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When Did the Viking Age Begin?

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Quick Answer

The Viking Age is traditionally dated from the raid on Lindisfarne monastery in northeast England on 8 June 793 CE, and lasted until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

The Full Story

The Lindisfarne raid of 793 shocked the Christian world — the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded: "Never before has such terror appeared in Britain." For the next 270 years, Norse warriors, traders, and settlers from Scandinavia (modern Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) expanded across Europe and beyond. Vikings raided and settled in Britain, Ireland, France (founding Normandy), and Russia (founding the Rus kingdom). They reached Iceland (870s), Greenland (985), and North America (Vinland, circa 1000 CE) — nearly 500 years before Columbus. The Vikings were not just raiders: they were skilled craftspeople, traders, and navigators. Their longships, with shallow drafts and double-ended design, could navigate both open ocean and shallow rivers. The Viking Age conventionally ended in 1066, when Harald Hardrada of Norway was defeated at Stamford Bridge and William the Conqueror (himself of Viking descent) won at Hastings.

Key Facts

1.Viking longships could travel at speeds of up to 15 knots (28 km/h) under sail and could navigate waters as shallow as 50 cm, allowing them to sail up rivers deep into continental Europe.
2.Leif Eriksson reached North America ("Vinland") around 1000 CE — the only confirmed Norse settlement in the Americas is at L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland.
3.The word "viking" in Old Norse actually means "pirate raid" — it was an activity, not an ethnic identity; most Scandinavians of the period were farmers, not raiders.

YouTube Angle

Suggested video title for this topic:

"The Viking Age — Raiders, Traders, and Explorers of the North"