NORSEMEN-THE PIRATES WHO SHOOK EUROPE IN THE MEDIEVAL TIMES

 

The people of the 10^th century prayed God to protect them from the NORSEMEN. Who are they and where do they come from?

In the 3^rd & 4^th centuries AD, the Germanic tribes have broken through the defences of the weakened Roman Empire and plundered Roman territories.

With time the Germanic tribes like the Goths, Visigoths and Vandals (the word vandal and vandalism in the English language has been derived from this tribe as they looted the Roman Empire left & right) got assimilated into the Roman Empire. Surprisingly, these Germanic tribes originated in Asia and they were kindred people of the Aryans but they branched off into Europe and settled down there.

In the 8^th century AD, it was the turn of the Germanic tribes to be looted. The looters were the NORSEMEN who were their Northern neighbours and their cousins coming from the countries of Denmark, Sweden & Norway. Those were hardy sailors who later turned to pirate activities. They would suddenly descend on a village on the mouth of a river, kill all the men and steal their women. Then they would sail away in their fast sailing ships. By the time the Roman soldiers arrived, nothing was left of the village except the smouldering ruins.

After the death of Charlemagne the king of Franks in 814 AD, the first holy Roman Emperor who united most of Western Europe, the Norsemen heightened their activity. Their fleets made raids on every country and established small independent kingdoms along the coasts of Holland, France, England and Germany. They even penetrated into Italy.  

The Norsemen were intelligent and soon learned the languages and gave up the uncivilised ways of early Vikings ( Sea Kings) who were very unwashed and terribly cruel.

Early in the 10^th century AD, a Viking by the name of Rollo repeatedly attacked the coast of France. The King was too weak to protect himself and offered him the province of Normandy so that he would stop that attacks. Rollo then became the Duke of Normandy.

But from there, Rollo’s descendants could see the cliffs of England and they just could not resist the temptation of taking it. At that time, the Saxon (another Germanic tribe) Edward the Confessor was on the throne of England. In 1066 Edward died, immediately William of Normandy crossed the channel, killed the King of England, Harold of Wessex at the battle of Hastings and took the English crown. So, then a Norse pirate has become the King of England.  

Here reality seems stranger than fiction. It made a Norse pirate the King of mighty England. And whoever would believe that those savages would now become the most sophisticated nations of Europe in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. What a transition that was.