Did Sex Kill the Vikings?

Summary

The script delves into the brutal yet fascinating Viking Age, exploring its rise and fall from 790 to 1100 CE. It discusses the Vikings' origins, their fearsome raids across Europe, and the factors contributing to their decline, including societal changes, integration through marriage, and the spread of Christianity. The narrative also touches on the Vikings' legacy, highlighting their enduring impact on European culture and history.

Takeaways

• 🔍 The Viking Age, characterized by raids and explorations, lasted from approximately 790 CE to 1100 CE.
• ⚔️ Viking raids were initially brutal and widespread, targeting various regions in Europe and beyond, including Lindisfarne in England and Paris in France.
• 🌐 The term 'Viking' may have originated from the Old Norse word 'víkingr', meaning 'pirate' or 'raider', and was used to describe a subset of Scandinavian raiders.
• 🏰 The Viking raids led to the establishment of settlements, such as Dublin in Ireland and Wessex in England, where they integrated into local societies.
• 🛡️ Fortifications and military resistance, like Charles the Bald's campaigns, made Viking raids increasingly difficult and costly over time.
• 🤝 The gradual integration of Vikings into local populations through marriage and procreation led to a loss of distinct Viking identity.
• 📜 Historical accounts of Vikings are often biased, as they primarily come from the perspective of their victims.
• 🕊️ The spread of Christianity played a significant role in the decline of the Viking Age, as it infiltrated Scandinavia and influenced societal values.
• 🏛️ The Viking's disregard for Christian sanctity during their raids contributed to the terror they instilled, but also led to their eventual conversion to Christianity.
• 🌍 Leif Erikson's voyage to North America marked the Vikings as the first Europeans to reach the continent, predating Columbus by almost 500 years.
• 🏹 The Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, resulting in the defeat of Harald Hardrada, is considered the end of the Viking Age, signifying the decline of their raiding lifestyle.

Q & A

What factors contributed to the end of the Viking Age?

The end of the Viking Age was influenced by several factors including increasing inequality, the integration of communities through intermarriage, and the spread of Christianity which eventually replaced the Norse pagan beliefs.

Why did the Vikings initially raid St. Cuthbert church at Lindisfarne in 793?

The Vikings raided St. Cuthbert church at Lindisfarne because they cared little about the Christian God or the institutions set up to worship him, and their primary goal was to raid for loot and slaves.

How did Charlemagne's attempts to spread Christianity to Scandinavia affect Viking activity?

Charlemagne's aggressive campaigns to spread Christianity to Scandinavia enraged the Norsemen and seemed to increase Viking activity rather than decrease it, as they retaliated with more brutal raids.

What was the significance of the Viking attack on Clonmore, Ireland in 836?

The attack on Clonmore, Ireland marked the first deep territorial expedition by the Vikings, during which they took a large number of prisoners to be sold into slavery, indicating a shift in their raiding tactics.

What was the outcome of the Viking siege of Paris in 845?

The Viking siege of Paris resulted in the city being occupied and held for ransom. King Charles the Bald was forced to pay a large sum in gold and silver to persuade the Vikings to leave.

Why did the Viking raids around Europe intensify in 850?

The intensification of Viking raids in 850 was due to the establishment of more Viking settlements in Ireland and the expansion of their activities to new territories, including Wiskiauten in what would become Germany.

How did the Viking attack on Constantinople in 860 foreshadow a problem for the Viking way of life?

The Viking attack on Constantinople showed that fortified cities were becoming more difficult to penetrate, signaling a shift where the Viking way of life based on successful raids was becoming less viable due to stronger defenses.

What led to the integration of Vikings into other cultures as seen in Danelaw?

The integration of Vikings into other cultures in Danelaw occurred as a result of them giving up their raiding ways to become farmers and traders, intermarrying and forming family ties with the local populations.

Why did King Charles the Simple grant land to Viking chief Rollo, which later became Normandy?

King Charles the Simple granted land to Rollo to prevent further Viking raids down the Seine and to establish a buffer against other raiders, thus solving France’s Viking problem temporarily.

How did the establishment of permanent Viking settlements outside Scandinavia contribute to the decline of the Viking way of life?

