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Map showing area of Scandinavian settlement in the eighth (dark red), ninth (red), tenth (orange) centuries. Yellow denotes areas conquered by the Normans in the 11th century, partly descendants of the Vikings. Green denotes areas subjected to Viking raids.

Viking expansion is the process by which Norse explorers, traders and warriors, the latter known in modern scholarship as Vikings, sailed most of the North Atlantic, reaching south to North Africa and east to Russia, Constantinople and the Middle East as looters, traders, colonists and mercenaries. Vikings under Leif Erikson, the heir to Erik the Red, reached North America and set up a short-lived settlement in present-day L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, Canada. Longer lasting and more established settlements were formed in Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Great Britain, Ireland and Normandy.

It is debated whether the term Viking represented all Norse settlers or just those who raided.[1]


Motivation for expansionEdit

There is much debate among historians about what drove the Viking expansion. One widely held idea is that it was a quest for retaliation against continental Europeans for their previous invasions of Viking homelands, such as Charlemagne's campaign to force Scandinavian pagans to convert to Christianity by killing any who refused to become baptized.[2][3][4][5][6] The historian Rudolf Simek has observed, "It is not a coincidence if the early Viking activity occurred during the reign of Charlemagne."[7][8] Those who favor this explanation point out that the penetration of Christianity into Scandinavia caused serious conflict and divided Norway for almost a century.[9] However, the first target of Viking raids was not the Frankish Kingdom, but Christian monasteries in England. According to the historian Peter Sawyer, these were raided because they were centers of wealth and their farms well-stocked, not because of any religious reasons.[10]

Guest from Overseas. Nicholas Roerich. 1901


Alternatively, some scholars propose that the Viking expansion was driven by a youth bulge effect: since the eldest son of a family customarily inherited the family's entire estate, younger sons had to seek their fortune by emigrating or engaging in raids. Peter Sawyer suggests that most Vikings emigrated due the attractiveness of owning more land rather than the necessity of having it.[12]


An idea that avoids these shortcomings is that the Scandinavians might have practiced selective procreation leading to a shortage of women, and that the Vikings' main motive for emigration was to acquire wives, although this would not explain why the Vikings chose to settle in other countries rather than bringing the women back with them to Scandinavia.[13]

It is also possible that a decline in the profitability of old trade routes drove the Vikings to seek out new, more profitable ones. Trade between western Europe and the rest of Eurasia may have suffered after the Roman Empire lost its western provinces in the 5th century, and the expansion of Islam in the 7th century may have reduced trade opportunities within western Europe by redirecting resources along the Silk Road.[citation needed] Trade in the Mediterranean was at its lowest level in history when the Vikings began their expansion.[citation needed] The Viking expansion opened new trade routes in Arab and Frankish lands, and took control of trade markets previously dominated by the Frisians after the Franks destroyed the Frisian fleet.[citation needed]

Settlement demographicsEdit

The Ravager
John Charles Dollman, 1909

Viking settlements in Ireland and Great Britain are thought to have been primarily male enterprises, however some graves show nearly equal male/female distribution. Disagreement is partly due to method of classification; previous archaeology often guessed biological sex from burial artifacts, whereas modern archaeology may use osteology to find biological sex, and isotope analysis to find origin (DNA sampling is usually not possible).[14][15] The males buried during that period in a cemetery on the Isle of Man had mainly names of Norse origin, while the females there had names of indigenous origin. Irish and British women are mentioned in old texts on the founding of Iceland, indicating that the Viking explorers were accompanied there by women from the British Isles who either came along voluntarily or were taken along by force. Genetic studies of the population in the Western Isles and Isle of Skye also show that Viking settlements were established mainly by male Vikings who mated with women from the local populations of those places.


This may be because areas like the Shetland Islands, being closer to Scandinavia, were more suitable targets for family migrations, while frontier settlements further north and west were more suitable for groups of unattached male colonizers.[17]

Britain and IrelandEdit


Map of England in 878, depicting the Danelaw territory
King Canute's territories 1014–1035. (Note that the Norwegian lands of Jemtland, Herjedalen, Idre and Særna are not included in this map).

