Viking

This 7th-century Viking rune stone, 2.1 m/7 ft high, was discovered at Tängelgarda on the Swedish island of Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It tells the saga of Odin, chief god of the Vikings, who was also their god of battle, death, and inspiration. He is seen here in procession on his horse Sleipnir.

A 9th-century picture, on stone, of a Viking ship. This image was found on the Swedish island of Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. Ships were very important to the Vikings, who needed them to further their trading and raiding in northern Europe.

The inhabitants of Scandinavia in the period 800–1100. They traded with, and raided, much of Europe, and often settled there. In their narrow, shallow-draught, highly manoeuvrable longships, the Vikings penetrated far inland along rivers. They plundered for gold and land, and were equally energetic as colonists – with colonies stretching from North America to central Russia – and as traders, with main trading posts at Birka (near Stockholm) and Hedeby (near Schleswig). The Vikings had a sophisticated literary culture, with sagas and runic inscriptions, and an organized system of government with an assembly (‘thing’). Their kings and chieftains were buried with their ships, together with their possessions.

In France the Vikings were given Normandy. Under Sweyn I they conquered England (where they were known as ‘Danes’) in 1013, and his son Canute was king of England as well as Denmark and Norway. In the east they established the first Russian state and founded Novgorod. They reached the Byzantine Empire in the south, and in the west sailed to Ireland, and Iceland; Greenland was visited by Eric the Red, and North America, by his son Leif Ericsson who named it ‘Vinland’. As ‘Normans’ they achieved a second conquest of England in 1066.

The origin of the word ‘Viking’ is disputed, as are the reasons for the sudden expansion of Scandinavian activities in this period, though over-population, the weakness of neighbouring states, and favourable trading conditions were influential factors. Although many Scandinavian peoples were actively trading and raiding in this period, the Vikings were successful because of their superior ships and seamanship, whether in the military longship or in the colonists' broad knarr. Viking ships are preserved in Oslo and in Denmark at Roskilde. Although the Vikings are commonly thought of as pirates, they were capable of organizing politically motivated missions. They had an established system of law and social organization and a rich poetic culture. As they became more settled they took over many of the customs of the areas in which they lived, for example converting to Christianity and subsequently introducing it to Scandinavia.

The Vikings in the British Isles A signal for the start of Viking raids on the British Isles was the sacking of the monastery of Lindisfarne in 793. Soon Viking rule was established in the Orkneys, Shetlands, Hebrides, and parts of north and western Scotland, in parts of Ireland, and increasingly in England, where the Vikings controlled most of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, an area known as Danelaw. The kingdom of Wessex under Alfred the Great resisted strongly, however, and was victorious in 899. The need for organized resistance accelerated the growth of the feudal system. In the 10th century the Scandinavian settlers in England lost their power, reflecting the civil war then raging in Scandinavia, but towards the end of the century raids from Denmark increased, culminating in the invasion and conquest of England under Sweyn I and Canute. They created permanent settlements, for example in York, and greatly influenced the development of the English language.

In Ireland the Vikings founded the cities of Dublin (841), Cork, and Limerick. They were halted, however, by their defeat at the battle of Clontarf in 1014.

The Vikings in France and Spain Under Charlemagne and his successor, Louis the Pious, the Carolingian Empire proved too strong for the Vikings, but after the latter's death in 840 they raided the areas round the Seine and the Loire frequently, sacking Paris in 845. As in England, they were prepared to be bought off by ‘Danegeld’. In 912 the Viking Rollo was granted lands in France which were to form the nucleus of the duchy of Normandy. In Spain and the Mediterranean the Vikings met determined opposition from the Arabs and made only infrequent raids.

The Vikings in the Atlantic The Vikings had colonized the Faeroes and Iceland by the end of the 9th century. Eric the Red began the settlement of Greenland about 986, and his son Leif Ericsson discovered ‘Vinland’ in North America (possibly Newfoundland) 1000, though the Viking colonies that were established there do not seem to have survived long.

The Vikings in Eastern Europe In the East, the Vikings (known as Rus) traded down the Dnieper and Volga rivers, establishing trading posts at Novgorod and Kiev, where they founded a dynasty. Vikings also served in the imperial guard in Constantinople, where they were known as Varangians. The Swedish Varangians were invited to settle differences among the Slav chieftains in Russia 862.

Viking

Mars as seen by a Viking space probe on its approach to the red planet.

The surface of Mars, the ‘Red Planet’, is a stony desert. The colouring comes from hydrated iron oxide, the same chemical that gives deserts on Earth a reddish hue. This photograph was taken by the Viking 1 space probe in 1976 and shows the spacecraft's sampler scoop.

Either of two US space probes to the planet Mars, each one consisting of an orbiter and a lander. They were launched on 20 August and 9 September 1975, and transmitted colour pictures and analysed the planet's soil.

Viking 1 carried life-detection laboratories and touched down on 20 July 1976 in the Chryse lowland area. Designed to work for 90 days, the craft operated for 6.5 years, losing contact with Earth in November 1982. No definite signs of life were found. Viking 2 landed in Utopia on 3 September 1976 and functioned for 3.5 years.