The Viking Conundrum
Volume 3 | Issue 7
Article by Greg Burleson. Edited by Liz Goodwin.
In 800 C.E., the Carolingian Empire was reaching its pinnacle. There was however, a storm brewing in the north. Northern invaders had previously dabbled in the affairs of the Carolingian Empire but would soon unleash their full fury upon the world. While surviving texts thoroughly vilify the Viking actions in and around Europe, their accounts speak nothing of the Norse’s numerous and incredible achievements. As historians begin to look past the decisively one-sided account of the history of the Normans, this article seeks to uncover the more worldly feats and accomplishments made by these North Men, challenging the stereotype of pirates only interested in raping, plundering and pillaging.
When remembering the Vikings, it is important to remember a Viking people in a unified and organized sense is no more identifiable than the Gothic tribes in the fourth and fifth centuries; broad general statements about this collection of people is simply too far-reaching. To draw a comparison of history being written purely by the winners, the life and exploits of Francis Drake, several centuries later, embody this idea of historical inaccuracy. Had the Spanish ultimately defeated the English would Drake still be regarded as a brilliant military commander and a famous explorer; or would the world view him as the Spanish of the time thought of Drake, a filthy, murderous pirate? This question is entirely oversimplified but is directly comparable to the Viking interactions with the rest of the world. There is, of course, no answer but only the perceptions that are handed down to us by those whom ultimately come out victorious. In these examples two nearly identical stories are perceived very differently and as a result the continued focus going forward should remain a case by case study of the Vikings individual contacts with the wider world.
An incident which seemingly justifies their reputation took place on the 8th of June, 793, when Lindisfarne Monastery was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and ground forces of the tribes of Scandinavia. Following the early attacks on monasteries the Vikings quickly learned that numerous religious sites around Europe had both no defences and unmatched amounts of gold. Through fear and conquest the Vikings located incredible amounts of wealth at minimal cost to the invaders. Cotemporary writings of the time tell stories of fleeing monks being slaughtered while churches were desecrated by these heathens who were so vilified they were most certainly sent by either Heaven or Hell to ravage the land. Alcuin of York, a leader of the Carolingian Renaissance and Charlemagne’s personal tutor went so far as to write to the Bishop of Lindisfarne stating “Either this is the beginning of greater tribulation, or else the sins of the inhabitants have called it upon them. Truly it has not happened by chance, but is a sign that it was well merited by someone.” Alcuin’s powerful words remain one of our most valuable resources for understanding the thoughts of those who lived during this period. While in the early years the attacks were predominately located in the British Isles, they soon spread outward and even inward towards and beyond central Europe in their longboats to surprise undefended churches and towns. When looking at this collection of facts from the Viking Age, history simply cannot ignore that many Vikings of this period were in fact acting as pirates. Their initial success at places such as Lindisfarne spurned additional Vikings to sail south and east to rape, pillage, destroy, and desecrate. It would be this image, of infamous pirates, that would embody the Vikings as a collective ever since.
This story, of course, is not over; many do not fit this pirate description. A prominent example of this begins with Ireland’s story. While Ireland took a significant beating from the Viking pirates, it also received a full invasion and colonization beginning around 840, followed by the establishment of colonies, marking a turning point in Irish and Viking history. These Viking towns were, in a large sense, the first large scale settlements in Ireland and went on to become many of the largest and most cultured cities in Ireland, a prominent example being Dublin.
The Ireland example does not however explain why the Vikings were so successful in colonizing areas beyond the British Isles during this period. Conventional wisdom would illustrate the image of a strong Carolingian Empire being forcefully taken by the Viking forces but this simply is not true. In the chaotic aftermath of Charlemagne’s death, rapid institutional change and poor leadership left the Empire in a state of civil war in which Frankish forces were forced to concentrate on themselves instead of repelling this outside force. Just as the Goths had done centuries earlier, the Vikings were able to come to the New Roman Empire nearly unmatched. They came in through the Seine River; and, through their typical means, colonized the area going as far inland to lay siege on Paris on several occasions. As the French made themselves better prepared, the Vikings grew wearier of these raids and the two sides agreed to terms allowing the Vikings to stay and claim the lands they had already captured. This region of France became known as Normandy, and the Norse Men, or Normans, would have huge impact on their surrounding kingdoms In 1066 William the Conquer was by no means a pirate, as his earlier Vikings had been, or had been accused and vilified as. The reason for this is simple, just as Sir Francis Drake took Caribbean colonies from the Spanish, William the Conquer was on the side that now has a direct lineage of documents portraying their opinions of historical events, whereas, the early Vikings do not.
Despite their prominence Vikings colonies in Western Europe were not their only colonies through the world. In fact, anyone wishing to label the Vikings as pirates or colonists must also be willing to describe them as accomplished explorers (they were, in fact, the first to discover both Iceland and Greenland and soon, thereafter, colonized each). These new colonies served as additional stepping stones until the Vikings ultimately reached North America and become what historians certainly believe to be the first Europeans to reach this new world. These monumental achievements in exploration are largely overshadowed by exploration of the fifteenth century and understandably for a number of reasons. A significant reason the Vikings are overshadowed is, while they did reach Newfoundland, they ultimately failed in their attempt to colonize the area and so North America would stay virgin until later European powers arrived, colonized, and documented their findings. These final processes of colonization and documentation are ultimately why children are raised to ignore, not only the great achievements of the Vikings, but countless others who arrived in North Americans centuries before Columbus, including the inhabitants of North and South America.
The stories of the Vikings alert us to trends within historiography and in the way historians themselves assume and approach their subjects. Under a united term, the Vikings’ image of blood-thirsty plunderers, motivated only by money and loot, needs addressing within a wider world context. Furthermore, their representation as a homogenous collective is in desperate need of historiographical attention.