Scandinavian Peninsula - a vast territory in northern Europe. Known in history as the birthplace of the Vikings. But Scandinavia has become a place where both famous travelers and pioneers of the new time set off on campaigns.
Who are the Vikings?
Vikings are participants in sea voyages from Scandinavia. Most scientists believe that it was the Vikings in Russia who were called the Varangians, and in Western Europe - the Normans. They became famous in history as fearless sailors, discoverers of many lands. They are also spoken of as cruel conquerors and pirates. At the same time, the Vikings were also skilled traders.
Reasons for sea trips
Viking sea squads set off for several reasons. The first is the search for lands suitable for cultivation, which are scarce in Northern Europe. The development of new sites here has always been associated with the hard work of clearing stones,uprooting trees and shrubs. And naturally, they wanted to find more convenient and fertile lands.
The second reason is trade. The Vikings were the first to trade with both northern and southern nations. It is not for nothing that the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks” developed.
And the third reason is gaining fame and glory. It was of great importance at a time when elected princes - kings ruled. In order to keep power in their hands, they had to become successful earners, whether through trade or sea robbery. They needed to find good places to resettle their people, as well as protect them from attacks by both outsiders and their "colleagues".
Viking Age
The history of Scandinavia remembers the names of the famous Vikings. This is Hastings, who terrified France and Italy, Rollon - the first Duke of Normandy, and others.
Militant Normans were not even scared by the title of Charlemagne. Participants in sea voyages from Scandinavia regularly appeared off the coast of France, starting in 799. Charles, who created the huge Frankish Empire, was seriously concerned about the Viking raids. By his order, measures were taken to strengthen the coast. In all seaports, as well as at the mouths of navigable rivers, patrol ships were placed to warn of the appearance of the enemy. Parking lots for warships were built. Entrances to many ports were blocked with chains.
Subsequently, after the devastating campaignsVikings to Europe, sacking Rouen and many other cities, it turned out that it was easier to cede plots on the coast to the Vikings and make them defenders of these lands from sea raids. This practice proved to be more effective.
In 966 King Harald Bluetooth of Norway converted to Christianity. Following him, his soldiers were baptized. It was the Christian Vikings who subsequently seized the royal power in England, and Svein Forkbeard ended up on the throne. And in 1130, the Norman Roger II sat on the throne of the Sicilian kingdom. With the blessing of the Pope, he managed to unite the Viking possessions in southern Italy and Sicily.
Duke Wilhelm - a descendant of Rollon of Normandy - defeated the Anglo-Saxon king Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. He became the monarch of England and is known as William the Conqueror.
That's how the participants of sea voyages from Scandinavia gradually settled on the conquered land, entered into kinship with the local nobility and even received royal power. By the end of the 11th century, the warlike campaigns of the Vikings had almost ceased.
Viking discoveries
But the Viking Age was also marked by great geographical discoveries. First of all, this is the discovery of Greenland and the foundation of the first settlement in it by Eirik the Red (Eirik Thorvaldson). Exiled with his family from Norway, and then forced to flee Iceland under the threat of blood feud, he traveled west across the Atlantic Ocean. Having landed on the open coast of the newly discovered island, EirikRyzhiy founded two settlements there. He gave the name "Green Land" to this area, later the whole island began to be called Greenland, despite the ice covering it.
Settlers established trade with their homeland. Furs of polar bears, arctic foxes, walrus tusks, whale oil were brought there, and back - timber, grain, iron, fabrics that were missing in Greenland.
Eirik's sons - Leif (nicknamed "Happy") and Torvald - also come from Scandinavia, participants in sea voyages. Their names are associated with the discovery of America five centuries before Columbus.
When Leif was returning from Norway to Greenland, he was caught in a storm. A thoroughly battered ship approached the shore, and the sailors saw hills overgrown with wild grapes, fields of wild wheat. It was in 999. The land, called Vinland - the country of grapes, attracted them with a warm climate, a forest full of game, and fertile soil.
It is not surprising that after returning to Greenland, they talked about the lands they saw. Words about a new rich land interested Thorfinn Karlsefni, who in 1003 equipped an expedition to Vinland. Having landed several times on the shores of what is now Labrador, the island of Newfoundland, after one winter they reached Vinland. Here the Vikings met with the locals. Their second meeting ended in a clash. In 1006 Karlsefni returned to Greenland.
Thus the Vikings discovered America, but later the way to Vinland was forgotten. Europeans neededhalf a millennium for Columbus to reopen the New World for them.
Summoning the Varangians
According to most historians, the beginning of Russian statehood was also laid by the Vikings - the Varangians. "The Tale of Bygone Years" tells that in order to end the civil strife, representatives of the Slavic and Finnish tribes went on a campaign to Scandinavia, where they called Rurik to reign.
It is believed that Rurik came to Russia with his brothers - Truvor and Sineus. Subsequently, he began to reign alone, first in Staraya Ladoga, then he founded Novgorod. From him came the Rurik dynasty.
Members of sea voyages from Scandinavia in modern times
The spirit of the Vikings still lives in the hearts of the Scandinavians. This is probably why there are so many Norwegian and Danish names among the great travelers.
The list can be opened with the name of Fridtjof Nansen, the famous polar explorer. He is best known for the first foot crossing of Greenland and the expedition to the North Pole, which ended in failure.
Roald Amundsen - the great polar explorer, the man who discovered the South Pole, the first to visit both poles of the globe (together with Oscar Adolf Wisting), who made more than one expedition in the Arctic and Antarctic waters.
The famous Thor Heyerdahl is a worthy heir to the Vikings, who sailed across the oceans on ships modeled after the ancient means of navigation.
Carsten Borchgrevink, who explored Antarctica, became the leader of the first wintering on the icy continent.
AmongRussian navigators also have descendants of the Vikings. Vitus Bering, who sailed through the strait separating Eurasia from North America, was a native of Denmark.
These are just some of the names of sailors - natives of Scandinavia, descendants of glorious sailors and conquerors.
