The warfare and violence of the Vikings were often motivated and fueled by their belief in Norse religion, focusing on Thor and Odin, the gods of war and death. Apart from two or three representations of ritual helmets with protrusions that may be either stylized ravens, snakes, or horns, no depiction of the helmets of Viking warriors, and no preserved helmet, has horns.
The stereotypical Viking helmet was thus mainly a fiction of a later romanticized image of the Viking. The Vikings are believed to have engaged in a disordered style of frenetic, furious fighting, although the brutal perception of the Vikings is largely a misconception, likely attributed to Christian misunderstandings regarding paganism at the time.
Facilitated by advanced seafaring skills, Viking activities at times also extended into the Mediterranean littoral, North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Following extended phases of exploration on seas and rivers, expansion, and settlement, Viking communities and polities were established in diverse areas of northwestern Europe, European Russia, and the North Atlantic islands, and as far as the northeastern coast of North America. During their explorations, Vikings raided and pillaged, but also engaged in trade, settled wide-ranging colonies, and acted as mercenaries.
This period of expansion witnessed the wider dissemination of Norse culture while simultaneously introducing strong foreign cultural influences into Scandinavia itself, with profound developmental implications in both directions. Longer and more-established settlements were formed in Greenland, Iceland, Great Britain, and Normandy.
Viking expansion into continental Europe was limited. Their realm was bordered by powerful cultures to the south. Early on it was the Saxons, who occupied Old Saxony, located in what is now northern Germany. The Saxons were a fierce and powerful people and were often in conflict with the Vikings. To counter the Saxon aggression and solidify their own presence, the Danes constructed the huge defense fortification of Danevirke in and around Hedeby.
The Vikings soon witnessed the violent subduing of the Saxons by Charlemagne in the thirty-year Saxon Wars from — The Saxon defeat resulted in their forced christening and the absorption of Old Saxony into the Carolingian Empire. Fear of the Franks led the Vikings to further expand Danevirke, and the defense constructions remained in use throughout the Viking Age and even up until The south coast of the Baltic Sea was ruled by the Obotrites, a federation of Slavic tribes loyal to the Carolingians and later the Frankish empire.
The Vikings, led by King Gudfred, destroyed the Obotrite city of Reric on the southern Baltic coast in and transferred the merchants and traders to Hedeby. This secured their supremacy in the Baltic Sea, which endured throughout the Viking Age. Light green: main settlement areas, in the first millennium.
The year Viking influence on European history is filled with tales of plunder and colonization, and the majority of these chronicles came from western witnesses and their descendants.
Not until the s did scholars outside Scandinavia begin to seriously reassess the achievements of the Vikings, recognizing their artistry, technological skills, and seamanship.
Studies of genetic diversity have provided scientific confirmation to accompany archaeological evidence of Viking expansion. They additionally indicate patterns of ancestry, imply new migrations, and show the actual flow of individuals between disparate regions. Genetic evidence contradicts the common perception that Vikings were primarily pillagers and raiders. An article by Roger Highfield summarizes recent research and concludes that, as both male and female genetic markers are present, the evidence is indicative of colonization instead of raiding and occupying.
However, this is also disputed by unequal ratios of male and female haplotypes, which indicate that more men settled than women, an element of a raiding or occupying population. Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. The Middle Ages in Europe. Search for:. The Germanic Tribes. Learning Objectives Explain the importance of battle and military strength to the Germanic tribes.
Key Takeaways Key Points The Germanic people were a diverse group of migratory tribes with common linguistic and cultural roots who dominated much of Europe during the Iron Age. When the Roman Empire lost strength during the 5th century, Germanic peoples migrated into Great Britain and Western Europe, and their settlements became fixed territories. Germanic peoples had a strong military, and warriors were fiercely devoted to their military leaders, or chieftains.
Political leaders Odoacer and Theoderic the Great shaped later European civilizations. Key Terms nomadic : Leading a wandering life with no fixed abode; peripatetic, itinerant. At the time, Rome used many mercenary armies from other nations, called foederati , who with the rise of Emperor Augustulus became frustrated by their treatment and status. These armies, led by Odoacer, revolted against Emperor Augustulus and deposed him in , and granted Odoacer kingship.
Odoacer cooperated with the existing Roman Senate and elevated them to prestige, thereby stabilizing his power in Italy. Key Terms Western Roman Empire : The western provinces of the Roman Empire at any one time during which they were administered by a separate independent imperial court, coequal with or only nominally subordinate to that administering the eastern provinces.
Arian Christian : A Christian sect that asserts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was created by God the Father at a point in time, is distinct from the Father, and is therefore subordinate to the Father.
