What effect did the Viking raids have on Europe during the Middle Ages?

Answer 1

The principal effects were in England and France. In the 800's, a leader named Rollo not only raided deep into France along the Seine River, he settled his people there. The kings of France recognized him and his successors as Dukes of Normandy. Normandy takes its name from Normans, or Norsemen. Normans went on to conquer the whole Kingdom of England in 1066 and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (the island and the southern Italian boot as far north as Naples) in 1081. By that time, they weren't vikings, so that doesn't count.

The Danes settled in England during the 800's and 900's. Their's was eastern England, an area called the Danelaw, because the Norse traditional law ruled there. Because of who married whom and begat whom, a Danish king named Canute succeeded legally as King of England also in 1021.

Another answerer has already ably supplied information about the colonization and rule of Russia by Rurik and his successors.

Answer 2

The Viking raids on England gave the language that became English its first Germanic influence. The Norse language stimulated change in the Celtic language that was spoken at the time. Because the Vikings did not conquer the entire British Isles, Celtic and Gaelic is still spoken in places like Ireland and Scotland, where the Vikings had limited influence.

Answer 3

Actually the so called viking raids did little. The more effective activity was trading. The traded as far as the Urals in Russia and as far south as the Sudan in Africa and the Middle East in the east. They went as far west as Greenland and the Northeast coast of the Americas. Most "raids" occurred when tempers flared because someone felt cheated.

Answer 4

The population of Rome went from 1 million to 20,000. People spread out to make smaller targets for these subhuman butchers.

There are two White races. The Viking raiders were throwbacks to the aboriginal Europeans, descendants of the Neanderthals. After they were killed off in their bloodthirsty raids, the Indo-Europeans in their tribe took over and brought an end to their apelike activity. These ones did establish civil societies, but their pathetic imitations of Greece and Rome were stagnant and accomplished little for hundreds of years.

Nordics are not Aryans, despite their "protest too much" claim that they are. Their blond hair took millennia to develop, so they were in Europe long before the Aryans came. The Nazis were a throwback to prehistoric German baboons.

Answer 5

The coastal region in France called "Normandy" was named for the Vikings who settled there. The French called the Vikings "Normans" which means "men of the north". When the Vikings arrived on the coast of France, the french King John II wasn't able to fight them off so he offered them a deal; they could stay as long as they converted to Christianity and that's how Normandy got it's name. The "Normans" eventually assimilated to the French culture: they spoke French & became Christians, etc... the Vikings also settled in Ireland. Dublin (the capital city of the Republic of Ireland) began as a Viking settlement & they too assimilated to Irish culture (spoke the local language & became Christians, etc...) Aside from all that, when the Vikings were raiding Europe, they caused a lot of fear amongst the Christian Europeans... the Vikings were Pagan barbarians who killed & looted (stole all the riches) from seaside coastal villages & cities. The Vikings were expert sailors. They had ships with one large sail that they could also row called "Drakkars" & at the front of the ship was a large wooden head of a Dragon that was meant to frighten anyone that saw them comming.

Answer 6

since I am a historian and this is one of my major interests, I would only tell you that I have between 60 to 100 books on the subject in my home and I am not about to rewrite them for your answer.

Suffice it to say that they had a powerful influence on the whole of the lands that touched water into which they could sail. The entire system of English Common law is based on Scandanavian law, not Roman law or Anglo-Saxon law. The Scandanavian countries had the first legislatures in Europe. Norway and Sweden had the "Thing" and Iceland had the "Althing." These met regularly to make laws, settle court cases, and punish the outlaws. Trial by Jury comes from those countries. If Anglo-Saxon law had prevailed in England, we would be boiling those in oil who had committed crimes and the survivors wouldhave been classified as guilty. Dublin, Ireland was originally set up by Vikings. Much of Europe was classified as "Norman" (of Norse origin), as was Normandy in France. Both Swedes and Norwegians fought for the Byzantine Empire and carved in the bannister of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul are the words "Halfdan was here."

There is too much to mention.

Answer 7

all the ppl above are correct but there weren't many Vikings in the Middle Ages

(Middle Ages 1100s-1500s) anything before William (1066) conquered Normady is not considered Middle Ages.

Answer 8

many including the birth of modern day Russia. Vikings took over the town (and kept it) that became Moscow.

Answer 9

Further breakdown of centralized authority. (Charlamagnes empire was split in three after the treaty of Verdun). People look to local powers to give them protection. Leads to Fuedalism, serfdom, manorialism, etc.

Answer 10

they were more interested in Greenland
nothing green there