Let's delve deeper into the significant military achievements of the Vikings, particularly in the region that felt their impact most profoundly: the British Isles.
Viking incursions into England commenced in the late 8th century, and by 792, English monarchs governing coastal regions were mustering defensive forces to counter what they termed "seagoing pagans."
The raid that truly established the Vikings as a formidable presence, rather than just a bothersome pirate menace, was their assault on the Monastery of St. Cuthbert at Lindisfarne in 793. The 9th-century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle vividly conveys the lasting impact of this attack on the English psyche:
"In this year, dire omens appeared over Northumbria, greatly frightening the people. These omens included enormous whirlwinds, lightning flashes, and fiery dragons seen flying in the sky. Shortly after these signs, a severe famine struck, and a little later in the same year, on 8 June, heathen men ruthlessly despoiled God's church on Lindisfarne, committing plunder and slaughter."
While conflicts among rival powers were commonplace in England and across Europe during this era, what set this attack apart and scandalized the English and other Christian Europeans was its deliberate targeting of a monastery—an act considered beyond the pale for any Christian ruler. To the English and their Christian counterparts, this was not a routine act of aggression in the ebb and flow of power struggles; this was malevolent. It marked the beginning of the Vikings' reputation in Christian Europe as demonic barbarians.
Subsequently, Viking raids on England escalated in frequency, with attacks occurring nearly every year by 835. In 851, the Vikings spent their first winter in England. By 865, they began demanding tribute, known as the "Danegeld." Although the English paid the Danegeld in hopes of securing peace, the Vikings continued their raids unabated.
In 865, a so-called "great heathen army" entered England, possibly numbering two or three thousand soldiers. After wintering in East Anglia, in 866, this "army" seized York, the capital of the northern English kingdom of Northumbria. They installed a puppet king in Northumbria, plundered monasteries, and assumed direct control over specific territories, including some that had previously belonged to the Church.
This force then proceeded to engage with other English kingdoms, either through conquest or peace settlements, which obliged the local population to provide the Vikings with food, accommodations, and other provisions.
In 874, the “great heathen army” divided in two. Some, under the leadership of Halfdan, consolidated their control of Northumbria, and began working the land in 876. The other part of the army, led by Guthrum, Oscetel, and Anwend, turned their sights toward Wessex, the only English kingdom that remained under English rule. The Vikings conquered most of the realm, sending its king, Alfred the Great, fleeing into the marshes for refuge. But Alfred was able to amass an English army to move against the Vikings in 878, and won a decisive victory over them. The Vikings were forced to leave Wessex, and Guthrum was baptized as part of the bargain. Members of this band of the army settled and began working the land in Mercia in 877 and East Anglia in 880.
In the 890s, other bands of Vikings came up from the Continent and attempted to settle in Wessex, but King Alfred repelled them all. Alfred’s successors proved to be as capable as he was, and during the early tenth century, they gradually extended their domain to encompass the rest of England. After this, control alternated between them and Vikings until 954, when rule passed back to the English.
Throughout much of the ninth and tenth centuries, much of England was known as the “Danelaw” – that is, the area under the law of the “Danes.”(The English tended to refer to all Scandinavians as “Danes.”) Although the Danelaw was never a unified political unit, its formidable influence upon the culture and customs of the inhabitants of those regions lived on for many centuries thereafter.
After a period spent concentrating on other regions, the Vikings returned to England in the late tenth century. In the 980s, raiding recommenced, this time under the true kings who had emerged during the intervening period – figures such as Norway’s Olaf Tryggvason and Denmark’s Svein Forkbeard, who managed to amass great wealth through tribute. They raided until 1013, when Svein set out to conquer the entirety of England. He succeeded, but he died the following year. In the ensuing struggle over succession, rule returned to the English.
However, Svein’s son Cnut the Great managed to re-conquer all of England in 1016. In 1027, the king of Scotland submitted to him, too. Cnut became king of Norway as well in 1028, after defeating its king, Olaf Haraldsson. When Cnut died in 1035, his empire broke up, and England returned to English rule.
In 1066, the Norwegian King Harald Hardruler (Harðráði) attempted to retake England at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. This was the last major Viking attack on England, and Harald’s forces were thoroughly defeated by those of the English King Harold.
However, this battle was decisive for the history of England in another way: the English army didn’t have time to recover its strength before having to face another invader, Duke William of Normandy. At the Battle of Hastings, the forces of William (thereafter known as “the Conqueror”) were victorious, and King Harold died in battle. Norman rule was to shape England’s subsequent character even more than Viking rule had.
The first recorded Viking raid in Scotland occurred on Iona in 795, but there were undoubtedly earlier raids in the Northern Isles of Scotland, which lie between Iona and Norway on the period sea route, of which we don’t have records. In the ninth century, the Norse seem to have conquered lots of already-thriving settlements in Scotland and its islands, subjugating the local populations.
Viking raids on Ireland began in the 790s, but were isolated events at first. In the 830s, they became more frequent and widespread. In the 840s, the first Viking settlements were established, including the new town of Dubh-Linn (“Black Pool”) by the side of the river Liffey (modern-day Dublin). It became the capital of a new Norse kingdom, and an internationally important center of trade.
In the Battle of Tara in 980, the Vikings were defeated by the Irish, and were compelled from that time forward to pay tribute to the Irish in order to remain in Ireland. But the Viking trading towns generated a great deal of wealth, so the Irish put up with the Viking presence in their midst.