Evidence suggests that the Vikings didn't conquer Germany because too much of it is located inland. As seafaring warriors, the Vikings often struggled to conquer lands located too far from the sea, especially as their ships were generally the bases from which raids were launched.
Why did the Danes invade England? Partly because there was very good farming land there, but mainly because there was England, a rich country with large amounts of gold and precious jewellery, much of it in the hands of churches.
The raids slowed and stopped because the times changed. It was no longer profitable or desirable to raid. The Vikings weren't conquered. Because there were fewer and fewer raids, to the rest of Europe they became, not Vikings, but Danes and Swedes and Norwegians and Icelanders and Greenlanders and Faroese and so on.
The Viking presence in England was finally ended in 1066 when an English army under King Harold defeated the last great Viking king, Harald Hardrada of Norway, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, near York.
The fact that Northern and Eastern England was closer to the Scandinavia made more sense for Vikings to raid and occupy those parts of England until they even made it Danelaw. However, the Anglo-Saxons in the west had much more time to prepare a tougher resistance and organize better against Scandinavian invaders.
Although Viking rule returned to the north of England later in the tenth century, the violent death of King Erik Bloodaxe in 954 marked the end of independent Viking power in the north. This was not the end of the Viking era, however.
Finally, in 870 the Danes attacked the only remaining independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Wessex, whose forces were commanded by King Aethelred and his younger brother Alfred. At the battle of Ashdown in 871, Alfred routed the Viking army in a fiercely fought uphill assault.
King Alfred ruled from 871-899 and after many trials and tribulations (including the famous story of the burning of the cakes!) he defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington in 878.
- King of Norway 1046-1066
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.
The defeat of the king of Norway, Harald III Sigurdsson, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 is considered the end of the age of Viking raids.
Vikings worked long hours, carrying, and using heavy equipment which contributed to the formation of muscles, even from an early age. Another reason for the significant strength of the Vikings was their diet. Vikings were mostly hunters, not gatherers, due to their cold, harsh environment.
The purpose of the Vikings' violence was to acquire wealth, which fed into the political economy of northern Europe, notably in the form of gift-giving. Viking warriors were motivated by a warrior ideology of violence that praised bravery, toughness, and loyalty.
The Vikings chose Christianity during the 900s, partly because of the extensive trade networks with Christian areas of Europe, but also particularly as a result of increasing political and religious pressure from the German empire to the south. By the end of the Viking period, around 1050, most Vikings were Christians.
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.
No, Vikings aren't a Germanic tribe. The fact of the matter is that Germanic tribes consisted of an umbrella of various tribes that speak different languages commonly grouped together. Moreover, Vikings were only a subgroup of different peoples that included the Germans.
It both begins and ends with an invasion: the first Roman invasion in 55 BC and the Norman invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066. Add 'in between were the Anglo-Saxons and then the Vikings'. There is overlap between the various invaders, and through it all, the Celtic British population remained largely in place.
The King in Vikings & Legacy
In the TV series Vikings, Egbert is seen granting land to Viking settlers he will later betray, sending Aethelwulf to slaughter the Viking settlement, and later granting land to other Vikings when he has earlier secretly abdicated rule to Aethelwulf.
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.
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.
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.
Ivar the Boneless (Old Norse: Ívarr hinn Beinlausi [ˈiːˌwɑrː ˈhinː ˈbɛinˌlɔuse]; died c. 873), also known as Ivar Ragnarsson, was a Viking leader who invaded England and Ireland.
Old Norse: the Viking language
By the 8th century, Proto-Norse (which was spoken in Scandinavia and its Nordic settlements) developed into Old Norse – also known as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian.
Ragnar Lodbrok ("Ragnar hairy-breeches"), according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Swedish and Danish king. He is known from Old Norse poetry of the Viking Age, Icelandic sagas, and near-contemporary chronicles.
A number of broader factors contributed to the Vikings' decline: more and more communities previously attacked by Vikings became better able to defend themselves, with armies and fortifications; Christianity's spread in Europe; and less egalitarianism in Viking society.
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.