During the reign of King Beorhtric of Wessex (786–802) three ships of "Northmen" landed at Portland Bay in Dorset. The local reeve mistook the Vikings for merchants and directed them to the nearby royal estate, but the visitors killed him and his men.[18] The earliest recorded planned Viking raid, on 6 January 793,[19] targeted the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne, off the north-east coast of Northumbria. According to the 12th-century Anglo-Norman chronicler Symeon of Durham, the raiders killed the resident monks or threw them into the sea to drown or carried them away as slaves—along with some of the church treasures.[20] In 875, after enduring eight decades of repeated Viking raids, the monks fled Lindisfarne, carrying the relics of Saint Cuthbert with them.[21]

In 794, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a small Viking fleet attacked a rich monastery at Jarrow. The Vikings met with stronger resistance than they had expected: their leaders were killed. The raiders escaped, only to have their ships beached at Tynemouth and the crews killed by locals.[22][23] This represented one of the last raids on England for about 40 years. The Vikings focused instead on Ireland and Scotland.

In 865 a group of hitherto uncoordinated bands of predominantly Danish Vikings joined together to form a large army and landed in East Anglia. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle described this force as the mycel hæþen here (Great Heathen Army) and went onto say that it was led by Ivar the Boneless and Halfdan Ragnarsson.[24][25][26][27] The army crossed the Midlands into Northumbria and captured York (Jorvik). In 871 the Great Heathen army was reinforced by what was known as the Great Summer Army, one of its leaders was Guthrum. In 875 the Great Heathen Army split into two bands, with Guthrum leading one back to Wessex, and Halfdan taking his followers north.[28][29] Then in 876, Halfdan shared out Northumbrian land amongst his men, who "ploughed the land and supported themselves"; this land was part of what became known as the Danelaw. [a][29]

Most of the English kingdoms, being in turmoil, could not stand against the Vikings, but King Alfred of Wessex defeated Guthrum's army at the Battle of Edington in 878. There followed the Treaty of Wedmore the same year and the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum in 886. These treaties formalised the boundaries of the English kingdoms and the Viking Danelaw territory, with provisions for peaceful relations between the English and the Vikings. Despite these treaties, conflict continued on and off. However, Alfred and his successors eventually drove back the Viking frontier and retook York.[33]

A new wave of Vikings appeared in England in 947, when Erik Bloodaxe captured York.[34] The Viking presence continued through the reign of the Danish prince Cnut the Great (reigned as King of England: 1016–1035), after which a series of inheritance arguments weakened the hold on power of Cnut's heirs.

When King Edward the Confessor died in 1066, the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada challenged his successor as King of England, Harold Godwinson. Hardrada was killed, and his Norwegian army defeated, by Harold Godwinson on 25 September 1066 at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.[35] Harold Godwinson himself died when William the Conqueror defeated the English army at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066. William was crowned king of England on 25 December 1066, however it was several years before he was able to bring the kingdom under his complete control.[36] In 1070 the Danish king Sweyn Estridsson sailed up the Humber with an army in support of Edgar the Ætheling, the last surviving male member of the English royal family. However, after capturing York, Sweyn accepted a payment from William to desert Edgar.[36][37] Five years later one of Sweyn's sons set sail for England to support another English rebellion, but it had been crushed before the expedition arrived, so they settled for plundering the city of York and the surrounding area before returning home.[36]

In 1085 Sweyn's son, now Canute IV of Denmark planned a major invasion against England but the assembled fleet never sailed. No further serious Danish invasions on England occurred after this.[36] Although, some raiding occurred during the troubles of Stephen's reign, when King Eystein II of Norway took advantage of the civil war to plunder the east coast of England, sacking Hartlepool and Whitby, as well as raiding the Yorkshire coast. However, the intention was to raid not to conquer, and the conclusion of these raids, marked the end of the English Viking age.[38][39]






Nevertheless, following the successful Viking alliance with Britanny in 865, the Britons made their peace with the Danes, and a Viking/Welsh alliance in 878 defeated an Anglo-Saxon army from Mercia. Although the Welsh had been longtime enemies of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, their relationship with the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex was somewhat warmer.[41] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 893, for example, refers to Vikings being pursued by a combined force of West Saxons and north Welsh along the River Severn.[42] The combined Anglo-Saxon and Welsh army eventually overtook the Vikings before defeating them at the Battle of Buttington.[43]

