For other uses see Viking (disambiguation). Danish seamen painted mid-twelfth century. This article is part of the Scandinavia series Scandinavia Geography Mountains  Peninsula Viking Age Old Norse Viking Thing (assembly) Mythology Christianization Northern Arc Political entities Kalmar Union DenmarkNorway SwedenFinland SwedenNorway History of Scandinavia Denmark Finland Norway Sweden Iceland land Faroe Islands Greenland Jmtland Lapland Scania Schleswig-Holstein Other Languages Scandinavism Nordic Council Monetary Union Defence Union Royal League SAS v d e

The term Viking (from Old Norse vkingr) is customarily used to refer to the Norse (Scandinavian) explorers warriors merchants and pirates who raided traded explored and settled in wide areas of Europe and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.1

These Norsemen used their famed longships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia and as far west as Iceland Greenland and Newfoundland and as far south as Al-Andalus.2 This period of Viking expansion known as the Viking Age forms a major part of the medieval history of Scandinavia Britain Ireland and the rest of Europe in general.

Popular conceptions of the Vikings often differ from the complex picture that emerges from archaeology and written sources. A romanticized picture of Vikings as Germanic noble savages began to take root in the 18th century and this developed and became widely propagated during the 19th-century Viking revival.3 The received views of the Vikings as violent brutes or intrepid adventurers owe much to the modern Viking myth which had taken shape by the early 20th century. Current popular representations are typically highly clichd presenting the Vikings as familiar caricatures.3 Contents 1 Etymology 2 The sources 3 The Viking Age 4 Viking expansion 5 The end of the Viking Age 6 Weapons and warfare 7 Archaeology 7.1 Runestones 7.2 Burial sites 7.3 Ships 7.4 Experimental archaeology 8 Genetic legacy 9 Medieval perceptions of the Vikings 10 Post-medieval perceptions of the Vikings 10.1 The figure of the Viking in twentieth-century politics 10.2 The Vikings in modern music literature and popular culture 11 Common misconceptions concerning the Vikings 11.1 Horned helmets 11.2 Use of skulls as drinking vessels 11.3 Barbarity 12 Well known Vikings and Scandinavians of the Viking Age 12.1 Known from Viking Age sources 12.2 Known from later medieval sources 13 See also 14 Notes 15 References 16 External links Etymology

The source for the word Viking is disputed. Two suggested origins are the Old Norse word vik meaning bay or the Latin word for town vicus similar to the Germanic wik.4

The Old Norse feminine noun vking refers to an expedition overseas. It occurs in Viking Age runic inscriptions and in later medieval writings in set expressions such as the phrasal verb fara vking "to go on an expedition". In later texts such as the Icelandic sagas the phrase "to go viking" implies participation in raiding activity or piracy and not simply seaborne missions of trade and commerce. The related Old Norse masculine noun vkingr appears in Viking Age skaldic poetry and on several rune stones found in Scandinavia where it refers to a seaman or warrior who takes part in an expedition overseas.5 The form also occurs as a personal name on some Swedish rune stones. There is little indication of any negative connotation in the term before the end of the Viking Age. Regardless of its possible origins the word was used to indicate an activity and those who participated in it and not to any ethnic or cultural group.

In Old English the word wicing appears first in the Anglo-Saxon poem "Widsith" which probably dates from the 9th century. In Old English and in the history of the archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen written by Adam of Bremen in about 1070 the term is synonymous with pirate. As in the Old Norse usages the term is not employed as a name for any people or culture in general. The word does not occur in any preserved Middle English texts.

In the modern Scandinavian languages the word Viking usually refers specifically to those people who went on Viking expeditions.6

The word Viking was introduced into Modern English during the 18th-century "Viking revival" at which point it acquired romanticized heroic overtones of "barbarian warrior" or noble savage. During the 20th century the meaning of the term was expanded to refer not only to seaborne raiders from Scandinavia but secondarily to any Scandinavian who lived during the period from the late eighth to the mid-11th centuries or more loosely from c. 700 to as late as about 1100. As an adjective the word is used to refer to ideas phenomena or artifacts connected with Scandinavians and their cultural life in these centuries producing expressions like "Viking age" "Viking culture" "Viking art" "Viking religion" "Viking ship" and so on. The people of medieval Scandinavia are also referred to as Norse although this term properly applies only to the Old-Norse-speaking peoples of Scandinavia and not to the Sami. The sources

The most important primary sources for information on the Vikings are different sorts of contemporary evidence from Scandinavia and the various regions in which the Vikings were active.7 Writing in Latin letters was introduced to Scandinavia with Christianity so there are few native documentary sources from Scandinavia before the late 11th and early 12th centuries.8 The Scandinavians did write inscriptions in runes but these are usually very short and formulaic. The contemporary documentary sources upon which modern knowledge is based therefore consist mostly of texts written in Christian and Islamic communities overseas that had often been negatively affected by Viking activity. These texts reflect varying degrees of bias and reliability but not more so than is usually the case in early medieval writings and they remain very important. Since the mid-20th century archaeological sources have helped build a more complete and balanced picture.9 The archaeological record is particularly rich and varied and provides knowledge of rural and urban settlement crafts and production ships and military equipment and pagan and Christian religious artifacts and practices. Archaeology also provides the main source of evidence for circumstances in Scandinavia before the Viking Age. Evidence from after the Viking Age can also be important for understanding the Vikings although it needs to be treated very cautiously. After the consolidation of the church and the assimilation of Scandinavia and its colonies into the mainstream of medieval Christian culture in the 11th and 12th centuries native written sources begin to appear in Latin and Old Norse. In the Viking colony of Iceland an extraordinary vernacular literature blossomed in the twelfth to 14th centuries and many traditions connected with the Viking Age were written down for the first time in the Icelandic sagas. The reliability of these medieval prose narratives about the Scandinavian past is often doubtful but some elements remain worthy of consideration such as the great quantity of skaldic poetry attributed to court poets of the tenth and 11th centuries that was included in these writings. The linguistic evidence from medieval and later records and Old Norse place-names in Scandinavia and elsewhere also provides a vital source of information for the social history of Viking Age Scandinavia and the Viking