Factors contributing to the rise and fall of the Viking age

1. Factors contributing to the rise and fall of the Viking age James L. Littlefield

2. Factors contributing to the rise of the Viking Age • Decline of the Roman Empire • Battle of Teutoberger Wald • Dissipation of the Roman Occupation of Britain • Fracture of the Carolingian empire • Invasion of the Vikings and Magyars

3. Consequences of the Battle of Teutobergerwald Breakup of the Western Roman Empire c. 400 AD

4. Consequences of the Battle of Teutobergerwald Roman Empire with provinces 210 AD

5. Battle of Teutobergerwald

6. Battle of Teutobergerwald

7. Battle of Teutobergerwald

8. Battle of Teutobergerwald

9. Battle of Teutobergerwald, Sept.-Oct. AD 9 Opposing forces: • Germanic Tribes: (estimated) warriors 32,000 Commander: Arminius • Romans (estimated) 3 legions (XVII, XVIII, XIX) and 6 auxillary cohorts Total 21,000 Commander: Publius Quinctilius Varus

10. Battle of Teutobergerwald: Outcome • Roman Empire was never able to gain control of the Germanic tribes. Border established along the Rhine. • Consequences: • Europe divided into Gaulic-Frankish-Roman influence versus Germanic tribes • G-F-R: evolved through Charlemagne to • Germanic city-states evolved into the Holy Roman Empire and eventually into German state • Language differences: • Germanic city-states evolved into the Holy Roman Empire and eventually into German state

11. Factors contributing to the rise of the Viking Age • Division of the Carolingian Empire 751 Merovingians give rise to Carolingeans 771 Charles (later “the Great” or Charlemagne) inherits Frankland Charles wars against the Lombards 800 Charles becomes Holy Roman Emperor Death of Charlemagne: his empire extended across much of Europe Treaty of Verdun Division of Carolingian Empire

12. Arms and Armor in the Viking Age • Did not vary much from Roman times until introduction of gun powder • Was essentially man-to-man (one-on-one) • Except for the Roman army, other armies were generally disorganized mob • Roman success came from its use of formations and discipline and well defined tactics in battle (instituted by Marius (157 – 86 BC)). • The Viking and Magyar raids instituted changes in the military tactics by the time of the first millennium.

13. Arms and Armor in the Viking Age Roman armor and arms were better and more well described

14. Roman Armor in the Viking Age Costume or armor of a Roman warrior: Helmet: cassis or galea Scarf: Iocale Shield: shield Belt: baltus Tunic: tunica Armor: baltea Leggings: greaves

15. Roman Arms in the Viking Age: other arms a

16. Roman Arms in the Viking Age: other arms a

17. Roman Arms in the Viking Age: the Galdius The Roman sword: gladius (word is Celtic and the sword was likely of Celtic origin, too) • Made of steel (steel-making was known since the Republic) • Iron was worked in a furnace then forged (hammered) to work out the slag impurities • Produced in five steps of five blooms of varying carbon content, strips of iron were placed sequentially on the sword and welded into place by hammer blows • Sword was 23 in (58 cm long); two edges for cutting and a tapered point. • The hilt (capulus) was added • The owners name was often punched or engraved on the blade • Used primarily in a stabbing manner, thrusting at stomach height) but could be used for cutting. • Sheath in a scabbard and hung by a belt or shoulder strap. A centurion wore in on the opposite side of the shield • The Spatha (long sword) generally took the place of the gladius in the 3rd century AD.

18. Typical Roman legion formation The cavalry rode in front to protect flanks Two rows of five cohorts. Rightmost cohort: ∿1100 infantry; ∿ 30 mounted; Other cohorts: ∿550 infantry; ∿ 65 mounted Reserves: approx. 500 General’s escort: 100 Thus, one legion consisted of 6600 infantry and 615 mounted troops, also estimated at 4800 men.

19. Arms and Armor in the Viking Age Viking warrior Anglo-Saxon warrior Roman soldier

20. Arms and Armor in the Viking Age

21. Arms and Armor in the Viking Age

22. Arms and Armor in the Viking Age

23. Arms and Armor in the Viking Age

24. Arms and Armor in the Viking Age

25. Arms and Armor in the Viking Age

26. Who is an invader of Britain? • ∿ 10,000 b.c. Celts invade Western Europe and Ireland and Britain, eventually becoming various tribes such as Celts, Picts, Bretons, Scots, Welsh, Cornish, etc etc • Two invasions: • Julius Caesar, 55 - 54 b.c. Romans invade Britain, leave Britain soon after • 43-47 AD Legions remain until 408. 410 Roman officials expelled and Empire ends • 4th Cent. Anglo-Saxons raid and settle in Britain • 447 AD, Thanet (in East Kent) established 1st Anglo-Saxon kingdom. • By 474, A-S controlled Kent, Essex, Sussex and East Anglia • 570 to 633 major expansion in A-S control . A-S won most of battles over English kings • Invaders from the North and East • 865 Great Heathen Army invades East Anglia (a group of Viking bands join together; GHA moves north, captures York. • Late 800’s, Vikings overrun most of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms; but Alfred the Great defeats Vikings 878 and recaptures the west • Danes occupy most of northern and eastern England (Danelaw) • Cnut the Great (Canute) (995-1035) King of Denmark and Norway rules the Danelaw (995-1035); won the English throne 1016; wone the Danish throne 1018. Claims the crown of Norway in 1028. Edward (the Confessor, last Anglo-Saxon king of England and house of Wessex) brought out of exile.William the Conqueror regains the English throne for the Normans 1066. • Norse Vikings invade Britain; began as raids • 793 Lindisfarne raid by “heathen men”; 840, Aetherlwull of Wessex defeated by 35 Viking ships • Norsemen, or Normans, invade Northern France and settlements develop in Normandy • 1066 Normans invade England and become conquerers, set up the House of Normandy. • Henry II (1133-189) a Norman invades, r. 1154-1169, sets up House of Plantagenet

27. Germano-Danes invade England When Rome withdrew from England, the native Celts were threatened by Danes, Vikings, and other Scandinavian raiders from Northeast. The Celts recruited warriors from Germanic-speaking areas to protect them. These Germanic people—the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—stayed to take advantage of the situation, becoming settlers and rulers and making "Anglo-Saxon" languages the base of modern English. "English" < "Angles"; thus English is originally a Germanic language & still sounds more like German than like French or Spanish, both derived from Latin.

28. The Multiple invasions of Britain • Post-glacial invasion of the Celtic peoples (Britons and Picts) • Post-Roman invasion of the Anglo-Saxons • Medieval invasion of the Normans x 2 • William of Normandy 1066 • Henry II Plantagenet 1154 • Multiple Dane attacks on the Anglo-Saxons • Multiple Norwegian Viking attacks on the Danes

29. Multiple Invasions of Britain and DNA imprint • DNA survey of current Caucasia population of Britain • Only the Anglo-Saxons account for a significant (10 – 40%) of the DNA in half of modern day Britons and clusters to central and southeast England (red) • Romans, Vikings and Normans left little DNA trace • The only Viking genetic input is in the Orkneys (25% of DNA is Viking) • First wave of arrivals crossed the land-bridge from Northern Germany, Belgium and Northern France. This makes up the basic DNA of most cauc. Britons. • Despite the cultural significance of the Romans, Vikings and Normans, Britain's main invaders, they left little genetic imprint on the Britons.