During the Viking Conquest in the 9th century AD, a large number of Norse men drove warships out of the fjords of Scandinavia and headed south without hesitation. In addition to the British Isles to the west, the Ross Plain to the east, and the French coast to the south, the Viking conquerors continued to try to enter the interior. As they continued to explore along the coastline, they eventually entered the historic Mediterranean world.
<h1 class="ql-align-justify" > heroic era</h1>
Ragnar-style heroes have emerged in Viking history
In the history of the Vikings, ragnar-Rosebrook's name is thunderous. He was a pioneer of the early Viking expeditions abroad, besieging Paris in 845 AD. The large amount of wealth plundered after the destruction of the city also brought him great fame, and he once became the most famous hero in the Viking world.
But Ragnar's sons were bolder than their fathers. After their father opened the way to the overseas world, they split up and used their talents in different regions. Among them, the youngest "iron bone" Bjorn, the experience is also the most legendary.
Ragnar was more ambitious than the sons
Bjørn was Ragnar's youngest son. Due to the harsh environment and small number of people in Scandinavia, the Vikings had an unwritten convention: the younger son could not inherit the family business, and when he became an adult, he had to go out to fend for himself. Therefore, he is very eager to hone himself and make a performance.
Excellent students cannot be separated from good teachers. Ragnar found a mentor for his youngest son, Bjørn, the famous Viking explorer Hastein. The explorer, who traveled throughout Ireland, England, Frisia and Normandy, had a wealth of combat and seafaring knowledge. Ragnar wanted Hastein to adopt Bjørn as his righteous son, and the two worked together to open up the Danes' sphere of influence in the south. After being claimed by Hastein, Bjorn soon grew into a young count who was eager to try.
A stamp commemorating the era of the Viking Conquest
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The pattern of Europe on the eve of the Viking Conquest
Through the vast amount of intelligence information obtained by traveling the world, the Vikings judged that the Frankish kingdom was already an excellent target. Because the Frankish kings at that time were far from the time of Charlemagne.
After Charlemagne's death, his son Louis the Pious ascended the throne. In the early days of his reign, the king was still able to rule as well as his father. But later, because he favored charles the "bald" born to his second wife, he tried to transfer the fiefdom of his eldest son in Italy to Charles. This caused strong resentment among the three sons born to the original pair, Lothair, Pepin and Louis the "German", which led to the first civil war.
Bald Charlie, who is favored by his father
After the Pious's death, Charlie joined forces with Louis to attack Lothair, and a second civil war broke out again. The defeated Lothair had to sign the Treaty of Verdun, and the originally unified Frankish kingdom was divided into three. After his death, Lothair assigned his Middle Franks to his three sons, forming the Kingdoms of Burgundy, Lorraine and Italy. King Louis II of Italy was dissatisfied with his father's arrangement, and the united uncle Louis once again set off a civil war...
Thus, the Frankish kingdom had been torn apart by the civil war. The vast empire of Charlemagne's time was further fragmented by civil war, and the emptiness of the central monarchy was incomparable. While everyone's energy was drawn into the civil war, a massive invasion by outsiders was not far away.
The Seine River in Paris can be pounded from the Atlantic Ocean
In 855, Bjørn temporarily left his adoptive father Hastein and led his warband south along the coastline into the Seine Valley. The Seine is a large river in northern France, and his father Ragnar once led an army up the river, as if into no man's land, and planted the black crow flag representing Odin on the walls of Paris.
After surveying the terrain, Bjørn decided to base his base camp on a small island at the mouth of the Seine, and at the same time he built an impregnable fortress and named it Gwald. From this base, the Vikings repeatedly traveled up the river and even sacked Paris again in 857 AD.
The Viking conqueror army that once again attacked Paris
In retaliation, charles, the "bald" king of West Francia, personally led his troops to besiege Gehrwald several times, but none of them could be captured. In desperation, he paid a lot of money to bribe another Viking earl, Weyland, to go to Bjørn. But what he did not expect was that the two leaders shook hands without sending a single soldier. The Vikings then joined forces, causing Charlie to jump like a thunderbolt.
Two years later, Hastein returned to France from England, where they decided to head south to the mouth of the Loire river after joining Bjørn. It was a fertile land, and far from the center of gravity of West Francia's rule. Combat operations carried out there are not only less risky but also allow for the continuation of new coastlines to the south.
