1. Possible reasons for Viking raids (víking) and expansion: Overpopulation, limited resources Reputation Avoiding enemies and feuds Objection to rule of kings

2. King Jarls (chieftains) with warrior bands Karls (free men), usually farmers or crafters Thralls (slaves) Women as powers behind husbands, poetesses, prophetesses. Rights in divorce, marriage, inheritance, succession

3. Odin All-father, king of the gods God of poets (skalds) and wisdom Hung on tree to gain runes (Futhark)

4. Thor God of strength, thunder and lightning Mjollnir

5. Frey: God of fertility Freyja: Goddess of love, beauty and fertility Hel/Hela: Queen of Hel (the underworld) The Valkyries: choosers of the slain (Valhalla)

6. c. 960 Harald Bluetooth of Denmark (r. c. 958-85) becomes Christian c. 1000 Olaf I Tryggvason (r. 995-1000) and Olaf II Haraldsson (r. 1015-30) of Norway convert population to Christianity c. 1000 Iceland adopts Christianity 11th c. Conversion of Sweden begins 12th c. Last records of pagan practices

7. 814 Vikings burn monastery on Noirmoutier, off mouth of R. Loire 841 Vikings plunder Rouen Map Link: Viking Raids: <http://www.historyireland.com/wp-content/uploads/http://www.historyireland.com/wp-content/uploads/ 2013/02/map1-240x300.jpg2013/02/map1-240x300.jpg>

8. 843 Vikings winter on Noirmoutier 844 Vikings ravage Garonne valley, attack Spain 857 Vikings have repeatedly sacked various French cities incl. Paris 859 Vikings raid Morocco, Balearics, winter at Rhone delta, raid southern France

9. 885 Vikings besiege Paris 887 Charles the Fat (r. 876-87) relieves siege of Paris 911 Charles the Simple (r. 893-923) grants Viking leader Rollo area around mouth of Seine, which forms seed of Normandy. Viking raids on mainland Europe end a couple of decades later

10. 9th c. Vikings invade Ireland, occupy Orkney, Shetland, Hebrides and Isle of Man 874 Viking settle in Iceland, and later in Greenland, east coast of N. America 13th c. End of Viking rule in Scotland and Isle of Man

11. 830 Start of Viking Rus raiding and trading in eastern Europe, Byzantine Empire and Middle East. Settlements follow along Volga river and (in 10th c.) in Slavic lands including city of Kiev. They expand territory further in 10th c. c. 988 Vladimir of Kiev (r. 980-1015) converts to Greek Orthodox Christianity

12. Map Link: Journeys of the Vikings: <http://www.historiska.se/ImageVault/Images/http://www.historiska.se/ImageVault/Images/ id_855/conversionFormat_109/scope_0/ webSafe_1/width_480/height_480/ ImageVaultHandler.aspxImageVaultHandler.aspx>

13. c. 980 Eirik the Red leaves Scandinavia for Iceland, but is banished from Iceland and heads west, where he discovers Greenland 985 Eirik leads a party to colonise Greenland. Bjarni Herjolfsson, following, accidentally sights N. America but does not land. c. 1000 Leif (“the Lucky”) Eiriksson lands on Baffin Island, Labrador and “Vinland” (Newfoundland) ThorwaldScraelings

14. Annals of St Bertin Annalistic monastery chronicle Covers 830-82

15. Abbo Cernuus (“crooked”) French Benedictine monk from Paris, born mid-9th c. Witnessed siege of Paris, 885-87 Description of siege in Latin verse, De Bellis Parisiacae Urbis, with description of events to 896

16. Chronicle of St Denis Mediaeval chronicle written long after events described here Sources: Dudo (d. c. 1043) and William of Jumièges (d. c. 1090), monks also writing long after events

17. Ahmad ibn Fadlan Very little known about him. Sent by caliph, in 921, as ambassador to king of Bulgars of Middle Volga, to present gifts and supervise Muslim teachers Met some of the Swedish Rus after arrived in 922. Impressions recorded in risala (“message”)