Theoderic defeated and killed Odoacer and took over as ruler of Italy, where he reigned successfully for 33 years. Theoderic died in while planning an expedition to restore his power over the Vandal kingdom; his death soon led to the collapse of the Ostrogothic reign. Ostrogoths : The eastern branch of the Germanic tribes; they traced their origins to the Greutungi, a branch of the Goths who had migrated southward from the Baltic Sea and established a kingdom north of the Black Sea during the 3rd and 4th centuries.
Visigoths : The western branches of the nomadic tribes of Germanic peoples referred to collectively as the Goths. Learning Objectives Illustrate how Viking ships were an integral part of Viking culture, influencing trade and warfare. Vikings were renowned for their ships, which were an integral part of their culture, facilitating, trade, exploration, and warfare. Weapons indicated the social status of a Viking, and warfare and violence were heavily influenced by pagan religious beliefs.
The Vikings established and engaged in extensive trading networks throughout the known world and had a profound influence on the economic development of Europe and Scandinavia.
Vikings are often thought of as brutal warriors due to the manner in which they settled in the northeast of England, though in recent years they have been recognized for their technological skills and seamanship. Viking culture and stories were written about in the Sagas, stories compiled almost one to three hundred years after Viking raids had mostly ceased.
When settling land in Greenland and Iceland, Vikings established their form of democratic government which included discussion of rules of law and other issues during Things, assemblies open to all free people. Key Terms longship : A Viking ship intended for warfare and exploration and designed for speed and agility. Longships were equipped with a sail as well as oars, making navigation independent of the wind possible.
Obotrites : A confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern northern Germany.
Charlemagne : A ruler of the Carolingian Dynasty renowned for his thirty-year military campaign to spread Christianity in Europe and for his interests in education and religion. During the 12th century, it was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe. Scandinavia : A historical and cultural-linguistic region in northern Europe characterized by a common Germanic heritage and related languages.
It includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Licenses and Attributions. CC licensed content, Shared previously. In Italy they formed a division known as the ostrogoths and established a monarchy years after the vandals had sacked Rome. The visigoths were an western division of the goths and in the 5th century established a monarchy in the south of France but were driven out by the franks years later. Where did the Visigoths originally come from? There's a few ways to answer this question.
The easiest and most accurate way is to answer it simply as saying the Visigoths were the Goths who followed Alaric I in his migration to Italy and sacked Rome in and eventually settled in Spain after a series of events.
It should be noted that Visigoths simply means Western Goths, similarly Ostrogoths simply means Eastern Goths, these were those Goths who initially stayed behind and only migrated later and founded a Kingdom in Italy.
If you're asking where the Goths as a whole came from, the answer is very simple: They came here themselves, from the 'Goth'-area. Also known as The Dark Zone. On their own. On foot. They only really appeared in the historical record in the second century and got dangerous in the third century when they managed to kill a Roman emperor in battle. They suffered a serious defeat to Rome and were quiet before becoming dangerous again in the fourth century.
The source for this is Jordanes, who was a Goth working for the eastern Rome, and Cassiodorus,who was a Roman working for the Ostrogothic king. Neither of these two men were very good historians and were far removed from the conjectured migration. There was very little Gothic identity before the 6th century, and these writings seem to be part of a conscious attempt to build one.
Historians today largely reject the Scandanavian hypothesis and for the most part think that where the original Goths came from is irrelevant because the Gothic people were essentially an amalgamation of several different Germanic tribes and groups that formed a confederation, probably only slightly before they attacked Rome in the second century.
It's almost impossible to re-write history in a nut-shell. But at least let's try. Saturnalia, held in mid-December, is an ancient Roman pagan festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn.
Saturnalia celebrations are the source of many of the traditions we now associate with Christmas. The original structure stretched more than 70 miles across the northern English countryside from the River Tyne near the city of Newcastle The Goths and the Vandals were two of the Germanic groups that clashed with the Roman Empire throughout Europe and North Africa from the third to the fifth centuries A. Because nearly all of the surviving information about the Goths and Vandals comes from Roman sources, history Lupercalia was an ancient pagan festival held each year in Rome on February The Gauls The story of the first sack of Rome is steeped in myth and legend, but it most likely began when the young city became embroiled in a conflict with a band of Gallic Celts led by the warlord Brennus.
On July 18, B. Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Alaric I The Visigoths tribe of Goths are believed to be descendants of an earlier group of Goths called the Thervingi.
The region was known as the Visigothic Kingdom. Recommended for you. How the Troubles Began in Northern Ireland. Ancient Rome. Ancient Pleasure Palaces. Ancient Rome Beginning in the eighth century B. Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire was a vast and powerful civilization with origins that can be traced to A.
Roman Forum The Roman Forum, known as Forum Romanum in Latin, was a site located at the center of the ancient city of Rome and the location of important religious, political and social activities. Saturnalia Saturnalia, held in mid-December, is an ancient Roman pagan festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn.
0コメント