According to Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, hundreds of Viking ships carried the Great Army to England’s east coast in 865. The Vikings snatched up Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and took over large swaths of land.
These ruthless pirates continued to make regular raids around the coasts of England, looting treasure and other goods, and capturing people as slaves. Vikings, also known as Norsemen, or Northmen, were members of the Scandinavian warrior culture who sailed, raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the 6th to 12th century. Anglo-Saxon writers called them Danes, Norsemen, Northmen, the Great Army, sea rovers, sea wolves, or the heathen.
The Scots were fighting off the Norman kings of England as well as coping with the bitter struggles of their own clans. But as their sphere of military influence grew, the Norse became more interested in trading than fighting.
From around 860 AD onwards, Vikings stayed, settled and prospered in Britain, becoming part of the mix of people who today make up the British nation. By the end of the ninth century there were large-scale settlements of Scandinavians in various parts of Britain, and they had achieved political domination over a significant territory.
The Viking presence in England was finally ended in 1066 when an English army under King Harold defeated the last great Viking king, Harald Hardrada of Norway, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, near York.
Viking in England
