This question provokes three clear debates, whether the Vikings did achieve dominance, what methods were employed to achieve this and the motivation behind doing so. To form an effective analysis it is imperative to ascertain an appropriate time period to assess. Appropriately, E. Roesdahl has suggested that ‘just before AD 800’ and ‘well into the eleventh century’ the Vikings played a ‘decisive role in many parts of Europe’. While it is important to examine the opposition that the Vikings would have faced, the evidence that they did achieve dominance of the seas is incontrovertible. The manner in which the Vikings established this dominance is subject to debate, whether it was the Viking accomplishments in naval technology, or the failures of their opposition to effectively deal counter the Viking threat. The motivation behind establishing dominance of the seas has often been debated. R. Hall has offered an explanation, stating that they ‘set out simply to better their standard of living, through harvesting the riches of foreign lands’ and thus allow individuals to bolster their reputations. Alternatively M. Magnusson has suggested that a ‘population explosion and the consequent need for more land’ stimulated technological advances, therefore making their foreign exploits both possible and necessary.
This essay will address both why and how the Vikings achieved dominance of the seas. The Vikings, through their naval control, raided, settled, explored, traded and invaded, however to understand their motivation behind these actions, an accurate analysis must be undertaken looking at their society, including political, economic and social aspects. Within this we must address both ‘internal “push”’ and ‘external “pull”’ factors...
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...for showing social influences, particularly when assessing naval power, is the Gokstad burial. In 1880 a merchant ship was discovered in Gokstad, the importance of this was that a clearly powerful man chose to be buried with his merchant ship. It was also commonplace to find such things as weighing scales buried alongside their owners. This highlighted the social importance placed upon trade in a society so often characterised by violence and raiding. It also shows the importance placed upon ships as Kings, Chieftains and important woman were often buried with them. Other examples of religion playing a major role in influencing Vikings abroad are when monasteries and religious centres were targeted for raiding, while some have said that it was due to the riches they possessed, others have argued that the Vikings sought to undermine ‘West European Christianity’.
On 17 June 1576 the thirty ton bark Gabriel, accompanied by the smaller bark Michael and a tiny pinnace, set sail from London to seek out a north-west sea passage to the treasures of the Orient. The three small vessels, whose total complement was only thirty four men, were commanded by Martin Frobisher. Although the purpose of the voyage was to find a alternate sea route to the east the two subsequent voyages that quickly followed were a prelude to the establishment of English sovereignty in North America. What were the factors that initiated the voyage? Who were the key players in the enterprise and what was the eventual outcome of these three voyages? This essay will attempt to answer those questions.
Cipolla, Carlo M. Guns, sails and empires; technological innovation and the early phases of European expansion, 1400-1700. Manhattan, Kan. : Sunflower University Press, 1985.
The English victory over the Spanish Armada marked the beginning of the British naval dominance in the Atlantic. England and Spain had been enjoying a peaceful relationship throughout the early 15th century. However, the relations turned sour after the Spanish backstabbed an English fleet, led by a British sailor named Francis Drake at the Spanish port of San Juan de Ulua in 1568. Drake, privately encouraged by Queen Elizabeth of England, began pirating the Spanish riches for England from the Caribbean and all along the Spanish held coasts of Latin America. King Philip of Spain, already disgusted by the religious practices of England’s royalty, began scheming for a plan to invade Britain. He sent 130 large vessels, meant to carry soldiers, to the English Channel. The once thought “Invincible Armada” was annihilated by England’s smaller, more maneuverable and better armed crafts. While the surviving Spanish ships were retreating back home, a rare September storm devastated the already diminished fleet. With a large chunk of their navy destroyed, Spain did not have enough ships or manpower to control their vast empire. Slowly, their once might...
In his translation of The Saga of the Volsungs: the Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer, Jesse L. Byock compiles many versions of this famous Norse epic and creates a very important scholarly work. Of special importance is the introduction, which provides a central working background to base readings upon. There are several themes echoed throughout the translation that reflect accurately on this portion of history. Byock does a superb job of illustrating these important aspects in his work. While the tale Byock tells is a fairy-tale handed down by generations of families, within the reader can find tell-tale signs of important aspects of Norse culture. For instance, important aspects of family life and the role of men and women surface. Likewise, the importance of wealth and material possessions on the power and prestige of a king is also evident.
