Vikings in Britain .. England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
It is said that the Vikings tried to enter Scotland for the first time in 794 on the island of Iona, a year after they took over the island of Lindisfarne in Northumbria. There are very few records about this.
In 839, a huge Scandinavian fleet swam down the Tai and Irne rivers and into the heart of the Pict kingdom of Fortray, where the Picts lived.
Norwegians had set up homes in Shetland, Orkney (North), the Hebrides, the Isle of Man, and parts of Scotland by the middle of the 9th century, when the Vikings came to the area.
In the Hebrides and Man, Norse settlers mixed in a little with the Gaelic people (see-Nordic Gaelic people). Local earls, who used to be local Viking ship captains or military leaders, ran these territories. On the other hand, the Earl of Orkney and Shetland claimed to own and run it.
During the year 875, King Harald Firererer led a naval force from Norway to Scotland. When he tried to unite Norway, many people who didn’t like him took refuge on the islands.
In addition to pillaging other places, they also tried to attack Norway, which they did not like very much. He built a fleet and defeated the rebels, gaining control of the earls who had fled to Iceland. In the end, he ruled more than just Norway. He also ruled parts of Scotland.
Often in Scotland, the year 1266 is thought to be the real end of the Viking Age.
In 1263, Norway’s King Haakon IV sent a fleet of ships from Norway and Orkney to the west coast in response to a raid by the Scots on Skye. Magnus III, Magnus, and Dougal ships from the Isle of Man were all in contact with his ship, which made contact with their fleets as well.
After peace talks broke down, his troops fought the Scots at Largs in Ayrshire. Even though the fight took a long time, it meant that the Scandinavians would not be able to invade again this year. During the winter, Haakon died while he was sleeping in Orkney. His son Magnus had given the Kingdom of Man and the Isles and all the Scottish islands to Alexander III through the Treaty of Perth.
King Christian I of Denmark gave up Orkney and Shetland to secure the dowry of his daughter, who was going to marry James III of Scotland, in 1468.
The earls of Orkney and Shetland ran the areas and were under the rule of Norway until then. When Charles II signed the Act of 1669, he kept his promise to bring Orkney and Shetland into his kingdom. He said that they would be excluded from any “dissolution of His Majesty’s lands,” and they are now officially part of the United Kingdom.
Vikings in Wales
The Vikings didn’t take over Wales as much as they did in England.
The Vikings moved to the south, near St. David, Haverfordwest, and other places. It’s still possible to find old Norse homes in Skokholm, Skomer, and Swansea, as well as in other places.
But the Vikings did not overrun the Welsh kingdoms that were on top of hills, as some people thought they would do.
References
- Barraclough, E.R. (2017). Top 10 books about the Vikings. The Guardian.
- Williams, T. (2017). Viking Britain: A History.
- Fitzhugh, W., & Ward, E. (Eds.)Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga.
