At the battle of Ashdown in 871,
In the 9th century (AD801 - 900), King Alfred of Wessex stopped the Vikings taking over England.
Led by King Alfred, the armies of Wessex defeated half of the Viking forces in the Battle of Edington in 878, forever crushing their hopes of dominating all of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms.
Early research said the exodus was due to many problems, including climate change, a lack of management, economic collapse and social stratification. Temperature change has often been cited as an explanation for the end of the Vikings, so let's take a closer look.
Harold Harefoot became king of England after Cnut's death, and Viking rule of England ceased. The Viking presence declined until 1066, when they lost their final battle with the English at Stamford Bridge.
The events of 1066 in England effectively marked the end of the Viking Age. By that time, all of the Scandinavian kingdoms were Christian, and what remained of Viking “culture” was being absorbed into the culture of Christian Europe.
The evidence to suggest Ragnar ever lived is scarce, but, crucially, it does exist. Two references to a particularly eminent Viking raider in 840 AD appear in the generally reliable Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which speaks of 'Ragnall' and 'Reginherus'.
Harald Hardrada (Harald III Sigurdsson) is often known as "the last real Viking," and maybe he was what many understood by a real Viking king.
For almost 100 years, parts of north, east and central England were ruled by Norsemen. The area retains a strong Viking legacy to this day. If you've looked into the Viking Age in the past, you've likely come across the term Danelaw.
The average height of Vikings as found by researchers and scholars, varied depending on a number of factors, including their age and gender. Typically, the average male Viking would usually be between 5 foot 7 and 5 foot 9, while the average female would be between 5 foot 1 and 5 foot 3.
The Viking reputation as bloodthirsty conquerors has endured for more than a millennium but new research shows that some Norsemen approached the British islands with more than a little trepidation.
The best-known Viking explorer is, of course, Lief Erikson, the first European to set foot in the Americas, beating Columbus to the continent by over 400 years.
Old Norse is the obvious answer for most Vikings.
Mercia (Old English: Mierce, "border people"; IPA: [ˈmɜːʃiə]) was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy, centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in what is now the Midlands of England.
The Vikings' original religion was the pagan and polytheistic Old Norse religion, which can be traced back to about 500 BCE in what is now Denmark. As Christianity took hold in Scandinavia, beginning in the 8th century CE, its followers dwindled in numbers. However, this older tradition continued Viking culture.
"Wessex" has not had any official existence since that time, but it has remained a familiar term since Thomas Hardy revived it for his West Country novels and poetry. Today some wish to see it restored as a region of England.
The Saxons
The Anglo-Saxon King Alfred and his successors had halted the first Viking invasions. But Vikings returned in the 990s, and the Danish king Cnut (Canute) and his family ruled England from 1016 until 1042, when Edward the Confessor restored the old Anglo-Saxon royal line.
Viking attacks
They attacked London in AD 842, and again in AD 851, and The Great Army spent the winter in the town in AD 871-72. Alfred the Great, who became king in AD 878, forced the Vikings to make peace and fortified the town. During the next century London became the most powerful town in England.
Orm Stórolfsson, also known as Orm Stórolfsson the Strong ( fl. 1000 CE), was an Icelandic strongman who gained considerable attention during his lifetime for extraordinary feats of strength.
Then, they vanished. Their mysterious disappearance in the 14th century has been linked to everything from plummeting temperatures and poor land management to plague and pirate raids. Now, researchers have discovered an additional factor that might have helped seal the settlers' fate: drought.
Almost one million Britons alive today are of Viking descent, which means one in 33 men can claim to be direct descendants of the Vikings. Around 930,000 descendents of warrior race exist today - despite the Norse warriors' British rule ending more than 900 years ago.
According to medieval sources, Ragnar Lothbrok was a Danish king and Viking warrior who flourished in the 9th century. There is much ambiguity in what is thought to be known about him, and it has its roots in the European literature created after his death.
Queen Elizabeth (the daughter of King George VI) and King Harald of Norway (the son of Crown Prince Olav) are second cousins. As Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are themselves third cousins, and Prince Philip is also a direct descendent of Queen Victoria, King Harald is also independently related to him.
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.