Favorite People in Art - Vikings

From the north they came, the Viking raiders, plundering, exploring, even settling. They were prevalent from the late 8th century right on up to the middle of the 11th century. They came from Scandinavia and their favorite target was the British Isles, though they rampaged as far south as Spain and across Europe to the Caspian Sea. If there was a sea, a lake, or a river, they used it to expand their interests. And between raids and simple trips for trade, they took time to settle Greenland and discover America (at least that’s one theory). They actually enriched European culture and advanced civilization by establishing trade, improving boat-building, navigation, and helped cause the fortification of Europe. Their settlements merged with cultures already in existence, so that eventually one can say when Russia became Russia, the new Russians were Vikings. When the Normans invaded England in 1066, the Normans were by and large Vikings. But even while they were blindly improving the world and infilt