settlements overseas. A consequence of the available written sources which may have coloured how we perceive the Viking Age as a historical period is that we know a lot more of the raids to western Europe than those to the East. One reason for this is that the peoples living in northeastern Europe at the time were illiterate. Another reason is that the vast majority of the written sources from Scandinavia comes from Iceland a nation originally settled by Norwegian colonists. As a result there is much more material from the Viking Age concerning Norway than for instance Sweden which apart from Runic inscriptions has almost no written sources from the early Middle Ages. The Viking Age Main article: Viking Age The Gokstad Viking ship on display in Oslo Norway. The period from the earliest recorded raids in the 790s until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 is commonly known as the Viking Age of Scandinavian history. Vikings used the Norwegian Sea10 and Baltic Sea for sea routes to the south. The Normans were descended from Danish and Norwegian Vikings who were given feudal overlordship of areas in northern France the Duchy of Normandy in the 10th century.citation needed In that respect descendants of the Vikings continued to have an influence in northern Europe. Likewise King Harold Godwinson the last Anglo-Saxon king of England had Danish ancestors. Geographically a "Viking Age" may be assigned not only to Scandinavian lands (modern Denmark Norway and Sweden) but also to territories under North Germanic dominance mainly the Danelaw including Scandinavian York the administrative center of the remains of the Kingdom of Northumbria11 parts of Mercia12 and East Anglia.13 Viking navigators opened the road to new lands to the north west and east resulting in the foundation of independent settlements in the Shetland Orkney and Faroe Islands; Iceland; Greenland;14 and L'Anse aux Meadows a short-lived settlement in Newfoundland circa 1000 A.D.15 Many of these lands specifically Greenland and Iceland may have been originally discovered by sailors blown off course.citation needed They also may well have been deliberately sought out perhaps on the basis of the accounts of sailors who had seen land in the distance. The Greenland settlement eventually died out possibly due to climate change. Vikings also explored and settled in territories in Slavic-dominated areas of Eastern Europe particularly the Kievan Rus. By 950 AD these settlements were largely Slavicized. A reconstructed Viking Age long house As early as 839 when Swedish emissaries are first known to have visited Byzantium Scandinavians served as mercenaries in the service of the Byzantine Empire.16 In the late 10th century a new unit of the imperial bodyguard was formed which traditionally contained large numbers of Scandinavians. This was known as the Varangian Guard. The word "Varangian" may have originated in Old Norse but in Slavic and Greek it could refer either to Scandinavians or Franks. The most eminent Scandinavian to serve in the Varangian Guard was Harald Hardrada who subsequently established himself as king of Norway (104766). Important trading ports during the period include Birka Hedeby Kaupang Jorvik Staraya Ladoga Novgorod and Kiev. There is archaeological evidence that Vikings reached the city of Baghdad the center of the Islamic Empire.17 The Norse regularly plied the Volga with their trade goods: furs tusks seal fat for boat sealant and slaves. However they were far less successful in establishing settlements in the Middle East due to the more centralized Islamic power.citation needed Generally speaking the Norwegians expanded to the north and west to places such as Ireland Scotland Iceland and Greenland; the Danes to England and France settling in the Danelaw (northern/eastern England) and Normandy; and the Swedes to the east founding the Kievan Rus the original Russia. However among the Swedish runestones which mention expeditions over seas almost half tell of raids and travels to western Europe. Also according to the Icelandic sagas many Norwegian Vikings went to eastern Europe. These nations although distinct were similar in culture and language. The names of Scandinavian kings are known only for the later part of the Viking Age. Only after the end of the Viking Age did the separate kingdoms acquire distinct identities as nations which went hand in hand with their Christianization. Thus the end of the Viking Age for the Scandinavians also marks the start of their relatively brief Middle Ages. Viking expansion Main article: Viking expansion Map showing area of Scandinavian settlement in the eighth (dark red) ninth (red) tenth (orange) and eleventh (yellow) centuries. Green denotes areas subjected to frequent Viking raids.image reference needed The Vikings sailed most of the North Atlantic reaching south to North Africa and east to Russia Constantinople and the Middle East as looters traders colonists and mercenaries. Vikings under Leif Eriksson heir to Erik the Red reached North America and set up a short-lived settlement in present-day L'Anse aux Meadows Newfoundland and Labrador Canada. The motives driving the Viking expansion form a topic of much debate in Nordic history. One common theory posits that Charlemagne "used force and terror to Christianize all pagans" leading to "baptism converting or death by iron and blood" and as a result "Vikings and other pagans wanted to avenge".1819202122 Professor Rudolf Simek confirms that "it is not a coincidence if the early Viking activity occurred during the reign of Charlemagne".2324 Because of the penetration of Christianity in Scandinavia serious conflict divided Norway for almost a century.25 Another common theory posits that the Norse population had outgrown the agricultural potential of their Scandinavian homeland.citation needed For a coastal population with superior naval technologies it made sense to expand overseas in the face of a youth bulge effect. However this theory does little to explain why the expansion went overseas rather than into the vast uncultivated forest areas on the interior of the Scandinavian Peninsula. It should be noted that sea raiding was easier than clearing large areas of forest for farm and pasture in a region with a limited growing season. No such rise in population or decline in agricultural production has been definitively proven. Another explanation is that the Vikings exploited a moment of weakness in the surrounding regions. For instance the Danish Vikings were aware of the internal divisions within Charlemagne's empire that began in the 830s and resulted in schism.citation needed England suffered from internal divisions and was relatively easy prey given the proximity of many towns to the sea or to navigable rivers. Lack of organized naval opposition throughout Western Europe allowed Viking ships to travel freely raiding or trading as opportunity permitted. The decline in the profitability of old trade routes could also have played a role. Trade between western Europe and the rest of Eurasia suffered a severe blow when the Roman Empire fell in the 5th century.26 The expansion of Islam in the 7th century had also affected trade with western Europe.27 Trade on the Mediterranean Sea was historically at its lowest level when the Vikings initiated their expansion.citation needed By opening new trade routes in Arabic and Frankish lands the Vikings profited from international trade by expanding