The city of Swansea was founded by Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, who by 1013 was King of the Danes, Anglo-Saxons and Norwegians. The English name for the town derives from Old Norse: Sveinsey, meaning either "Sweyn's island" or "Sweyn's inlet" (see Swansea). The neighboring Gower Peninsula has some place names of Norse origin. For example, Worm's Head is from Old Norse: ormr, the word for snake or dragon, as the Vikings believed that the serpent-shaped island was a sleeping dragon. Some twenty miles (32 kilometres) west of Cardiff on the Vale of Glamorgan coast is the semi-flooded island of Tusker Rock, which takes its name from Tuska, the Viking who established a settlement in the area.



The Cornish were subjugated by King Æthelstan, of England, in 936 and the border finally set at the River Tamar. However, the Cornish remained semi-autonomous until their annexation into England after the Norman Conquest.[45]


Map showing areas of Norse control in Ireland in the 10th Century




In 838, a small Viking fleet entered the River Liffey in eastern Ireland, probably led by the chieftain Saxolb (Soxulfr) who was killed later that year.[46] The Vikings set up a base, which the Irish called longphorts. This longphort would eventually become Dublin. After this interaction, the Irish experienced Viking forces for about 40 years. The Vikings also established longphorts in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, and Wexford. The Vikings were driven out of Ireland for a short period in 902, but returned to Waterford in 914 to found what would become Ireland's first city. The other longphorts were soon re-occupied and developed into cities and towns.


European mainlandEdit

Statue of Rollo, Duke of Normandy


The name of Normandy itself denotes the Viking origin. After their settlement when it became known as "Northmannia" or Land of The Norsemen.



The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local Gallo-Romance languages and intermarried with the area's original inhabitants. They became the Normans – a Norman French-speaking mixture of Scandinavians and indigenous Franks and Gauls. The language of Normandy heavily reflected the Danish influence, as many words (especially ones pertaining to seafaring) were borrowed from Old Norse[47] or Old Danish.[48] More than the language itself, the Norman toponymy retains a strong Nordic influence. Nevertheless, only a few archaeological traces have been found: swords dredged out of the Seine river between its estuary and Rouen, the tomb of a female Viking at Pîtres, the two Thor's hammers at Saint-Pierre-de-Varengeville[49] and more recently the horde of Viking coins at Saint-Pierre-des-Fleurs.[50]

Rollo's descendant William, Duke of Normandy (the Conqueror) became King of England after he defeated Harold Godwinson and his army at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066. As king of England, he retained the fiefdom of Normandy for himself and his descendants. The kings of England made claim to Normandy, as well as their other possessions in France, which led to various disputes with the French. This culminated in the French confiscation of Gascony that precipitated what became known as the Hundred Years' War, in 1337.[51]

West Francia and Middle FranciaEdit









Iberian PeninsulaEdit


Compared with the rest of Western Europe, the Iberian Peninsula seems to have been little affected by Viking activity, either in the Christian north or the Muslim south.[54] In some of their raids on Spain, the Vikings were crushed either by the Kingdom of Asturias or the Emirate armies.[55]

Our knowledge of Vikings in Iberia is mainly based on written accounts, many of which are much later than the events they purport to describe, and often also ambiguous about the origins or ethnicity of the raiders they mention.[56] A little possible archaeological evidence has come to light,[57] but research in this area is ongoing.[58] Viking activity in the Iberian peninsula seems to have begun around the mid-ninth century as an extension of their raids on and establishment of bases in Frankia in the earlier ninth century, but although Vikings may have over-wintered there, there is as yet no evidence for trading or settlement.[59]

The most prominent and probably most significant event was a raid in 844, when Vikings entered the Garonne and attacked Galicia and Asturias. When the Vikings attacked A Coruña they were met by the army of King Ramiro I and were heavily defeated. Many of the Vikings' casualties were caused by the Galicians' ballistas – powerful torsion-powered projectile weapons that looked rather like giant crossbows.[60] 70 of the Vikings' longships were captured on the beach and burned.[60]

They then proceeded south, raiding Lisbon and Seville. This Viking raid on Seville seems to have constituted a significant attack.[61]