The establishment of permanent settlements outside Scandinavia led to the integration of Vikings into local populations through marriage and procreation, causing a loss of Viking identity and a shift away from the traditional raiding lifestyle.

What event in 1066 is considered the official end of the Viking Age?

The Battle of Stamford Bridge, where King Harold Godwinson of England defeated the invading Viking forces led by Harald Hardrada, is considered the official end of the Viking Age.

Outlines

00:00

🛡️ The End of the Viking Age: Inequality and Cultural Shifts

This paragraph delves into the reasons behind the decline of the Viking era, highlighting the impact of inequality, cultural integration through intermarriage, and the spread of Christianity. It sets the stage for understanding the Viking's societal structure and the external and internal factors that led to their eventual extinction. The paragraph also addresses the bias in historical accounts due to the perspective of their victims and the archaeological evidence that provides a more balanced view of the Vikings' history.

05:02

🏛️ The Viking Raids and the Spread of Christianity

This section discusses the initial lack of desire by Vikings to conquer land, focusing instead on quick, profitable raids. It outlines Charlemagne's failed attempts to spread Christianity and reduce Viking raids through military campaigns and ransom, which only intensified Viking activity. The narrative then moves to the Vikings' significant raids in Ireland, the establishment of Dublin, and the attack on Paris, illustrating the Vikings' relentless pursuit of wealth and the gradual introduction of Christianity into Scandinavia.

10:07

🌐 Viking Expansion and the Challenges of Fortifications

The paragraph details the Vikings' expansion across Europe, including their raids in England, Ireland, and even as far as Seville in Spain and the Mediterranean. It describes the Vikings' initial success and the subsequent challenges they faced as cities built stronger fortifications, making raids more difficult and costly. The Viking attack on Constantinople is highlighted as a precursor to the decline of their way of life due to increasingly formidable defenses.

15:10

🏡 The Transformation of Vikings into Settlers and Traders

This section explores the transformation of the Vikings from raiders to settlers and traders, particularly in England and Ireland. It discusses the establishment of Danelaw and the integration of Vikings into local populations through marriage and procreation. The narrative also touches on the granting of land to Viking chief Rollo, leading to the formation of Normandy, and the decline of the Viking way of life as power in Scandinavia became more consolidated and Christianity began to replace the pagan religion.

20:13

⚔️ The Final Battles and the End of the Viking Age

The final paragraph outlines the end of the Viking Age, marked by the death of Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. It describes the final major Viking invasion attempt, the battle's brutal outcome, and the subsequent decline of Viking raids. The paragraph also reflects on the legacy of the Vikings, their cultural impact on Europe, and the enduring influence of Scandinavian culture despite the disappearance of the Viking way of life.

Keywords

💡Vikings

The term 'Vikings' refers to a specific subset of people from Scandinavia who were known for their raids and explorations from approximately 790 CE to 1100 CE. They were not just warriors but also included men and women who ventured out from their homelands. In the video's narrative, the Vikings' raids and cultural impact are central to understanding their historical significance and eventual decline.

💡Raiding

Raiding, as a concept in the script, describes the act of attacking a location with the intent to steal goods and resources. It was the primary method Vikings used to acquire wealth and was a defining characteristic of their culture. The script mentions various raids, such as the attack on St. Cuthbert's church, illustrating the brutality and impact of Viking raids on Europe.

💡Christianity

Christianity is presented in the script as a significant religious and cultural force that influenced the decline of the Viking Age. Initially, Vikings were largely pagan and raided Christian institutions without restraint. However, as the script explains, the spread of Christianity into Scandinavia and the conversion of Viking leaders led to a shift in values that were incompatible with the Viking way of life.

💡Inequality

Inequality within the Viking society is highlighted as a factor contributing to the end of the Viking Age. The script suggests that as power became more centralized and societal structures changed, the egalitarian nature of early Viking society was lost, leading to a decrease in the number of people participating in raids and a shift towards a more settled lifestyle.

💡Integration

Integration is the process by which Viking settlers mixed with local populations in the lands they conquered or settled. The script describes how Vikings in places like Ireland and England began to assimilate into the local cultures, intermarrying and adopting new ways of life, which contributed to the fading of their distinct Viking identity.

