"Sword of the Vikings, like the heavy iron stick, recalled an era when tall blond warriors with bulging eyes were on their boats, like sea horses, half of the world - from the Caspian to America - leaving here in Scotland, not only the memory of themselves, but also a part of yourself. "
Vladimir Scherbakov. "The Scottish Tale."
In France they were called the Normans, in Russia - the Vikings. The Vikings - the so-called themselves the people who lived in what is now Norway, Denmark and Sweden, approximately from 800 to 1100 years BC.
Viking Age lasted quite a short period of time, something about 2 and a half centuries. 800-1050 gg BC, and to be more precise, from 793, when the monastery at Lindisfarne, is located near the northeast coast of England, became the object of attack the Vikings.
War and feasts - those are the two favorite classes Vikings. Rapid pirates on ships, wearing sonorous names, such as the "Bull of the ocean", "Raven Wind", raided the coast of England, Germany, Northern France and Belgium - and was taken to the conquered tribute. Their desperate warriors berserks fought like mad, even without armor. Before the battle berserks gnashed their teeth, biting the edge of boards. Cruel gods of the Vikings - aces were pleasing to the soldiers lost in battle.
The word "Viking" dates back to Old Norse "vikingr. Regarding its origin, a number of hypotheses, the most compelling of which raises it to the "Vic" - fjord, bay. The word "Viking" (lit. "man of the fjord") is used to indicate the robbers, who operated in coastal waters, hiding in the secluded coves and bays. In Scandinavia, they were known long before it gained notoriety in Europe.
Wherever the Vikings went - to the British Islands, France, Spain, Italy or North Africa - they ruthlessly plundered and seized the lands of others. In some cases, they settled in the conquered countries and became their rulers. Danish Vikings in a while to conquer England, settled in Scotland and Ireland. Together, they conquered part of France known as Normandy. Norwegian Vikings and their descendants created a colony on the islands of the North Atlantic - Iceland (the ancient language - "Ice Land") and Greenland (the "green land": if the climate there was warmer than now!) And established a settlement on the coast of Newfoundland in North America , however, was short-lived. Swedish Vikings began to dominate the eastern Baltic. They are widely spread across Russia and, descending the rivers to the Black and Caspian seas, even threatened Constantinople and parts of Persia. The Vikings were the last German barbarian conquerors and the first European explorers, pioneers.