859–861 saw another spate of Viking raids, apparently by a single group. Despite some elaborate tales in late sources, little is known for sure about these attacks. After unsuccessful raids on both northern Iberia and al-Andalus, the Vikings seem also to have raided other Mediterranean targets—possibly but not certainly including Italy, Alexandria and Constantinople−and perhaps over-wintering in Francia.[62]

Evidence for Viking activity in Iberia vanishes after the 860s, until the 960s-70s, when a range of sources including Dudo of Saint-Quentin, Ibn Ḥayyān, and Ibn Idhārī, along with a number of charters from Christian Iberia, while individually unreliable, together afford convincing evidence for Viking raids on Iberia in the 960s and 970s.[63]

Tenth- or eleventh-century fragments of mouse bone found in Madeira, along with mitocondrial DNA of Madeiran mice, suggests that Vikings also came to Madeira (bringing mice with them), long before the island was colonised by Portugal.[64]

Quite extensive evidence for minor Viking raids in Iberia continues for the early eleventh century in later narratives (including some Icelandic sagas) and in northern Iberian charters. As the Viking Age drew to a close, Scandinavians and Normans continued to have opportunities to visit and raid Iberia while on their way to the Holy Land for pilgrimage or crusade, or in connection with Norman conquests in the Mediterranean. Key examples in the saga literature are Sigurðr Jórsalafari (king of Norway 1103-1130) and Røgnvaldr kali Kolsson (d. 1158).[65]

Italy and SicilyEdit

Around 860, Ermentarius of Noirmoutier and the Annals of St-Bertin provide contemporary evidence for Vikings based in Frankia proceeding to Iberia and thence to Italy.[66]

Three or four eleventh-century Swedish Runestones mention Italy, memorialising warriors who died in 'Langbarðaland', the Old Norse name for southern Italy (Langobardia Minor). It seems clear that rather than being Normans, these men were Varangian mercenaries fighting for Byzantium.[67] Varangians may first have been deployed as mercenaries in Italy against the Arabs as early as 936.[68]

Later several Anglo-Danish and Norwegian nobles participated in the Norman conquest of southern Italy. Harald Hardrada, who later became king of Norway, seems to have been involved in the Norman conquest of Sicily between 1038 and 1040,[69] under William de Hauteville, who won his nickname Iron Arm by defeating the emir of Syracuse in single combat, and a Lombard contingent, led by Arduin.[70][71] Edgar the Ætheling, who left England in 1086, went there,[72] Jarl Erling Skakke won his nickname after a battle against Arabs in Sicily.[73] On the other hand, many Anglo-Danish rebels fleeing William the Conqueror, joined the Byzantines in their struggle against Robert Guiscard, duke of Apulia, in Southern Italy.[74]

Islamic LevantEdit


Evidence for Norse ventures into Arabia and Central Asia can be found in runestones erected in Scandinavia by the relatives of fallen Viking adventurers. Several of these refer to men who died in "Serkland" (possibly Arabia).[76]

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Mediterranean the Norse (referred to as Rus') were viewed more as "merchant-warriors" who were primarily associated with trade and business.[77] Indeed, one of the only detailed accounts of a Viking burial come from Ibn-Fadlan's account.[78] At times this trading relationship would break down into violence – Rus' armadas raided in the Caspian on at least three occasions, in 910, 912 and 943.[77]

Eastern EuropeEdit




The real involvement of the Varangians is said to have come after they were asked by the Slavic tribes of the region to come and establish order, as those tribes were in constant warfare among each other ("Our country is rich and immense, but it is rent by disorder. Come and govern us and reign over us."[79]). The tribes were united and ruled under the leadership of Rurik, a leader of a group of Varangians. Rurik had successfully been able to establish a set of trading towns and posts along the Volga and Dnieper Rivers, which were perfect for trade with the Byzantine Empire. Rurik's successors were able to conquer and unite the towns along the banks of the Volga and Dnieper Rivers, and establish the Rus' Khaganate. Despite the distinction of the Varangians from the local Slavic tribes at the beginning, by the 10th century, the Varangians began to integrate with the local community, and by the end of 12th century, a new people — the Ruthenians, had emerged.


