The Vikings
Norse seafarers raided and traded across Europe and the Atlantic.
About this topic
The Vikings were seafaring Scandinavian peoples from present-day Norway, Sweden and Denmark who raided, traded and settled across Europe from about 793 to 1066. Their first famous raid hit the monastery at Lindisfarne in England. Skilled shipbuilders, they used longships with shallow hulls and a single sail that could cross open ocean, sail up rivers and land directly on beaches.
Reasons for their expansion include limited farmland, population growth and a search for wealth. Danish Vikings took control of the Danelaw in England, Norse settlers founded Dublin, Rollo's followers received Normandy in France, and Swedish Vikings, the Rus, traded along rivers in Russia, helping form Kiev. Vikings settled Iceland and Greenland, and Leif Erikson reached North America, which they called Vinland, around 1000 CE, centuries before Columbus.
They were also traders, farmers and craftsmen, with a society governed by assemblies called things. A misconception is that they wore horned helmets, which comes from nineteenth-century opera costumes. They believed in gods such as Odin and Thor. The Normans descended from them and conquered England in 1066, the year often used to mark the end of the Viking Age.
Key ideas
- Longships
- Settled Iceland, Greenland and Normandy
- Reached North America
Quick check
Use cases: where The Vikings helps
- Homework: review the key idea behind The Vikings before you start a problem set.
- Exam revision: use the quick check to test whether you can recall The Vikings without notes.
- Visual learning: play with the interactive lab to see how The Vikings changes when you adjust its inputs.
- Teaching a friend: explain The Vikings in your own words, then compare your version with the key ideas.
Studying the past helps explain today’s politics, borders, cultures and institutions.
Frequently asked questions
What is The Vikings?
Norse seafarers raided and traded across Europe and the Atlantic.
What will I learn in The Vikings?
Longships. Settled Iceland, Greenland and Normandy. Reached North America.
Is The Vikings part of World History?
Yes. It is one of 80 World History topics on LearnViz HighSchoolEdu, with 3 key ideas, a live animation and a quick check.
Does the The Vikings lab work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. The animation resizes to fit your screen and supports touch, so you can drag, tap and slide with your finger.
How should I study The Vikings?
Read the summary and key ideas first, play with the interactive lab to see the idea in motion, then answer the quick check. If you get a question wrong, go back to the key idea it tests.
Do I need an account, and is my progress saved?
No account is needed. Marking a topic as learned is saved in your own browser, so it stays on that device and is not sent to a server.