World History: The Origins of Russia

Novgorod Marketplace

We briefly talked about Russia in the post about Vikings and the Mongols. In Western imagination and history Russia has always been seen as the 'other'. Not quite Europe, and not quite Asia. This has been the case throughout history: the Russian Empire was seen as 'Oriental', by the mid-nineteenth century the empire was seen as backward, the USSR was the ideological enemy which almost led to nuclear war, and even today Putin's Russia has been seen as the 'other'. This is a shame as Russia has had a vibrant, unique history as great as any place in Western Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. This post will summarize the origins of Russia from the first Russian state with the Kievan Rus up to the formation of the Tsardom of Russia in 1547. However, the period we are covering if we called the land Russia a contemporary would have no idea what we were talking about. For simplicity we'll refer to it as Russia.

Origins of the Kievan Rus

Kievan Rus at its height

You may be wondering why we are starting with the Kievan Rus considering that Kiev is Ukraine's capital. Over a thousand years ago there wasn't an idea of Ukraine and Russia, and without the Kievan Rus there would be no Russia. There is some historiographical debate around the origins of the Kievan Rus. There are two schools of historiography: the 'Normanist' and the Nationalist schools. The Nationalist school states that the Kievan Rus was founded by Slavs, whereas the Normanist school states that the Rus were Vikings who founded trading posts along the Dnieper. There is strong evidence to suggest both. Archaeological evidence and written sources indicate that Vikings, called Varangians, were in the area while if we look at Russian and Ukrainian they sound nothing like Swedish. Elizabeth Howe has suggested that the subjects were Slavic and the Grand Princes (not kings) of Kiev were originally Varangian but became Slavic. Using the Russian Primary Chronicle we go from Rurik, to Oleg, to Igor showing a clear shift from Scandinavian names to Slavic names. The Slavs entered written history during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian where they appear across the Danube from the direction of the Carpathians. In 626 with the Avars, either a Turkic or Mongol people, they even attacked the Empire, and the following two centuries they settled the Balkans. Others settled north along the upper Dnieper where they mingled with the Baltic and Finnish tribal peoples. There they encountered the Varangians. 

The Varangians possibly came from Ruslagen in eastern Sweden and for years had been collecting tribute from the Baltic, Finnish, and Saami peoples. They also were big traders where a quarter of a million Islamic coins have been found in the Baltic. The Varangians started forming trade posts from Lake Ladoga, the Dnieper, and the Volga giving them access to the Black and Caspian Seas. Quite often they would go to Baghdad to access the very lucrative Islamic markets. Arabs even went north with Ibn Faldan in the 900s describing a Viking-style ship burial. The Russian Primary Chronicle, 'Tale of Bygone Years', (written by eleventh-twelfth century monks so they are not primary sources and must be taken with a pinch of salt) talk of the Varangian growing control over the locals:

859. The Varangians from beyond the sea imposed tribute upon the Chuds, the Slavs, the Merians, the Ves, the Krivichians. But the Khazars imposed it upon the Polianians, the Severians and the Viatichians, and collected a squirrel-skin and a beaver-skin from earth hearth.

860-2. The tributaries of the Varangians drove them back beyond the sea, and, refusing them further tribute, set out to govern themselves. There was no law among them... And they began to war one against one another. They said to themselves: 'Let us seek a prince who may rule over us and judge us according to law'. They accordingly went overseas to the Varangian Russes: these particular Varangians were called Russes, just as some are called Swedes, and others Normans, Angles and Goths, for they were thus named. The Chuds, the Slavs and the Krivichians then said to the people of Rus, 'Our whole land is great and rich, but there is no order in it. Come to rule and reign over us'. They thus selected three brothers [Rurik, Sineus and Truvor] with their kinsfolk, who took with them all the Russes, and migrated.

A Russian historiography places the founding of the Kievan Rus in 882 when Oleg of Novgorod became Grand Prince (although the settlement itself existed long this date). Oleg moved the capital from Novgorod to Kiev. We shall then continue the story of Russia from here.

