The Vikings first raided Britain in 787 AD and established settlements after repeated invasions in the 9th century. They conquered large parts of England, establishing the Danelaw and controlled the kingdom until the restoration of the Saxon Wessex dynasty in 1042. The Vikings also invaded and settled in Scotland, Ireland, the Scottish islands, and parts of Wales, though they did not gain control of all of Wales. They were skilled seafarers and craftsmen who founded many settlements throughout Northern Europe before Christianization ended their expansion.

1. The Vikings in Britain

2. Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms

3. Vikings
• Also called Norsemen
• The word „Viking“ means „Pirate raid“
• Great seafarers
• Skillful craftsmen
• Their expansion ended with Christianization
• Fierce warriors

4. Earliest raids
• 787 - First raid in Dorset
• 793 - Monastery of
Lindisfarne
• Small raids common since
• 865 - Large army of Danes
invaded East Anglia
• Northumbria conquered and
settled by the Danes
• Invasion of Wessex repelled
by Alfred the Great

5. Map of Viking attack routes

6. Viking Invasion continues…
• Most of occupied lands captured back by
the army of Wessex
• Danelaw established
• 947 - New wave of viking attacks
• Norwegian king Eric Bloodaxe captured
York
• Sweyn I (1013-1014)
• Canute the Great (1016-1035)

7. Danelaw Map

8. Kingdom of Canute the Great

9. What happened next?
• Troubles with inheritance
• Harthacanute vs. Harold Harefoot
• Return of Edward the Confessor from exile
in Normandy
• 1042 - Restoration of Saxon Wessex
dynasty
• 1066 – Last attempt of Norwegians to
invade England, defeated by Anglo-Saxons
who were in turn defeated by William of
Normandy

10. Vikings in Scotland
• Scotland – Norwegians defeated Picts who
lost their power and Kingdom of Scotland
was found
• Islands off Scotland coast were part of
Norway until 1468

11. Vikings in Wales and Cornwall
• Of all parts of nowadays Great Britain
Wales was least settled by Vikings
• Vikings were not able control Wales for
longer period
• Cornwall became an ally of Vikings and
helped them conquer Wessex, remained
independent of Vikings

12. Vikings in Ireland
• Ireland was devided into many small
kingdoms
• Heavily settled by the Vikings
• Norsemen could not conquer whole island
and were finally defeated by Irish allied
forces
• High Kingdom of Ireland was founded
though after danger was overthrown it felt
apart

13. Areas settled by Vikings

14. Ships
• Longship - „Drakkar“
• Merchantship – „Knarr“

15. Famous Misconceptions
• Horned helms were used only for ritual
ceremonies not in combat
• Vikings were not savage marauders, they
had advanced trade and culture
• They did not use sculls of their enemies as
cups
• Uncleanliness? No way, look at the Anglo-
Saxons instead