💡Norse Mythology

Norse Mythology refers to the religious beliefs and mythological stories of the ancient Scandinavians before the spread of Christianity. The script notes that these pagan beliefs were eventually replaced by Christian values, signaling a significant cultural shift that played a role in the decline of the Viking Age.

💡Viking Longboats

Viking Longboats are iconic vessels that allowed the Vikings to travel long distances and conduct their raids. The script mentions the Nydam Boat as a precursor to these efficient ships, which were crucial to the Vikings' ability to navigate and dominate the seas during their raids.

💡Danelaw

Danelaw, as mentioned in the script, refers to the area of land in England where the Vikings settled and established their own laws and governance after King Alfred the Great of Wessex defeated them. This area represents the shift from a raiding culture to a more settled and integrated society.

💡Charlemagne

Charlemagne, or Charles the Bald, was a Frankish king who attempted to spread Christianity to the Scandinavians to reduce the threat of Viking raids. The script describes his aggressive campaigns and the payment of ransoms, reflecting the challenges faced by European leaders in dealing with the Viking threat.

💡Stamford Bridge

The Battle of Stamford Bridge is a pivotal event in the script that marks the end of the Viking Age. It was a decisive defeat for the Norwegian Vikings led by Harald Hardrada, who was killed in battle. This event symbolizes the culmination of the various factors leading to the decline of the Viking way of life.

💡Scandinavia

Scandinavia is the geographic region that includes present-day Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, and is the homeland of the Vikings. The script discusses how the culture and society of Scandinavia evolved over time, with the shift from a raiding culture to a more centralized and Christian society contributing to the end of the Viking Age.

Highlights

The Viking Age, characterized by brutal raids and warrior culture, ultimately disappeared due to a combination of factors including inequality, integration through sex, and the influence of Christianity.

Historical accounts of Vikings are biased, often written by their victims, necessitating a balanced view from various sources including archaeological evidence.

The term 'Viking' may have originated from the Old Norse word 'víkingr', meaning 'pirate' or 'raider', and only came into use between the 12th and 14th centuries.

The Viking Age spanned from approximately 790 CE to 1100 CE, with Vikings being a subset of Scandinavian people known for raiding and pillaging.

The invention of ships like the Nydam Boat was a pivotal development that enabled long-distance sea travel and the beginning of the Viking raids.

The first recorded Viking raid occurred in 793 CE at St. Cuthbert's church in Lindisfarne, marking a significant shift in the perception of sacred immunity during wartime.

Charlemagne's aggressive campaigns to spread Christianity in Scandinavia backfired, intensifying Viking activity rather than curbing it.

The Vikings' establishment of Dublin in 841 marked one of their first major permanent settlements outside Scandinavia, indicating a shift in their raiding tactics.

The Viking siege of Paris in 845 demonstrated their ability to extract substantial ransoms, showcasing their power and influence over European territories.

Viking raids extended as far as Seville in modern-day Spain, highlighting the vast geographical reach of their activities.

The Viking attack on Constantinople in 860 was a surprise to the Byzantines and marked an early sign of the challenges faced by the Viking way of life.

The Great Heathen Army's invasion of England in 865 signified a large-scale organized effort by the Vikings, changing the dynamics of their raids.

The Viking settlement in Normandy, established after 911, was a strategic move to prevent further raids and marked a significant shift in Viking society.

The decline of Viking trading centers like Birka around 950 indicated an internal shift in Scandinavian society and economy.

The Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 and the death of Harald Hardrada are considered the end of the Viking Age, marking a significant historical turning point.

The integration of Vikings into local populations through marriage and procreation led to a loss of their distinct identity and contributed to their cultural disappearance.

The spread of Christianity and its adoption by the Scandinavian elite and central powers replaced the pagan beliefs that had driven the Vikings for centuries.

The Viking legacy, including architecture, language, and culture, persists despite the end of the Viking Age, demonstrating their enduring impact on Europe.

Transcripts

Why did the Age of the Vikings  end? Inequality, sex… and Jesus.  

Let’s go back in time to one of the most bloody  and brutal sagas in Europe and beyond. It was a  

time when Viking longboats carved with dragons  would emerge from the fog, and savage fighters  

would pillage entire cities. No one was safe from  Viking raids, but eventually, this warrior culture  

disappeared. Where did they go? What actually  happened to the Vikings? Let’s find out.  