The Kievan Rus

The Baptism of the Kievans by Klavdiy Lebedev

Like with their origins the Kievan Rus was built on trade. According to Arab traveler Ibn Rusta:

[The Rus] have no cultivated land. They eat only what they carry off from the land of the Saqlaba [the woodland Slavs, Balts and Finns]...They have no landed property nor villages nor cultivated land; their only occupation is trading in grey squirrel and other furs.

As shown in this quote trade was integral to the Rus. Coins and amber came from the extremely rich cities of the Islamic Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire, and slaves came from all over. Slavery was prolific in the Rus where even one of the possible origins for the English word 'slave' coming from 'Slav'. A 'Varangian Guard' was even made for the Byzantines indicating that the reputation of the Rus made them the best bodyguards for the Second Rome. The Kievan Rus lacked the class institutions and autonomous towns of traditional feudal societies although they had their unique structures. Merchants, laborers, and artisans in urban areas could exercise some political influence through a council called the veche. There was even an entire class of peasants who paid tribute directly to the princes so traditional serfdom was not present in the Rus. Despite the conception that women had no place in society during this time period there were several powerful regents who were women. In 945 Grand Prince Igor was killed fighting rebellious tributaries and his widow Olga (Helga) ruled until her son, Sviatoslav, came of age in 962. Olga was sent to Byzantium in 957 where she personally met with Emperor Constantine VII to organize trade. Rus relations with the Empire was marked by conflict and cooperation. War between the two broke out in 907, 941 and 971 leading to treaties giving the Rus trading rights in 911, 944 and 971 (notice how they did not seize land during these treaties). 

In 980 Vladimir became Grand Prince after conflict broke out among the sons of Sviatoslav with the aid of Novgorod. What I would argue is the most important event in Russian history occurred in Vladimir's reign. The Kievan Rus had various religions within its borders with most being polytheistic. Upon becoming Grand Prince Vladimir had erected idols to Norse, Slav, Finn and Iranian gods to bolster support for himself following the succession conflict. However, he would make a huge impact on religion in the area: he converted to Orthodox Christianity. In the 860s the Byzantines sent two missionaries, Cyril and Methodius, to convert the Slavic peoples. When Bulgaria converted they adopted a script similar to Greek, Cyrillic, which would spread to Russia. Orthodoxy was not the only Abrahamic religion to convert to. Trade had exposed the Rus to Islam through the Caliphate, Judaism from Khazaria, and Olga had invited a Catholic mission from Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. The Russian Primary Chronicle states that Vladimir had emissaries find out about Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Judaism and Islam to see which was best. It stated that Catholic ritual was without beauty, Judaism passed over in silence, Islam banned alcohol which was required in the primary bonding ceremonial of the druzhina (retinue in service of a chieftain) but Orthodoxy's divine service was described as being so beautiful that 'we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth'. Although closer ties with the Byzantines was likely the true cause for conversion to Orthodoxy. Thus Russia became Orthodox. In 1019 Yaroslav the Wise came to power who created the Russkaya Pravda. This was a major law reform which even made no reference to corporal or capital punishment in reference to the old Norse law code. This code was so successful that it would last for centuries. Finally, Yaroslav granted Novgorod more independence for helping place both him and his father on the throne thus forming the groundwork for the Novgorod Republic. After Yaroslav's death the Rus went into decline as principalities started fighting over power. In 1136 Novgorod dismissed the prince (which had been appointed by the Kievans) and formed the Novgorod Republic, Constantinople went into decline, and the Crusades sapped further power away from Constantinople. Novgorod even started to replace Kiev as a major economic center. Then in 1223 the Mongols invaded and the Kievan Rus was conquered by 1240.

