The Vikings and their age – a good deal more than plunder

Summary

ABSTRACT. As of the 8^th century, Scandinavian peoples started to create a system of communication linking the Channel, Iceland and the entire Baltic, as well as the Russian rivers towards the Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire. Becoming known as Vikings, they constructed ships capable of navigating the Nordic archipelagos and over the high seas. First as raiders and traders, and then as discoverers and colonizers of far-flung lands, they created kingdoms to control the maritime sea-routes. By their mastery of the sea, they laid the foundations of the Christian kingdoms of northern Europe.

RÉSUMÉ. A partir du VIII^e siècle les peuples Scandinaves ont commencé à créer un système de communication reliant la Manche, l'Islande, la Baltique et les fleuves Russes vers le califat et l'empire byzantin. Appelés Vikings, ils ont construit des navires capables de naviguer aussi bien entre les archipels Nordiques qu'en haute mer. D'abord pillards et commerçants, ils deviennent découvreurs et colons de terres lointaines, et créent des royaumes contrôlant les routes maritimes. Par leur maîtrise de la mer, ils ont posé les fondations des royaumes Chrétiens de l'Europe du Nord.

THE SCANDINAVIAN VIKING AGE EXPERIENCE

In the 8^th century AD, Scandinavians began expanding from their frosty homelands in a series of seaborne enterprises. Not only did they penetrate the largely unpopulated expanses of northern Eurasia and explore equally vast stretches of the North Atlantic, but they also forced their way through the established world. Their ships even took them to the Caspian, the Black and the Mediterranean Seas. The agents of this eruption are remembered as Vikings. The word's etymology is disputed, but its meaning is clear – as Adam of Bremen has it: pyratae, quos illi Wichingos appellant.

Their memory may be stained by records of aggressiveness, but even so they remain admired in wide circles. The wonderfully well-balanced Viking ship is their symbol, and the mental toughness of its crew is legendary. Culturally their epoch saw the transformation of runic scripture into functional literacy, and the development of skaldic poetry into complex sophistication. All this may explain why the Vikings have lent their name to the entire period from around 750 up to 1050 AD in what is now northern Europe. But why did they turn to the sea?