Infopanel 1

The word “Viking”

“Viking” does not refer to a people, but to the Scandinavian sea raiders who went on plundering expeditions or ‘vikings’ in Northern and Western Europe in the early Middle Ages. They came from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; countries with numerous bays along their coasts, which are called “vik” in Old Norse. 

Today, the term “Viking” is mostly used to refer to all Scandinavians who lived in the 9th and 10th centuries. The term therefore also includes farmers and merchants.

The Viking Age

The first known raid is considered to be the one on Lindisfarne in 793: out of the blue, the famous monastery on Holy Island (northeast England) was attacked and burned down, which shook Christian England to its core.

The end of the Viking Age was heralded by the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066: a Norwegian army under King Harald Hardrada attempted in vain to conquer England.  

During these two and a half centuries, Scandinavian Vikings not only raided coastal monasteries, but also penetrated deep into the interior with their ships on the rivers. In this way, they plundered the rich cities along the Rhine in the Carolingian Empire, among other places, which is why they soon gained a reputation as the “terror of the seas.”