Mongols and Novgorod

Alexander Nevsky

In 1240 Kiev fell although several major centers of power like Novgorod had submitted before being overrun by the Mongols. The Russian lands of the Mongol empire was organized into a khanate called Kipchak, or the Golden Horde in European and Russian sources, with a capital at Sarai on the lower Volga. Despite many fleeing to the relative safety of Tver and Moscow the structures of power remained the same in many cities. The Mongols were relatively tolerant in religious matters so the Orthodox church retained its power, and the princes still ruled. However, they ruled at the pleasure of the khan, such as Prince Yaroslav of Vladimir in 1243 being made Great Prince of Kiev and Vladimir for paying tribute. Mongol rule has often been described as 'the Tatar Yoke'. The princes actually gained more power through Mongol rule as the Mongols prevented fighting by appointing princes, and the veches were given less power in return. The seeds for the autocracy of the Russian Empire were sown here. Many resented the stripping of the veche's power, and enslaving/conscripting householders who failed to pay their dues. Electing princes, diplomacy over war and peace, taxation, and recruitment into the militia were now controlled by the Mongols where they had been controlled by the veche forging an alliance between the veche and people. There were several risings, such as in 1262, which the Mongols put down. As the years went on the Mongols started giving more autonomy to cities to collect taxes.

We now need to talk about Novgorod. Like Kiev it had been founded as a major trading city and had been the capital before Kiev was. It became so powerful that it managed to choose the princes of Kiev. As their overlord Kiev had appointed the Novgorod prince until 1136 when they ousted the Kievan prince, appointed their own, and formed the Novgorod republic. Often overlooked Novgorod was a fairly democratic society compared to the other societies of contemporary Europe. A traditional narrative states that the Novgorod government ran through the veches, posadniks (mayors),  tysyatskys ('thousandmen' who originally were militia heads but later were judicial and commercial officials), archbishops and boyars (aristocrats). A Soviet (and a Marxist) historiography has described Novgorod as a 'feudal republic' although it has been contested whether Russia was ever feudal in the same sense as the West which the historiography implies. The most famous Novgorodian prince is Alexander Nevsky who has become a cultural icon in Russia. The same year that the Mongols sacked Kiev (1240) he won the Battle of Neva against a Swedish army, (although this battle is not mentioned in non-Russian sources). Nevsky opted to subordinate Novgorod to the Golden Horde. The Roman Curia had hoped that Novgorod would go to war against the Mongols, which would forestall an invasion of the rest of Europe. Historians have debated why. Some have argued that Nevsky saw Catholicism as a greater threat to Russia while the more tolerant Tatars could aid Russia. Others have argued that it was more self-serving pragmatism; aiding the Mongols would preserve his power while a war would certainly end it. Either way it further placed Russia in the Orthodox camp.

Rise of Moscow

Dormition Cathedral, Moscow

As we all know Moscow is the capital of Russia today. Until the creation of St Petersburg, and after the Russian Revolution Moscow was Russia's capital. How did Moscow usurp Novgorod and Kiev as the most powerful city? Founded in 1147 Moscow remained largely insignificant until the thirteenth century. Thanks to the Mongols many had fled to Moscow boosting the city's population. It was well situated being on the Movska River, (good for trade), and has a relatively high elevation (making it easy to defend). Quite fortuitously the princes of Moscow produced male heirs (like many societies it was patriarchal) and curried the favor of the Mongols. Ivan I of Muscovy was granted the responsibility for collecting the tribute from the Rus and he became very wealthy as a result. In fact he earned the nickname 'Kalita' which literally translates to 'Moneybags'. Ivan used his wealth to buy land from other principalities and to fund the construction of churches. Princely power in Muscovy became heavily linked to the church. Meanwhile, Mongol power was slipping. Collapse of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in China separated the Golden Horde from the rest of the empire and the various khanates warred against one another. In Europe growing powers like Lithuania started to chip away at the horde. Also Russia loathed the Mongols. The Mongols were seen as punishment from God and were begrudged for the raids/tributes. Moscow had gotten powerful and in 1380 Dmitrii Ivanovich led a coalition handing the Mongols a major defeat at the Battle of Kulikovo Field. Although the Mongols regrouped and sacked Moscow in 1382 the idea of Mongol invincibility was shattered. They besieged Moscow again in 1408 but it could not save the Horde. It became split between the Crimean Khanate (1430), the Kazan Khanate (1436), the Astrakhan and the Great Horde. 