Fortress of Gwald at the mouth of the Seine
<h1 class="ql-align-justify" > loire shark</h1>
Access to the Loire River in southwestern France
At the mouth of the Loire River, there is a small island of Nuwarmutiers, which was the ideal place for the Vikings to stop their ships, supply and retreat. Following the estuary of the Seine, the Vikings established a solid base there. The situation on the ground also favored the Vikings in their large-scale looting.
Robert, a local nobleman on the north bank of the Loire River, was colluding with Louis in the east to launch a joint offensive against the King of West Francia. This left the West Frankish kings with no time to take care of him. As for Aquitaine in the south, Pepin II, who had previously had undisputed succession to the region, had lost to Charles in a political struggle and was forcibly imprisoned in a monastery under house arrest. In order to regain the throne, Pepin II decided to defect to the Vikings, using the force of the Vikings to realize his political ambitions. In addition, Solomon, Duke of Brittany, extended an olive branch to the Vikings in order to oppose the Frankish forces in Nustria, and hired the Vikings to fight for him at great expense.
The Vikings were recruited by many local nobles
In this way, Bjørn and Hastein gained the highest bargaining power in the Loire Valley, forming a strategic initiative advantage. By assisting Pepin II, they roamed the Loire Valley unhindered and plundered. Le Mans, Anjou, Tours, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Bourges, Angers, Orléans fell one after another, and countless fortunes and slaves flowed to the Vikings' long ships. Even Burgundy, in the upper Loire, near the Alps, was attacked.
After sweeping the Aquitaine region on the south bank, they joined forces with the Duke of Brittany in a joint military campaign against Nuestria on the north bank of the river. Robert, who was fighting Charlie on the seine front, rushed back to the rescue because of a fire in the backyard, and Brisasser on the banks of the Loire successfully captured the Vikings. In the face of the Frankish raid, Hastein, who had no prior defenses, decided to lead the men and horses to retreat into a local monastery and rely on the fortifications to fight a defensive battle. At the same time, a messenger was sent to inform Bjørn of the rush to rescue.
The Franks who had hastily assembled and raided the Viking infantry
Robert, who surrounded his opponents, felt that he was determined to win. Due to the summer and the hot weather, he took off his armor and wanted to breathe. Hastein, who could see clearly inside the house, seized the opportunity to let all the Viking warriors rush out and successfully kill the unsuspecting Duke Robert. Also killed was Anulf, Duke of Aquitaine, who was shot by a Viking warrior's bow and arrow while escaping and later died of an infection in his wounds.
As a result of the killing of the two dukes, the north and south banks of the Loire River suddenly lost their masters, and the famous Hastein and Bjørn became the undisputed dominance of the West Coast of France. Their dominant position in the region cannot be shaken. After several years of exploration and conquest of the Frankish kingdom, the two have accumulated rich combat experience and a lot of wealth. In the hall of lords on the island of Nouamurtier, there was a burst of laughter and speculation. While celebrating, they also began to actively seek the next new continent where they could show their strength.
The Battle of Brisasser killed two of the local leaders
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The situation in Iberia on the eve of the arrival of the Vikings
During their expeditions to the Loire Valley, Bjorn and Hastein learned through captured local merchants that there were many unknown lands and kingdoms in the far south. The people there look different, believe in different religions, and have countless riches. The two, who were already very familiar with franks to the point of exhaustion, agreed after deliberation that they could embark on an unprecedented voyage to explore and conquer the mysterious region.
In the summer of 859, after thorough preparation, Hastein and Bjørn boarded their flagships and led more than 2,400 Viking warriors and more than 60 leading warships out of the mouth of the Loire and south along the coastline.
The Christian kingdoms of northern Spain were prepared
They first reached the northern coast of Iberia. The land was founded by the Visigothic remnants of the Kingdom of Asturias, who were in the midst of a fierce battle against the Emirate of Córdoba, founded by the Muslims of the South. However, the two ran into a wall here, and the Spaniards learned of the existence of this group of Vikings through communication with the Franks. To be a precaution, they built watchtowers on the coast and fortified the defenses of the coastal castles. Defenders on the walls also threw pitching pitches of pitch that ignited flames.