beyond their traditional boundaries.citation needed The end of the Viking Age During the Viking Age Scandinavian men and women travelled to many parts of Europe and beyond in a cultural diaspora that left its traces from Newfoundland to Byzantium. But this period of energetic activity also had a pronounced effect in the Scandinavian homelands which were subject to a variety of new influences.28 In the 300 years from the late 8th century when contemporary chroniclers first commented on the appearance of Viking raiders to the end of the 11th century Scandinavia underwent profound cultural changes. In the late 11th century royal dynasties legitimised by the Church were asserting their power with increasing authority and ambition and the three kingdoms of Denmark Norway and Sweden had taken shape. Towns were appearing which functioned as secular and ecclesiastical administrative centres as well as market sites and monetary economies were beginning to emerge based on English and German models.29 By this time the influx of Islamic silver from the East had been absent for more than a century and the flow of English silver had come to an end in the mid-11th century.30 Christianity had taken root in Denmark and Norway with the establishment of dioceses during the 11th century and the new religion was beginning to organise and assert itself more effectively in Sweden. Foreign churchmen and native elites were energetic in furthering the interests of Christianity which was now no longer operating simply on a missionary footing and old ideologies and lifestyles were transforming. It was not until 1103 however that the first archbishopric was founded in Scandinavia at Lund (in the southernmost part of present-day Sweden previously part of Denmark). The assimilation of the nascent Scandinavian kingdoms into the cultural mainstream of European Christendom altered the aspirations of Scandinavian rulers and those Scandinavians able to travel overseas and changed their relations with their neighbours. One of the primary sources of profit for the Vikings had been slave-taking. The medieval Church took the position that Christians should not own fellow Christians as slaves so chattel slavery diminished as a practice throughout northern Europe. This took much of the economic incentive out of raiding though sporadic slaving activity continued in the 11th century. Eventually outright slavery was outlawed and replaced with serfdom at the bottom rung of medieval society. Scandinavian predation in Christian lands around the North Sea and the Irish Sea diminished markedly. Blar a' Bhuailte site of the Vikings' last stand in Skye The kings of Norway continued to assert power in parts of northern Britain and Ireland and raids continued into the 12th century but the military ambitions of Scandinavian rulers were now directed toward new paths. In 1107 Sigurd I of Norway sailed for the eastern Mediterranean with a host of Norwegian crusaders to fight for the newly established Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Danes and Swedes participated energetically in the Baltic Crusades of the 12th and 13th centuries.31 Weapons and warfare Main article: Viking Age arms and armor Our knowledge about arms and armor of the Viking age is based on relatively sparse archaeological finds pictorial representation and to some extent on the accounts in the Norse sagas and Norse laws recorded in the 13th century. According to custom all free Norse men were required to own weapons as well as permitted to carry them all the time. These arms were also indicative of a Viking's social status: a wealthy Viking would have a complete ensemble of a helmet shield chainmail shirt and sword. A typical bndi (freeman) was more likely to fight with a spear and shield and most also carried a seax as a utility knife and side-arm. Bows were used in the opening stages of land battles and at sea but tended to be considered less "honorable" than a hand weapon. Vikings were relatively unusual for the time in their use of axes as a main battle weapon. The Hscarls the elite guard of King Cnut (and later King Harold II) were armed with two-handed axes which could split shields or metal helmets with ease. Archaeology Good-quality written historical sources for Scandinavia during the Viking Period are scarce but the archaeological record is rich.32 Runestones Main article: Runestone The vast majority of runic inscriptions from the Viking period come from Sweden and date from the 11th century. Many runestones in Scandinavia record the names of participants in Viking expeditions such as the Kjula runestone which tells of extensive warfare in Western Europe and the Turinge runestone which tells of a warband in Eastern Europe. Other runestones mention men who died on Viking expeditions. Among them are around 25 Ingvar runestones in the Mlardalen district of Sweden erected to commemorate members of a disastrous expedition into present-day Russia in the early 11th century. The runestones are important sources in the study of Norse society and early medieval Scandinavia not only of the 'Viking' segment of the population.33 Runestones attest to voyages to locations such as Bath34 Greece35 Khwaresm36 Jerusalem37 Italy (as Langobardland)38 London39 Serkland (i.e. the Muslim world)40 England41 and various locations in Eastern Europe. The word Viking appears on several runestones found in Scandinavia. Burial sites See also: Viking funeral There are numerous burial sites associated with Vikings throughout Europein Sweden Norway Denmark Germany and other North Germanic regions. As well as providing information on Viking religion burial sites also provide information on social structure. The items buried with the deceased give some indication as to what was considered important to possess in the afterlife.42 Some examples of notable burial sites include: Gettlinge gravflt land Sweden ship outline Jelling Denmark a World Heritage Site The cemeteries of Birka Sweden a World Heritage Site. The Hemlanden cemetery located here is the largest Viking Period cemetery in Scandinavia.citation needed Oseberg Norway. Gokstad Norway. Borrehaugene Horten Norway Valsgrde Sweden. Gamla Uppsala Sweden. Hulterstad gravflt near the villages of Alby and Hulterstad land Sweden ship outline of standing stones Trulben by Hornbach in Rhineland-Palatinate Germany Ships Miniatures of two different types of longships on display at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde Denmark. An early 20th-century illustration of Vikings leaving their ship: the representation of neither the vessel nor the details of personal dress (including horned helmets) is accurate. Main article: Viking ship There were two distinct classes of Viking ships: the 'longship' (sometimes erroneously called "drakkar" a corruption of "dragon" in Norse) and the 'knarr'. The longship intended for warfare and exploration was designed for speed and agility and was equipped with oars to complement the sail as well as making it able to navigate independently of the wind. The longship had a long and narrow hull as well as a shallow draft in order to facilitate landings and troop deployments in shallow water. The knarr was a dedicated merchant vessel designed to carry cargo. It was designed with a broader hull deeper draft and limited number of oars (used primarily to maneuver in harbors and similar situations). One Viking innovation was the 'beitass' a spar mounted to the sail that allowed