Viking culture has fascinated many across the centuries, their warriors popularised in books, comics, shows, and movies. But for those living in the British Isles during their era, Vikings were a scourge to their livelihoods and a danger to their lives. For villagers and townsfolk, Vikings had a terrifying reputation as blood-thirsty, merciless killers who glorified violence and battle. Here’s how the fearsome Viking Age unfolded in the British Isles.

Viking attacks in Britain are thought to have begun in 793 with the plunder of St. Cuthbert’s monastery on the island of Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland in northern England. This was an unprovoked raid where peaceful, unarmed monks were brutally killed or enslaved, and the treasures they held were stolen.

News of this heinous act spread and was seen as an assault not only on the people of the British Isles but also on their faith and values. When several other monasteries fell in the time that followed, the Norse gained a reputation as savage pagans and heathens. It didn’t take long for settlements and small cities along the coast to also be targeted.

The first raids were small-scale but well-planned, and no matter how many times the Norse were fought, they always returned by ship. Around 850, men from the North overwintered on British soil and started building settlements. They soon gained control of the Shetland and the Orkney Islands, the Hebrides, and much of mainland Scotland. They were the ones who founded Ireland’s first trading towns: Dublin, Waterford, and Wexford, using them as a base to launch attacks further inland as well.

The Great Heathen Army

In 865, an army led by the Viking Guthrum, Ivar the Boneless, and his brothers, Halvdan and Ubba, arrived in East Anglia. They crossed into Northumbria, where they captured York and established a Viking community in Jorvik. From there, they raided the nearby kingdoms, which could not withstand the Viking army, and in 867, Northumbria became the northern kingdom of Danelaw.

Their plan was to invade Wessex, but King Alfred of Wessex and his men managed to fight the Vikings o  and force them back to the north. A treaty between Guthrum and Alfred was signed in 886 defining the boundaries of their territories, as well as agreements of peaceful trade. Because of this treaty, the Vikings and the English lived rather peacefully for years, causing the emergence of Anglo-Norse dialects in many parts of the British Isles.

A Second Viking Age

Despite the truce between the English and the Vikings, all was not well between the two. English forces still fought to get their land back, and Vikings continued occasional raiding. When Viking attacks became even more frequent in 980, the English government paid the Vikings protection money to prevent further attacks.

However, the Vikings were not satisfied with the amount, and so the raiding continued. This caused many English to demand a more hostile approach to be taken against the Vikings. In 1002, King Æthelred of Wessex proclaimed that all Danes living in England would be executed. This would later be known as the St. Brice’s Day massacre.

When King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark heard of this, he initiated a full-scale invasion against England, and he raided until King Æthelred fled. This allowed Sweyn to take the English throne himself in 1013, which marked the beginning of several decades of Danish rule in England. Forkbeard was succeeded by his son, Cnut the Great. Harold Harefoot followed on behalf of Harthacnut, before Harthacnut himself took the throne. Last in line was Edward the Confessor, who reigned until his death in 1066.

The end of the Viking Age

When King Edward died, a dispute arose on who should succeed him. Harald Hardrada, also known as Harald of Norway, led an invasion of England that same year, attempting to seize the throne, but the invasion was repulsed in the Battle of Stamford Bridge, where Hardrada was killed along with most of his men. This defeat has been described as the end of the Viking Age in Britain.