Moscow's predominance almost ended in 1431 in what Roger Bartlett described as a Muscovite equivalent of the Wars of the Roses. In 1431 Vasily II's reign was challenged by his uncle, Yuri, and a civil war erupted. During the war Vasily captured his cousin, Vasily the Cross-Eyed, and blinded his cross-eyed cousin only for later on to be blinded by his other cousin. In the end Vasily II won the war. His son, Ivan III, became Grand Prince and continued to expand the realm. Under Vasily and Ivan Moscow's control expanded by 1,000,000 kilometers squared. In 1478 Ivan III captured Novgorod destroyed the veche, massacred the population and, destroyed the library and archives. Ivan died in 1505 after a successful war with Lithuania. In 1533 Ivan's grandson, Ivan IV, would not be crowned Grand Prince as his father was. Instead he was crowned Tsar or 'Caesar'. After the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 Moscow became the main seat of Orthodoxy. As a result Moscow claimed to be the Third Rome (Rome being the first and Byzantium being the second). With Ivan crowned Tsar the Tsardom of Russia was formed. Ivan would be known as 'the Great', 'the Awesome', 'the Awe-inspiring', and most famously 'the Terrible'. However, that is for a future post.

Conclusion

Russia has often been described as one of the 'in-between lands'. Kiev was founded through the actions of Slavs and Scandinavians of the West while Russia was founded thanks to Slavs and Mongols in the East. However, this description is often used negatively. For centuries Russia has been portrayed as being 'backward' or 'archaic' in Western culture. By looking at the origins of Russia we see a rich culture born through trade and diplomacy. We see a state born through clever political maneuverings. This is something often overlooked in world history. Next time we will look go to West Africa to look at Mali and Songhai, and a man reported to be the richest man in history.

Thank you for reading and the sources I have used are as follows:

-A History of Russia by Roger Bartlett

-Russia and the Russians: From Earliest Times to 2001 by Geoffrey Hosking

-'The Volga Vikings', BBC In Our Time podcast

-The Mongols by David Morgan

-Crash Course World History: Russia, the Kievan Rus and the Mongols

For a full list of the World History posts please see here

World History: Vikings

Illustration from 12th century Miscellany on the Life of St. Edmund

Vikings are something which has enraptured the public's image for centuries. Starting with the Victorians and their contemporaries the world has become fascinated with the people who we now refer to as Vikings. In some areas where the Vikings once raided and ruled the legacies and memories of these raiders has become sources of local pride. I come from Yorkshire in northern England which was centuries ago home to the only truly Viking territory on mainland Britain in the form of the Kingdom of Jorvik. The town which I am specifically from is only a twenty minute train journey from this kingdom's capital, modern day York. York itself has taken much pride that it was once ruled by Vikings. What were the Vikings like in real life? Who were the Vikings? To start off with we have to look at where the people we call Vikings came from and why they started raiding in the first place.

Origins

The people who we call Vikings originated in northern Europe in an area called Scandinavia, (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden). Peoples across Europe and the Middle East referred to these peoples in various ways. The Franks referred to them as 'Northmen' or 'Danes' while the English referred to them as either 'Danes' or 'heathens'. Irish sources initially referred to them as 'pagans' or 'gentiles' but later called them 'Finngall' (Norwegians) or Dubgall (Danish). Slavic peoples in eastern Europe referred to them as 'the Rus' which later Byzantine and Arab texts referred to them as. The word 'Viking' itself only came into usage during the 'Viking revival' over two hundred years ago when we first began seeing these people in a romanticized view in contrast to the barbarians which they had been portrayed as centuries prior. We are not too sure on the etymological origins on the word 'Viking' with there being several theories about the origin of it, one such with it being an Old Norse word for 'pirate' or 'piracy'. 

