Why didn't the vikings establish a country?

Author/Sun Ruixi WeChat official account: Mi Zu Ki Online

The cover picture was taken by Sun Ruixi in the Norwegian Naruifjord, and the copyright belongs to Sun Ruixi.

The illustrations come from the Internet, and the copyright belongs to the original author.

The Viking era began in the late 8th century and ended in 1 1 century. During this period, a Germanic living in Scandinavia rose and appeared in every corner of Europe for more than 300 years. They sailed simple but extremely fast ships, completed incredible routes again and again, and conquered almost all the waters in the northern hemisphere: from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean Sea, from the Black Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, the Vikings' sphere of influence extended to Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and North America. Their exploration and discovery of North America was 500 years earlier than Columbus's. Vikings sailing around the world changed the historical process of Europe and created a history and legend of an era.

The word Viking was introduced from the legend of18th century. For many years, the origin of the word "Viking" has been controversial, and there are roughly three versions. One view is that "Viking" comes from the old Norwegian word "Vik", which means fjord. "Viking" means doing some activities in a fjord, so "Viking" means "robbery at sea". But today, the word "Viking" refers more to the Nordic people living in Scandinavia and their culture during 800- 1050. The second argument is that the word "vikingr" once appeared on the ancient Lunvin stone tablet in Scandinavia, which also means "adventure at sea" in Icelandic. The third view is that it originated from the old English word "wic", which means "the city of transactions". In English, the word "wicing" first appeared in ancient Anglo-Saxon poetry in the 6th century, meaning pirates. From these disputes, we can see that vikings are the two most important historical attributes of vikings: stealing and trading.

Vikings are different from "Vikings". They are engaged in extensive overseas trade and colonial expansion. The stereotype that "Vikings are Vikings" is the result of the mixing of reality and legend and the fermentation of history. However, the correct understanding of Viking and Viking era is based on archaeological discoveries and documentary records, which are not static, but constantly changing and developing with new archaeological discoveries and new interpretations of documents. Vikings and their movements have been given different meanings in different historical periods.

In AD 5, Caesar Auguste's Roman fleet landed in jutland, marking the first contact between major European forces and Scandinavian tribes, the direct ancestors of the Vikings. In the 5th century, the Roman Empire collapsed, which shocked the whole western world. Germanic tribes flocked to the European continent in search of trophies and fertile land, which triggered a large-scale immigration tide, so that historians called the period from 400 to 600 AD the era of immigration. In Scandinavia, this turbulent historical period is also an era of accumulating wealth. The Roman scholar Tatius first gave the true record of Scandinavian-swelling people. The Roman scholar's works are full of praise for the Nordic people, who are "brave and good at fighting, advocating wealth and extremely loyal".

In June, 793, the Vikings landed on Lindisfarne Island on the north coast of England and looted the monastery on the island. This unexpected attack marked the arrival of the Vikings on the stage of European history, and also marked the arrival of the Viking era. At this time, the narrative of the Viking era is mainly found in the historical documents of monasteries invaded by the Vikings at the same time, ancient Scandinavian stone tablets and the Vikings' own cultural treasures-Sakya (also known as Sakya, Iceland, and sometimes Norway). Monastery documents and Sakya Sect provide us with different perspectives to observe and understand the Vikings. From the Christian point of view, the former called the Vikings "pagans and barbarians". They burned, killed and looted, and they did all kinds of evil, which was creepy. Sagar warmly praised the glorious deeds of Viking heroes' exploration and adventure at sea from the Viking's own point of view. The ancient Scandinavian stone tablets with short inscriptions describe the Viking society and life in a relatively objective and peaceful tone.

Since the 1960s, with the new archaeological discoveries and re-examination of historical documents, the identity and legend of the Vikings have gradually faded, and archaeologists and historians have begun to look at the Vikings and their history critically, gradually giving them positive and diverse meanings: ordinary immigrants, brave explorers, excellent craftsmen (especially in shipbuilding technology), excellent navigators and spiritual poets (mainly embodied in Saghari, Iceland).

The in-depth study of Sakya and the archaeological excavations of Viking sites around the world have revealed to the world the other side of peaceful exchanges in the Viking era: the development of peaceful immigrants in the North Atlantic, the opening of trade routes as far away as the Arabian Peninsula, the commercial civilization brought to Western Europe, the great changes brought to the world by superb navigation and shipbuilding technology, democracy and the rule of law, and vivid and ingenious Viking art, all of which have presented us with a more three-dimensional and full Viking era. Viking warriors and vikings are only a part of Viking culture.

Although businessmen also stole, "holding a sword and driving a dragon boat" was still the most vivid and profound impression of the Vikings, which formed the Viking warrior culture. The greatest glory of Viking adult men is to fight to the death, and then they can enter Varhala Hall (the hall where Odin, the god of death in Norse mythology, entertains the souls of fallen soldiers).

They are waiting to take part in the final battle-"the twilight of the gods" (in Nordic mythology, the gods were finally eliminated in a desperate struggle with the devil, and a new order was born).

The northern Europeans' martial tradition and the eldest son inheritance system made sea exploration and conquest the main business of Viking life and the main way for them to gain status and wealth. Tribal leaders and soldiers who won trophies in the battle began to master power and wealth. "With the passage of time, military leaders gradually evolved into monarchs in early Nordic countries, and warriors formed military nobles around them." However, Viking society practiced the system of direct eldest son inheritance, and the descendants of other leaders and nobles needed to find another way to make a living. Therefore, overseas plunder and conquest is not only a move to hone Viking masculinity, but also an important way for descendants of Viking nobles who have no inheritance rights to build another career.

The content is integrated from the Internet and the Viking era-marine legends before the great geographical discovery (text: British Museum, translated by Deng Cong). If there is any infringement, please let us know and we will delete it as soon as possible.