On one of the summer days of 789, an event occurred on the coast of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, which was noticed exclusively by local chroniclers. Three long boats, capable of both oars and sails, landed on the shore of the island of Portland, called Vindelis in Latin during the Roman Empire. Bearded, fair-haired strangers disembarked from the ships, speaking a language vaguely similar to Old English - at least the roots of most of the words were understandable to the inhabitants of Wessex. Thane Beohtrik and his men came out to meet the shipbuilders. We don’t know what the conversation was about, but it ended in a quarrel: the foreigners killed Beochtrik, slaughtered his small detachment, took captured weapons, boarded the boats and disappeared into the ocean.

In general, this story was not something out of the ordinary at that time - it was a thoroughly everyday matter. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain diligently feuded with each other, and when closely related squabbles got boring, they began to push the Celts in Wales or Scotland, got back and again returned to the usual feuds. War was the most commonplace thing, and if you pay attention to every minor skirmish in the chronicles, you won’t have enough parchment. So why did such an insignificant incident on Vindelis attract the attention of the chronicler, and in our times is considered perhaps the key event of the 8th century in Europe, which gave rise to a new era?

Scheme of Scandinavian expansion in VIII –XI centuries. Green indicates areas that were attacked by the Vikings, but not colonized by them.

It should be noted here that the Anglo-Saxons have been Christians for more than two hundred years - as well as all their neighbors without exception: the Franks and Bretons across the English Channel, the Irish, the Scots and the Welsh. Relics of polytheism, if they were preserved, were at the everyday level or in very remote and inaccessible mountainous areas. The ill-mannered bearded men who landed in Wessex turned out to be real pagans - which in itself was extremely unusual.

The story of Thane Beochtrik is the first documentary evidence of the appearance of the Vikings. The sack of Lindisfarne and Jarrow, raids on Ireland, landings on Orkney and Shetland - all this will happen later. In 789, none of the British or Franks could have even imagined that Christian Europe was faced with a force that, over the next three centuries, would change not only borders, but also demographics, culture and even give rise to a new prayer: “A furore Normannorum libera nos "Domine!" - “Save us, Lord, from the fury of the Normans!”

So let's try to figure out where the Vikings came from, who they were and why their invasion took place in the first place.

Scandinavia in the Dark Ages

People appeared on the Scandinavian Peninsula long before the birth of Christ. The earliest cultures (Kongemose, Nøstvet-Lyhult culture, Ertebølle culture, etc.) date back to the Mesolithic period around the sixth millennium BC. Two to three thousand years BC. in southern Scandinavia, carriers of the “Culture of Battle Axes and Corded Ware” appear, which presumably become the core of the emergence of the Germanic peoples - they migrate north from the Jutland Peninsula and begin to populate the territories of what is now Sweden and Norway.

However, these are very old things, and we are interested in the period after the fall of the Roman Empire, when a group of North German tribes began to separate from the rest of Europe. The Great Migration of Peoples, the collapse of Rome, the adoption of Christianity by the Goths, Franks and other Germans - in a word, all the grandiose changes of the middle of the first millennium AD practically did not affect Scandinavia: it was too far away. In the Dark Ages, no one showed interest in Scandinavia: the Franks had something to do on the continent, the introduction of Christianity proceeded, albeit confidently, but slowly: the church first had to establish itself in the new barbarian states. The inhabitants of the peninsula located beyond the North and Baltic seas “cooked in their own cauldron” for many centuries, knowing practically nothing about the turbulent events in Europe. Christian missionaries, even if they appeared there, were sporadic and unable to achieve serious success: the old Germanic gods were revered as they had been centuries ago, and nothing threatened their cult.