their ships to sail effectively against the wind.43 Longships were used extensively by the Leidang the Scandinavian defense fleets. The term "Viking ships" has entered common usage however possibly because of its romantic associations (discussed below). In Roskilde are the well-preserved remains of five ships excavated from nearby Roskilde Fjord in the late 1960s. The ships were scuttled there in the 11th century to block a navigation channel thus protecting the city which was then the Danish capital from seaborne assault. These five ships represent the two distinct classes of Viking ships the longship and the knarr. The remains of these ships can be found on display at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde. Longships are not to be confused with later-period longboats. It was common for Viking ships to tow or carry a smaller boat to transfer crews and cargo from the ship to shore. Experimental archaeology On 1 July 2007 the reconstructed Viking ship Skuldelev 2 renamed Sea Stallion44 began a journey from Roskilde Denmark to Dublin Ireland. The remains of that ship and four others were discovered during a 1962 excavation in the Roskilde Fjord. This multi-national experimental archeology project saw 70 crew members sail the ship back to its home in Ireland. Tests of the original wood show that it was made of Irish trees. The Sea Stallion arrived outside Dublin's Custom House on 14 August 2007. The purpose of the voyage was to test and document the seaworthiness speed and maneuverability of the ship on the rough open sea and in coastal waters with treacherous currents. The crew tested how the long narrow flexible hull withstood the tough ocean waves. The expedition also provided valuable new information on Viking longships and society. The ship was built using Viking tools materials and much the same methods as the original ship. Genetic legacy Studies of genetic diversity provide some indication of the origin and expansion of the Viking population. The Haplogroup I1 (defined by specific genetic markers on the Y-chomosome) is sometimes referred to as the "Viking haplogroup".citation needed This mutation occurs with the greatest frequency among Scandinavian males: 35 percent in Norway Denmark and Sweden and peaking at 40 percent within western Finland.45 It is also common near the southern Baltic and North Sea coasts and then successively decreases the further south geographically. Genetic studies in the British Isles of the Y-DNA Haplogroup R1a1 seen also across Scandinavia have demonstrated that the Vikings settled in Britain and Ireland as well as raiding there. Both male and female descent studies show evidence of Norwegian descent in areas closest to Scandinavia such as the Shetland and Orkney Islands. Inhabitants of lands farther away show most Norse descent in the male Y-chromosome lines.46 A specialized surname study in Liverpool demonstrated marked Norse heritage up to 50 percent of males who belonged to original families those who lived there before the years of industrialization and population expansion.47 High percentages of Norse inheritancetracked through R1a1 haplotype signatureswere also found among males in Wirral and West Lancashire.48 This was similar to the percentage of Norse inheritance found among males in the Orkney Islands.49 Recent research suggests that the Scottish warrior Somerled who drove the Vikings out of Scotland and was the progenitor of Clan Donald may himself have been of Viking descenta member of Haplogroup R1a1.50 Medieval perceptions of the Vikings In England the Viking Age began dramatically on 8 June 793 when Norsemen destroyed the abbey on the island of Lindisfarne. The devastation of Northumbria's Holy Island shocked and alerted the royal Courts of Europe to the Viking presence. "Never before has such an atrocity been seen" declared the Northumbrian scholar Alcuin of York.citation needed More than any other single event the attack on Lindisfarne demonized perception of the Vikings for the next twelve centuries. Not until the 1890s did scholars outside Scandinavia begin to seriously reassess the achievements of the Vikings recognizing their artistry technological skills and seamanship.51 Norse mythology sagas and literature tell of Scandinavian culture and religion through tales of heroic and mythological heroes. However early transmission of this information was primarily oral and later texts were reliant upon the writings and transcriptions of Christian scholars including the Icelanders Snorri Sturluson and Smundur fri. Many of these sagas were written in Iceland and most of them even if they had no Icelandic provenance were preserved there after the Middle Ages due to the Icelanders' continued interest in Norse literature and law codes. The 200-year Viking influence on European history is filled with tales of plunder and colonization and the majority of these chronicles came from western witnesses and their descendants. Less common though equally relevant are the Viking chronicles that originated in the east including the Nestor chronicles Novgorod chronicles Ibn Fadlan chronicles Ibn Rusta chronicles and many brief mentions by the Fosio bishop from the first big attack on the Byzantine Empire. Other chroniclers of Viking history include Adam of Bremen who wrote "There is much gold here (in Zealand) accumulated by piracy. These pirates which are called wichingi by their own people and Ascomanni by our own people pay tribute to the Danish king" in the fourth volume of his Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum. In 991 the Battle of Maldon between Viking raiders and the inhabitants of the town of Maldon in Essex England was commemorated with a poem of the same name. Post-medieval perceptions of the Vikings See also: 19th century Viking revival A modern reenactment of a Viking battle Early modern publications dealing with what we now call Viking culture appeared in the 16th century e.g. Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus (Olaus Magnus 1555) and the first edition of the 13th century Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus in 1514. The pace of publication increased during the 17th century with Latin translations of the Edda (notably Peder Resen's Edda Islandorum of 1665). In Scandinavia the 17th century Danish scholars Thomas Bartholin and Ole Worm and the Swede Olof Rudbeck were the first to set the standard for using runic inscriptions and Icelandic sagas as historical sources.citation needed During the Age of Enlightenment and the Nordic Renaissance historical scholarship in Scandinavia became more rational and pragmatic as witnessed by the works of the Danish historian Ludvig Holberg and the Swede Olof von Dalin.citation needed. An important early British contributor to the study of the Vikings was George Hicke who published his Linguarum vett. septentrionalium thesaurus in 1703 05. During the 18th century British interest and enthusiasm for Iceland and early Scandinavian culture grew dramatically expressed in English translations of Old Norse texts and original poems which extolled the supposed "Viking virtues". The word "viking" was first popularized at the beginning of the 19th century by Erik Gustaf Geijer in his poem The Viking. Geijer's poem did much to propagate the new romanticized ideal of the Viking which had little basis in historical fact. The renewed interest of Romanticism in the Old North had contemporary political implications. The Geatish