Around 1036, Varangians appeared near the village of Bashi on the Rioni River, to establish a permanent[clarification needed] settlement of Vikings in Georgia. The Georgian Chronicles described them as 3,000 men who had traveled from Scandinavia through present-day Russia, rowing down the Dnieper River and across the Black Sea. King Bagrat IV welcomed them to Georgia and accepted some of them into the Georgian army; several hundred Vikings fought on Bagrat's side at the Battle of Sasireti in 1047.

Other Vikings continued westward, thereafter disappearing from history. Swedish researchers recently suggested that the story in the Georgian chronicle was about the Swedish expedition by the Viking chieftain Ingvar den Vittfarne (Ingvar the Far-Traveled), which features in many rune stones in mid-Sweden.

North AtlanticEdit


A page from a skin manuscript of Landnámabók in the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies in Reykjavík, Iceland




In the year 985, Erik the Red was believed to have discovered Greenland after being exiled from Iceland for murder in 982. Three years later in 986, Erik the Red returned with 14 surviving ships (as 25 set out on the expedition).Two areas along Greenland's southwest coast were colonized by Norse settlers, including Erik the Red, around 986.[81][82] The land was at best marginal for Norse pastoral farming. The settlers arrived during a warm phase, when short-season crops such as rye and barley could be grown. Sheep and hardy cattle were also raised for food, wool, and hides. Their main export was walrus ivory, which was traded for iron and other goods which could not be produced locally. Greenland became a dependency of the king of Norway in 1261. During the 13th century, the population may have reached as high as 5,000, divided between the two main settlements of Eystribygð (Eastern Settlement) and Vestribygð (Western Settlement). The organization of these settlements revolved mainly around religion, and they consisted of around 250 farms, which were split into approximately fourteen communities that were centered around fourteen churches,[83] one of which was a cathedral at Garðar. The Catholic diocese of Greenland was subject to the archdiocese of Nidaros. However, many bishops chose to exercise this office from afar. As the years wore on, the climate shifted (see Little Ice Age). In 1379, the northernmost settlement was attacked by the Skrælings (Norse word for Inuit).[84] Crops failed and trade declined. The Greenland colony gradually faded away. By 1450, it had lost contact with Norway and Iceland and disappeared from all but a few Scandinavian legends.[85]

North AmericaEdit

Leif Erikson discovering America Christian Krohg, 1893

A Norwegian ship's captain named Bjarni Herjólfsson first came across a part of the North American continent ca. 985 when he was blown off course sailing to Greenland from Iceland. Subsequent expeditions from Greenland (some led by Leif Erikson) explored the areas to the west, seeking large timbers for building in particular (Greenland had only small trees and brush). Regular activity from Greenland extended to Ellesmere Island, Skraeling Island and Ruin Island for hunting and trading with Inuit groups. A short-lived settlement was established at L'Anse aux Meadows, located on the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland, Canada. Since 2012, five other potential settlements have been discovered ranging from Tanfield Valley in the north to Point Rosee[86] in the south.

There is also evidence for Viking contact with Native Americans.[87] The Vikings referred to them as Skraelings or ’uglies’. Fighting between the Natives and the Vikings did take place with the natives having the advanced weaponry of bows and arrows. However trade by barter did also take place between them. This contact led to a mutual amazement of two peoples toward each other. However, the conflict between these two groups led to the Vikings eventual evacuation of the area.




Genetic evidence and implicationsEdit



Mitochondrial and Y-chromosome HaplotypesEdit


Often considered the purest remnants of ancient Nordic genetics, Icelanders trace 75–80% of their patrilineal ancestry to Scandinavia and 20–25% to Scotland and Ireland.[88][89] On the maternal side, only 37% is from Scandinavia and the remaining 63% is mostly Scottish and Irish.[89][90] Iceland also holds one of the most well-documented lineage records which, in many cases, go back fifteen generations and at least 300 years. These are accompanied by one of the largest genetic records which have been collected by deCODE genetics. Together, these two records allow for a mostly reliable view of historical Scandinavian genetic structure although the genetics of Iceland are influenced by Norse-British migration as well as that directly from Scandinavia.[citation needed]

Common Y-HaplogroupsEdit

Haplogroup I-M253, also known as haplogroup I1, is the most common haplotype among Scandinavian males. It is present in 35% of males in Norway, Denmark and Sweden; 40% of males within Western Finland.[91] It is also prominent on the Baltic and North Sea coasts, but decreases further south.[citation needed]

Haplogroup R1b is another very common haplotype in all of Western Europe. However, it is not distinctly linked to Vikings or their expansion. There are indications that a mutant strand, R-L165, may have been carried to Great Britain by the Vikings,[92] but the topic is currently inconclusive.


