Viking Age
Scandinavian raiding period
The Viking Age is the period of Scandinavian expansion from roughly 793 to 1066 CE, marked by Norse seafaring, raids, trade, and settlement across Europe and beyond.
It conventionally begins with the raid on Lindisfarne monastery and ends with the Norman Conquest of England.
The Viking Age transformed medieval European politics and culture.
Chief Norse deity
- ThorGermanic thunder deity
- FreyjaNorse love goddess
- LokiNorse god of deception
- ValhallaHall for fallen warriors
Asgard · Midgard · Ragnarok · Jotunheim · Norns · Fenrir · Bifrost · Heimdall
Extended heroic narratives
- runesOld Germanic script
- skaldNorse heroic poet
- runestonesRunic-inscribed memorial stones
- thingUnspecified entity or matter
Goods seized violently
- pillageViolent theft of goods
- lootStolen valuables
- maraudRaid for spoils
- incursionHostile territorial penetration
invasion · foray · assault · siege · conquest · spoils · booty · tribute
Norse term for America
- GreenlandLargest island on Earth
- IcelandNordic island republic
- Faroe IslandsAutonomous Danish North Atlantic archipelago
- L'Anse aux MeadowsViking site in Newfoundland
Newfoundland · North Atlantic · Constantinople · colonization · waystone · sunstone · settlement
Hull's structural base
- oarsBladed poles for boats
- sailShip's wind-catching fabric
- dragonheadMint-family flowering herb
- mastVessel's sail support
rudder · strakes · tar · shipwright · prow · stern · gunwale · rigging
Family farm and dwelling
- longhouseElongated communal dwelling structure
- mead hallAnglo-Saxon communal drinking building
- farmsteadFarm with residence
- agricultureCultivation of land, livestock
livestock · smithy · weaving · pottery · trade · market town · Dublin · chieftain
Post-Roman European decline
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- CharlemagneEarly medieval Western unifier
- Alfred the GreatNinth-century Wessex monarch
- CarolingianFrankish royal dynasty
Byzantine · Frankish · Saxons · Normans · Christianization · Merovingian · monasteries · tithing
Leif Erikson
- Erik the RedNorse Greenland colonizer
- Harald Hardrada
- Snorri Sturluson
Odin
Chief Norse deity
Valhalla · Asgard · Midgard · Ragnarok · Jotunheim · Norns · Fenrir · Bifrost · Heimdall · Mjolnir
sagas
Extended heroic narratives
- runesOld Germanic script
- skaldNorse heroic poet
- runestonesRunic-inscribed memorial stones
plunder
Goods seized violently
incursion · invasion · foray · assault · siege · conquest · spoils · booty · tribute · war band
Vinland
Norse term for America
- GreenlandLargest island on Earth
- IcelandNordic island republic
- Faroe IslandsAutonomous Danish North Atlantic archipelago
L'Anse aux Meadows · Newfoundland · North Atlantic · Constantinople · colonization · waystone · sunstone · settlement
keel
Hull's structural base
- oarsBladed poles for boats
- sailShip's wind-catching fabric
- dragonheadMint-family flowering herb
mast · rudder · strakes · tar · shipwright · prow · stern · gunwale · rigging · knarr
homestead
Family farm and dwelling
- longhouseElongated communal dwelling structure
- mead hallAnglo-Saxon communal drinking building
- farmsteadFarm with residence
agriculture · livestock · smithy · weaving · pottery · trade · market town · Dublin · chieftain · clan
Dark Ages
Post-Roman European decline
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- CharlemagneEarly medieval Western unifier
- Alfred the GreatNinth-century Wessex monarch
Carolingian · Byzantine · Frankish · Saxons · Normans · Christianization · Merovingian · monasteries · tithing · shires
- Nordic Historylongships, runestones, Great Northern War, sagas, Norse mythology
- Danish HistoryGerman occupation, Nazi occupation, Copenhagen, Canute, constitutional monarchy
- Norse Prehistoryrunestones, rune stones, longships, burial mounds, Norse gods
- Norse StudiesOld Norse, sagas, Icelandic sagas, kennings, Elder Futhark
- historyancient civilizations, past events, historian, epochs, era
- European HistoryFrench Revolution, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Industrial Revolution
Viking AgeDigital Age
Post-internet historical period
Paleolithic · Bronze Age · Stone Age · Industrial Age · Neolithic