Society of which Geijer was a member popularized this myth to a great extent. Another Swedish author who had great influence on the perception of the Vikings was Esaias Tegnr member of the Geatish Society who wrote a modern version of Frijfs saga ins frkna which became widely popular in the Nordic countries the United Kingdom and Germany. The fascination with the Vikings reached a peak during the so-called Viking Revival in the late 18th and 19th centuries. In Britain this took the form of Septentrionalism in Germany that of "Wagnerian" pathos or even Germanic mysticism and in the Scandinavian countries that of Romantic nationalism or Scandinavism. Pioneering 19th-century scholarly editions of the Viking Age began to reach a small readership in Britain archaeologists began to dig up Britain's Viking past and linguistic enthusiasts started to identify the Viking-Age origins for rural idioms and proverbs. The new dictionaries of the Old Norse language enabled the Victorians to grapple with the primary Icelandic sagas.52 Until recently the history of the Viking Age was largely based on Icelandic sagas the history of the Danes written by Saxo Grammaticus the Russian Primary Chronicle and The War of the Irish with the Foreigners. Although few scholars still accept these texts as reliable sources historians nowadays rely more on archeology and numismatics disciplines that have made valuable contributions toward understanding the period.53 The figure of the Viking in twentieth-century politics The romanticized idea of the Vikings constructed in scholarly and popular circles in northwestern Europe in the nineteenth and early 20th centuries was a potent one and the figure of the Viking became a familiar and malleable symbol in different contexts in the politics and political ideologies of 20th-century Europe.54 In Normandy which had been settled by Vikings the Viking ship became an uncontroversial regional symbol. In Germany awareness of Viking history in the 19th century had been stimulated by the border dispute with Denmark over Schleswig-Holstein and the use of Scandinavian mythology by Richard Wagner. The idealized view of the Vikings appealed to Germanic supremacists who transformed the figure of the Viking in accordance with the racialist ideology of the Germanic master race.55 Building on the linguistic and cultural connections between Norse-speaking Scandinavians and other Germanic groups in the far past Scandinavian Vikings were portrayed in Nazi Germany as a pure Germanic type. The cultural phenomenon of Viking expansion was re-interpreted for use as propaganda to support the extreme militant nationalism of the Third Reich and ideologically informed interpretations of Viking paganism and the Scandinavian use of runes were employed in the construction of Nazi mysticism. Other political organizations of the same ilk such as the former Norwegian fascist party Nasjonal Samling similarly appropriated elements of the modern Viking cultural myth in their symbolism and propaganda. In communist Russia the ideology of Slavic racial purity led to the complete denial that Scandinavians had played a part in the emergence of the principalities of the Rus' which was supposed to have been founded by Slavs. Evidence to the contrary was suppressed until the 1990s. The city of Novgorod now enthusiastically acknowledges its Viking history and has included a Viking ship in its logo.56 The Vikings in modern music literature and popular culture A giant Viking welcomes visitors to the town of Dannevirke in New Zealand founded by 19th Century Scandinavian settlers. Led by the operas of German composer Richard Wagner such as Der Ring des Nibelungen Vikings and the Romanticist Viking Revival inspired many creative works. These have included novels directly based on historical events such as Frans Gunnar Bengtsson's The Long Ships (which was also released as a 1963 film) and historical fantasies such as the film The Vikings Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead (movie version called The 13th Warrior) and the comedy film Erik the Viking. The vampire Eric Northman in the HBO TV series True Blood was a Viking prince before being turned into a vampire. Vikings appear in several books by the Danish American writer Poul Anderson while British explorer historian and writer Tim Severin authored a trilogy of novels in 2005 about a young Viking adventurer Thorgils Leifsson who travels around the world. Since the 1960s there has been rising enthusiasm for historical reenactment. While the earliest groups had little claim for historical accuracy the seriousness and accuracy of re-enactors has increased. The largest such groups include The Vikings and Regia Anglorum though many smaller groups exist in Europe the UK North America New Zealand and Australia. Many reenactor groups participate in live-steel combat and a few have Viking-style ships or boats. Modern reconstructions of Viking mythology have shown a persistent influence in late 20th- and early 21st-century popular culture in some countries inspiring comics role-playing games computer games and music including Viking metal a sub-genre of heavy metal music. Common misconceptions concerning the Vikings Horned helmets Main article: Horned helmet Apart from two or three representations of (ritual) helmets with protrusions that may be either stylized ravens snakes or horns no depiction of Viking Age warriors' helmets and no preserved helmet has horns. In fact the formal close-quarters style of Viking combat (either in shield walls or aboard "ship islands") would have made horned helmets cumbersome and hazardous to the warrior's own side. Therefore historians believe that Viking warriors did not use horned helmets but whether or not such helmets were used in Scandinavian culture for other ritual purposes remains unproven. The general misconception that Viking warriors wore horned helmets was partly promulgated by the 19th century enthusiasts of Gtiska Frbundet founded in 1811 in Stockholm Sweden. They promoted the use of Norse mythology as the subject of high art and other ethnological and moral aims. The Vikings were often depicted with winged helmets and in other clothing taken from Classical antiquity especially in depictions of Norse gods. This was done in order to legitimize the Vikings and their mythology by associating it with the Classical world which had long been idealized in European culture. The latter-day mythos created by national romantic ideas blended the Viking Age with aspects of the Nordic Bronze Age some 2000 years earlier. Horned helmets from the Bronze Age were shown in petroglyphs and appeared in archaeological finds (see Bohusln and Vikso helmets). They were probably used for ceremonial purposes.57 Cartoons like Hgar the Horrible and Vicky the Viking and sports uniforms such as those of the Minnesota Vikings and Canberra Raiders football teams have perpetuated the mythic clich of the horned helmet. Viking helmets were conical made from hard leather with wood and metallic reinforcement for regular troops. The iron helmet with mask and chain mail was for the chieftains based on the previous Vendel-age helmets from central Sweden. The only true Viking helmet found is that from Gjermundbu in Norway. This helmet is made of iron and has been dated to the 10th century. Use of skulls as drinking vessels Main article: Skull cups The use of human skulls as drinking vesselsanother common motif in popular pictorial