Historians have often placed the start of the 'Viking Age' as 793 when raiders from Scandinavia sacked the Lindisfarne monastery in what is now Northumbria. Despite what the media normally portrays Viking life to be like most people in Scandinavia for centuries had been either farmers or traders. So why then did they start raiding suddenly? An initial theory was that population pressure meant that there was not enough land to go around for the use of farming. Hence, 'Vikings' started raiding Christian areas, like England and France, to get rich quick or to settle distant lands like Iceland. However, this theory about wanting land has largely been discredited now. A huge Viking farm has been discovered at Borg on the Lofoten Islands off of the northern Norwegian coast (actually inside the Arctic Circle), and a Norwegian merchant called Ottar who visited Alfred the Great of Wessex said that one of the three things which he did to sustain his family was reindeer farming in the 'furthest north of all the Norsemen'. The population density of Scandinavia has been estimated to be one or two people per square mile, the exact opposite of over-population. Other theories have been put forward. Most theories do have some uniting reason to why they started raiding western Europe: economic reasons. For many generations Scandinavians had been exacting tribute from the Sami, Finns, Balts, and Slavs in eastern Europe as it was home to the best fur for trading. The merchant Ottar took tribute from the Sami and said 'That tribute consists of the skins of beasts, the feathers of birds, whale-bone, and ship-ropes made from walrus-hide and sealskin'. These items were very important in both Scandinavia and western Europe, (as well as other materials from Scandinavia), which helped create important and lucrative trade routes between western and northern Europe. From here Scandinavians learnt important facts about the goings on in the west giving them ample information to extract more wealth through raiding.

However, these economic links have been used in accordance with theories about why raiding started. Some, like Peter Sawyer, have argued that raiding showed the power of local rulers. Danish kings controlled the route to the Baltic and used the tributary system to show their power. By sending out raiders and then taking the profit this showed other rulers how powerful they was. This period saw increased urbanization where much wealth was located so naturally it was easier to get rich raiding urban settlements than trading. Another idea argued by historians, like Robert Ferguson, was the raiding was a response to Christian expansion. The start of the 'Viking Age' coincided with Charlemagne's wars against the pagan Saxons (please see here) so raiding of wealthy Christian settlements would help counteract Christianity's spread, and make them wealthier. What the real reason was we may not know.

Religion and Burial Practices

Odin

The Vikings were polytheistic and their religion is often referred to as Norse. We know that the gods were often revered as this extract from History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen shows 

For all the gods there are appointed priests to offer sacrifices for the people. If plague and famine threaten, a libation is poured to the idol of Thor; if war, to Wotan; if marriages are to be celebrated, to Frikko.

It is unfortunate that most sources on Norse religion were written centuries after the Vikings had converted to Christianity, or are from the Icelandic sagas which are heavily mythologized. However, we can learn much from archaeology, and what sources which we do have.  We know that the 'chief' of Norse gods was Odin, and quite like the Greco-Roman gods he was not a perfect being. Thanks to Marvel comics Thor and other appearances in the media, (the god associated with thunder, strength and the protection of humanity) is the most famous Norse god. Often people would honor Thor in times of need as he was seen as the protector of humanity and would grant them strength. Similarly to many other religions there is an apocalypse in Norse religion called Ragnarok. Although a Christian source written years after the 'Viking Age' we get a good idea of Ragnarok from the Poetic Edda. Among the things to happen in Ragnarok is that the son of Loki, the giant wolf Fenrir, would kill Odin, and that the world would be engulfed in water. Eventually the world would resurface fertile once more with the surviving gods returning and with two humans to repopulate the world.

Contrary to popular belief the 'Viking funeral' of being cremated on a ship was very rare. In Denmark it was actually more common to be buried than cremated. Many areas had the dead buried with personal belongings which was believed would help them in the afterlife. Usually this indicated the wealth and power of an individual: burials with many grave goods have been interpreted as being burials of rich and powerful individuals. In Oseberg, Norway a ship was even buried in a burial mound around the year 834 with an older and younger woman in the mound as well. Bone analysis has found out that they ate a diet consisting of meat showing how wealthy they were as fish was the diet of most people at the time. Also, the fact that such an amazing horde was found buried with the women showed that women in this society could be very important. There are instances of the stereotypical ship burning funeral. The best is an Islamic source from Ibn Fadlan written in the first half of the 900s and shows a unique way how they (the Rus) prepared the dead. Among this they 'divide them [his wealth] into three parts. The first of these is for his family; the second is expanded for the garments they make; and with the third they purchase strong drink, against the day when the girl resigns herself to death, and is burned with her master'. After a feast, an orgy, and a ritual where the sacrifice supposedly sees her master 'in Paradise' the sacrifice's throat is cut and the ship is burnt. Of course this ritual is likely only reserved for the elite. Also, contrary to popular opinion if a Viking king died peacefully this was seen as a good sign as it indicated that his rule had been prosperous.

