The famous Vikings originated from the Normans of Denmark, Norway and Sweden in the 8th century. The earliest record of Vikings found is an attack on England in 789 AD in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The hapless ghosts of the time were British tax collectors who were trying to tax the Vikings.
Scandinavia
Scandinavia (meaning "dark" in the Teutonic word): From the image above, we can see that the Scandinavia, where the Vikings lived, is located at a high latitude and has a long winter time. The entire peninsula is crossed by the Scandinavian mountains, and there is only a small part of the area that can be inhabited by the Vikings, but the harsher the living environment, the more stoic the peoples are often bred, and the Vikings are no exception, from the Viking mythological system can glimpse the Viking philosophy of life, their main god Odin's home (god domain/territory) Valhalla is the habitat of the warriors who died heroically in the world, and Odin himself is alone against the inevitable end of the world. It can be seen that the Vikings knew that they would die and never yielded in their struggle against nature, and this strong spirit of resistance was also one of the reasons why the Vikings were rampant at sea.
Opportunity: There are no born bad guys, and the Vikings are not born pirates. Despite the harsh natural environment, the Vikings also worked hard as an agrarian people. But with the development of society, the special inheritance law (the Normans only had the eldest son to inherit the family business, and the rest of the sons had to go out on their own when they reached adulthood) the population was getting higher and higher, and the harsh environment of the barren land could not support the growing population. Power struggles within the state also resulted in the partial expulsion of the insiders from the outer regions leading to the re-acquisition of new lords in need of territory. Thus, the Vikings, who had excellent shipbuilding technology, set their sights on Europe.
The Viking longboat excavated from farmland in 1880 is 23.24 meters long and 5.20 meters wide, and can accommodate 32 people.
Viking Longship: Now often referred to as the Norwegian Dragon Ship, as the name suggests, the bow or stern of the ship is often raised high to form a dragon-like snake-like shape. The Viking longboats were narrow and slender, light in weight, and were powered mainly by sails, unless the Vikings rarely paddled unless necessary. The bow and stern of the ship are often very similar, which is to change directions at the first time when encountering obstacles or accidents, which greatly enhances the flexibility at sea. The ship's draft was extremely shallow, and it would not run aground even if it sailed into the rivers inside Europe, which provided great convenience for the Normans to plunder Europe. One might ask, can such a "thin" ship cross ocean currents to Reach Europe? In order to prove this problem, Denmark began in 2000 and spent 4 years to make a "Viking long ship" in full compliance with the ancient law. The Queen of Denmark named it "The Sea Stallion from Glendalough" and went to sea on 1 July 2004, arriving in Dublin in more than 40 days (a maritime trading metropolis established by the Vikings in the 9th century).
"Sea Stallion from Glendalough"
Weapons of the Vikings: As a predator, weapons are naturally indispensable. The Vikings' main war weapons at the time included spears, hand shields, tomahawks, and swords. Viking warriors generally gave priority to throwing spears, narrowing the distance, and then using a tomahawk to fight with a living sword. The special two-wing design of the Viking spear also indicates that the Vikings often used the spear for close combat. The sword has a special meaning in the Hearts of the Vikings, and is often passed down from generation to generation as an heirloom, so in fact, in order to avoid the injury of the sword in actual combat, the use rate of the sword is not high.
Illustration: Viking spear (the two wings pointed by the black arrows in the picture are mainly used to block the enemy's sword attack and prevent the enemy blade from sliding down the spear and injuring the user's hand)
Illustration: Viking sword (consists of a sword head, grip, and handguard. The Viking sword head is characterized by its characteristics, mostly cast from solid iron, evolving from a pyramid shape to a flower shape. ）
Ravaging Europe: The Vikings were made up of Norwegians, Swedish, and Danes, and the three countries attacked in three directions: 1. The Norwegians chose Ireland and the British Isles; 2. The Danes entered the Franks; and 3. The Swedes chose snow to attack in the direction of Snow. Turn all of Europe into lambs for your own hunt. According to historical records, the first Vikings invaded Ireland in 795, looting and burning it. Since then, Ireland has been subjected to continuous plunder. At first the Vikings only carried out pure sexual plunder, and after a fortuitous winter, they began to live permanently. And use these gathering places as a springboard to plunder the mainland. In 866, the Vikings invaded England in a period of civil strife and unable to resist, the king took the lead in compromise, paid a large amount of protection, and by 871, the Norwegian nobleman Ivar had become the ruler of the world of The King of Ireland and Northern Britain. At the end of the 10th century, England was forced to regularly deliver "Danish gold" to the Vikings. The Vikings' plundering aggression against Europe was staggered, and not only England and Ireland, but also the Franks were devastated by the Vikings. The Frankish king Charles the Bald was also forced to pay "Danish gold" to the Vikings, but this did not prevent the Vikings from looting from time to time. The Frankish king Charles III was even more reluctant to sign the Treaty of St. Kreer with the Viking Danish chief Lolo, which assigned the area around the mouth of the Seine to Denmark, which later became the Duchy of Normandy. (The European powers were also very skilled at paying reparations for land cuts.) ）
Schematic of Viking (Norman) migration (plunder/trade) from the 8th to the 11th centuries
Pirates become merchants: After a long period of plunder, simple plunder could no longer obtain more wealth for the Vikings, and the Vikings, who had mastered the sea trade routes and permanent residences, also began to trade. Almost a left-handed weapon, a right-handed libra, with merchants on one side and pirates on one side. According to archaeologists, the Vikings had very long trade routes, from their own North Sea to Greenland in the west, to the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea in the east, and even to the Arab world in the south.
From the sudden departure of the 8th century to the dismal exit of the 11th century, the Vikings left an indelible mark on the whole of Europe. Plunder, colonization and slaughter, leaving them with a reputation as pirates. Their vast trade network, strong spirit of adventure, and powerful maritime power have greatly promoted the development of Europe and left their own legend in human history.
(This article is a military original of China Net, written by Xie Hui.) Please indicate the source and author of the reprint)