Vikings: A History (2012), by Neil Oliver, is an epic history of who the Viking were. The Vikings were made famous for the raping and pillaging of villages throughout Northern and Central Europe, and were admired for their violent, battle hungry warriors, but through past excavations and historical artifacts Oliver debunks what's myth and what was real in the Viking age. Neil Oliver is a Scottish journalist, archeologist, and historian in association with the BBC. The focus point of this book is the question of “who were the Vikings?” as well as tracing them from their initial ancestry.
Its lack of height above the water led to the ultimate failure of the Viking ship as a fighting vessel. The Vikings had little success in the Mediterranean against galleys, with their doubled or tripled banks of oars. And in Northern waters, the Scandinavians began to lose their advantage in the eleventh and twelfth centuries to larger and sturdier vessels, namely cogs and hulks, that were developed by European shipwrights. In 1304, the whole Danish fleet, nearly 1,100 ships, was converted into cogs. In addition to this detriment, the Vikings ultimately were too individualistic to be organized into effective national powers. In spite of this, the settlements in Greenland have “stubbornly persevered to the present day.”
The Vikings began as a vast number of Scandinavians leaving their homelands seeking for fortunes elsewhere. Known for their raids, the Vikings terrorized the coasts of Europe between 800 and 1050 CE. The Viking longship proved to have ultimate operational flexibility from the strongly built overlapping planks that carried the structural load of the hull. Most of the their settlements were located in England and Normandy. However, some of the Viking traders penetrated the heartland of Russia by following the great rivers. The Scandinavian culture during this period was highly intriguing from their burial customs to the warfare and raids. Leif Eriksson also plays a part in the colonization Iceland and Greenland and the exploration of the North
Typically, the image of a Viking is a barbaric, bearded man plundering and destroying a neighboring village. This is actually the stereotypical viewpoint. In actuality, Vikings, have a very different image. For example, Vikings did not wear furry boots or furry armor, they did not have horned helmets, they invaded Britain, and they also were the first to discover America! They were also experts in nautical technology, crafts, trading, warfare and many other skills (Jonsson 1). With all of these traits, the Vikings seem like an unstoppable force in the European continent. But, who were the Vikings? The Vikings were actually venturesome seafarers. This means that they were travelers who were constantly exploring and looking for new areas of land. There roots can be traced all the way back to 6000 B.C. were nomadic men traveled in primitive crafts up the Denmark coast. Fast forward two millennia and these nomadic people have established permanent homes, but still using the boat for food and travel. As stated before, they were not just raiders, although they did do this frequently, but they were actually expert traders, trading all around the world. It wasn’t until around 793 A.D. that a Viking explosion took place in northern Europe (Jonsson 2). Raids began to take place on neighboring villages and their places of worship. To some this is the only type of knowledge they have about Vikings. However, their culture was something to be admired. Trading, religion, and everyday life are all important parts of a Viking culture.
This essay discusses the influx of Norwegian immigrants as well as their role is skiing logging boating and fishing. This resource is based on the archives in the Nordic Heritage Museum. The weakness with this resource is that it is just a short easy although it strength is it covers many aspects of how Norwegians helped develop Seattle.
the Vikings had an advantage when invading other regions. Vikings would not go where their ship could
Most people think of the Vikings as rude, rough, mean people who simply wanted to destroy and steal everything. But is that really true? Was there a reason behind the Vikings rage and destructive mentality? Their way of life was different from most of the people at the time. But they were very skilled at many things. They had different beliefs and that may have impacted their way of thinking about things compared to other people. As well as the leaders they may have had at different times and where they lived. What happened to the Vikings in the end? If they were so powerful, why didn’t their population last longer? There are many interesting topics on the Vikings; but these are the most important.
Ellis, Elisabeth G., and Anthony Esler. "Vikings Settle Among Slavs." Prentice Hall World History. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2011. N. pag. Print.
Before the period of the middle ages, the British Isles mostly lay dormant in local disputes and settlements of small tribes. Up until the late 900’s, the Anglos and the Saxons laid their claim to the land of Britain. However, this all soon changed. An ambitions individual with hero-like characteristics set foot and conquered the Anglo-Saxons and started Britain on its journey to modernism. Thus, the tide was set in motion for a new government and a civilized race. A monarchy was established, and the Middle ages began in roughly 975 AD (Vinogradoff, p 18).
Kapelle, W. E. (1979). The Norman Conquest of the North: The Region and Its Transformation, 1000-1135. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
The Norman conquerors arrived in England towards the end of the 11th Century. In the year 1066, some crucial events that led to the development of the modern English langu...