History Flashcards
(21 cards)
When did the Viking Age begin?
Officially, 793 with the raid on Lindisfarne
When were the first Viking raids?
End of C8th. 793 (Lindisfarne) was the first fully recorded but there are references to 2 earlier ones off Wessex & Mercia
How do we know about the raid on Lindisfarne?
It is described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the contemporary letters of Alcuin, as well as many later sources
Which were the second and third monasteries to be raided?
Jarrow and Monkwearmouth both in Northumbria
Where in the British Isles did Vikings first settle and when?
Scottish Islands and Isle of Man, end of 8th Century
When did the Vikings start raiding Ireland?
In 795, just 2 years after the Lindisfarne raid
When did the Vikings start settling Ireland?
841, almost 50 years after the first raids
When did the Vikings discover Iceland?
860, with the first farmers settling c870
When and by whom was Iceland founded as a republic?
930, by about 10,000 Vikings
How do we know about the foundation of Iceland?
The Landnámabók (Book of Settlements) and the Íslendingasögur (Saga of the Icelanders)
When did the Vikings capture York?
867
When did the Saxon’s take back the Kingdom of York?
926, led by Æthelstan
When did the Vikings invade/create Normandy?
911, under King Rollo
How was Normandy founded
By a treaty between Frankish leader Charles the Simple and the invading Danish leader Rollo
When did the Vikings start to become Christian?
Around 930
When and who first settled Greenland
Erik the Red in 982
When was Leif Eriksson, voyage from Greenland to Vinland (Newfoundland)
1002, though the land had been discovered about 15 years before
How do we know about the settling of Greenland and Vinland?
North Atlantic Sagas
What was the process of Greenland becoming settled by Vikings?
After Erik the Red began farming in 982/3, he returned c4 years later in 986 with 24 boatloads of Vikings to settle.
What limited Viking expansion on Greenland?
Lack of wood; Viking population maxed at c5000, about a tenth of it’s current population
Who was the first Viking king of England?
Canute, in 1016
