The Brutal Reality of Viking Raids

hey medieval chronicles claimed terrible storms and fire-breathing dragons appeared over the british land of northumbria in the spring of 793. these being the hellish harbingers of the fate that would befall the brothers of a monastery perched on the quiet isle of lindisfarne such mystical embellishment provided some post-hoc logic to the very real next chapter in this history the heathens are coming foreign longships loom just offshore shields spears axes clatter as bearded men swarm the monastery doors are splintered spears plunged into the backs of fleeing monks blood-spattered chapels are gutted for relics and precious metals as swiftly as they arrived the vikings vanish over the horizon medieval chroniclers believe this is a punishment from god an attack on christianity itself by bloodthirsty pagans yet the motives of these raiders can only be understood here in flamelit mead halls over hearty meals scandinavian chieftains sit upon their thrones courting the loyalty of brave warriors norse faith and warrior tradition strengthen these bonds but loyalty must ultimately be bought shining metals fine jewelry and other valuables plundered in raids could be immediately distributed amongst followers as gifts or first exchanged with merchants for exotic curios like fine french wines in exquisite chinese silks the vikings will also capture countless people in their raids holding important individuals for ransom and turning others into their household slaves or reluctant wives still others will be torn from their homelands and traded to slavers in the bustling markets of venice in baghdad destined to toil away the rest of their days in lands as remote as egypt and central asia this material and human loot drives viking raids the young farm-based scandinavians who have chosen to clamber aboard dragon ships and take part in treacherous raiding overseas seek the chance to prove their valor and secure a future for themselves and their families thus the more plundered gifts offered by a chieftain the more followers will flock to him in the more plundering he can accomplish these unique dynamics and power struggles in scandinavian society spark an era of relentless raids on foreign soil versatile longships allow hit and run viking attacks that will ravage medieval coastlines in the coming centuries kingdoms will fall great cities will be drained of their wealth and land will be conquered but the vikings aren't invincible and not every place will be as ill-guarded as the monastery on lindisfarne a troubling message reaches the court of amir abdulrahman ii 54 viking longships have appeared outside of lisbon after attacking the coasts of france and northern spain the raiders have arrived in the umayyad emirate of cordoba the vikings waste a little time they overrun lisbon killing burning and loading slaves and treasures onto their ships the men of the north then unleashed the same destruction on cadiz in madina sidonia before wading into the guarakivir river toward the crown jewels of seville in the sprawling capital of cordoba it's here in the capital that abdal rahman ii faces an existential moment the safest way to survive a viking raid is to give them what they want in the wake of the devastating viking occupation of paris the frankish king charles the bald will bequeath six 000 pounds of silver and gold before the invaders leave but paying them off comes with an added price vikings who extract tribute once will come back for more many irish english in the sami of northern scandinavia will cough up enormous annual tributes in exchange for peace abdal rahman ii decides he will call on local muslim chieftains old rivals and uneasy allies to band together and drive off the common enemy but the vikings have moved with vicious haste they break into seville and overwhelm its defenses traumatized survivors flee into the mountains will the invaders launch fire arrows at mosques and pillage the city for another week each day the scandinavian raiders carry off loot and reinforcements arrive from their ships the viking invasion force grows in power it's in the dead of night in a village overlooking seville that a cobbled together army assembles these skilled cavalry and hardened warriors have answered abdulrahman's call to fight when at last dawn breaks thousands of vikings march out of seville intent on sacking another nearby city then the stampede of muslim troops ambushes them they slaughter the detachment of vikings and drive the others out of seville the vikings respond with a handful of bloody victories but a few costly losses then as viking ships stream down the river catapults reign onto them a napalm-like substance called greek fire the searing inferno incinerates dozens of longships and the men still on board surviving scandinavians are forced to sell back their prisoners and retreat in haste along the spanish coastline the victors hang 400 viking captives from palm trees a grisly warning to would-be invaders viking raids thrive on regional division and unrest between kingdoms but here a swift collective response has saved the emirate the vikings for their part have lived up to their reputation cities are ruined and the bloodshed is substantial it's clear to abdel rahman that the best way to survive a viking raid is to stop it in its tracks he commissions a massive new standing fleet and equips his coastline with watchtowers and a system of messengers yet over a decade after the first attack the intrepid hasting and bjorn ironside lead another viking fleet down the spanish coast the vikings again arrive at the mouth of the guadalcaovir but this time the new cordobian fleet sails out to block them for the shrewd profit-minded vikings the risk of costly battle is too great they sail off to sack the capital of another emirate in northern morocco and then ravage southern france in italy they take home a massive horde of treasure here one might ask who finally defeats the mighty vikings and puts a stop to their rays the bands of independent scandinavians blitzing coastlines seem unstoppable but the world is changing in the new millennium europe increasingly organizes under more stable monarchies capable of raising formidable counter-attacks to viking incursions scandinavia will also centralize great kings consolidate the power of viking chieftains and establish christian kingdoms that pursue more conventional means of trade and conquest in truth the vikings don't fall to any conqueror they evolve the brutal and fascinating viking raids deserve a deeper dive and that's why you should watch the wonderfully gritty documentary sigurd bjornsson viking exile on magellan tv right now it's part of their warriors way original superheroes series in 4k just click the link in the description and get a full month of magellan tv absolutely free so you can check it out plus you'll have access to a new kind of documentary streaming membership with over 2000 documentaries magellan tv 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Channel: History Dose

Views: 1,668,975

Keywords: vikings, ragnar, assassin's creed, norse, bjorn, floki, raid, surviving, medieval, longship, combat, warrior, deadliest, lindisfarne, battle, ancient, middle ages, armor, axe, pagan, beat, eivor, defeated, music, war chant, scandinavia, denmark, lief erickson, lothbrok, 1066, ivar, tactics, barbarians, rome, reenactment, sword, spear, walkthrough, documentary, shield, explained, mead, religion, norway, finland, ragnarok, animated, simple, rollo, last kingdom history, god of war history, valhalla explained, viking treasure found

Id: ugxbA2mEH0E

Length: 9min 17sec (557 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 30 2020