Vikings Introduction Flashcards
What are the basic dates for the Viking Period?
800-1050
Which historian said that the latter 8th century is when the Vikings “Made themselves known”?
Steven Brink
Which people does the early Scandinavian expansion particularly focus on?
Norwegians and Danes
Latter 20th century study into Vikings has focuses more on….?
Portraying the Vikings as a peaceful trading culture.
An example of how Viking culture has been misappropriated?
To peruse political ideas e.g. As the ideal warrior race by the Nazis.
What date is set as the start of the Viking Age?
793AD
Why is 793AD recorded as the beginning of the Viking Age?
Anglo-Saxon chronicles record Viking raid on Lindasfarne monastery.
What date is recorded to be the end of the Viking age?
1066
Why is 1066 recorded as the end of the Viking age?
The Vikings lost the battle of Stanford Bridge.
In what way are the dates surrounding the Viking age a qualified truth?
Expansion was believed to begin early 700’s.
Viking activity carried on post 1066 e.g. Cnut invasion in 1075
What did the Francian contemporaries refer to the Vikings as?
Northmen and Danes
What did the Anglo-Saxon contemporaries refer to the Vikings as?
Danes and pagans.
What is believed to be the most direct contemporary written source of the Vikings?
Runes
One example of a written source from a culture that came into contact with the Vikings?
The Anglo-Saxon chronicles.
What aspect of the Icelandic sagas means they may not be reliable?
Not contemporary with Vikings, meant more as propaganda.
Which Icelander constructed the ‘Family Saga’s’?
Snorri Sturlson
What was the purpose of the Family Sagas?
Constructed lineages and entitlement. Often dealt with feuds.
What is the name of the Viking creation story that details the gods?
Edda
What can pre-Christian Scandinavia be likened too?
Non-western pre-industrial communities
Which people held 6th century Scandinavia in high esteem?
The migrating Germanic people.
What suggests early contact with between the Scandinavians and Western Europeans?
A rich archaeological material.
Why did Scandinavia not develop at the same rate as the rest of Europe during the 1st-4th centuries?
They were never conquered by the Romans.
What did the migration of the Germanic tribes in the late 4th century ultimately lead too?
The collapse of the Roman Empire and the establishment of small kingdoms across Western Europe.
What far Eastern people did the migration include during the 5/6th centuries?
Slavs
What was the political environment like during the 7/8th centuries?
Relatively stable, consolidation took place.
What did stability in the 8th century allow for?
Trade and contact with Scandinavia.
