In AD 793, monks on the little island of Lindisfarne, off the coast of England, saw strange ships with dragon-head prows coming in from the sea. The raiders took the monastery's treasures. For the next 250 years, people around Europe feared the arrival of the Vikings.
Key idea
Vikings sailed west to settle Iceland (about AD 874) and Greenland. About AD 1000 Leif Erikson reached North America, which the Vikings called Vinland. Archaeologists found the remains of a Viking camp at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, in 1960. Other Vikings rowed east along the rivers of Russia to trade with Constantinople and Baghdad.
Vikings told long stories called sagas, and Iceland kept many of them. In Iceland they also held one of the oldest parliaments in the world, the Althing, first held in AD 930.
Worked example: Who came first?
- Both dates are AD: subtract.
- 1,492 − 1,000 = 492.
Answer: About 490 years.
Common mistake
Try it at home
- Fold a paper boat and float it in a sink or tub. Add coins one at a time. How many can it carry before it sinks?
- Then try a wider, flatter boat. Longships were long, narrow and shallow, built for speed and for rivers.