Looking for Viking history

As we all know, the Nordic region where the Vikings lived was covered with thick ice and snow all the year round, which was unbearable in winter and the living environment was extremely cruel. The area of land available for farming and grazing is very small, and resources are very scarce. In order to survive, Scandinavian residents have to fight against nature all the time. Therefore, on the one hand, they are impatient, hard-trained, brave and fierce, on the other hand, they have developed fine traditions such as thrift and strong vitality. Because of the lack of resources, they know how to use every limited resource most effectively and never waste it easily. The Vikings of the future, whether sailing in the rough sea or looking for a new place to live in the unknown world, can live well even in extremely difficult and harsh environments, which should be attributed to their culture and traditions.

However, due to the lack of local resources in northern Europe and the huge pressure on population and land, small countries are constantly competing for resources. In order to survive and develop, local people are also eager to explore across the ocean, trade with foreign countries and find new places to live, which forms their natural adventurous nature and exploration spirit.

In AD 5, a Roman fleet sent by Caesar Augustus landed in jutland, marking the first contact between the main European forces and the 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. Scandinavians sail everywhere to engage in maritime trade. At this time, these guys were polite and shrewd businessmen, so they were not Vikings. The word Viking had strong derogatory meanings such as "looting and killing". The rich trade profits stimulated their natural wildness and adventurous nature. With the breakthrough development of Scandinavian shipbuilding technology, plunder and conquest gradually replaced trade.

From 800 to 1 100, the vikings left their homes in Scandinavia, crossed their known areas and set out to explore the unknown world. Modern historians have come to another view through textual research. Because of the trade in the previous centuries, the later vikings were familiar with the coastal geography of Europe, and their attack routes had obvious destinations, so they would not go anywhere blindly. ) Some pirates sailed north, crossed the Baltic Sea, set up trade bases in old Ladoga, Novgorod and other towns, sailed to Russia and arrived in Kiev. Some fleets sailed to the Caspian Sea, and some Nordic businessmen left their ships there?

Other pirates spread to the southwest, causing an uproar in the heart of Europe. They plundered the British peninsula and occupied Normandy. As colonists, Vikings migrated to Orkney Islands, shetland islands, Faroe Islands and other places on their way to Iceland. Icelanders have also established two settlement areas in Greenland. There is a saying that as early as 500 years before Columbus discovered the New World, the Nordic colonists had reached the coast of North America and made a short stay in Newfoundland.

In June 793, the Vikings landed on Lindisfarne Island on the north coast of England, attacked and plundered the monasteries there, slaughtered a large number of priests, and drove local priests and residents into their slaves. This sudden attack was like a bolt from the blue for Christian Europe, and this incident also announced the arrival of the pirate era.

800 years ago, the scope of such attacks was often limited to coastal areas. Generally, only one or two boats are dispatched, and as soon as they grab the property, they quickly retreat. But it didn't take long for Denmark, Norway and Sweden to have a well-organized fleet. Under the command of ambitious kings and military leaders, they began large-scale foreign expansion and colonization-invading other countries, demanding tribute and ransom, and plundering land.

In about 8 10, the Danish king Godfred attacked the coast of frys (in present-day Holland) and began to attack a part of Charlemagne Empire, causing considerable damage. The success of the first battle inspired Godfrey, who threatened to conquer the whole empire, but his plan died in an assassination before it was implemented. Charlemagne also took this opportunity to strengthen his defense, basically keeping these pirates out of the heart of Germany. (But France won't care. )

After that, the Vikings turned their eyes to the British Isles and Frank. In 85 1 year, the Danes began to attack Britain. From 865 to 880, the Danes' flags traveled half of England. In 873, Emond, a small English country, was captured and killed by an arrow. Only the kingdom of Wessex in the southwest of England, under the command of Alfred the Great, kept the invaders out of the kingdom with fortresses and fortifications arranged in a circular chain. At the same time, I personally designed and set up a new type of fast fleet, which has extremely high side (to prevent pirates from boarding) and fast draught (to deal with Viking long ships) to fight against the Vikings at sea.

