Question: ‘The scale of the raids, the density of the settlements and the degree of destruction have been greatly exaggerated’. Discuss this assessment of Viking activity in England in the ninth and tenth centuries.
Answer: The entry in the northern version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 793 tells how “In this year terrible omens appeared over the land of the Northumbrians...: these were immense lightning flashes and fiery dragons were seen flying in the sky”. It goes onto describe how “the ravaging of heathen men miserably destroyed God’s church in Lindisfarne through plundering and slaughter”. These apocalyptic images helped to support a view of the Vikings, whose name means literally ‘pirates’, as a mass of (pagan) barbarian invaders who overwhelmed the British Isles....(short extract)
To download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit 3 of your essays.
- Subject: History
- Course: The Middle Ages
- Level: Degree
- Year: 2nd/3rd
- Mark: 68%
- Words: 2557
- Date submitted: September 01, 2009
- Date written: Not available
- References: Yes
- Document type: Essay*
- Essay ID: 2061
