The Vikings: Conquerors of the World

Were the Vikings barbarian raiders as they are often said to be or more? Discover the true story of the Vikings and their legacies to the World!Vikings. Even in the modern day, the very word conjures up the image of bearded, bloodthirsty men clad in chainmail and wielding battle-axes, hewing apart anyone who stood in the way of their pillaging and plundering. But, who really were the Vikings? Were they truly deserving of a reputation as greedy pirates and remorseless raiders? Or were the Vikings of ancient Scandinavia more than just simple barbarians and plunderers?
In European history, the Viking Age spanned roughly from AD 700 to 1100. This was a period where the Nordic peoples enjoyed a significant military, economic, mercantile and population expansion. Enabled by their advanced seafaring skills and longships, many Vikings left Scandinavia and sailed to Britain, Ireland and other parts of Europe. At times their presence extended into the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. And the Vikings did more than merely travel to these places: they conquered and established settlements, communities, and policies in diverse areas of northwestern Europe, European Russia, the North Atlantic islands, and even as far as the north-eastern coast of North America.
The spread of the Vikings disseminated Norse culture and also brought foreign cultural influences into Scandinavia, with profound historical consequences that would echo into later medieval periods.
Popular modern conceptions of the Vikings often differ sharply from the actual, complex culture revealed by archaeological findings and other historical sources. Vikings have been alternately romanticized as noble savages and intrepid adventurers and reviled as bloodthirsty piratical raiders. To truly appreciate the profound impact that Viking culture and its legacy had on the development of medieval Europe, we must look beyond the modern-day clichés and stereotypes and examine the real facts about the rich, complex and complicated culture of the ancient Norsemen.