...Viking Times...

in Stavanger, Norway.

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In the year 793 AD, Norwegian Vikings sacked the monastery at Lindisfarne on the eastern coast of England. This marks the beginning of an era of great expansion for the Scandinavian peoples. Norway was at this time ruled by several local kings and chieftains, each with sufficient power and resources to lead large expeditions abroad.   Originally, the purpose of these expeditions was trade, but as the kings' power increased, the trips gradually turned into brutal plundering excursions. Even though Norway was sparsely populated and quite poor in resources, a well developed military organization and superior ships enabled the Vikings to spread fear wherever they went. There were two main routes for the Viking expeditions. One went westwards to England, Ireland, France and Germany, sometimes even into the Mediterranean. The easterly route went by Russia and the Baltic countries into eastern Europe, following the main rivers all the way to Constantinople -'Miklagard'. But, plunder and trade was not the only purpose of these expeditions. Power struggles drove people away, and forced them to look for new homes. This process caused both Iceland and Greenland to be settled by Norwegians. From what now belongs to the British Isles; Shetland, the Orkneys, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man also came under Norwegian rule. Even England itself was at times under the direct rule of Scandinavian kings.

The Unification of Norway

When Norway entered the Viking era around 800 AD, the country was divided into several districts, each ruled by the head of a powerful aristocratic family. These are sometimes referred to as kings, sometimes as earls or chieftains. Until the middle of the ninth century, none of them had enough power to seize control over the whole of Norway. That changed early in the second half of the century when King Harald set out to become sole ruler of the country . He vowed not to cut his hair until the task was completed, and soon gained the nickname 'Fairhair'. Few details are known about Harald Fairhair's struggle to be recognized as sole king of Norway, but after the decisive naval battle of Hafrsfjord in 892, practically all resistance was broken, and though he never really managed to enforce his power over the northernmost parts of the country, he is still recognized as the first king of Norway. However, this did not mean that the process of unification was over once and for all.

Throughout the Viking era and the Middle Ages, Norwegian history tells of countless civil wars. These were fought between claimants to the throne who had the support of their local regions. Harald's son, Erik, succeeded his father around 930 and ruled for five years after killing seven of his eight brothers, thereby gaining the nickname 'Bloodaxe'. During this period, being of royal kin proved to be extremely dangerous.

The Viking era marks the termination of the prehistoric period in Norway. There were still no written sources of knowledge, and what is known about this period is largely based on archaeological remains. Nevertheless, the Sagas shed some light on this age. Although they were written down later, the Sagas were based on word of mouth tales passed down from one generation to the next. In synthesis they reveal that the Viking age must without comparison have been the richest of all the prehistoric periods in the north.

Many scholars regard the looting of the monastery of Lindisfarne, off England's northeast coast, in the year 793 as the beginning of the Viking Age. Over extensive parts of west and southwest Europe they are still regarded as cruel brigands, who wrought havoc on their victims with fire and the sword. This is only partially true. The Vikings also came on peaceful errand, to trade and to colonize. Norwegian Vikings settled in the Orkney Isles, the Shetlands, the Hebrides, and on the Isle of Man. The mainland of northern Scotland and Ireland also became their home, and Dublin, founded by the Vikings in the 840s, was under Nordic rule right up to 1171.

In Iceland and Greenland the Norwegian Vikings found uninhabited land. There they settled and built communities. Present-day Iceland is a direct consequence of the Viking colonization. On Greenland, however, the Norse communities, for reasons unknown, died out some few centuries later.

The Norwegian Vikings came mostly from the south and west of the country, where the land had been utilized to the maximum it could tolerate. In southeast and north Norway, on the other hand, settlement based on agriculture and other activities spread to previously uninhabited areas, particularly in the mountains and valleys.

For their many expeditions the Vikings needed fast and seaworthy ships, and men with the skill to navigate them over open seas. The fact that these hardy men repeatedly voyaged to America and back is evidence enough of their mastery of the longships. The Sagas relate that it was Leif Eriksson who discovered "Wineland the Good" in the year 1001, but present day scholars claim that other Vikings had reached America before him. The Viking Age finally culminated in 1066 when the Norwegian King Harald Hardruler and his men were defeated at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in England.

A United Kingdom

Up to the 800s the regions that later became Norway were not unified. But both groups and individuals attempted to bring them together. Two main types of community were formed:

* assemblies or "tings" organized around a central "Allting" and
* petty kingships.

There must have been several reasons for this. Not least of them was the farmers' need for peace and continuity, particularly in the coastal areas, that were repeatedly troubled by robber bands and the harrying of the homecoming vikings. The costal areas possessed at this time substantial riches in the shape of stolen and traded goods. Safe on their "thrones" sat the petty kings, who thanks to the kinships created by intermarriage, were a tight-knit group with considerable power.

The petty kings in the Viken -- the areas surrounding the Oslofjord, played a major role in this process. Their might increased steadily as district after district was brought under their rule. After a battle at Hafrsfjord near Stavanger, believably fought in the year 872, King Harald Fairhair strengthened his position as ruler of large areas of the country. This unifying process, however, continued for several more decades, bringing harsh struggles between warring Norwegian chieftains, and between Norwegian and other peoples of the north. By 1060 the unifying process appears to have been completed.