Before we dive deep into the Viking past to  uncover what happened, it is important to note  

that many of the accounts we have on the Vikings  and their raids come from people who were on the  

receiving end of their brutality. This obviously  means that these histories were written with a  

clear bias. To try and paint a complete picture  of the Vikings and what led to their downfall,  

we will draw from historical sources from  both the Vikings themselves and their victims,  

along with archaeological evidence. By looking  at the past through the lens of various sources,  

we can pinpoint what actually caused  the extinction of the Vikings.  

Unfortunately, this analysis runs into a major  problem right from the beginning. Before going  

any further, we must discuss who the Vikings were.  When we use the term Viking, we are talking about  

a specific subset of people from Scandinavia,  or present-day Sweden, Denmark, Finland,  

and Norway. But not everyone in this region was a  Viking. The origin of the word Viking is unknown.  

It is believed that it may have originated from  the Old Norse word víkingr, which meant “pirate”  

or “raider.” Yet, the name Viking seemed only  to come into existence sometime between the  

12th and 14th centuries. Many scholars believe  that the term víkingr may have derived from an  

even earlier Old Scandinavian word predating or  contemporary during the time of the Vikings.  

Regardless, what we do know is that the Vikings  were a specific subset of Scandinavian people  

who thrived from approximately 790 CE to  1100 CE. Vikings were both men and women  

who left their homelands to raid and pillage  towns and cities across Europe. Regardless  

of where the term Viking actually came from, it  is essential to understand that not everyone in  

Scandinavia was a Viking. Instead, only the  warriors and raiders who left the Peninsula  

to ravage communities along the coast and  riverways of Europe and as far away as Russia  

and Constantinople were considered Vikings. Most Scandinavians were farmers, carpenters,  

or anything else that contributed to  society. The Viking Age lasted from  

approximately 790 CE to 1100 CE, so this will  be the timeframe we will focus on. Knowing this,  

let's now delve into the history of the Vikings  and examine some of their most deadly raids. We  

will gather evidence along the way to discover how  inequality, the integration of communities through  

the mixing of people, a.k.a sex, and Christianity,  led to the eventual extinction of the Vikings.  

There is evidence that sometime around 4000 and  2300 BCE, a thriving culture had developed in  

Scandinavia. Archaeologists have uncovered  depictions of ships in stone, burials, and  

metal tools and weapons. However, it would still  be thousands of years before the raiders known  

as Vikings would come to be. The first major step  towards the Viking Age was the invention of ships  

in the style of the Nydam Boat, named after the  Nydam bog, where it was located by archaeologists.  

These vessels allowed the Scandinavian people  to travel long distances over rough seas.  

It is generally agreed that the Viking Age began  around 790 CE. This is because at this point,  

we have written documents and historical evidence  that Scandinavian warriors, also known as Norsemen  

and who would later be known as Vikings, sailed  across the North Sea and landed in Wessex. These  

rugged-looking men were greeted by a messenger  whom they killed. The Norsemen had no desire to  

exchange ideas and culture; they were in England  for one reason and one reason only: to raid.  

On June 8, 793, the Vikings attacked St.  Cuthbert church at Lindisfarne in Northumbria,  

England. Ever since Christianity spread across  Europe, it was generally accepted by warring  

armies that Churches and religious institutions  were to be left unmolested. This was because  

regardless of the holy buildings' territory,  they all belonged to the same God. Obviously,  

the pillaging of church-held land and structures  happened occasionally, but it would almost  

certainly condemn the souls of those who did so  to hell, which was a major deterrent for many.  

On the other hand, the Vikings cared little about  the Christian God or the institutions set up to  

worship him. This was why when St. Cuthbert church  was raided, and the people inside slaughtered or  

taken as slaves, terror swept across the realm.  The survivors of this Viking raid recorded the  

event in the Domesday Stone, which became  one of the first accounts of a Viking raid  

in history. However, as time progressed,  Christianity would infiltrate Scandinavia,  

and one of the major factors that led to  the end of the Vikings would take hold.  

