Scandinavian warriors who raided the coasts of Europe and the British Isles from the 9th cent. to the 11th cent.
During the Neolithic period the Scandinavians had lived in small autonomous communities as farmers, fishermen, and hunters. At the beginning of the Viking Age they were the best shipbuilders and sailors in the world; they later ventured as far as Greenland and North America . They struck such terror in their victims and gained such a reputation for ferociousness that the mere threat of an attack produced the desired result: protection money or ransom. In prayers was regularly added the plea, "From the fury of the Northmen, good Lord deliver us".
Among the causes that drove the Vikings from their lands were overpopulation, internal dissension, quest for trade, and thirst for adventure. Many local kingdoms came into existence in Scandinavia, and from them stemmed the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.
The Vikings� religion was paganism of the Germanic type; their mythological and heroic legends form the content of Old Norse literature.
The Viking Age ended with the introduction of Christianity into Scandinavia, with the emergence of the three great Scandinavian kingdoms, and with the rise of European states capable of defending themselves against further invasions.
Many Vikings settled where they had raided. The Scandinavian raiders in Russia were known as Varangians; their leader Rurik founded the first Russian state. Elsewhere the Vikings came to be known as Danes, Northmen, Norsemen, or Normans.
~The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 2001
*** It is interesting to note that, today, a Viking, unlike a Hun, is associated not with cruel rapaciousness but with positive qualities: blond Nordic manliness and a thirst for exploration and adventure on the sea~ Facts on File.