Because the Vikings, who had no siege weapons, suffered a loss in the first battle. Hastein and Bjørn decided to abandon and led the ship further south. They then sailed to the area of present-day Portugal, part of the emirate of Córdoba in southern Iberia.
The Vikings encountered muslims for the first time in Iberia
Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, was still a small town at the time. Further south, Seville is a city that existed in Roman times, and the hometown of Trajan and Hadrian, one of the five wise men of Rome, is located. The Vikings succeeded in launching a surprise attack here, and it was also their first contact with Muslims and Islam. After looting the mosque, they burned it to the ground with a fire and captured many slaves. Then travel eastward through the Strait of Gibraltar.
After entering the Strait of Gibraltar, the Vikings' luck also improved. The city of Nazur, under the idris dynasty, was defenseless and allowed them to plunder for 8 consecutive days. Because it is located at the crossroads of transportation, trade is extremely prosperous. A variety of goods and unprecedented exoticism fascinated the Vikings. They captured a lot of "blue-skinned" and "black-skinned" slaves here. In fact, they are the Tuaregs with blue tattoos, they are a Berber tribe. The black-skinned slaves were the blacks captured by slave traders across the Sahara Desert. This was perhaps the first time the Vikings had dealt with desert peoples.
The north African coast also did not escape the Viking raids
Next, their fleet returned to the Spanish coast. Through contact with the locals, they learned that the Emirate of Córdoba in Spain was in a hostile relationship with the Idris dynasty in North Africa and made full use of it. Since the two sides were hostile and would not take joint action against piracy, Hastein and Bjørn cleverly plundered back and forth between the two sides of the strait, leaving either side helpless.
This time, they dared to go more than 30 kilometers inland and looted Orihuela, a wealthy city in southeastern Spain. They then retreated rapidly to the coast and led the fleet to the Balearic Islands.
Whenever circumstances permitted, the Vikings would follow the river deep into the interior
After a month of repairs in the Balearic Islands, the Vikings continued north to the coast of Roussillon, on the franco-Spanish border. They had now completely circled the Iberian coastline and returned to the Frankish kingdom they were familiar with, only this time at the mouth of the Rhône. They spent the winter on a small island at the mouth of the Rhône, where the vegetation was so lush that it was easy to hide their warships so that the Franks would not be aware of their presence.
After the beginning of spring, the Vikings returned to the sea again. The cities of Nice, Arles and Narbon, which existed in many Roman times in southern France, fell one after another. Taking advantage of the victory, they chased up the Rhône River, looted Valence deep inland, and almost reached Lyon, the largest city in southern France. Charles, the bitter Frankish king, who had been harassed by the Vikings on the north and west coasts, may have vomited blood after hearing the news that something had happened on the southern coastline.
France's three major rivers, the Seine, the Loire and the Rhône, were all touched by the Vikings
<h1 class="ql-align-justify" > devour "Rome"</h1>
The Viking fleet began to turn eastward into Italy
Then, Hastein and Bjørn continue east, heading south along italy's coastline in search of the fabled Eternal City of Rome. When the fleet discovered a coastal city of Lucca full of marble, it was attracted by these buildings and thought it was Rome.
Due to the abundance of stone in the area, the city of Lucca, although small, has strong walls. If captured by brute force, the casualties would be enormous, and the Vikings, who had always been known for their scheming, immediately came up with a seamless solution.
The Lombard aristocracy of the Italian region was not a weak chicken belly
The next day, the Vikings carried Hasstein under the city walls on a stretcher and shouted to the defenders. He falsely claimed that the leader was dying of a serious illness, but had been admiring Christianity for a long time. So I want to be baptized before I die and become a Christian. The local chief and the bishop discussed the news, and although they were very suspicious, they reluctantly accepted the request. So the barbarian leader was carried into the church to complete the baptism under the watchful eyes of everyone.
On the third day, the Vikings once again made demands on the Lucas. They wept bitterly, saying that Chief Hastein had died last night, and that before he died he hoped that he would be buried in the Christian Church in Lucca, and at the same time asked to go into the city to offer gifts to thank them for meeting the chief's request.