The mitochondrial C1 haplotype is primarily an East Asia-American haplotype that developed just prior to migration across the Bering sea.[93][94] This maternal haplotype, however, was found in several Icelandic samples.[88] While originally considered to be a 20th-century immigrant,[88] a more complete analysis has shown that this haplotype has been present in Iceland for at least 300 years and is distinct from other C1 lineages.[95] This evidence indicates a likely genetic exchange back and forth between Iceland, Greenland, and Vinland.[citation needed]

Surname Histories and the Y-HaplotypeEdit



Cys282Tyr (or C282Y) is a mutation in the HFE gene that has been linked to most cases of hereditary hemochromatosis. Genetic techniques indicate that this mutation occurred roughly 60–70 generations ago or between 600 and 800 CE, assuming a generation length of 20 years.[96][97] The regional distribution of this mutation among European populations indicates that it originated in Southern Scandinavia and spread with Viking expansion.[98] Due to the timing of the mutation and subsequent population movements, C282Y is very prominent in Great Britain, Normandy, and Southern Scandinavia although C282Y has been found in almost every population that has been in contact with the Vikings.[98]

See alsoEdit


  1. ^ Not all the Norse arriving in Ireland and Great Britain came as raiders. Many arrived with families and livestock, often in the wake of the capture of territory by their forces. The populations then merged over time by intermarriage into the Anglo-Saxon population of these areas.[30][31] Many words in the English language come from old Scandinavian languages.[32]