Vendel style helmet, 8th century (from the collection of the Stockholm Museum of Antiquities)

Here it is necessary to make a lengthy digression and talk about the climatic features of those times - otherwise it will be unclear why suddenly, starting from the 8th century, the Scandinavians rushed to look for new lands for settlement. Over the centuries, the climate changed more than once, with optimums (warming) and pessimums (cooling) alternating - the so-called Roman climate optimum, which lasted from the time of Julius Caesar until about 400 AD, greatly contributed to the prosperity of the Roman Empire. The average temperature then was higher by an average of 1-2 degrees, Roman authors tell us that in Britain and Germany they even began to grow grapes - approximately from 280 AD.

In turn, the climatic pessimum of the early Middle Ages, which occurred during the Great Migration, aggravated the already not very favorable military-political and demographic situation in Europe - the cooling that began around the 5th century reduces the area under cultivation, especially affecting the northern regions in general and, of course, Scandinavia in in particular. Saint Gregory of Tours in his extensive work of the 6th century “History of the Franks” notes: “ At that time it was raining heavily, there was a lot of water, it was unbearably cold, the roads were soggy with mud and the rivers overflowed their banks." In 535–536, a completely unprecedented climatic anomaly occurs. Let us give the floor to the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea (“War”, IV, 14. 5–6):

“...And this year the greatest miracle happened: all year the sun emitted light like the moon, without rays, as if it was losing its power, ceasing to shine purely and brightly as before. Since the time this began, neither war, nor pestilence, nor any other disaster that brings death has ceased among people. Then it was the tenth year of the reign of Justinian.”

Other authors claim that even at midday the sun appeared “bluish” and objects did not cast shadows - this means that for almost a year and a half, a dust suspension was present in the atmosphere, caused by a supervolcano eruption or the fall of a large meteorite, and, most likely, both factors. The German scientist Wolfgang Behringer in his book “Kulturgeschichte des Klimas” provides archaeological data - in Norway in the 6th century, about forty percent of farms were abandoned, that is, their owners either died out or migrated south. In general, in Old Norse mythology, cold, frost and ice have eschatological properties, being a symbol of death and chaos - remember the ice giants...

However, by the 8th century, the climate began to stabilize - warming set in, sown areas expanded again, grain harvests could be harvested at latitudes adjacent to the Arctic Circle, and the quality of life increased sharply. The result is quite natural - explosive population growth.

However, here it is necessary to take into account not only climatic features, but also the geographical specifics of the Scandinavian Peninsula. While in eastern Sweden there are vast plains suitable for agriculture, in mountainous Norway it is possible to grow bread and herd herds exclusively on narrow strips of land along the coast and in river valleys. It is impossible to endlessly split up plots between sons - the land will not feed them anyway. The bottom line: excess (and passionate) population, lack of food. Scandinavia is not rubber. What to do?

A solution was found quite quickly - since there is no fertile land, it means that one must be looked for overseas. Considering that the ancient Scandinavians knew how to build excellent ships a long time ago, the solution to the problem lay in the palm of their hands. The first “prototype” of the drakkar, the “Hjortspring Boat,” found by archaeologists in Denmark, on the island of Als, dates back to the 4th century BC. – the boat could accommodate up to 20 rowers. Moreover, Scandinavian boats, which had minimal draft, could navigate any shallow water and penetrate narrow rivers.

Hjortspring boat - a ship of the ancient Germans, ca.4th century BC National Museum of Denmark

It was then that the first forays of the ancient Scandinavians began towards the continent and the British Isles - for starters, for purposes of more reconnaissance than conquest. It was necessary to become familiar with the situation, and it clearly showed: there is a lot of land there, the density of the local population is extremely low, such a population is unusual for lightning raids from the sea, and is generally not aware that they are possible. There is also documentary evidence - let's quote the scientist, theologian and poet of the 8th century Flaccus Albinus (Alcuin):

“Three hundred and fifty years we and our fathers lived in this beautiful land, and never before did Britain know such horror as it now knew, after the appearance of the pagans. No one suspected that robbers could come from overseas.”

Nobody suspected. And Europe paid a huge price for its ignorance.

They came!