representations of the Vikingsis also ahistorical. The rise of this legend can be traced to Ole Worm's Runer seu Danica literatura antiquissima (1636) in which Danish warriors drinking r bjgvium hausa from the curved branches of skulls i.e. from horns were rendered as drinking ex craniis eorum quos ceciderunt from the skulls of those whom they had slain. The skull-cup allegation may also have some history in relation with other Germanic tribes and Eurasian nomads such as the Scythians and Pechenegs and the vivid example of the Lombard Alboin made notorious by Paul the Deacon's History. Barbarity The image of wild-haired dirty savages sometimes associated with the Vikings in popular cultureclarification needed is a distorted picture of reality.1 Non-Scandinavian Christians are responsible for most surviving accounts of the Vikings and consequently a strong possibility for bias exists. This attitude is likely attributed to Christian misunderstandings regarding paganism. Viking tendencies were often misreported and the work of Adam of Bremen among others told largely disputable tales of Viking savagery and uncleanliness.58 The Anglo-Danes were considered excessively clean by their Anglo-Saxon neighbours due to their custom of bathing every Saturday and combing their hair often. To this day Saturday is referred to as laugardagur / laurdag / lrdag / lrdag "washing day" in the Scandinavian languages. Icelanders were known to use natural hot springs as baths and there is a strong sauna/bathing culture in Scandinavia to this day. As for the Vikings in the east Ibn Rustah notes their cleanliness in carrying clean clothes whereas Ibn Fadlan is disgusted by all of the men sharing the same used vessel to wash their faces and blow their noses in the morning. Ibn Fadlan's disgust is possibly because of the contrast to the personal hygiene particular to the Muslim world at the time such as running water and clean vessels. While the example intended to convey his disgust about certain customs of the Rus' at the same time it recorded that they did wash every morning. Well known Vikings and Scandinavians of the Viking Age This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this article to prose if appropriate. Editing help is available. (July 2010) Known from Viking Age sources Bagsecg a Viking who Invaded and pillaged in England in 870 but was killed in 871 at The Battle of Ashdown. Cnut the Great king of England and Denmark Norway and of some of Sweden was possibly the greatest Viking king. A son of Sweyn Forkbeard and grandson of Harold Bluetooth he was a member of the dynasty that was key to the unification and Christianisation of Denmark. Some modern historians have dubbed him the Emperor of the North because of his position as one of the magnates of medieval Europe and as a reflection of the Holy Roman Empire to the south. Egill Skallagrmsson Icelandic warrior and skald. (See also the medieval tale Egils saga). Eric the Victorious a king of Sweden whose dynasty is the first known to have ruled as kings of the nation. It is possible he was king of Denmark for a time. Godfrid Duke of Frisia a pillager of the Low Countries and the Rhine area and briefly a lord of Frisia. Godfrid Haraldsson son of Harald Klak and pillager of the Low Countries and northern France. Guthrum colonizer of Danelaw. Halfdan pillaged in England conquered London and Northumbria later remembered as a son of Ragnar Lodbrok Harald Bluetooth (Harald Gormson) who according to the Jelling Stones that he had erected "won the whole of Denmark and Norway and turned the Danes to Christianity". Father of Sweyn Forkbeard; grandfather of Cnut the Great. Harald Fairhair remembered in the medieval sagas and thus commonly revered in popular histories as the first king of all Norway who conquered and ruled the whole extent of medieval Norway from 870-930. Now considered by historians to have been the successful ruler of a more limited domain in south-western Norway in the 10th century. Harald Hardrada. A half-brother of St Olaf Harald cut his teeth as a mercenary in Russia and Byzantium before returning to Norway in the mid-1040s. He forced his nephew Magnus the Good to share power with him and then ruled the whole kingdom alone after the early death of Magnus in 1047. Harald attempted to revive the North Sea domain of Cnut the Great but having failed to conquer the Danes he died at Stamford Bridge in 1066 during an unsuccessful attempt to conquer England. Harald was the first ruler of Norway successfully to have guaranteed the succession for his own sons. Although it was from him that the medieval Norwegian dynasty descended his historical importance has been obscured by the treatment of Harald Fairhair and St Olaf (Olaf Haraldsson) in medieval writings. Harald Klak (Harald Halfdansson) a 9th c. king in Jutland who made peace with Louis the Pious in order to win Frankish support in his struggle for power. In 826 he became the first Scandinavian ruler to accept baptism but he was unable to maintain his authority in Jutland and was possibly the first Viking to be granted Frankish land in exchange for protection. Ivar the Boneless the disabled Viking who conquered York despite having to be carried on a shield. Later remembered as a son of Ragnar Lodbrok. St Olaf (Olav Haraldsson) patron saint of Norway and king of Norway from 1015 to approx. 1030. Olaf Tryggvason king of Norway from 995 to 1000. Remembered as an aggressive missionary ruler in the medieval Icelandic sagas in which the extent of his authority has almost certainly been grossly exaggerated. Ragnar Lodbrok captured Paris. Developed into a legendary Viking hero in medieval writings. Rollo of Normandy founder of Normandy. Rorik of Dorestad a Viking lord of Frisia and nephew of Harald Klak. Sweyn Forkbeard king of Denmark Norway and England as well as founder of Swansea ("Sweyn's island"). In 1013 the Danes under Sweyn led a Viking offensive against the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The English king was forced into exile and in late 1013 Sweyn became King of England though he died early in 1014 and the former king was brought out of exile to challenge his son. Ubbe Ragnarsson pillaged in England and was killed in 878 at The Battle of Cynwit another supposed son of the legendary Ragnar Lodbrok. William the Conqueror ruler of Normandy and the victor at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. William was a Norman French-speaking fifth-generation descendant of the Viking war-leader Rollo the first Scandinavian ruler of Normandy; but Norman historians since Dudo of St-Quentin still celebrated the old Norse heritage of the ducal dynasty. William's great great uncle was the great Danish king Cnut the Great. The Norman assertion of power in England after the successful invasion of 1066 saw the end of the Anglo-Saxon rule in England. Known from later medieval sources Askold and Dir (Old Norse: Hoskuld and Dri) legendary Swedish conquerors of Kiev. Bjrn Ironside son of Ragnar Lodbrok pillaged in Italy. Brodir of Man a Danish Viking who killed the High King of Ireland Brian Boru. Erik the Red colonizer of Greenland. Freyds Eirksdttir a Viking woman who sailed to Vnland. Gardar Svavarsson originally from Sweden the discoverer of Iceland. There is another contender for the discoverer of Iceland: Naddoddr a Norwegian/Faeroese Viking explorer. Grmur Kamban a Norwegian or Norwegian/Irish Viking who around 825 was according to the Freyinga