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Vikings
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The Vikings were one of several waves of attackers to fall on Europe in the centuries after the short-lived eminence of the Carolingian Empire. Others included the Magyars from Asia, who appeared on the eastern frontiers, and the Muslims, who worked outward from Spain and the Mediterranean. At first, the Vikings’ impact was primarily disruptive and destructive. Gradually the Vikings became part of the larger European community as they were attracted by a more settled life, and as Christian Europe’s ability to resist their attacks grew. The Vikings were great sailors and ferocious enemies, but ... storytellers and workers of the highest level.
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From the time of the first known raids in Lindisfarne in 793 until the Battle of Stanford Bridge in 1066 the Vikings were the most powerful and influencial people of northern Europe. With an extensive trade from western Europe to the Black Sea they had made themselves known. They settled in many places of Europe, and were the people who helped form what today is Russia. They have left marks in almast every country in Europe and if you travel the Great Britain you will encounter names of Villages and Streets that will sound Norse.
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The Vikings set up a base, which the Irish called longphorts. This longphort would eventually become Dublin. After this interaction, the Irish experienced Viking forces for about 40 years. The Vikings ... established longphorts in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, and Wexford. The Vikings were driven out of Ireland for a short period around 900, but returned to Waterford in 914 to found what would become Ireland's first city. The other longphorts were soon re-occupied and developed into cities and towns.
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The pre-Christian religion of the Vikings was similar to that of other Germanic tribes. They worshiped a number of gods, including Odin, the god of war and leader of the Norse gods; Thor, the god of thunder; and Balder, the god of light. Viking warriors believed that if they died heroically they would be called to dwell with Odin in Valhalla, his palace in the realm of the gods. Opposing the Norse gods were a host of evil giants, led by Loki. Vikings believed that both gods and men would eventually be destroyed in the Ragnarok, a mighty battle against the giants, but that a new, peaceful world would emerge from this disaster.
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The Vikings were equipped with the then technologically superior longships; for purposes of conducting trade... another type of ship, the knarr, wider and deeper in draught, were customarily used. The Vikings were competent sailors, adept in land warfare as well as at sea, and they often struck at accessible and poorly-defended targets, usually with near impunity. It is the effectiveness of these tactics that earned them their formidable reputation as raiders and pirates, and the chroniclers paid little attention to other aspects of medieval Scandinavian culture.
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The Vikings probably were descended from the generally blue-eyed and blond invaders from the south of Scandinavia. Long-limbed and muscular, Norsemen were trained from childhood to be strong and self-reliant. Running, jumping, and wrestling took the place of reading, writing, and arithmetic.
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Vikings