Vikings in the East

Kievan Rus in Constantinople

It is erroneous to place the start of the Viking Age with the sack of Lindisfarne. Generations before they started raiding west they had been extracting tribute from the peoples of the east. Principally people from east Sweden went east to the Baltic to do this and they started travelling to Lake Ladoga and down the Volga to trade. By 750 they had established a settlement called Staraja Ladoga to do this. Here they used tribute and trade to get goods including amber and a quarter of a million silver coins from the Islamic caliphate to the south! In return they traded Frankish swords to Arab traders. Using small ships, with around ten crew members, they would travel down the Dnieper and Volga rivers to access the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. There they would have access to the two cities of wonder: Constantinople and Baghdad. This trade was so prosperous that they established settlements across the rivers to secure this trade. In the 8th-Century Kiev was founded and in the 10th-Century Novgorod was founded. The name of the Vikings also changed along here. One theory on their name origin was that it comes from Roslagen, (eastern Sweden), which then got shortened to Rus. They did continue raiding with one in 907 allowing them to trade in Constantinople. Like their cousins in the west the Rus were known as fierce fighters with Arab sources stating that their leaders went into a rage similar to that of the infamous berserkers. Thanks to this the Byzantines even hired them as mercenaries. As shown below one mercenary named Halvdan in the 9th-Century got bored and carved his name into the Hagia Sophia. 

Viking graffiti in the Hagia Sophia

Eventually there was a shift among the Rus from a Scandinavian identity to a Slavic one as there began assimilation between the Rus and the local Slavic peoples. Elizabeth Rowe has stated this shift in Kiev took three generations to do. However, the states of Novgorod and Kiev would lay the foundations for a new state whose name derives from the Rus: Russia. However, that is a future World History post.

Vikings in the West

Lindisfarne today

In 793 the first major Viking raid on England took place with the monastery of Lindisfarne being sacked and the monks inside being murdered. Alcuin of York wrote

We and our fathers have now lived in this fair land for nearly three hundred and fifty years, and never before has such an atrocity been seen in Britain as we have now suffered at the hands of a pagan people. The church of St. Cuthbert is spattered with blood of the priests of God, stripped of all its furnishings, exposed to the plundering of pagans- a place more sacred than any in Britain.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle said:

A.D. 793. This year came dreadful fore-warnings over the land of the Northumbrians, terrifying the people most woefully: these were immense sheets of light rushing through the air, and whirlwinds, and fiery dragons flying across the firmament. These tremendous tokens were soon followed by a great famine: and not long after, on the sixth day before the ides of January in the same year, the harrowing inroads of heathen men made lamentable havoc in the church of God in Holy-island (Lindisfarne), by rapine and slaughter.

When studying the Vikings in the west the idea of 'only the winners write history' gets shot down as almost all our sources come from those attacked by Vikings, and they are not very flattering of the victors to say the least. In 789 there had been a raid on an island off the coast of Dorset but the Lindisfarne raid is seen as greater as it was a raid on a monastery. Thus started 'the Viking Age' in western Europe. In 794 the island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland was sacked and then Vikings started raiding Ireland. Around the same time in the same ships which they had used for trade in the east were being used to take raiders up the Seine. In 845 they even managed to siege Paris and they only left when paid 2600 kilograms of silver by Charles the Bald. 

