Vikings: 5 Things You Should Know

Question: Viking raiders struck towns far inland across Europe, not just along coasts. What let their warships reach so far from the sea?

Answer: Viking longships were light and shallow enough to sail up rivers and land on almost any beach. That speed and reach made surprise raids possible deep inside Europe.

Question: In 793, Vikings raided the monastery of Lindisfarne in England, shocking Europe. Why were monasteries such tempting targets?

Answer: Monasteries were rich, poorly defended, and often on isolated coasts. The Lindisfarne raid in 793 is usually seen as the start of the Viking Age.

Question: Hoards buried in Viking-age Sweden hold thousands of silver coins from Baghdad. How did Arab coins end up so far north?

Answer: Vikings were traders as much as raiders, running routes from Scandinavia to Constantinople and Baghdad. Eastern Vikings, called the Rus, gave their name to Russia.

Question: Norse ruins found in Newfoundland, Canada, date to around 1000 AD. How did Vikings reach North America 500 years before Columbus?

Answer: Leif Erikson led Norse sailors to a land they called Vinland around 1000 AD. The site at L’Anse aux Meadows proves Europeans reached the Americas long before Columbus.

Question: English words like sky, egg, knife, and window came from Old Norse. Why did so many Viking words enter the English language?

Answer: Vikings ruled a large part of England called the Danelaw, where Norse and English speakers mixed daily. Hundreds of everyday English words are Viking leftovers.