The Vikings used a great deal of deception in Italy
So, once again, the city of Lucca was empty, and Hastein lay in a coffin, carried slowly into the church by a dozen retinues. Just after the funeral began, the coffin lid suddenly opened and Hastein jumped out of it with a tomahawk in his hand. All the Vikings threw off their cloaks and pulled out their weapons, shouting the name of Thor, the god of thunder, and the scene began to become extremely chaotic. Some of them quickly went to open the gates of the city, and before the unfortunate bishop could react, he became the first to fall into a pool of blood.
Bjørn, who had been ambushed outside the city, immediately led his army to break through the city and a catastrophe that swept through the city began. They looted all the treasures and set fire to the city, a small city where Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus met 900 years ago to decide the fate of the Roman Republic. Later, Pisa and Fiesole in the Italian peninsula were also doomed.
Despite the rewards, they were not satisfied with it. The Viking fleet continued eastward along the coastline of the Italian peninsula, then into the eastern Mediterranean and disappeared into the waters of the east. The next movement is not known. Rumor has it that they reached as far as Alexandria, Egypt, but it is clear that they were not able to take the city.
The Vikings may have reached Alexandria in Egypt
<h1 class="ql-align-justify" > long way home</h1>
On the way back, the Vikings were intercepted by a Muslim fleet
In 862 AD, Hasteyne and Bjørn, which had disappeared for nearly a year, reappeared in the Strait of Gibraltar. It was clear that they intended to depart for Scandinavia. The Muslims, who had been attacked so hard, planned to avenge their hatred with an ambush war. They approached cautiously with warships equipped with stone crossbows, firing lit asphalt cans. They knew how powerful the Vikings were in melee combat, so they did everything they could to avoid hand-to-hand combat with them.
The Viking ships had no fire protection measures and no large ranged weapons to fight back, and many of them caught fire and were destroyed. The two chiefs ordered all the ships to raise their sails at once, and the oarsmen accelerated their rowing and sailed into the Atlantic Ocean as fast as they could. Fortunately, they eventually dumped the Muslim fleet. But the Atlantic also did not welcome returning Vikings. The fleet soon encountered another storm, and only 20 of the 60 ships survived. Hastein and Bjørn were fortunate to be spared, but in any case, the loss cast a shadow over the expedition.
In order to boost morale and recover losses, they decided to try again to attack the Christian kingdom in northern Spain on the way back. This time they used the cover of night to raid Pamplona, the capital of the kingdom of Navarre, and even the king was kidnapped. The citizens gathered more than 70,000 gold coins to redeem him.
When the island of Nuvarutier at the mouth of the Loire appeared at sea level, all the Vikings wept with joy and hugged each other. Hastein and Bjørn set up altars, burned sacrifices, and offered sacrifices to the gods who had blessed them with their returns from their voyages. The great voyage to the Mediterranean, which had lasted for nearly four years, had finally come to an end.
The expedition was also a microcosm of the Vikings' influx
<h1 class="ql-align-justify" > immortal name</h1>
Hastein ended his life in admiration
This epic voyage was one of the most spectacular sea voyages in Viking history, and only Iceland and the Americas could match it. Their feats proved to the world that the Vikings had excellent navigational skills, superb combat skills and fearless spirit of exploration. In addition, they vividly played the resourceful and scheming characteristics of the Vikings on the way, so that the vikings' fame echoed on the Mediterranean coast for a long time.
After concluding the expedition, Bjorn parted ways with Hastein, ending their years of cooperation. Bjorn returned to Scandinavia. The lofty status of Ragnar's son, the prestige accumulated over the years, and the glory and wealth brought by the epic voyage allowed him to ascend to the throne of Sweden and establish the Musso dynasty, which ruled for more than 200 years. Legend has it that Rurik, who later founded the Principality of Kievan Rus, was his son-in-law.
The future Battlefield of Hastings was named after Hastein
The ambitious Hastein also bid farewell to the Frankish Kingdom and chose to continue his expedition to England. A few years later, he was also involved in a massive offensive against England. Finally disappeared from the annals of history as a highly respected old count.
More than 200 years later, William, Duke of Normandy, led a large army to the land of England. When he won a decisive victory at the Battle of Hastings, he became King of England. No one ever imagined that the site of the showdown would be named after Hastein.