In the beginning, the Vikings had no desire  to conquer land and claim it as their own. The  

only goal was to hit a location hard and fast  and to return home with ships full of loot and  

slaves. In the coming years and decades, the  Vikings would continue targeting the British  

Isles before focusing on the continent.  Frankia, or modern-day France and Germany,  

was ripe for pillaging as the kingdom was  experiencing internal turmoil. After paying ransom  

to the Vikings for the release of prisoners and  entire towns, Charlemagne launched an aggressive  

campaign to try and spread Christianity to  the Scandinavians in hopes of minimizing the  

constant threat of raids. He organized military  campaigns to destroy sacred Norse sites and subdue  

the heathens who terrorized his lands. Unfortunately, this aggression and forced  

spreading of Christianity only seemed to  enrage the Norsemen and increase Viking  

activity. Whether these new sets of brutal raids  were out of retribution or to take advantage of  

Frank’s misplaced military forces is unclear.  Charlemagne’s foray into the lands of the Vikings  

did not have the desired outcome, and very few  Scandinavians converted to Christianity during  

this time. However, it is worth noting that  this was the first time the religion had been  

introduced into Scandinavia in a meaningful way.  Even though very few Norsemen were Christianized,  

some were, and this would set the  foundation for a change in ideology  

when power in the region was consolidated. In 836, the Vikings launched an enormous raid  

across the North Sea, past England, and into  Ireland. The Vikings' attack on Clonmore,  

Ireland, was the first deep territorial expedition  during which the Vikings took a huge number of  

prisoners solely to be sold into slavery. Untold  numbers of Irish people were captured and brought  

back to Viking trade ports, where they were sold  across Scandinavia. In 841, the Vikings founded  

Dublin, one of their first major permanent  settlements outside of their own realm.  

While Ireland was being ravished by the Vikings,  a Chieftain by the name of Ragnar Lothbrok set his  

sights on Paris. If he could take the city, his  raiding party would secure untold wealth. Ragnar  

recruited thousands of men and launched 120 ships  that would sail up the Seine. The Frankish king,  

Charles the Bald, tried to gather  an army to fend off the onslaught of  

Vikings careening towards the city. When the  Frankish soldiers met the Vikings in battle,  

half of their army was immediately slaughtered,  and the remaining soldiers hastily retreated. By  

Easter of 845, the Vikings had entered the city.  They took anything and everything they wanted,  

as there was no one to stop them. The Vikings  occupied the city and held it for ransom.  

Charles was forced to pay 7,000 French livres  or about 2,570 kg of gold and silver to get  

the Vikings to leave Paris and return home. In 850, the Viking raids around Europe began to  

pick up in intensity. More Viking settlements  were also being established in Ireland. For the  

first time, a major Viking force remained in  England through the winter. The Vikings even  

began to establish footholds further south and  east at Wiskiauten in what would become Germany,  

where over 500 Viking burial mounds would be  constructed. The following year, practically every  

kingdom in England, minus Wessex, was raided by  Vikings. During this time, the Norsemen conquered  

East Anglia, Northumberland, and Mercia. By 844, the Vikings had extended their raids  

of terror as far as Seville in what  would become Spain. At that point,  

this part of Europe was under Arab control.  The Vikings proceeded into the Mediterranean,  

where new lands were ripe for raiding. However,  being so far from home meant that the voyages  

were long and treacherous. In 859, while Viking  raiding parties scoured the Mediterranean coast,  

an Arab fleet descended upon them, decimating  many of their ships. The Vikings were pushed out  

of the region and would never return, as their  way of life was under siege from both external  

and internal forces that would cause their  culture to collapse in the coming centuries.  

While some Vikings traveled along the western  coast of Europe to reach the Mediterranean,  

other groups sailed along the rivers and inlets in  eastern Europe and what would later become Russia.  

The Viking Rurik and his band of raiders began  plundering towns and villages in Ukraine as early  

as 859. In 860, a band of Vikings known as the  Rus’ tried to sack Constantinople. On June 18th,  

a fleet of approximately 200 Rus’ Vikings sailed  into the Bosporus Strait and began raiding the  

villages around Constantinople. They set entire  towns on fire and stole whatever they could get  

their hands on. It was recorded by Patriarch  Photius that the attack on the Byzantines was  

a surprise, and the coming of the Vikings  was "like a thunderbolt from heaven."  

