The True Viking Story

The Viking Age generally refers to the period from A.D. 800, a few years after the earliest recorded raid, until the 1050s, a few years before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, according to Angelo Forte, Richard D. Oram and Frederik Pedersen, authors of "Viking Empires" (Cambridge University Press, 2005). During this time, the reach of the Scandinavian people extended to all corners of northern Europe, and many other nations found Vikings raiding their coasts. The farthest reported records of Vikings were in Baghdad for the trading of goods like fur, tusks and seal fat.

In the years that followed the initial raid, coastal villages, monasteries and even cities found themselves besieged by these sea-based foreign intruders. Due to the frequency of sea attacks, many developments were made in developing fortifications in the forms of walled-in harbors and sea-facing stone walls, defenses that proved to be quite effective at deterring raids.


THE TRUE VIKING STORY

The Viking ship

At the heart of the Viking culture lies the Viking ship. These extraordinary vessels — longships in particular — shaped the lives of the sea-faring Norse and changed the course of European history.

THE MOST FAMOUS VIKINGS

1. Erik the Red

Erik the Red is a figure who embodies the Vikings’ bloodthirsty reputation more completely than most. Ultimately, Erik ended up founding Greenland, but that was only after he’d been banished from Iceland for murdering several men.

THE TRUE VIKING STORY

2. Leif Erikson

As claims to fame go, Leif Erikson’s isn’t half bad. Leif is generally considered to have been the first European to set foot in North America, a full 500 years before Christopher Columbus. The son of Erik the Red, Leif is thought to have arrived in the New World in around 1000, having ventured off course en route to Greenland. His crew set up camp in a place he dubbed “Vinland”, thought to be Newfoundland. 

THE TRUE VIKING STORY

3. Freydís Eiríksdóttir

Also a child of Erik the Red, Freydís proved she was just as much her father’s daughter as her brother, Leif Erikson, was his son. Legend has it that, while exploring North America with her brother, she singlehandedly chased off natives with a sword — while pregnant.

THE TRUE VIKING STORY

4. Ragnar Lothbrok 

Arguably the most famous Viking warrior of them all, not least for his role as the leading protagonist in Vikings, the History Channel’s popular drama. Ragnar’s fame was well-established before the television show, however, thanks to the prominent role he plays in the stories written down by the Vikings known as “sagas”.
THE TRUE VIKING STORY

5. Bjorn Ironside

This Ironside was a legendary Swedish king who may be familiar to fans of Vikings on the History Channel. Bjorn was the son of Ragnar Lothbrok and was renowned for the raids he led on France, England and along the Mediterranean coastline. 

THE TRUE VIKING STORY

6. Gunnar Hamundarson

Famed for his swordsmanship, Gunnar was, according to most accounts, a truly formidable fighter whose jump could exceed his own height — even when he was wearing full armour. He fought and pillaged his way along the coasts of Denmark and Norway and features in the Brennu-Njals saga.

THE TRUE VIKING STORY

7. Ivar the Boneless

Another son of Ragnar Lothbrok, Ivar supposedly owes his nickname to a condition that caused his legs to fracture easily, makeing his fearsome reputation all the more impressive. Indeed, Ivar the Boneless was known to be a Berserker, champion Norse warriors who fought in a trance-like fury. He is best known for invading several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms with his two brothers.

THE TRUE VIKING STORY 

8. Eric Bloodaxe

Born into the Viking lifestyle, Eric Bloodaxe was one of the many sons of Norway’s first king, Harald Fairhair. He is said to have participated in bloody raids across Europe from the age of 12 and quickly learnt that violence was the most effective way to distinguish yourself in the Viking community. Eric, whose real name was in fact Eric Haraldsson, gained his evocative nickname by murdering all but one of his brothers.

THE TRUE VIKING STORY

9. Egil Skallagrimsson

The archetypal warrior-poet, our knowledge of Egil Skallagrimsson and his exploits owes much to legend. Nonetheless, even given the sagas’ tendency towards drama and aggrandisement, Egil was a remarkable character.

Egil’s Saga portrays him as a complex man who was prone to violent rage but also capable of great poetic sensitivity. Indeed, his poems are widely considered to be among ancient Scandinavia’s finest.  Egil is said to have killed for the first time when he was just seven, taking an axe to another boy. It was the first murderous act of a bloody life filled with pillaging and plundering.

THE TRUE VIKING STORY

10. Harald Hardrada

Hardrada translates as “hard ruler”, a reputation Harald lived up to with his aggressively militaristic approach to leadership and tendency to settle disputes brutally. He is widely considered to have been the last great Viking ruler, taking the Norwegian throne in 1046 and presiding over a period of peace and progress — and the introduction of Christianity that rather belies his fierce reputation.

He died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in England when his invading Viking army was defeated by King Harold’s surprise attack. Famously he was killed by an arrow to the neck. 

THE TRUE VIKING STORY