DK Eyewitness Books - Viking

67

s%ƃǍƋƇJźƋƇƌƂƍƁź

Early Viking explorer who, with his

companion Hasting, spent three years

raiding lands far to the south of his

homeland, including Spain, North Africa,

France, and Italy.

s5źƀƇźƋ

Viking chieftain who conquered Paris,

France, in 845. In order to reclaim the city,

the French king, Charles the Bald, had to

bribeRagnar and his men with silver.

s5ƈƅƅƈ

Ninth-century Viking chieftain who, with

his followers, founded a settlement around

present-day Rouen in France. As a result,

this area became known as Normandy

(Land of the Northmen).

s,ƏźƋƍƁžŻƈƇžƅžƌƌ

Early Viking invader who landed in England

in 865, conquering East Anglia and murdering

its king, Edmund, in 869 when he refused to

renounce Christianity. Edmund was later

canonized (made a saint), his shrine at Bury

St. Edmunds becoming a place of pilgrimage.

s(ƋƂƄƍƁž5žŽ

Norwegian chieftain living in Iceland who,

in 982, was accused of murder and banished.

Setting off to discover new territory, he

established a Norse settlement in Greenland

in around 985 and encouraged hundreds of

Icelanders to settle there.

s/žƂsƍƁž/ƎżƄƒ/žƂs(ƋƂƄƌƌƈƇ

Viking explorer and son of Erik the Red,

Leif is thought to be the first European

to set foot in North America, landing at the

northern tip of present-day Newfoundland,

Canada, in about 1001. The Vikings called

the new place Vinland, which means

Land of Wine.

Rune stone carved by Viking settlers at

Kingiktorsuak, Greenland

Rollo, Duke
of Normandy,
portrayed in
a Victorian
print

s6źƑƈ*ƋźƆƆźƍƂżƎƌ

Danish chronicler and storyteller who lived

between around 1150 and 1220. One of the

stories in his Gesta Danorum, a collection of

traditional Viking folk tales, is thought to have

inspired Hamlet, William Shakespeare’s play

about a Danish prince.

s-źƋƅźŻźƇƄž

Wealthy Swedish landowner and self-

promoter who lived during the 11th century.

The elaborate rune stones he erected in his

own honour provide us with unique details

about the region where he lived (called a

Hundred) and the local assembly (or Thing)

that governed it.

s.ƂƇƀ$ƅsƋžŽƍƁž*Ƌžźƍ

An Anglo-Saxon king who defeated the

Vikings in England, Alfred contributed

greatly to our knowledge of Viking history

by instigating the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. This

is a detailed history of England that covers the

period of Viking invasion and domination.

s,ŻƇ)źŽƁƅźƇ
Tenth-century Arab writer who famously
described the Vikings as “the filthiest of
God’s creatures.” He also left fascinating
descriptions of the precious jewelry
worn by Viking women and the elaborate
pyre he witnessed for the funeral of one
of their chieftains.

Statue of Alfred the

Great, which stands in

his birthplace of

Wantage, Oxfordshire

One of Jarlabanke’s four rune stones at

the roadway he built in Täby, Sweden

ADVENTURERS

WRITERS AND HISTORIANS