Vikings Essay Research Paper Vikings The vikings — страница 2

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and culture. The Swedish vikings gave up their viking culture and identity to become part of the Slavic culture. The Swedish vikings displayed their excellent seamanship to reach Russia and their fighting prowess by keeping the natives in check. The reason they could not form a strong state was they let themselves be absorbed into Slavic culture so the viking presence ended in Russia with there culture being forgotten. The Norwegians became starved for land in Scandinavia so they began to settle the Shetlands and Orkneys of the British Isles. These settlements were not the prime target of the Norwegians, Ireland was what they really coveted. Vast numbers of monasteries and churches fell and as the century pressed on, the Norwegian vikings attacked in ever increasing strength.

Ireland had been christian for three centuries before the viking invasion. The vikings quickly established a settlement named Dublin and in 853 two sons of a minor Norwegian ruler- Olaf and Ivar- established a norse kingdom in Ireland that lasted more than two centuries. The vikings controlled the harbours of Ireland but they had little success in conquering all of inland Ireland. This was due to the fact that the Irish political system was based upon numerous tuaths which were small areas ruled by kings of local clans. Conquering many of the small kingdoms was relatively easy, but consolidating their domains was another matter. Because the vikings lacked the manpower to occupy every tuath they stuck to their coastal strongholds. As time passed by the Irish ignored their

traditional tribal customs and in order to purge the vikings from their land they developed a continental unity. In the year on 1014 the first high king of Ireland, Brian Boru, was able to lead the newly united tribes and defeat the vikings in a climatic battle at Clontarf. The consequence of the battle at Clontarf was the end of viking domination in Ireland. The one significant reason the vikings couldn’t conquer Ireland was that they didn’t have enough people to successfully occupy Ireland. This is another example of the vikngs inability to establish a strong state. In the year 834 the Danish vikings appeared in great numbers. The Dane’s concentrated their efforts on both shores of the english channel. The Dane’s sailed up the Loireriver and then the Seine and attacked

many places along the way. The Frankish kings could not mount an effective defense against the vikings because they were busy defending their chaotic frontiers. The Franks lacked the proper number of soldiers patrol and defend the coasts and rivers so the vikings roamed virtually at will. In the ninth century instead of returning home for the winter which the Danish vikings usually did since they pillaged only seasonally. The Danish vikings decided to settle in some of France’s rivers. Eventually the Danish vikings moved onto the very advanced civilization of the Moors in 844. The Moors held all but a few areas of Spain and Portugal. After many engagements with the Moors the vikings sailed up the Guadalquivir and occupied Seville. In Seville the vikings slaughtered everyone,

even going as far as killing a coterie of aged men who sought refuge in a mosque. This sacrilege outraged the Moors and inspired them to fight the vikings. The vikings losses were great and those left living quickly adopted the Islamic religion of the Moors. Spain would see the vikings once more in 859 when a viking chieftain named Hasteinn and his co-leader Bjorn took 62 ships on a pillage quest. The fleet followed the shores of the Bay of Biscay and attacked the Moorish city of Algeciras. After they sacked the city they moved on to North Africa and marauded as they went. They pirated eastern Spain, the Balearics and southern France. These vikings then discovered the city of Luna and overran it and decided to settle within the city. A prosperous trade market was established but

this all came to an end when nature ruined Luna. Gradually the harbour silted which destroyed the trade market and the swamp that was created from the marshy remains attracted mosquitos. The mosquitos brought malaria and this forced Hasteinn to flee with his fleet. The vikings wanted to head home but the only route home passed through the Strait of Gibraltar which was heavily patrolled by the Moors who had a score to settle with these vikings. Since the vikings could not think of another option they fled through the Moors and took heavy losses but the surviving fleet had gained great wealth and glory. These Danish vikings again demonstrated their seamanship and their extensive fighting skills but this time it was a fluke of nature that prevented them from establishing a strong