Unfortunately for Constantinople, both its army  and navy were battling with the Arab empires in  

Asia Minor. The siege of the city by the Vikings  lasted for just under two months when they gave  

up. This was likely due to the fact that the city  walls were formidable, and the raiding parties had  

already secured a vast amount of wealth from  the areas around Constantinople. It is worth  

noting that the Viking attack on Constantinople  was an early precursor to one of the factors  

that led to the Vikings' collapse. More and more  cities were building fortresses and barricades,  

which made the once highly successful raids  more difficult and costly. As fortifications  

became harder to penetrate, the Viking way  of life became less and less viable.  

In 865, Ivar the Boneless and his brother Halfdan  amassed an enormous Viking force, which came to  

be called the Great Heathen Army. They landed in  East Anglia in 865 and launched an invasion across  

the region. In November of 866, the Vikings seized  York, where Ivar sought revenge for the death of  

his father, Ragnar Lodbrok. Once York was under  their control, the Vikings put a puppet king  

in place who was quickly overthrown. By 871,  King Alfred the Great of Wessex had defeated  

the Vikings. They were pushed north to what was  called Danelaw, where many Norsemen gave up their  

marauding ways to become farmers and traders. In situations like this, the once fearsome Vikings  

integrated into other cultural landscapes.  This is also where the sex that led to the  

disappearance of the Vikings comes into play. More  and more Vikings gave up their life of raiding  

and pillaging to settle down for a different  lifestyle. Instead of forming raiding parties,  

sedentary communities were formed, and the  former Vikings started marrying, procreating,  

and being integrated into local populations  around England and the rest of Europe. However,  

not every Scandinavian longed for this quiet  lifestyle, which is why the Vikings continued  

to thrive until the mid-11th century. By 911, Viking raids had caused so much loss  

and destruction in France that the King of West  Frankia, named Charles the Simple, gave the great  

Viking chief Rollo the land that would later  become Normandy or the Land of the Northmen.  

In exchange, Rollo was to prevent Viking raiders  from sailing down the Seine and attacking Frankish  

towns and cities. This would solve France’s Viking  problem for the time being and allow them to build  

stronger fortifications and more formidable  obstacles for invaders in the future.  

Around 950, the Viking way of life started to  stall. Important trading centers such as Birka  

in present-day Sweden began to decline. This  wasn’t to say that the Scandinavian people  

were in trouble; on the contrary. Scandinavia  itself was just changing. Power was becoming more  

consolidated, especially in the southern regions.  Christianity had begun to infiltrate and replace  

the pagan religion that had reigned supreme for so  long. Change was coming, and these changes would  

eliminate the Vikings in just over a century. In 981, Eric the Red led an expedition past  

Iceland and scouted the east coast of Greenland.  Eric was not impressed by the harsh coast of the  

large island but was nonetheless determined to  establish a settlement there. He determined that  

a larger exploratory force was needed to assess  this new land, especially the western coast. He  

returned to Iceland, where he recruited more  men and settlers. Eric the Red set off once  

again in 985, this time with 25 ships, of which  only 14 reached the promise of Greenland. The  

Norsemen established an eastern and western  settlement. These lands were uninhabited,  

but the island was home to other people. The Inuit  had inhabited the northern regions of Greenland,  

where they had thrived for centuries. As far as we  know, there was no contact between the indigenous  

populations and the Vikings in Greenland. The  Viking settlements would eventually collapse  

over the course of the next few centuries. Even though King Alfred had forced the Vikings  

out of Wessex and the Norsemen had settled in  Danelaw, England was still not safe from raiding  

parties. In 991, King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark  recruited a massive army that sailed across the  

North Sea and landed in Kent. The first major  battle of this campaign was the Battle of Maldon.  

