found in runestones erected in Scandinavia by the relatives of fallen Viking adventurers. Several of these refer to men who died in "Serkland".^[119][120]

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Mediterranean the Norse (referred to as Rus') were viewed more as "merchant-warriors" who were primarily associated with trade and business.^[121] Indeed, one of the only detailed accounts of a Viking burial comes from Ibn-Fadlan's account.^[122] At times this trading relationship would break down into violence – Rus' armadas raided in the Caspian on at least three occasions, in 910, 912 and 943.^[121]

Eastern Europe

The Vikings settled coastal areas along the

The real involvement of the Varangians is said to have come after they were asked by the Slavic tribes of the region to come and establish order, as those tribes were in constant warfare among each other ("Our country is rich and immense, but it is rent by disorder. Come and govern us and reign over us."[124]). The tribes were united and ruled under the leadership of Rurik, a leader of a group of Varangians. Rurik's successors conquered Kiev and established control of the trade route extending from Novgorod to the Black Sea through the Dnieper river. This Rurik Dynasty went on to maintain their control over the Kievan Rus', and later, Muscovy until 1598.^[125]

Iran and the Caucasus

Ingvar the Far-Travelled led expeditions to Iran and the Caucasus between 1036 and 1042. His travels are recorded on the Ingvar runestones.^[126]

Around 1036, Varangians appeared near the village of Bashi on the Rioni River, to establish a permanent^{[clarification needed]} settlement of Vikings in Georgia. The Georgian Chronicles described them as 3,000 men who had traveled from Scandinavia through present-day Russia, rowing down the Dnieper River and across the Black Sea. King Bagrat IV welcomed them to Georgia and accepted some of them into the Georgian army; several hundred Vikings fought on Bagrat's side at the Battle of Sasireti in 1042.

North Atlantic

The Faroe Islands

Iceland

In 985, Erik the Red was believed to have discovered Greenland after being exiled from Iceland for murder in 982. In 986, Erik the Red returned with 14 surviving ships (as 25 set out on the expedition). Two areas along Greenland's southwest coast were colonised by Norse settlers, including Erik the Red, around 986.

A Norwegian ship's captain named

There is also evidence for Viking contact with Native Americans.[135] The Vikings referred to them as the Skræling ("barbarians" or "puny, weaklings"). Fighting between the Natives and the Vikings took place with the natives having the advanced weaponry of bows and arrows. Trade by barter also took place between them but the conflict led to the Vikings' eventual evacuation of the area.

The Greenlanders called the new-found territory Vinland. It is unclear whether Vinland referred to in the traditionally thinking as Vínland (wine-land) or more recently as Vinland (meadow- or pasture-land). In any case, without any official backing, attempts at colonization by the Norse proved failures. There were too many natives for the Greenlanders to conquer or withstand and they withdrew to Greenland.

Svalbard

Vikings may have discovered Svalbard as early as the 12th century. Traditional Norse accounts exist of a land known as Svalbarð – literally "cold shores". This land might also have been

Azores

Multiple studies suggest the idea that the Norse could have reached the Azores islands and settled there between 700 and 850 AD.^[136] For example, a 2015 study showed that there were substantial mitochondrial DNA similarities between mice living in the Azores and Scandinavia,^[137] and the idea was put forward that they might have travelled on Viking ships from there.^[136]

Another study from 2021 collected cylindrical sediment cores from five lakes on various islands of the archipelago, trying to describe the climatic history of the region. The study found in the sediment layer corresponding to the years between 700 and 850, an unusual uptick in the organic compound called 5-beta-stigmastanol, which is found in the feces of

Despite the prevailing winds coming from the north, this would not make navigation from the east entirely impossible, and the geographer Simon Connor noted on the subject of mice, that thanks to the trade routes already established at the time, a mouse from Scandinavia could have arrived by boat in what is now Portugal, and from there it would have taken another course towards the Azores[136]

Genetic evidence and implications

Studies of genetic diversity have provided scientific confirmation to accompany archaeological evidence of Viking expansion. They also indicate patterns of ancestry, imply new migrations, and show the actual flow of individuals between disparate regions. However, attempts to determine historical population genetics are complicated by subsequent migrations and demographic fluctuations. In particular, the rapid migrations of the 20th century have made it difficult to assess what prior genetic states were.

Genetic evidence contradicts the common perception that Vikings were primarily pillagers and raiders. A news article by Roger Highfield summarizes recent research and concludes that, as both male and female genetic markers are present, the evidence is indicative of colonization instead of raiding and occupying.^[139] However, this is also disputed by unequal ratios of male and female haplotypes (see below) which indicate that more men settled than women, an element of a raiding or occupying population.

Mitochondrial and Y-chromosome haplotypes

Y-chromosome haplotypes serve as markers of paternal lineage much the same as mDNA represents the maternal lineage. Together, these two methods provide an option for tracing back a people's genetic history and charting the historical migrations of both males and females.

Often considered the purest remnants of ancient Nordic genetics, Icelanders trace 75% to 80% of their patrilineal ancestry to Scandinavia and 20% to 25% to Scotland and Ireland.^[140][141] On the maternal side, only 37% is from Scandinavia and the remaining 63% is mostly Scottish and Irish.^[141][142] Iceland also holds one of the more well-documented lineage records which, in many cases, go back 15 generations and at least 300 years. These are accompanied by one of the larger genetic records that have been collected by deCODE genetics. Together, these two records allow for a mostly reliable view of historical Scandinavian genetic structure although the genetics of Iceland are influenced by Norse-British migration as well as that directly from Scandinavia.^{[citation needed]}

Common Y-haplogroups

Haplogroup I-M253, also known as haplogroup I1, is the most common haplotype among Scandinavian males. It is present in 35% of males in Norway, Denmark and Sweden; 40% of males within Western Finland.^[143] It is also prominent on the Baltic and North Sea coasts, but decreases further south.^{[citation needed]}

Haplogroup R1b is another very common haplotype in all of Western Europe. However, it is not distinctly linked to Vikings or their expansion. There are indications that a mutant strand, R-L165, may have been carried to Great Britain by the Vikings,^[144] but the topic is currently inconclusive.

C1

The mitochondrial C1 haplotype is primarily an East Asia-American haplotype that developed just prior to migration across the Bering sea.^[145][146] This maternal haplotype, however, was found in several Icelandic samples.^[140] While originally considered to be a 20th-century immigrant,^[140] a more complete analysis has shown that this haplotype has been present in Iceland for at least 300 years and is distinct from other C1 lineages.^[147] This evidence indicates a likely genetic exchange back and forth between Iceland, Greenland, and Vinland.^{[citation needed]}

Surname histories and the Y-haplotype

There is evidence suggesting Y-haplotypes may be combined with surname histories to better represent historical populations and prevent recent migrations from obscuring the historical record.^[52]

Cys282Tyr

Cys282Tyr (or C282Y) is a mutation in the

• The Exploration Museum
• Salme ships
• Pre-modern human migration

Explanatory notes

References