We also see in this period Vikings settling in the west. In some areas they created entirely Viking settlements, mainly the Faeroe Islands, Iceland, Orkney, the Shetlands, and Greenland. In fact modern Icelandic is the closest language to Old Norse for this reason! This was achieved as in areas like Iceland and Greenland there was no previous settlement. In other areas of Europe Vikings came and settled. In 840 Vikings started creating settlements on the Irish coast and one would become Dublin. Other trading ports were founded by Norwegians including Cork and Limerick, and afterwards there was much intermingling between the Scandinavians and Vikings. Dublin boomed thanks to becoming a key trading port getting goods from Iberia and Byzantium to be shipped to northern Europe. That is until 1014 with the Battle of Clontarf when Brian Boru managed to oust the Vikings from Ireland. However, it was not Irish vs. Vikings but rather Irish and Vikings vs. Vikings. It was a different story in Normandy (northern France). Charles the Simple was forced to sign a treaty in 912 with Rollo granting him areas of northern France in return for Rollo converting to Christianity and protecting the Seine. This was called the Duchy of Normandy (Normandy coming from 'Normanni' or 'Men of the North'). Under Rollo's protection raids on France started to dwindle. Finally we have England. Fans of the BBC show The Last Kingdom and the books it is based on will recognize the 'Great Heathen Army' (as named by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle). In 865 an army led by Ivarr the Boneless, Guthrum, Halfdan, and Ubba invaded East Anglia (southeast England) and proceeded to conquer most of England until 878 when they were halted by Alfred the Great of Wessex. The areas conquered by the Vikings was called the Danelaw and here intermingling of Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon cultures could be seen. Many place names have their origin in Scandinavian words, any place in England in -by, -howe, and -ton just being a few examples. Northern English accents (such as my own) were born through the blending of Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon speech. Any readers from Britain will notice the stark difference between accents from the north and south, this is one of the reasons why. Slowly the remaining English kingdoms started chipping away at the Danelaw until 927 when the Kingdom of England was born. However, the Viking presence did not stop here. Between 1016 and 1035 Cnut the Great ruled England and it was only until 1066 at the Battle of Stamford Bridge did Scandinavian presence in England end with the defeat of Harald Hardrada. Incidentally the same year William of Normandy, the descendant of Rollo, conquered England. In all areas when the Vikings settled they traded once more with the locals with them even funding the rebuilding of settlements which they had attacked using the money earned through trade.

One final point to mention is this: Vikings went to the Americas. Leif Erikson went from Greenland and supposedly founded a new settlement called Vinland. Here they traded and fought with the local people until the settlement was abandoned. We now know that Vikings did settle in the Americas. L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland has been discovered to be a Viking settlement, however it is doubtful if it was Leif Erikson's settlement. Although not there long it shows that Europeans had arrived in the Americas centuries before Columbus and without the horrors that Columbus did in the Americas. 

Conversion to Christianity

Conversion

For centuries Vikings knew about Christianity. They had traded with Christians, took Christian wives, took Christian slaves (called thralls), and had lived with Christians. Hence, conversion to Christianity was not a major issue for many Vikings with some converting but continued to worship Norse gods as well as Jesus. Queen Thyra, married to King Gorm, (Denmark's first king), ensured that Christian's were protected during in Denmark and her son Harald Bluetooth later boasted of 'making the Danes Christian'. Harald (incidentally the runes making his initials put together form the Bluetooth logo) supposedly converted around the 960s when a monk managed to hold something boiling in his hand without being burnt and this aided the conversion of Denmark. It especially was helpful that Thor's hammer Mjolnir which people wore as necklaces resembled the Christian cross. Some historians believe that Harald had Denmark convert through fear that remaining pagan would give Christian kingdoms to the south an excuse to constantly attack Denmark so conversion removed this threat. Slowly the other kingdoms converted to Christianity so that the last Vikings wore the Christian cross instead of Thor's hammer.

Conclusion

It is clear to see why so many people are enraptured with the Vikings. Although the traders and farmers of reality contrast greatly with the entirely seafaring people that the media portrays them as they still remain interesting. What is more their legacy has greatly shaped the world. From the names of our days (Thursday comes from Thor's Day, Wednesday from Wodin's (Odin's) Day etc.), to our place names, to the way we speak, to even graffiti carved into the floor of the Hagia Sophia. They forged Ireland, Russia, Denmark, Ukraine, and the UK. They helped forge the world that we live in today. Thank you for reading and the next World History post will be about the Crusades.

The sources I have used are as follows:

-The Hammer and the Cross: A New History of the Vikings by Robert Ferguson

-The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings edited by Peter Sawyer

-The Viking Age: A Reader edited by Angus A.Somerville and R.Andrew McDonald

-Crash Course World History 2: Vikings

-BBC In Our Time podcast: The Volga Vikings

For the list of other World History posts please see here