The Viking era only ended when the raids stopped in 1066 after the Battle of Stamford Bridge and The Norwegian king Haraldr was killed when he attempted to claim a portion of England. It was the last major Viking raid in Europe.
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| The battle of Stamford bridge was the Vikings final battle |
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In September 1066 the Viking King Harald Hardrada, landed in Yorkshire in the hopes of taking over the English throne. The English king at the time was king Harold Godwinson . He had been faced with the difficult decision of whether he should go to the north to confront and try to stop Harald Hardrada, leaving the south unprotected against William of Normandy who was also after the throne,or remain where he was so he was ready for the Norman invasion. He chose to go to north, hoping he would be able to defeat Hardrada and being able to return to the south in time to confront William. Harold did end up defeating William Normandy and the Vikings but he died three weeks later at the battle of Hastings. Most Vikings families mixed in with people from other countries as they were afraid the king would persecute them for being Vikings. The other Vikings that were already living in England agreed to be ruled under Harold's rein and were forced in Christianity.
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A Viking rune stone found in Upsala Sweden
it says "Thorkunn and Bruni had this monument made
in memory of their father Igulfast" , from the website
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After this the raids started to stop because the times changed and Vikings didn't
need to raid villages any more. Monk monasteries who had always been an easy target for Viking
raids,started to move inward away from where the Vikings
could reach them and some even started building defence towers so they were prepared for attacks. Many people think the entire Viking
population
had died out after their final battle, but this, like many other beliefs
about the Vikings
, is untrue. The remaining Vikings simply joined other villages and adapted to their way of life. Christianity was also one of the causes of the breakdown of the Viking era as many converted their beliefs from pagan to Christian and started to rethink the they acted and lived. We know the Vikings all didn't die out from the artefacts they left such as runes made after the battle of Stamford bridge. The Vikings did not become familiar with the Roman alphabet until after they started becoming Christian so we know that if runes were around after this, they had not forgotten their Viking ways.
Sources
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/evidence_01.shtml
http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/society/text/what_happened.htm
Interesting information but where is the primary source? You need to prove the information you have provided is accurate by using sources from the time.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure it was the battle of Stamford bridge? I was taught that battle was between England and Scotland 2hundred or so years later in the C14th.. Hardrada lost before the battle of Hastings in 1066
ReplyDelete