In light of the above, the question remains open: how did European kings and bishops, who played an increasingly important political role, miss such an incredible danger? Where did the great historical figures of that era look? In the end, Emperor Charlemagne cannot be called an incompetent slacker, and such an important tool for the state as intelligence was quite successfully adopted by the former barbarians from the vanished Rome! It is quite obvious that at least some connections existed between the Frankish Empire and Scandinavia - the northern borders of Saxony and Frisia adjoined the territory of present-day Denmark, the inhabitants of which would also take an active part in the future outrages of the Vikings.

No answer. Perhaps growing cultural and civilizational differences played a role - let us remember the words of Alcuin, in which the key concept is “pagan”, which is contrasted with “Christians”. Europeans were then united not by ethnicity, but by religion: any non-Christian was an outsider, be it a Spanish Muslim Moor or a Scandinavian who worshiped the gods of Asgard. For the time being, the Franks and the kingdoms of Britain treated the unwashed pagans from the distant northern fjords with disdain, sincerely believing that God was on the side of the Christians (then - who is against them?!).

Vikings. Old English miniatures

Now we need to explain what we generally mean by the term “Viking”. The word itself is formed from two parts: “vik”, that is, “bay, bay”, and the ending “ing”, denoting a community of people, most often tribal - compare: Carolingian, Capetian, etc. We get "man from the bay"! Initially, the Viking squads were made up of those same surplus population - younger sons who did not inherit the allotment, people who left the clan themselves or were expelled from it, or even simply seekers of adventure, wealth and glory. That is, not sedentary Scandinavian landowners. However, why only Scandinavians? The crew of the ship could have been anyone - a Norwegian, a Vened, a Ruyan, a Ladoga Krivich. After the Scandinavians began to master the “Road from the Varangians to the Greeks” through the Neva, Ladoga, Volkhov and further into the Volga basin, many Slavs began to appear in the squads, especially since the polytheistic pantheons of Scandinavia and Ancient Rus' were very close, and on this basis It was possible to find a common language very quickly.

So, Viking is not a profession, not a nationality or an occupation. This is a social status, a marginal social group, something between a soldier of fortune, a person without a fixed place of residence and a bandit as part of an organized group of people of Scandinavian (and not only) nationality. Such good fellows, without any unnecessary reflection, could easily rob a neighboring fjord, or their own fellow Norwegians or Svei - the precedents are known. For the most part, they were not limited by the system of moral taboos obligatory for settled Scandinavians and gradually began to believe that they were superior to boring farmers, if only because the sacralization of war began in the religious sphere - just remember the cult of warrior gods, Odin, Thor and others.

Thor with the hammer Mjollnir. A figurine dating from around 1000 AD.

If a social group has appeared, then it will certainly develop its own subculture, its own ethics and its own religious views - especially in the conditions of the prevailing tribal system around it. You don’t need to look far for examples - the functions of the priesthood, godi, are gradually transferred to military leaders: if you are a successful king, it means you are close to the gods, they favor you - therefore, you perform the necessary rituals and make sacrifices. There is only one way to be guaranteed to get to Valhalla after death - to die heroically in battle. One of the first places is given to personal valor and glory, of course, gained in a fair battle.

Finally, it was the Vikings who “invented” the marines in the form in which we know it - Christian Europeans had nothing to oppose them with unprecedented tactics. The scheme developed by the ancient Scandinavians was simple, but incredibly effective: a sudden raid at almost any point on the sea or river coast (let us again remember the ability of longships to walk in shallow water), and after a successful attack, an equally lightning retreat, until the enemy had time to pull up any significant strength - then look for these robbers on the open sea. It was only later that the Vikings would engage in respectable trade, for the sake of curiosity they would discover Iceland, Greenland and America and go to serve in the “Varangian squad” for the Byzantine emperors, and at the end of the 8th - beginning of the 9th centuries they were exclusively engaged in the most blatant robberies, seizure of lands in England, Ireland and on the mainland, the slave trade and other equally interesting things...

