The Vikings

First Viking Attack on England

793

In 793 came the first recorded Viking raid, where 'on the Ides of June the harrying of the heathen destroyed God's church on Lindisfarne, bringing ruin and slaughter' (The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

Raids in Ireland and Scotland

795

Viking raids begin in Ireland
and Scotland.

Raids France

799

Viking raids begin in France.

Vikings to Russia

800

Vikings from Sweden
begin to visitRussia.

The history of Ireland

Period: 800 to 1169

The history of Ireland 800–1169 covers the period in the history of Ireland from the first Viking raids to the Norman invasion. The first two centuries of this period are characterised by Viking raids and the subsequent Norse settlements along the coast. Viking ports were established at Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Limerick, which became the first large towns in Ireland.

The most significant raid

841

The first significant Viking raid came in May of 841 CE, a year after Louis I's death, when the Viking chief Asgeir sacked and burned Rouen and looted the Monastery of Fontenelle and the Abbey of Saint-Denis. The amount of plunder and the number of captives taken was significant.

The Vikings settled in Dublin

841

The Vikings settled in Dublin from 841 AD onwards. During their reign Dublin became the most important town in Ireland as well as a hub for the western Viking expansion and trade. It is in fact one of the best known Viking settlements. Dublin appears to have been founded twice by the Vikings.

Vikings raids Sevilla-Cordoba

Sep 25, 844

The Vikings pillaged the city and the surrounding areas. Emir Abd ar-Rahman II of Córdoba mobilized and sent a large force against the Vikings under the command of the hajib (chief-minister) Isa ibn Shuhayd. After a series of indecisive engagements, the Muslim army defeated the Vikings on either 11 or 17 November. Seville was retaken, and the remnants of the Vikings fled Spain.

Alfred 'The Great'

849

Born at Wantage, Berkshire, in 849, Alfred was the fifth son of Aethelwulf, king of the West Saxons. At their father's behest and by mutual agreement, Alfred's elder brothers succeeded to the kingship in turn, rather than endanger the kingdom by passing it to under-age children. Since the 790s, the Vikings had been using fast mobile armies, numbering thousands of men embarked in shallow-draught longships, to raid the coasts and inland waters of England for plunder.

Vikings rach Iceland

860

Vikings from Norway reach Iceland.
Swedish Vikings reach
Constantinople (Istanbul)
in modern Turkey

Great Heathen Army

Period: 865 to 869

The name Great Heathen Army is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 865. ... In 869, the Great Army returned to East Anglia, conquering it and killing its king. The army moved to winter quarters in Thetford. In 871, the Vikings moved on to Wessex, where Alfred the Great paid them to leave.

Vikings defeated in England

878

Vikings are defeated in England by King
Alfred the Great. Atreaty between Alfred
and the Viking leader gives control
of an area of eastern England known as
the Danelaw to the Vikings
in which to settle.

The siege of Paris

Period: Nov 25, 885 to 886

The siege of Paris of 885–886 was part of a Viking raid on the Seine, in the Kingdom of the West Franks. The siege was the most important event of the reign of Charles the Fat, and a turning point in the fortunes of the Carolingian dynasty and the history of France.

Charles III

945

Finally the French king Charles III the Simple ceded the territory around Rouen and the mouth of the Seine River to Rollo, the chief of the largest band of Vikings, in the Treaty of St. Clair-sur-Epte (911). The king of France makes a treaty
with invading Vikings led by Rollo.
The Vikings are granteda tractof land which
later becomes known as Normandy

Erik the Red discovers Greenland

982

When Erik—who had been nicknamed “Erik the Red” during his youth because of his red hair—was similarly exiled from Iceland about 980, he decided to explore land to the west (Greenland). ... He named the country Greenland in the belief that a good name would attract settlers.

Leif Erikson

1000

Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red,
sails from Greenland and explores
the coast of North America,
landing in several places

King Canute

1016

King Canute (or Cnut), a Danish Viking,
becomes king of England
(and later of Denmark and Norway). As a Danish prince, Cnut won the throne of England in 1016 in the wake of centuries of Viking activity in northwestern Europe. His later accession to the Danish throne in 1018 brought the crowns of England and Denmark together.

The great age of Vikings

1066

The great age of Viking power draws to an end with the defeat of Harald Hardrada’s invasion attempt on England. The victor, England’s King Harold II, is later defeated at the Battle of Hastings.