  1. ^ Graham-Campbell and Batey 1998. p. 3.
  2. ^ Rudolf Simek, "The emergence of the Viking age: circumstances and conditions", The Vikings first Europeans VIII — XI century — the new discoveries of archaeology, other, 2005, pp. 24–25.
  5. ^ Dictionnaire d'histoire de France – Perrin — Alain Decaux and André Castelot. 1981. pp. 184–85 ISBN 2-7242-3080-9.
  8. ^ François-Xavier Dillmann, Viking civilisation and culture. A bibliography of French-language, Caen, Centre for research on the countries of the North and Northwest, University of Caen, 1975, p. 19, and Les Vikings — the Scandinavian and European 800–1200, 22nd exhibition of art from the Council of Europe, 1992, p. 26.
  10. ^ Sawyer, Peter (2001). The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. Oxford: OUP. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-19-285434-6.
  11. ^ Sawyer, Peter (2001). The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. Oxford: OUP. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-19-285434-6.
  12. ^ Sawyer, Peter (1997). The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. Oxford. p. 3.
  13. ^ James H. Barrett, "What caused the Viking Age?" Antiquity Volume 82 Number 317 (September 2008), 671–685; "Viking Age Triggered by Shortage of Wives?"
  14. ^ SHANE MCLEOD. "Warriors and women: the sex ratio of Norse migrants to eastern England up to 900 AD" 18 JUL 2011. Early Medieval Europe, Volume 19, Issue 3, pp. 332–53, August 2011. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0254.2011.00323.x Web PDF Quote:"These results, six female Norse migrants and seven male, should caution against assuming that the great majority of Norse migrants were male, despite the other forms of evidence suggesting the contrary."
  15. ^ G. Halsall, "The Viking presence in England? The burial evidence reconsidered" in D. M. Hadley and J. Richards, eds, Cultures in Contact: Scandinavian Settlement in England in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries (Brepols: Turnhout, 2000), pp. 259–76. ISBN 2-503-50978-9.
  17. ^ Heredity - Human migration: Reappraising the Viking Image
  18. ^ Keynes, Simon (1997). "The Vikings in England c. 790–1016". In Sawyer, Peter (ed.). The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-19-820526-5.
  19. ^ "ASC 793". Britannia Online. Retrieved 6 May 2018. As per the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
  20. ^ Magnusson, Magnus (1984). Lindisfarne: The Cradle Island. Stockfield, Northumberland: Oriel Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-85362-210-9.
  21. ^ Kirby, D.P. (1992). The Earliest English Kings. London: Routledge. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-415-09086-5.
  22. ^ "Raid on Jarrow 794". Historic England. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  23. ^ "ASC 794". Britannia Online. Retrieved 15 July 2012. [...] the heathen armies spread devastation among the Northumbrians, and plundered the monastery of King Everth at the mouth of the Wear. There, however, some of their leaders were slain; and some of their ships also were shattered to pieces by the violence of the weather; many of the crew were drowned; and some, who escaped alive to the shore, were soon dispatched at the mouth of the river.
  24. ^ Compare: Sawyer, Peter (2001) [1997]. "1: The age of the Vikings and before". In Sawyer, Peter (ed.). The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. Oxford Illustrated Histories. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 11. ISBN 9780192854346. Retrieved 2017-01-11. Several Viking leaders joined forces in the hope of winning status and independence by conquering England, which then consisted of four kingdoms. In 865 a fleet landed in East Anglia and was later joined by others to form what a contemporary chronicler described, with good reason, as a 'great army'.
  25. ^ The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Manuscript B: Cotton Tiberius Retrieved 12 September 2013. The entry for 867 refers to the Great Heathen Army: mycel hæþen here
  26. ^ Compare: Keynes, Simon (2001) [1997]. "3: The Vikings in England, c.790-1016". In Sawyer, Peter (ed.). The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. Oxford Illustrated Histories. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 54. ISBN 9780192854346. Retrieved 2017-01-11. The leaders appear to have included Ivar the Boneless and his brother Halfdan, sons of the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok, as well as another 'king' called Bagsecg, and several 'earls'; and if it is assumed that Ivar is the Imar who had been active in Ireland in the late 850s and early 860s, it would appear that he had been able to meet up with his brother and assume joint leadership of the army some time after its arrival in England.
  27. ^ Sawyer, Peter (2001). The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings (3rd ed.). Oxford: OUP. ISBN 978-0-19-285434-6. pp. 9–11, 53–54
  28. ^ Cannon, John (1997). The Oxford Companion to British History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 429. ISBN 978-0-19-866176-4.
  29. ^ a b Sawyer, Peter (2001). The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings (3rd ed.). Oxford: OUP. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-19-285434-6.
  31. ^ Sawyer. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. p. 11
  32. ^ Glossary of Scandinavian origins of place names in Britain Archived 2013-01-28 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ Sawyer, Peter (2001). The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings (3rd ed.). Oxford: OUP. pp. 57–70. ISBN 978-0-19-285434-6. 944 Edmund drove Olaf Sihtricsson and Ragnald Guthfitson from York, and proceeded to reduce all of Northumbria to his rule..
  34. ^ The Víking Era (793-~1100 CE)
  35. ^ Battle of Stamford Bridge
  36. ^ a b c d Sawyer, Peter (2001). The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings (3rd ed.). Oxford: OUP. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-0-19-285434-6. It was however several years before he[William] had control of the whole kingdom...
  37. ^ John Cannon, ed. (2009). Sweyn Estrithsson: A Dictionary of British History. Oxford University Press. Oxford Reference Online. ISBN 9780199550371. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  38. ^ Haywood, John (2016). Northmen: The Viking Saga AD 793-1241. Macmillan. p. 269.
  39. ^ Forte, Angello (2005). Viking Empires. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 216. ISBN 978-0521829922.
  40. ^ Welsh place names. Archived February 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  43. ^ Horspool. Why Alfred Burnt the Cakes. pp. 104–10
  44. ^   s:Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
  45. ^ Wood, Michael (2005). In Search of the Dark Ages. London: BBC. pp. 146–47. ISBN 978-0-563-52276-8.
  50. ^ Cardon, T., en collaboration avec Moesgaard, J.-C., PROT (R.) et Schiesser, P., Revue Numismatique, vol. 164, 2008, p. 21–40.
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