Old Scandinavian ships, modern reconstruction. Drakkar in the foregroundIslendingur(“Icelander”), who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 2000. Currently located in the museum in Njardvik, Iceland

It makes no sense to talk here about the first major Viking raid - the attack on the monastery of St. Cuthbert on the island of Lindisfarne on June 8, 793; this story is well known. Suffice it to say that this unpleasant event occurred only four years after the first appearance of the Vikings off the coast of Wessex; The Scandinavians very quickly realized that Christian monasteries and cities stored a lot of wealth, which should have been put to more reasonable use. The Vikings even stole the coffin of the founder of the monastery, St. Cuthbert, from Lindisfarne, and it was found only three hundred years later, in 1104, fortunately, little damaged. From then on, Europe no longer knew peace - they appeared almost every year, here and there. It was absolutely impossible to predict the direction of the next blow, as well as to seriously resist the Scandinavians with military force - they slipped out of their hands like drops of mercury; the armies of the heirs of Charlemagne or the British kings simply did not have time to approach the site of the next attack.

However, we will talk about the further history of the Viking campaigns some other time - this text was intended to explain how the climatic and geographical features of the early Middle Ages predetermined the beginning of the era of the Norman conquests, which lasted more than three hundred years.

Vikings- early medieval, predominantly Scandinavian sailors, who in the 8th-11th centuries made sea voyages from Vinland to Biarmia and from the Caspian Sea to North Africa. For the most part, these were free peasants living in the territory of modern Sweden, Denmark and Norway, who were pushed beyond the borders of their native countries by overpopulation and the thirst for easy money. By religion, the overwhelming majority are pagans.
Swedish Vikings and Vikings from the Baltic Coast, as a rule, traveled to the east and appeared in ancient Russian and Byzantine sources under the name of Varangians. The Norwegian and Danish Vikings mostly moved to the west and are known from Latin sources under the name of the Normans. The Scandinavian sagas provide an insight into the Vikings from within their society, but this source should be approached with caution due to the often late date of their composition and recording. Other non-Scandinavian Baltic peoples were also seen participating in the Viking movement. The Vikings included the Baltic Slavs (Vends), in particular, the Vagr and Ruyans became famous for their pirate raids on Scandinavia and Denmark. This information was also preserved in the sagas. In the “Saga of Hakon the Good” it is written “Then King Hakon sailed east along the shores of Scania and ravaged the country, took ransoms and taxes and killed the Vikings wherever he found them, both Danes and Wends.”
Lifestyle. Abroad, the Vikings acted as robbers, conquerors and traders, but at home they mainly farmed the land, hunted, fished and raised livestock. The independent peasant, working alone or with his relatives, formed the basis of Scandinavian society. No matter how small his allotment, he remained free and was not tied as a serf to land that belonged to another person. Family ties were strongly developed in all layers of Scandinavian society, and in important matters its members usually acted together with relatives. The clans jealously guarded the good names of their fellow tribesmen, and violating the honor of any of them often led to cruel civil strife. Women played an important role in the family. They could own property and independently decide on marriage and divorce from an unsuitable spouse. However, outside the family hearth, women's participation in public life remained insignificant.
Food. In Viking times, most people ate two meals a day. The main products were meat, fish and cereal grains. Meat and fish were usually boiled, less often fried. For storage, these products were dried and salted. The cereals used were rye, oats, barley and several types of wheat. Usually porridge was made from their grains, but sometimes bread was baked. Vegetables and fruits were rarely eaten. Drinks consumed were milk, beer, fermented honey drink, and in the upper classes of society - imported wine.
Cloth. Peasant clothing consisted of a long woolen shirt, short baggy pants, stockings and a rectangular cape. Vikings from the upper classes wore long pants, socks and capes in bright colors. Woolen mittens and hats, as well as fur hats and even felt hats, were in use. Women from high society usually wore long clothes consisting of a bodice and a skirt. Thin chains hung from the buckles on the clothes, to which scissors and a case for needles, a knife, keys and other small items were attached. Married women wore their hair in a bun and wore conical white linen caps. Unmarried girls had their hair tied up with a ribbon.
Housing. Peasant dwellings were usually simple one-room houses, built either from tightly fitted vertical beams, or more often from wickerwork coated with clay. Wealthy people usually lived in a large rectangular house, which housed numerous relatives. In heavily forested Scandinavia, such houses were built from wood, often in combination with clay, and in Iceland and Greenland, where wood was scarce, local stone was widely used. There they built walls 90 cm thick or more. Roofs were usually covered with peat. The central living room of the house was low and dark, with a long fireplace in the middle of it. There they cooked, ate and slept. Sometimes inside the house, pillars were installed in a row along the walls to support the roof, and the side rooms fenced off in this way were used as bedrooms.