Alfred's greatest is his diplomatic strategy. In 886, he signed a peace agreement with Danish military leader Guterres in order to show peaceful and friendly exchanges with his new neighbors. According to the agreement, the Danes formally controlled the northern and eastern parts of England, from the mouth of the Thames to the Irish Sea, which is a fertile land with an area of 25,000 square miles. This is the famous "Danish law enforcement place" in history. But in fact, the British didn't get much hurt. They not only maintained the peace between the west and the south, but also Alfred the Great persuaded Guterres to accept the baptism of Christianity and become his godfather. Guterres vowed to be loyal to the godfather for the rest of his life. Although Danes were allowed to keep their worship of Odin and Saul, they were inevitably assimilated by the powerful cultural forces of Christianity in the process of integrating into the local area, and then gradually became obedient subjects of England. At the same time, in the 9th century, the Norwegians who fought in the east also controlled most of Ireland, and established Dublin (now the capital of Ireland) and a series of towns.

In 885, the Danes marched into the Seine and besieged Paris. Although they failed to retreat from Paris in the end, they still occupied a large number of coastal colonies and settled down. Finally, they forced King Charles III of France to make a covenant with Rollo, the leader of the Vikings in 9 1 1, and made him a duke, and put the estuary of the Seine under his rule and named it Rollo. Later, a large number of vikings came here to settle down and helped the vikings to re-enter slowly. By 1 1 century, Normandy had completely belonged to France and became a big feudal territory of France. In 907, the Swedes attacked Russia, and then attacked Constantinople from the sea, sweeping all the fortresses on the Byzantine coastline. The Byzantine Empire was forced to pay tribute to them and signed a commercial agreement to give Russians (actually Swedes who settled in Russia) trade privileges.

After that, the settled Vikings gradually began to be assimilated by the Christian world. Although their spirit is still there, their wildness has faded a lot, and the era of piracy in Europe has finally become silent. Around 1000, Viking forces no longer had such a huge threat and uncontrollable wildness. Christianity has replaced the traditional worship of Odin in Scandinavia and has been widely spread. Those vikings became more and more "European" in manners and customs. Two centuries of immigration activities and the basic unification of national politics have alleviated the survival pressure of northern Europe to some extent, and fewer and fewer young people are eager to engage in overseas colonial adventures. 10 16, the Danish pirate leader Canut forcibly seized the throne of England and successfully ruled England for nearly 20 years (101035). The Vikings' military achievements reached the peak, and then inevitably began to go down the waves.

1042, the Canut Empire collapsed and England regained its independence. Witenagemot made Edward the Confessor, the son of the late King Ethel Ledel, king (1042- 1066). Edward died childless, so Vitnajimott put Edward's brother-in-law harold godwineson on the throne. Just as Harold was delighted, Norwegian King harald Haraldi, who hoped to get ancestral glory in Skyworth Beijing, began to invade Yorkshire, and William, Duke of Normandy, landed in Pevense again, and both joined the battle for the throne. Edward's cousin William sided with Edward in the dispute with his father-in-law, Earl Godwinson. In return, Edward promised to inherit the British throne. However, Earl Harold, Godwinson's son, was appointed as the heir before Edward died. William felt cheated and went to war.

1066 10 months, just beat back the Norwegians, and King Harold's army hasn't had time to catch his breath. In fact, this guy lost again and again in the battle with the ruthless king, but he killed harald Haraldi in a raid, and as a result, he took the opportunity to beat back the Norwegians who lost their leaders. In the southeast corner of England, Hastings fought a decisive battle with the Normandy army. As a result, King Harold and many British nobles died in battle. The Battle of Justin laid the foundation for William, Duke of Normandy, to conquer England. Later, William was officially named "William the Conqueror".

1066 is the year when Norwegian king harald Haraldi died in battle. As the last real Viking leader who fought all his life with an insatiable and endless spirit of exploration, his death marked the end of the Viking era of crazy aggression and expansion in Europe. The glory of Viking heroes is gone forever, but it can never be erased! (Although William the Conqueror was also a descendant of the Vikings, Normandy was already French at this time, and he was considered a Norman. )