Why Were The Vikings Important In Europe

Trade played a major role in the Viking expansion as many trades ended up as raids. However, the Vikings established many trade routes throughout Europe. They also set up many trade centers.  As well as this, craftsmen and merchants went to England, Germany and other countries to barter their goods. These trades were usually only performed once or twice every year. However, these craftsmen introduced many new techniques in working with metals, wood and other materials. Other than this the Vikings traded raw materials such as timber, dried fish, honey, furs and salt. In return for this the Vikings got, cloths, pottery, iron bars, and clothes. These trades boosted the European economy through out the Middle Ages.

This is called the Dark Age or the early Middle Age and during this period, there were a series of geographical explorations in Western Europe as well outside its borders. Vikings emerged out as the most adventurous mariners in the late 8th century. They set out for a geographical expansion because of an increased competition to grab resources and probably due to an existence of a social system in which an individual's status was marked by his possession of portable wealth.They were initially raiders and use to inhabit the modern Scandinavian regions. They were excellent ship builders and navigators. They penetrate countless river systems of Western Europe and attack settlements. They keep on discovering new islands in the North Atlantic and reached Iceland in 770 AD (Love, 2006, p. 4). It was then largely an inhabitant land with a small population of Irish monks. However, they Vikings moved further and reached Greenland and North America in the 10th century. They, later on, make efforts to establish settlements in the modern day L'Anse aux Meadows, which is now a historic site of archaeological importance in Canada. It was known to them as Vinelands. Wolf (2011) asserted that "The ferocious raid in 793 on the Church and Monastery on the tiny island of Lindisfarne just off the Northumbrian coast is commonly regarded

The contribution of printing from China was also used to print maps which increased navigation and imperialism. The introduction of gunpowder in Europe was used to blow up medieval castles and buildings. Gunpowder also gave Europe military power. This shifted Europe out of a dark age and Europe was able to catch up to the rest of the world. The compass was a very beneficial invention to Europe that ultimately caused to the Rise of the West. The compass brought about an accidental discovery of the Americas in 1492 by Columbus. This gave rise to the colonization of the Americas and Western European dominance. The compass was also used for the Portuguese and Spanish voyages which opened up the first “all-sea route” to ports of East Africa and Asia. Trade increased which made Italian city-states wealthy and lead to a spice trade. Without Chinese technology, the Rise of the West would not have been possible.

The Europeans were able to conquer the Americas because even though it was by “accident,” they were still more prepared for what was to come. Jared Diamond calls the European “accidental conquerors.” Diamond calls his theory geographical luck and concludes that the only way the Europeans were able to dominate the Americas was because of the way the ocean patterns happened to flow. The geographical wind patterns caused the ships to sail towards the Incas and the Aztecs and when the Europeans arrived they tried to conquer the Aztecs and Incas, they succeed for a number of reasons.

As we have seen, the introduction of Christianity to the Vikings had significantly contributed to the end of the Viking Age in mid 11th Century, not only due to the persuasive Christian missionaries, and the realization of the benefits of Christianity, but also the forcible nature of Scandinavia king’s conversion of their subjects (which will be looked into in more detailed in due course). One must bear in mind that most of the evidence we have on the conversion of the Vikings is through archaeological excavations, as Gareth Williams explains that “we can see it in the archaeological evidences [that] Pagans buried their dead with grave goods, but Christians normally didn't, and this makes it relatively easy to spot the change in religion.”

The Dark ages describe a period of time which is also called the Middle Ages ranging from approximately 500AD to 1500AD. The Dark Ages were in Europe. The Dark Ages was debatable. There should be a reason for why they were called Dark. So the question is where they really dark?  Some say yes, some no. But I believe that the Dark Ages were maybe so dark.

Give a brief description of the main features of the Viking expansion – raiding and trading routes, major settlements and conquests and discuss the different images of Vikings as traders and raiders and why the expansion stopped.

did you know that leif ericson norse explorer was the first to discover the continent of north america before columbus.the vikings used cartography to make more accurate maps for making travel easier.They also had tools such as the compass which was first used in 1345 by european sailors and just kept improving.Vikings also possessed astrolabes a device that tells you if you are north or south from the equator these were first used in 225 BC but was available in europe by the eleventh

Ravagers, Pirates, pagans: These words sums up the Vikings for the people who lived in europe during medieval times. Although the Vikings are seen as barbaric fighters, they brought many important technological inventions and had many achievements that made a great impact on european culture.

The Vikings were a group of Germanic sea dwellers who traded with and raided towns all across Europe out of their Scandinavian homeland. During the late 8th to 11th centuries they ruled all of Europe through their barbaric ways. Even other cultures outside of Europe saw the barbaric ways in which the Vikings acted towards the villages that they encountered. One such case of this was a Muslim Chronicler, Ibn Fadlan, recounting of the Vikings as “[T]he filthiest of God’s creatures.” While they were very savage in their actions, this very trait gave them the ability to be able to roam through and ravage an entire town fully unopposed and within a very miniscule timeframe. According to another one of Fadlan’s writings, “Each man has an axe,

This was important because at that time there were not many trade routes between those areas, and if there were they would tax people not of their religion or culture. Document 5 gives a synopsis of different reasons Europeans may have wanted to participate in the Crusades, including opening new trade routes. These trade routes would allow the Christians to get more resources from the Middle East at a much cheaper and faster rate. A new trade route seemed to be crucial for the Christians. India and the Middle East had many resources to offer. They traded many animals, dyes, and many crops such as corn, wheat, and

The main motivation behind the development of better ships was the Viking’s strategy of attacking from the water. This led to development of seaworthy ships with enhanced navigation techniques. Evidence shows that the Norse explorers had a higher technology in iron tools and weaponry than the American inhabitants. Therefore, ship building was not motivated by war but by the spirit of exploration.5

They had created extensive and useful trade routes covering all of Europe and present-day Russia, Middle East, India, and China. Their influence on trade was great, as they turned many cities in Europe into trade oriented cities, and basically transformed the economy of north Europe into a commercial market economy. The vikings also contributed to the technological world. They created many fast and durable ships, as well as useful weapons such as swords, spears, shields, knives, and more. They were superb farmers, created different techniques for farming in the different areas that they conquered. They were also great at crafting. They would make pottery, leather work, sewing, and weaving, and would do textile dying as well. They also had a model of law and democracy in their society, just like what we have

There were many economic and social changes that occurred in the Late Middle Ages. The now rich soil brought about by the agricultural revolution let the crops give the nutrients which helped peasants withstand childbirth and live longer, leading to an increase in population. Since the Europeans were able to feed their families from the excess food, it allowed them to find time to learn new trades and develop new skills.

Viking long-ships were lean, speedy, lightweight ships that could easily cut through the most vicious waves that the ocean could throw at them. At the time, no other civilization had been able to achieve such an amazing naval feat, so this gave the Vikings a great advantage over medieval combat, political affairs, and even the trading industry. Since the ships were so fast, the ships were great for transportation of soldiers, or merchandise. “The Viking longboat was the key to the Vikings success in traveling.” (Legends and Chronicles, Paragraph 14). This made the long-ship a very valuable and important asset to the Vikings. Soon, it had become a part of Viking culture to bury some of the wealthiest Vikings inside their long-ship.