Vikings Development After The Invasion Of York
Table of Contents
This is an introduction.
Vikings before York was captured
Vikings after York’s Invasion
Cultural changes
Government development
Trade development
In closing
An opening statement
Vikings are known for being fearsome warriors and savages. Archaeological evidence from York, England has challenged the stereotypes about Vikings for many years. The stereotypes about Vikings have remained constant throughout human history. The stereotypes associated with the Vikings held for a long while. Viking raiders had a strong reputation by the time they conquered the coasts of England around 866 B.C.E. Vikings would go after wealthy monasteries and take their treasures to make slaves. Then they would return home to Scandinavia. With the invasion by York, England in 9th century, this season markedly changed. The invasion of York, England changed the Vikings’ attitudes and behavior towards their culture and traditions. While historians may believe York was merely another Viking conquest, some archeologists and historians disagree. Researchers have been collecting data and studying sites that have changed how we see the Vikings. The Vikings didn’t raid York, England to gain military advantage or blind conquest. They did so to establish culture and a stable society.
Vikings life before York capture. This is how the Vikings lived before York capture. Although Vikings have been known for their bravery and fearlessness, they started off exploring and trading in order to live peacefully in all parts of Europe. The majority of Vikings were farmers and fishermen, so they were able to rely on the natural resources that nature provided (Ross 2019, 2019). Many Vikings were able to leave their homes and move to newer lands and more distant lands thanks to the advancements in boat-making and men. These small groups started to raid towns near their Scandinavian home. The Vikings became more aware of the existence of towns and the lucrative farming and church properties in the nearby towns. This made them easy targets for the Vikings (Design 2019). The Vikings became more comfortable with this way of life and could carry out larger-scale raids with better-trained armies. This led to more success. They conquered large areas of England and found York. This was the place where they would establish their new civilization. The Vikings selected this date carefully, as it was All Saints Day. Design, 2019. This date would have made surprise attacks more effective because most of town leaders would have been at the cathedral that day. The Vikings took over York as a result. The raid did not succeed because Osbert and Aelle were not captured. After several attacks against other kingdoms they were not captured, the Vikings returned home to York and took full control, killing the two previous kings.
The Vikings made gradual progress from that point. For the next few years, the Vikings tried to settle in York. They adopted a more peaceful approach and attempted to form trade and treaties with the surrounding kingdoms. Many kingdoms refused all contact with the Vikings over a period of time. The Vikings saw the treaties in this way as a threat and invitation to attack their cities. This was changed by King Alfred the Wessex agreeing to a truce (Ross, 2019). The Danelaw was a Viking-controlled area that included the majority of northern England counties. This was England’s first south and north divide.
After gaining this control, the Vikings changed Jorvik’s name. They built farms in the country and began to attract more Vikings from Europe. York became a major market for both local goods and exports (Design, 2019). They built houses and streets with wells and workshops for their inhabitants. The Anglo-Scandinavian culture developed in York by the Vikings. They worshipped the gods of their homeland, but many Vikings converted from Christianity and started to marry locals (Design 2019, 2019). The Vikings spent the next few decades building a peaceful community through agriculture, trade, education, and improving the living standards of its citizens.
Cultural changeThe Vikings witnessed a major cultural shift in their first few years in York. Towns were not possible before the Vikings settled in Jorvik. Societies were instead organized around nomatic monarchs who didn’t use urban settings to manage their kingdoms (Trynoski 2019, 2019). Certain rituals like crowning kings and knighting soldiers were only performed in specific places within towns. However, there was no organized housing market or housing. The housing was built in the same manner, but with different arrangements, after the Vikings arrived. The Vikings took York as their capital. Good archaeological material was found to show that there is a lot of similarities between these buildings. The houses were packed tightly together. The front of each house was used as a workshop for the homeowner to create their own product. The back was used for sleeping, dining and storage. The backyard was used primarily for human and refuse (Trynoski 2019, 2019).
Development of government Another way that culture was changed by the Vikings was through the development and administration of government. The two cities of York and Dublin were both under viking rule. However, they sometimes functioned as separate capitals. (Trynoski 2019, 2019). York was the Viking territory’s official capital, and thus was more politically important. Evidence suggests that both cities had a similar system of government to the Scandinavian government (Trynoski, 2019). Thingmotes are a mound used as a burial ground as well as as an assembly place to discuss the city’s governance. This is one difference between the Vikings and the Scandinavian governments (Trynoski. 2019). O’Brien’s research stated that Thingmotes found in Scandinavian societies wouldn’t live in urban environments. Thus, archeologists find these mounds across major areas of the capital. This leads researchers believe that there are some adaptations for the Scandinavian model of government. York’s king position was not as clear as in Scandinavian. This is another way the government differed. This is evident in the archeological finds of coins from this period. Kingdom was displayed everywhere during this time period, including on currency. York’s coin collection is anonymous. It does not include the image or the name of the monarch who made them (Trynoski and 2019). York was able to design their own government because of these differences.
The development and promotion of trade was the final step in changing York’s fortunes after the Viking settlement. These people brought their trade and production skills to new lands that could provide the lifestyle they desired. Vikings had access to the land, which allowed them to make a wide range of products in large quantities and uniformly throughout the country. Production seemed to have been uniform throughout the Jorvik empire. These Viking-made goods were highly in demand. But, the Vikings needed raw materials to drive their production. This was not possible in the land around. The Viking trade evolved into a more sophisticated form of commerce. Jorviks mainly sourced their food and raw materials from the countryside estates of Yorkshire, where they found most of their food. Once the raw materials had been processed into usable products, they would be returned to their countryside estates for sale in different shops and markets. Vikings were great traders. They established strong links with Russia, Iceland, Greenland, Russia and China early in their existence. These countries’ goods were common in Jorvik. Jorvik was a bustling marketplace that became a popular destination for tourists from all over the globe. This shift in Viking lifestyle allowed them to build a strong foundation on trade, which allowed them to grow their community.
Conclusion: Anglo-Saxon England was invaded by Vikings from the Viking Age. This period lasted 300 years. Around 200,000 people fled Scandinavia during Viking Age to settle elsewhere, mainly in France, the British Isles and Iceland. The Scandanavian people devastated the kingdoms and resulted in “…settlement with a significant scale and substantial Scandavian cultural influence in eastern, northern and northern England” (Hadley23). Dawn M. Hadley, Professor of Medieval Archaeology, University of York, conducted research in Torksey at the winter camp of Viking Great Army, Lincolnshire, England. They discovered that the ideal location and abundant resources made it a suitable location for settlement. The Torksey camp was “…developed into an Anglo-Saxon borough, with a large wheel-thrown pottery business and numerous churches and cemeteries.
Viking settlers had conquered York and made amazing progress across Northumbria by the time they reached 866. They named the town Jorvik and made it England’s capital. In 867, the Northumbrian King Osberht and leader?lla of Northumbrians was defeated. The Viking warriors were able to secure Northumbria. They continued to push west and south. The kings Mercia and Wessex did their best to resist the pressure, but they were unsuccessful until Alfred of Wessex became the only king to be called ‘the great’ in England. The Viking Age represents the most significant period of decline and growth for Viking culture.
