Viking: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026

News •

9 stats from Bills' win: Buffalo defense matches 1985 Bears, Carson Wentz historically bad • Nov. 10, 2026, 9:01 AM ET (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

Hometown glory? Norwegian library unveils £100k history book donated by Erling Haaland • Nov. 9, 2026, 12:10 PM ET (The Guardian)

Vikings the NFL’s last remaining unbeaten after Chiefs fall to Seahawks • Oct. 26, 2026, 9:31 AM ET (New York Times)

'I worked on 1970s dig that changed what we knew about Vikings' • Oct. 16, 2026, 1:03 AM ET (BBC)

Facts

Also Known As	Varangian • Northman • Norseman

Photos and Videos

Exhumed Viking ship with a tall, curved prow on display inside the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway, surrounded by stone flooring and visitors in the background.

Viking burial ground at Lindholm Hoje near Alborg, Denmark, featuring numerous upright stones arranged in circles and ovals on grassy terrain with trees in the background.

Map showing Viking travels, trading, and raiding routes from the 9th to 11th centuries across Europe, the North Atlantic, and into North America. Viking homelands in Scandinavia are shaded, with routes extending to Iceland, Greenland, the British Isles, France, Eastern Europe, and L'Anse aux Meadows in present-day Canada. Key settlements and areas of initial Viking presence are marked. An inset map in the lower left shows the 1000-year anniversary reenactment route of Leif Eriksson's voyage from

Painting by Christian Krohg showing Leif Eriksson in a yellow tunic standing on a Viking ship, pointing toward land as his crew looks ahead over rough seas.

Battle of Clontarf

Historical map showing the extent of Kievan Rus in the 11th century, shaded in pink, covering parts of modern-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. The map also marks the neighboring Byzantine Empire in purple to the south, with major cities such as Kyiv, Novgorod, and Smolensk labeled, along with surrounding peoples and regions including the Volga Bulgars, Khazars, and Kipchaks. Major rivers, seas, and adjacent territories like Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria are also depicted.

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Explore the lives of the Vikings as raiders and also as traders

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Topics

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Key People

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Halfdan

Danish Viking leader

Who was Viking chieftain Ivar the Boneless?

Ivar the Boneless

Viking chieftain

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Harald III Sigurdsson

king of Norway

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Thorkell the Tall

Viking chief

Ragnar Lothbrok

Ragnar Lothbrok

Viking hero

Harald I

Harald I

king of Norway

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Guthrum

king of Denmark

Vikings. Viking warriors hold swords and shields. 9th c. AD seafaring warriors raided the coasts of Europe, burning, plundering and killing. Marauders or pirates came from Scandinavia, now Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. European History

European History