The Vikings and their expeditions
Introduction
The book we are going to deal with is the Vikings and their expeditions to the Iberian Peninsula whose author is Iván Curto Adrados. It was published in 2017 under the Ergastula publishing house within the Sine Qua Non collection. Medieval history monographs. About the author: He was born in Madrid in 1986. He graduated in History from the Complutense University of Madrid and has a Master in Training for Secondary Education Professor from the CEU San Pablo University. As related to the book, this talks about the Viking culture and its different expansions and expeditions in Europe, Africa, Asia and America.
Developing
What we know as ‘Viking period’ covers only its moment of greatest activity and influence in the world, as historians have established. Thus, the Vikings are given an exclusive recognition period for them that allows them to reach the level of Greece or Rome. To establish a chronology in which both history and historians agree, they propose as start and end dates; The year 793 with the Viking attack on the Lindisfarne monastery in Northumbria (England) and the year 1066 with the defeat of the Norwegian King Haraldr in the battle of Stamford Bridge and the subsequent victory of Guillermo de Normandía in the battle of Hastings.
What is currently known by ‘Viking’ is nothing more than the result of multiple names attributed to these people in northern Europe. In an origin, the term used by the ancient Nordic, ‘Vikingr’ was used to refer to piracy activities and not people. Throughout history the sources have referred to them in infinite ways, because they did not have a name that defined them or combined them in community. Among these names we find those dice by English chroniclers: ‘Danes’ (Deniscan), ‘Paganos’ (Heðen), ‘Men of the North’ (Norðmanna). The latter was the name most used by European Christian chroniclers, translated as ‘Men of the North’ or as ‘Normans’.
Among other terms attributed to them. Another reason why they received so many names is because they came to contact many civilizations, leaving in them such a deep brand that would be reflected in the history of civilization. The investigation of this era is slowed down by the low documentation of texts, since the Vikings spread their stories orally and their runic writing is complicated to understand. Only the texts that have translated European chroniclers are those that are taken as the most accurate reference, although there is always a vision of cruel people.
As for archaeological remains, only the so -called San Isidoro box, an artifact of a cylindrical ornamentally rich and carved into a deer tob, dated from the end of the 10th century and which is preserved in the Museum of the Real Collegiate of San Isidoro de San Isidoro de San Isidoro Lion. It is unknown how this city arrived. It could have been taken by a member of an expedition that attacked these coasts or, perhaps, it was an offering to San Isidoro left by a pilgrim. In 793 there was the first Viking attack in foreign territory. It was in the monastery of Lindisfarne, located in England. From here, the Vikings made an offensive after offensive.
The first Viking expedition in the Iberian Peninsula reached the coast of Asturias in the year 844. They were first spotted near Gijón. Then they went to the Galician coast and then continued on the Atlantic coast from north to south, until they reached Seville through the Guadalquivir River. From here they attacked cities such as Coria, Medina-Sidonia and Niebla. In all places they caused numerous damage, both materials and in human lives. But in the end they were defeated by the Muslim Army before his arrival in Córdoba. The Vikings suffered great losses and had no choice but to retire, although on their way they continued to make various looting.
The name with which they were known in Al-Andalus was "Mayus". The next Viking expedition reached the Galician coasts in 858 and whose destination was Santiago de Compostela. The journey was through the Ría de Arosa, looting Iria and besieging Santiago de Compostela. But then they were defeated by the Christian army in a hard fight in which the Vikings suffered large casualties and were forced to lift the place and leave the place. This Viking incursion resulted.
In the following years the attacks on the coasts of the Peninsula occurred, especially in the northern zone. Although with less and less crudeness and more space in time. The threat of his presence caused Christians and Muslims to build, along their coasts, a series are defensive to defend themselves against their attacks from the coasts. Among the Christians highlighted the castles and by the Muslims the fortified towers. The traditional image we keep from the Vikings is that of a mass of cruel warriors, fierce pirates that appeared with their ships to attack monasteries and cities.
Where they stole everything they would find, in addition to murders and destruction. However, this image does not contain the whole truth and is mainly due to the fact that for a long time they have only reported the most deplorable aspects of its history. What is not told, is that they could bequeathed to be as refined as blood. In addition, luxury objects appreciated, as I can in their pillage expeditions. The reasons that promoted the Vikings to carry out their expeditions were very different.
They could be circumstances such as poverty, population increase, lack of land, the need to sell products, the desire to conquer and possess land, or the curiosity of discovering new lands and navigating other seas. Vikingas expeditions had no firm reason in their entire. The Vikings were great military whose techniques based on surprise attacks, allowed them to face supposedly more powerful forces and obtain victories. To do this, apart from their warrior qualities, they possessed a great organization and a rigid discipline.
Where the Vikings arrived they won, but the same did not happen in the Iberian Peninsula, both the Christians and the Muslims were tenacious in their decision to expel them. Therefore, Vikings attacks never reached the same destabilizing force they had in the rest of Europe. They never had stable bases due to the pressures of the local forces, being forced to abandon them. The Vikings have always been surrounded by an image that does not correspond entirely with reality. They were cruel people in war, as would be a Roman or a Visigoth.
In addition, being Nordic people always seems to indicate that they are blond, high and corpulent, as well as women. The fact is that there were a large variety of hair colors, heights and features. Moreover, currently, the average Spanish height of both men and women would correspond to those of the Vikings. As mentioned above, the Vikings were large military, but above all navigators and this is reflected in their ships, there is an infinity of typologies. The best known were Drakkar and Snekkar. In addition, they manufactured them themselves.
conclusion
They were great artisans whose creation the richer the more social prestige was attributed to their creator. This Scandinavian town was divided into several territories: the Vikings of Norway, the Vikings of Sweden and the Vikings of Denmark. Each had unique qualities that differentiated them: the Danes were characterized by their pillage economy, the Swedes for their great capacity for trade and the Norwegians were markets due to a strong complex geographical character that forced them to enter the sea in search of Again territories for its development. The author, through Adam de Bremen, informs us about the Swedish kingdom and his hospital character with travelers.
Leave feedback