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Line 3: − + − ''"...there came for the first time three ships; and then the [[reeve]] rode there and wanted to compel [the Vikings] to go to the king's town, because he did not know what they were; and they killed him. Those were the first ships of the Danish men which sought out the land of the English race."'' + − The chronicle goes on to describe the ferocity of the raid, which was greeted with shock throughout the Christian world: − − ''"...wrecking, robbing, shattering and killing not only animals but priests, monks and nuns... [The raiders] slayed everything alive, dug up the altars and took all the treasures of the holy church..."''
→Raids: Fixed mixed quotation from A-S chronicle and corrected statement that the Holy Island raid in 793 was the first viking raid. It wasn't (see talk page) ~~~~
'''Viking''' is the name used for the warrior/trader people of [[Scandinavia]] ([[Norway]], [[Sweden]], and [[Denmark]]) from about A.D. 750 to 1050.
'''Viking''' is the name used for the warrior/trader people of [[Scandinavia]] ([[Norway]], [[Sweden]], and [[Denmark]]) from about A.D. 750 to 1050.
==Raids==
==Raids==
In their own culture, the word "viking" referred only to their pillaging raids on other people, usually carried out by sea in distinctive boats that were advanced for their time. These raids were famously devastating, and had a major impact on the history of Britain and France. The spread of Christianity through the British Isles had led to the building of many large and wealthy [[Monastery|monasteries]] which were attractive and easy targets for Viking raids. The contemporary [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]] describes the first Viking raid on the coast of Britain, at the monastery at [[Lindisfarne Abbey]] in A.D. 793, and gives a clear impression of how the local inhabitants were caught unawares and did not know how at first to respond to the approaching [[longship]]s:
In their own culture, the word "viking" referred only to their pillaging raids on other people, usually carried out by sea in distinctive boats that were advanced for their time. These raids were famously devastating, and had a major impact on the history of Britain and France. The spread of Christianity through the British Isles had led to the building of many large and wealthy [[Monastery|monasteries]] which were attractive and easy targets for Viking raids. The contemporary [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]] describes an early Viking raid on the coast of Britain, at the monastery at [[Lindisfarne Abbey]] in A.D. 793.
"on the sixth day before the ides of January in the same year, the harrowing inroads of heathen men made lamentable havoc in the church of God in Holy-island, by rapine and slaughter."
==Exploration==
==Exploration==
Along with their destructive habits, Vikings were also well-known traders, explorers and settlers. They settled the islands of [[Iceland]] (870), [[Greenland]] (985) and briefly [[Newfoundland]] (around 1000), establishing a colony called [[Vinland]] nearly five centuries before [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]]. They founded the city of [[Dublin]], Ireland, as a trading center. Vikings also expanded toward the East. They were involved in the founding of [[Russia]], and were important in the history of the Eastern Roman Empire at [[Constantinople]].
Along with their destructive habits, Vikings were also well-known traders, explorers and settlers. They settled the islands of [[Iceland]] (870), [[Greenland]] (985) and briefly [[Newfoundland]] (around 1000), establishing a colony called [[Vinland]] nearly five centuries before [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]]. They founded the city of [[Dublin]], Ireland, as a trading center. Vikings also expanded toward the East. They were involved in the founding of [[Russia]], and were important in the history of the Eastern Roman Empire at [[Constantinople]].