Saga the first Nordic settler in the Faeroes. Hastein a chieftain who raided in the Mediterranean Son of Ragnar Lodbrok. Inglfur Arnarson colonizer of Iceland. Ingvar the Far-Travelled the leader of the last great Swedish Viking expedition to pillage the shores of the Caspian Sea. Leif Ericsson discoverer of Vnland son of Erik the Red. Naddoddr a Norwegian/Faeroese Viking explorer. Oleg of Kiev (Old Norse: Helgi) Swede who founded Kievan Rus' and led several major raids against Constantinople Rurik (Old Norse: Hrrek) Swedish founder of the Rurikid Dynasty in the lands of East Slavs Sigmundur Brestisson Faeroese a Viking chieftain who according to the Freyinga Saga introduced Christianity and Norwegian supremacy to the Faeroes in 999. Thorfinn Karlsefni explorer who along with Freyds Eirksdttir sailed to Vnland. His wife Gudridr gave birth to Snorri the first European known to have been born in the New World. Thorgils (Thorgest) founder of Dublin according to Snorri Sturluson. Trndur Gtu a Faeroese Viking chieftain who according to the Freyinga Saga was opposed to the introduction of Christianity to and the Norwegian supremacy of the Faeroes. See also Norway portal Sweden portal Denmark portal Scandinavian prehistory Norsemen Scandinavians Proto-Norse language Old Norse Swedes (Germanic tribe) Geats Danes (Germanic tribe) Norwegians Danes Swedes Gutes Gutasaga Icelanders Faroese Notes a b Roesdahl p. 9-22. "Los vikingos en Al-Andalus (abstract available in English)". Jess Riosalido. 1997. http://rodin.uca.es:8081/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10498/7881/18385953.pdfsequence1. Retrieved 2010-05-11.  a b Johnni Langer "The origins of the imaginary viking" Viking Heritage Magazine Gotland University/Centre for Baltic Studies. Visby (Sweden) n. 4 dez. 2002 Neveux Francois. The Normans p.6. Constable & Robinson Ltd. Translation copyright Howard Curtis 2008. The Syntax of Old Norse By Jan Terje Faarlund; p 25 ISBN 0-19-927110-0; The Principles of English Etymology By Walter W. Skeat published in 1892 defined Viking: better Wiking Icel. Viking-r O. Icel. *Viking-r a creek-dweller; from Icel. vik O. Icel. *wik a creek bay with suffix -uig-r belonging to Principles of English Etymology By Walter W. Skeat; Clarendon press; Page 479 See Gunnar Karlsson "Er rkrtt a fullyra a landnmsmenn slandi hafi veri vkingar" The University of Iceland Science web April 30 2007; Gunnar Karlsson "Hver voru helstu vopn vkinga og hvernig voru au ger Voru eir mjg bardagaglair" The University of Iceland Science web December 20 2006; and Sverrir Jakobsson "Hvaan komu vkingarnir og hvaa hrif hfu eir rum lndum" The University of Iceland Science web July 13 2001 (in Icelandic). Hall pp. 811 Lindqvist pp. 160-61 Hall 2010 p. 8 and passim. C.Michael Hogan. 2011. Norwegian Sea. Eds.Peter Saundry & C.J.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for science and the Environment. Washington DC "History of Northumbria: Viking era 866 AD - 1066 AD" www.englandnortheast.co.uk. "Identity and Self-Image in Viking Age England" www.allempires.co.uk. October 3 2007 Toyne Stanley Mease. The Scandinavians in history Pg.27. 1970. The Fate of Greenland's Vikings by Dale Mackenzie Brown Archaeological Institute of America February 28 2000 The Norse discovery of America Hall p. 98 Vikings' Barbaric Bad Rap Beginning to Fade Rudolf Simek "the emergence of the viking age: circumstances and conditions" "The vikings first Europeans VIII - XI century - the new discoveries of archaeology" other 2005 p. 24-25 Bruno Dumzil master of Conference at Paris X-Nanterre Normalien aggregated history author of conversion and freedom in the barbarian kingdoms. 5Th - 8th centuries (Fayard 2005) "Franques Royal Annals" cited in Peter Sawyer "The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings" 2001 p. 20 Dictionnaire d'histoire de France - Perrin - Alain Decaux and Andr Castelot - 1981 - pages 184/185 ISBN 2-7242-3080-9 "the Vikings" R.Boyer history myths dictionary Robert Laffont several 2008 p96 ISBN 978-2-221-10631-0 . Rudolf Simek "the emergence of the viking age: circumstances and conditions" "The vikings first Europeans VIII - XI century - the new discoveries of archaeology" other 2005 p. 24-25 Franois-Xavier Dillmann "Viking civilisation and culture. A bibliography of French-language " Caen Centre for research on the countries of the North and Northwest University of Caen 1975 p.19 and" Les Vikings - the Scandinavian and European 800-1200 " 22nd exhibition of art from the Council of Europe 1992 p. 26 "History of the Kings of Norway" by Snorri Sturlusson translated by Professor of History Franois-Xavier Dillmann Gallimard ISBN 2-07-073211-8 pages 15161824333438 Macauley Richardson Lloyd. "Books: Eurasian Exploration" Policy Review. Hoover Institution Crone Patricia. Meccan trade and the rise of Islam First Georgias Press. 2004. Roesdahl pp. 295-7 Gareth Williams 'Kingship Christianity and coinage: monetary and political perspectives on silver economy in the Viking Age' in Silver Economy in the Viking Age ed. James Graham-Campbell and Gareth WIlliams pp. 177-214; ISBN 978-1-59874-222-0 Roesdahl pp. 296 The Northern Crusades: Second Edition by Eric Christiansen; ISBN 0-14-026653-4 Roesdahl p. 16-22. Sawyer P H: 1997 baum (Sm101) see Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF In the nominative: krikiaR (G216). In the genitive: girkha (U922$) k--ika (U104). In the dative: girkium (U1087) kirikium (SFv1954;20 U73 U140) ki(r)k(i)(u)(m) (g94$) kirkum (U136) krikium (S163 U431) krikum (g81A g81B S85 S165 Vg178 U201 U518) kri(k)um (U792) krikum (Sm46 U446) krkum (U358) kr... (S345$A) kRkum (S82). In the accusative: kriki (S170). Uncertain case krik (U1016$Q). Greece also appears as griklanti (U112B) kriklati (U540) kriklontr (U374$) see Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF Karusm (Vs1) see Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF iaursaliR (G216) iursala (U605) iursalir (U136G216 U605 U136) see Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF lakbarilanti (SFv1954;22) see Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF luntunum (DR337$B) see Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF serklat (G216) se(r)kl... (S279) sirklanti (S131) sirk:lan:ti (S179) sirk*la(t)... (S281) srklant- (U785) skalat- (U439) see Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF eklans (Vs18$) eklans (S83) ekla-s (Vs5) enklans (S55) iklans (S207) iklans (U539C) ailati (g104) aklati (S166) akla-- (U616$) anklanti (U194) egloti (U812) eklanti (S46 Sm27) eklati (gFv1950;341 Sm5C Vs9) enklanti (DR6C) haklati (Sm101) iklanti (Vg20) iklati (Sm77) ikla-ti (Gs8) i...-ti (Sm104) ok*lanti (Vg187) oklati (S160) onklanti (U241) onklati (U344) -klanti (Sm29$) iklot (N184) see Nordiskt runnamnslexikon PDF Roesdahl p. 20. Block Leo To Harness the Wind: A Short History of the Development of Sails Naval Institute Press 2002 ISBN 1-55750-209-9 Return of Dublin's Viking Warship. Retrieved 14 November 2007. Annals of Human Genetics. Volume 72 Issue 3 Page 337-348 May 2008 Roger Highfield "Vikings who chose a home in Shetland before a life of pillage" Telegraph 7 Apr 2005 accessed 16 Nov 2008 Excavating Past Population Structures by Surname-Based Sampling; The Genetic Legacy of the Vikings in Northwest England Georgina R. Bowden et al. Molecular Biology and Evolution 20 November 2007 A Y Chromosome Census of the British Isles Capelli et al. Current Biology Vol. 13 May 27 2003 James Randerson "Proof of Liverpool's Viking past" The Guardian 3 Dec 2007 accessed 16 Nov 2008 "DNA shows Celtic hero Somerled's Viking roots". Scotsman. 