Forkbeard decimated the English resistance and  began a bloody campaign across the island. His  

military conquest was so successful that Sweyn  Forkbeard eventually became King of England in  

1013, albeit only for about five weeks. However,  during this time, he would be baptized Christian,  

another step towards the once-great Vikings moving  towards a religion that would eventually lead  

to the extinction of their way of life. Around the year 1000, Leif Erikson led his  

Viking explorers to the coast of North America.  They landed in what is today Newfoundland and  

declared the newly discovered land as Vinland,  or the land of wine. This Viking colony would  

last about ten years before it collapsed,  likely due to confrontation with indigenous  

peoples who already inhabited this part of the  world. Regardless, Leif Erikson’s voyage made  

the Vikings, and not Christopher Columbus’s  expedition approximately 492 years later,  

the first Europeans to reach North America. When King Swein Forkbeard died in 1016, his  

son Cnut took over his rule. By this point, Cnut  was king of England, Denmark, and Norway. Within  

Scandinavia, power had become more consolidated.  When the Viking way of life first emerged,  

Scandinavian society was more or less egalitarian.  People owned the land they lived on, and although  

there were chiefs and leaders, most Vikings had  the ability to go raiding whenever they wanted.  

This was no longer the case. The kings would  spend more time planning conquests for land  

or creating alliances than leading raids. 1066 is regarded as the official end of the  

Viking Age. It was this year that the major  Viking trading center of Hedeby was sacked  

by the Polabian Slavs, from which it never  recovered. However, the event that most  

scholars agree with is the final nail in the  Viking coffin, which is the death of Harald  

Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Harald  Hardrada launched an invasion force from Norway.  

It is estimated that Hardrada brought between ten  and fifteen thousand men on 240 to 300 longships.  

This force met up with Tostig, the renegade  brother of the King of England, Harold Godwinson,  

and marched south. The combined Norwegian and  rebel forces defeated the English at the Battle  

of Fulford Gate on the 20th of September. Harold Hardrada’s campaign seemed unstoppable,  

so he ordered his forces further south.  Unfortunately, King Harold Godwinson of England  

had received word of the Viking forces raiding  their way down the countryside and immediately  

ordered his army and 3,000 elite troops to march  north to meet them. As the two armies drew closer,  

Hardrada took York on September 24th.  However, this meant that his men had been  

traveling dozens of miles a day and fighting  in battles when English forces reached them.  

The invading forces of Hardrada were caught  by surprise when the English troops appeared  

in an open field near Stamford Bridge. The two armies clashed on September 25, 1066,  

but the exhausted Vikings and their allies were  worn down while the English troops were still  

fresh. King Harold Godwinson and his forces  decimated the Viking army, and both Hardrada  

and Tostig were killed. A chronicler noted that  the fighting at the Battle of Stamford Bridge had  

been so brutal that the river was filled with the  bodies of dead soldiers and that the carnage "dyed  

the ocean waves for miles around with Viking  gore." The defeat of the Norwegian forces and  

Hardrada marked the end of the Viking Age. That being said, there were still smaller Viking  

raids occasionally. So, what happened  to those Scandinavians who wanted to  

continue the Viking way of life? Where did  they go? Are the Vikings really extinct,  

or are they still around today? Throughout the history provided for the  

Vikings, we’ve discussed the raiders who left  Scandinavia and all of the farmers, weavers,  

bakers, blacksmiths, etc., who lived there to  sail around Europe, Britain, Iceland, Greenland,  

Newfoundland, and parts of the Mediterranean  to plunder and pillage precious metals,  

livestock, and people. We have also mentioned the  influences outside forces, such as Christianity,  

and internal forces, such as less egalitarianism,  had on the Scandinavian people. We now need to  

analyze these various factors to understand  how the Viking culture itself went extinct.  

The changing of Scandinavian society from  egalitarianism to a more central authority  

meant that the Vikings went from owning their  own land and keeping much of what they pillaged  

to owing the King more and more tribute. With  an increasing population, Scandinavians found  

themselves spending more time farming or engaging  in activities to appease the central authority of  

the region than joining a raid on faraway lands.  As the population grew and power was consolidated,  

there was a real risk that if a Viking left to go  raiding, there was no guarantee that their home  

would still be theirs when they returned. Unless  a Viking was joining the King’s conquest of new  

land, the days of just joining a raiding  party were quickly coming to an end.  

The raids that did happen were much more organized  than a band of like-minded individuals setting out  

to steal and plunder loot. With Kings gaining more  power and encompassing more land, alliances needed  

to be taken into consideration. The Vikings could  no longer go and raid wherever they chose. If they  

happened to attack a town that belonged to their  King’s ally, there would be severe consequences.  

