Did the Vikings do anything good?

[Gifu]

It seems like for about 200 years the Vikings just kept sailing to Britain and pillaging everything. I could understand it more if they wanted to conquer (which, I realise, they eventually did decide to do), but for most of those 200 years they were just plundering and murdering. They weren't even stealing from rich lords and noblemen, they were mostly just burning peasant villages and destroying monasteries and taking slaves. Every time anyone tried to create anything or learn anything or write anything or have any sort of peace for 200 years, the bloody Vikings would sail up, destroy everything, and then sail home again.

If you want to be fundamentalist then Viking was something you did, not a people. So the various Nordic peoples farmed and hunted etc and then a few people decided to ”go viking” which basically meant off travelling, pirating, pillaging and/or trading.

The Vikings introduced many new hairdressing techniques to the British Isles. Without the Vikings we may never have had Vidal Sassoon or Nicky Clarke.

Liked cats

Leif Erikson is said to have discovered America first. I saw a replica of the long boat he used on a trip to Iceland. He was Icelandic and his dad was Erik the Red who set up a colony in Greenland.

Off topic, but blokes who wear their hair in a bun, have a beard, are tall and manly, and give off the Viking vibe give me the fanny flutters.

Yes. Got my East and West mixed up!

I’ve read that recently, it’s on my kindle or I would have offered it to you. When you do get hold of it do not read the chapter on funeral rituals just before you go to sleep at night.

You say attacked Monasteries OP like they were poor, bit you need to understand that the church was a source of serious wealth at the time and so were an easy target for raiding parties.

There have been many predatory tribes in history and it definitely held back the development of peaceful and prosperous societies (which generally had to maintain advanced armies to protect themselves). In fairness it continues today with the likes of Putin's Russia.

Well the Russians are descended from the Russ, who were Vikings. The vikings were employed as bodyguards and mercenaries throughout Europe and into the Middle East so they were sometimes acting on the side of the establishment, rather than against it, when it was well rewarded. They facilitated trading which led to the establishment of many settlements.

Ah okay so it wasn't restricted to an area/country. So the very northern germans etc could have been classed as vikings too.

Are you basing that on Kattegat?

An archaeologist friend of mine once started PhD thesis on the positive effects of Viking ‘settlers’ (invaders) on the Uk but gave up due to lack of evidence 🤣

anyhow a recent study into genetics has demonstrated that the Vikings apparently went over there from Britain first so their invasion was perhaps more of a home-coming!

I did a DNA test and I'm mostly "northern European", not British, but all my known ancestors are from Yorkshire. So...they did blue eyes and blond hair?

Freya's cats pulled her chariot.

The Vikings began as invaders, but many settled and became part of permanent population- many of us will be descendants of them- if you're tall and blond or have red hair with blue eyes the chances are you're ancestors were from Scandinavia!

@Switcher I’m no expert but probably they had various hair and eye colour and I remember somewhere a Viking skeleton being excavated with the remnants of ginger/auburn hair still attached to the skull - fascinating!

That film was bonkers, almost as much as "The Vikings" with Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas.

The "Mare of Steel" was the Saracen lord in the film rather than the viking's wasn't it?

The Long Ships film bears very little resemblance to the original book by Frans Bengtsson, which I read as a young teen and keep meaning to read again. The book is a classic "ripping yarn".
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/438452.The_Long_Ships

I also highly recommend "Norsemen", not to be confused with The Northman. Each scene was filmed twice, once in Norwegian then in English. It's like the Last Kingdom but with more gags. Fans of HH will love it.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5905354/

@teentantrums I used to know Neil Price slightly. My DH gets fed up with me shouting out "I ken him" whenever Neil Price or Stefan Brink pop up on the history channel. I also once took Mary Beard's meter readings (not a euphemism)..

And me!

Yup, the viking parties could have different ethnicities in them alright. Not that I’m an expert but I live in Sweden and recently watched something on the telly.

They just discovered that Nordic/Norse dna in Britain predates the Vikings (as I think a PP said) so obviously people were travelling around a bit before they decided to formalise raiding parties and cause mayhem and destruction. My recent telly programme pointed out that they quickly discovered that slave trade was the most profitable.

Wasn't Dublin a huge slave trade market?

Just about anyone who has invaded anywhere has raped and pillaged. Even the British - take Australia for instance.

But did they share it with the Anglo-saxons living in Britain at the time? Or did they just play chess while they overwintered between pillaging?

Did much of that happen before 1066 though? Or are you including the (previously Viking) Normans in your assessment?

Before or after 1066? (genuinely interested - will Google)