2005-04-26. http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/DNA-shows-Celtic-hero-Somerleds.2621296.jp.  Northern Shores by Alan Palmer; p.21; ISBN 0-7195-6299-6 The Viking Revival By Professor Andrew Wawn at bbc The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings By Peter Hayes Sawyer ISBN 0-19-820526-0 Hall pp. 220-21; Fitzhugh and Ward pp. 362-64 Fitzhugh and Ward p. 363 Hall pp. 221 Did Vikings really wear horns on their helmets The Straight Dope 7 December 2004. Retrieved 14 November 2007. Williams G. (2001) How do we know about the Vikings BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2007. References Downham Clare Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of varr to AD 1014. Dunedin Academic Press 2007. ISBN 1903765890 Fitzhugh William W. and Ward Elisabeth I. Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga. Smithsonian Institution Press 2000. ISBN 156098970 Hadley D.M. The Vikings in England: Settlement Society and Culture. Manchester University Press 2006. ISBN 0-7190-5982-8 Hall Richard Exploring the World of the Vikings. Thames and Hudson 2007. ISBN 978-0-500-05144-3 Hall Richard Viking Age Archaeology (series Shire Studies) 2010. ISBN 978 0 74780 063 7 Lindqvist Thomas 'Early Political Organisation: (a) An Introductory Survey' in The Cambridge History of Scandinavia: Prehistory to 1520 ed. Knut Helle. Cambridge University Press 2003. ISBN 0521472997. pp. 16067. Roesdahl Else. The Vikings. Penguin 1998. ISBN 0-14-025282-7 Sawyer Peter The Age of the Vikings (second edition) Palgrave Macmillan 1972. ISBN 0-312-01365-5 Williams Gareth 'Kingship Christianity and coinage: monetary and political perspectives on silver economy in the Viking Age' in Silver Economy in the Viking Age ed. James Graham-Campbell and Gareth WIlliams pp. 177214; ISBN 978-1-59874-222-0 Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Viking Age v d ePiracy Historical times 1610s  1620s  1630s  1640s  1650s  1660s  1670s  1680s Modern times 1995  1996  1998  1999  2000  21st century Types of pirate Pirates  Privateers  Buccaneers  Corsairs  Frisian Pirates  Raiders  Barbary corsairs  Moro Pirates  Wku  Vikings  Ushkuiniks  Neretva pirates  Cilician pirates  Baltic Slavic pirates  Uskoci  Cossack pirates  Sea Beggars  Sea Dogs  Freebooters Areas Piracy in the Caribbean  Piracy in the British Virgin Islands  Piracy in the Strait of Malacca  Piracy in Somalia  Piracy in Falcon Lake  Anglo-Turkish piracy  Piracy in the Philippines  Port Royal  Tortuga  Saint-Malo  Barbary Coast  Lundy  Lagos  Sal  Piracy in Nigeria  Piracy in Indonesia  Barataria Bay Famous pirates Bartholomew Roberts  Hayreddin Barbarossa  Blackbeard  Stede Bonnet  Anne Bonny  Calico Jack  Sir Francis Drake  Alexandre Exquemelin  William Kidd  Edward Low  Redbeard  William Dampier  Black Caesar  Henri Caesar  Roberto Cofres  Jean Lafitte  Henry Morgan  Franois l'Olonnais  Henry Strangways  Jos Gaspar  Charles Gibbs  Benito de Soto  Diabolito  Pedro Gilbert  Mansel Alcantra  Hippolyte de Bouchard  Samuel Hall Lord  Nathaniel Gordon  Albert W. Hicks  Eli Boggs  Bully Hayes  Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalahimah  Louis-Michel Aury  Shirahama Kenki  John Newland Maffitt  Joseph Baker  Joseph Barss  Jrgen Jrgensen  Vincent Gambi  Dominique You  Pierre Lafitte  John Hawkins  Peter Easton  Moses Cohen Henriques  Piet Pieterszoon Hein  Charlotte de Berry  Samuel Bellamy  Benjamin Hornigold  Samuel Mason  Henry Every  Gan Ning  Liang Dao Ming  Wang Zhi  Limahong  Zheng Zhilong  Zheng Jing  Cai Qian  Cheung Po Tsai  Ching Shih  Shap Ng-tsai  Chui A-poo  Lai Choi San Categories Pirates  By nationality  Barbary pirates  Female pirates Pirate ships Adventure Galley  Fancy  Ganj-i-Sawai  Queen Anne's Revenge  Whydah Gally  Marquis of Havana  Ambrose Light  York Pirate hunters Pedro Menndez de Avils  Angelo Emo  Richard Avery Hornsby  Robert Maynard  Chaloner Ogle  Pompey  Woodes Rogers  David Porter Pirate battles and incidents Chepo Expedition  Battle of Mandab Strait  Blockade of Charleston  Battle of Cape Fear River  Battle of Ocracoke Inlet  Capture of the William  Battle of Cape Lopez  Capture of the Fancy  Persian Gulf Campaign  Battle of New Orleans  Anti-Piracy in the Aegean  Anti-Piracy in the West Indies  Capture of the Bravo  Action of 9 November 1822  Capture of the El Mosquito  Battle of Doro Passage  Falklands Expedition  Moro Pirate Conflict  Balanguingui Expedition  Battle of Tysami  Battle of Tonkin River  Battle of Nam Quan  Battle of Ty-ho Bay  Battle of the Leotung  Antelope Incident  Battle of Boca Teacapan  Capture of the Ambrose Light  Operation Enduring Freedom - HOA  Action of 18 March 2006  Action of 3 June 2007  Action of 28 October 2007  Operation Atalanta  Action of 16 September 2008  Action of 11 November 2008  Action of 9 April 2009  Maersk Alabama hijacking  Operation Ocean Shield  Action of 25 March 2010  Action of 1 April 2010  Action of 30 March 2010  Action of 5 April 2010  Action of 6 May 2010  Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden  Beluga Nomination Incident  Battle off Minicoy Island  Quest Incident Slave trade African slave trade  Atlantic slave trade  Arab slave trade  Blockade of Africa  African Slave Trade Patrol  Capture of the Providentia  Capture of the Presidente  Capture of the El Almirante  Capture of the Marinerito  Capture of the Veloz Passagera  Capture of the Brillante  Amistad Incident  Capture of the Emanuela Fictional pirates Tom Ayrton  Captain Blood  Captain Crook  Captain Flint  Captain Hook  Don Karnage  Monkey D. Luffy  Captain Nemo  Captain Pugwash  Red Rackham  Captain Sabertooth  Captain Stingaree  Sandokan  Long John Silver  Jack Sparrow  Hector Barbossa  Sao Feng Miscellaneous Truce of Ratisbon  Piracy Act 1698  Piracy Act 1717  Piracy Act 1837  Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law  Golden Age of Piracy  Jolly Roger (skull and crossbones)  Walking the plank  Treasure map  Buried treasure  Pirate booty  Marooning  Brethren of the Coast  Pirate code  Pirate utopia  Victual Brothers  Pirate Round  Libertatia  Sack of Baltimore  Turkish Abductions  Colby Pirates  A General History of the Pyrates  Mutiny  Pegleg  Eyepatch  Letter of marque  Davy Jones' Locker Lists Pirates  Privateers  Timeline of piracy  Years in piracy  Pirate films  Women in piracy  Pirates in fiction  Pirates in popular culture  List of ships attacked by Somali pirates Literature Treasure Island  Facing the Flag  On Stranger Tides  Castaways of the Flying Dutchman  The Angel's Command  Voyage of Slaves  Pirate Latitudes External links Look up Viking in Wiktionary the free dictionary. Vikings--View videos at The History Channel Viking Landscape Magazine : Archaeology film clips and news relating to Viking Sites Copenhagen-Portal - The Danish Vikings BBC: History of Vikings Encyclopedia Britannica: Viking or Norseman or Northman or Varangian (people) Borg Viking museum Norway Ibn Fadlan and the Rusiyyah by James E. Montgomery with full translation of Ibn Fadlan Reassessing what we collect website Viking and Danish London History of Viking and Danish London with objects and images The Viking Answer Lady Webpage The Viking Rune: All Things Norse and Germanic Viking Landscape Magazine : Archaeology film clips and news relating to Viking Sites