As time progressed, lucrative raids became all  but impossible unless the Vikings were willing  

to travel vast distances. On top of this,  fortifications were becoming more formidable,  

meaning that the Vikings were having a harder  time making a profit and securing goods during  

their raids. As Scandinavian society shifted,  the Viking way of life became less viable, and  

the number of individuals engaging in raids, which  in turn is what made them Vikings, dwindled.  

A second factor that led to the extinction of the  Vikings was sex, or more specifically, marrying,  

having children, and creating family ties amongst  the people who originally inhabited the lands  

where Vikings were permanently settling. Outposts  in Ireland and England slowly began to lose their  

Viking identity and either saw themselves  as descendants of the once fearsome warrior  

culture or just became fully enmeshed in the  already existing cultures of the region.  

Eventually, each permanent settlement the  Vikings established outside of Scandinavia  

became independent of the Viking way of life.  The number of people in Scandinavia grew,  

but the Vikings never tried or wanted to create  an empire to spread their ideologies. This wasn’t  

the goal. Instead, the Vikings solely focused on  raiding and bringing their loot back home to live  

a comfortable life in Scandinavia. The permanent  settlements elsewhere were never established to  

spread Viking culture; they were built to act  as trade centers or as a way to move further  

from the constant fighting and raiding and live  a simpler, more sedentary life. All of these  

populations would eventually mix with others. Perhaps the most significant contributing factor  

to the decline and eventual disappearance of the  Vikings was Christianity. Norse mythology was one  

of the last major pagan religions to withstand  the spread of Christianity across Europe. Much  

of the continent had already been converted, and  with every decade that passed in the Viking Age,  

attempts were made to bring Christianity to  the Scandinavians in order to save their mortal  

souls. The main problem with Christianity for the  Vikings was that the moral values didn’t quite  

align with looting and pillaging to gain wealth  when followers of the religion were supposed  

to “love thy neighbor as they self.” Therefore,  the Vikings had very little use for Christianity  

except to plunder whatever valuable objects were  held within their churches and monasteries.  

However, in the 10th and 11th centuries, more  and more missionaries ventured into the Viking  

homeland. They had mild success converting  people initially, but eventually, the newly  

forming Scandinavian elite and central powers were  convinced that Christianity was the way of the  

future. As power in Scandinavia was consolidated,  the rulers forced their subjects to follow the  

Christian religion and belief systems. Therefore,  Christianity was no longer being introduced from  

outside the Viking homeland but from within, which  meant it replaced the Norse gods and beliefs that  

drove the Vikings for hundreds of years. At the same time, Vikings were coming into  

contact with Christians throughout their  travels. Sometimes, this was to pillage  

and sell them into slavery, but other times,  it could be through trade or even in defeat.  

As raiding became more difficult, it is not  hard to imagine Vikings taking notice of the  

strength and resources Christians had obtained to  combat raiding parties. When Vikings went to sell  

their hard-earned loot at major trading ports,  Christians were there to purchase their plunder.  

By the end of the Viking Age, Christians were  everywhere, and the Viking culture and religion  

were becoming obsolete because of it. Eventually, Christianity enveloped much of  

Scandinavia. The kings were Christian, their  subjects were Christian, and everyone else  

around Europe was Christian. The pagan beliefs of  the Vikings were being snuffed out like a candle  

reaching the end of its wick. Christian values  did not coincide with the Viking way of life and,  

therefore, could not co-exist as more  Scandinavians identified as Christians  

less saw themselves as Vikings until the  entire Viking lifestyle vanished.  

This is not to say that the Scandinavian  identity disappeared; on the contrary,  

Scandinavian kingdoms continued to grow and  flourish. The Scandinavians who settled abroad  

integrated their own cultures into others, and  at home, beliefs shifted. The Vikings had spread  

Scandinavian architecture, language, military  practices, food, clothing, and shipbuilding across  

Europe during their raids and trade ventures. The  Viking Age ended in 1066, and the Viking way of  

life likely ended soon after, but the legacy of  the Vikings and the spread of Scandinavian culture  

across Europe endures to the present day. Now watch “What Caused the Roman Empire  

to Collapse.” Or check out “How  Richest City in History Collapsed.”