In 988 AD, Byzantine Emperor, Basil II, formed the Varangian Guard, an army of Vikings to serve as his personal bodyguards. Sailing through Eastern European rivers, the Vikings made their way to the Mediterranean Sea. People in Eastern Europe are called Slavs -where we get the word slaves - to this day. The Vikings successfully sailed into the land we now call Russia. The Vikings apparently bowed to no one, including the king of France.
As Rollo knelt down, he grabbed underneath the king's boot with both hands and flipped him to the ground. To seal the deal, Charles demanded that Rollo kiss his boot as an act of homage. As the story went, Charles allowed Rollo and the Vikings this land as long as they recognized Charles as their overlord. In 911 AD, then King of France, Charles the Simple, allowed the Vikings to settle in an area of northern France. Here people were subject to Danish law, rather than English law. Alfred the Great, King of England, defeated this Danish army in 878 and restricted the Danish Vikings to the eastern part of England, known as the Danelaw. In 865 AD, a large army of Danish Vikings invaded England. They established a settlement in Ireland, known as Dublin. In the late 700s, the Vikings invaded the British Isles, including areas of Ireland and Scotland. Charlemagne, king of the Franks, set up a series of defenses along the coast to ward off these Viking raids. Within ten years, the Vikings began attacks along the North coast of France. The monastery was plundered and burned, while monks were either killed or enslaved. The Vikings launched an early attack on the monastery of Lindisfarne on a small island off the East coast of England. Since the Vikings were not Christian, monasteries were favorite targets of these raiders for the loot that could be found within their walls.
The Norsemen believed in many gods and goddesses. Viking longships were capable of sailing seas and oceans, as well as maneuvering in very shallow rivers and streams. The Norsemen (North Men) were skilled craftsmen, navigators and sailors. These raiders came from the countries we now call Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Just as Christian Europe had settled down after the barbarian invasions, followed by the onslaught of Islamic armies, a new wave of barbarian invaders came from the north in the form of the Vikings. Viking attack on the monastery at Lindisfarne in AD 793
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