Literature and art. The Vikings valued skill in battle, but they also revered literature, history and art. Viking literature existed in oral form, and only some time after the end of the Viking Age did the first written works appear. The runic alphabet was then used only for inscriptions on tombstones, for magic spells and short messages. But Iceland has preserved rich folklore. It was written down at the end of the Viking Age using the Latin alphabet by scribes who wanted to perpetuate the exploits of their ancestors. Among the treasures of Icelandic literature are the long prose narratives known as sagas. They are divided into three main types. In the most important, so-called family sagas describe real characters from the Viking Age. Several dozen family sagas have survived, five of them are comparable in volume to large novels. The other two types are historical sagas, telling of the Norse kings and the settlement of Iceland, and late Viking Age fictional adventure sagas, reflecting the influence of the Byzantine Empire and India. Viking art was primarily decorative in nature. The predominant motifs - whimsical animals and energetic abstract compositions of interlacing ribbons - were used in wood carvings, fine gold and silver work, and decorations on rune stones and monuments that were set up to commemorate important events.
Religion. In the beginning, the Vikings worshiped pagan gods and goddesses. The most important of them were Thor, Odin, Frey and the goddess Freya; Njord, Ull, Balder and several other household gods were of lesser importance. The gods were worshiped in temples or in sacred forests, groves and springs. The Vikings also believed in many supernatural creatures: trolls, elves, giants, mermen and magical inhabitants of forests, hills and rivers. Blood sacrifices were often performed. Sacrificial animals were usually eaten by the priest and his entourage at feasts held in temples. There were also human sacrifices, even ritual killings of kings to ensure the well-being of the country. In addition to priests and priestesses, there were sorcerers who practiced black magic. People of the Viking Age placed great importance on luck as a type of spiritual power inherent in any person, but especially in leaders and kings. Nevertheless, that era was characterized by a pessimistic and fatalistic attitude. Fate was presented as an independent factor above gods and people. According to some poets and philosophers, people and gods were doomed to go through a powerful struggle and cataclysm known as Ragnarök (Il. - “end of the world”). Christianity slowly spread northward and provided an attractive alternative to paganism. In Denmark and Norway, Christianity was established in the 10th century, Icelandic leaders adopted the new religion in 1000, and Sweden in the 11th century, but in the north of this country pagan beliefs persisted until the beginning of the 12th century.
Military art
Viking campaigns. Detailed information about the Viking campaigns is known mainly from written reports of the victims, who did not spare colors to describe the devastation that the Scandinavians brought with them. The first Viking campaigns were carried out using the “hit and run” principle. Without warning, they appeared from the sea on light, fast ships and attacked poorly guarded objects known for their wealth. The Vikings cut down the few defenders with swords, and enslaved the rest of the inhabitants, seized valuables, and set everything else on fire. Gradually they began to use horses in their campaigns.
Weapon. The weapons of the Vikings were bows and arrows, as well as a variety of swords, spears and battle axes. Swords and spear and arrowheads were usually made of iron or steel. Yew or elm wood was preferred for bows, and braided hair was usually used as a bowstring. Viking shields had a round or oval shape. Usually the shields were made from light pieces of linden wood, trimmed along the edges and across with iron strips. There was a pointed plaque in the center of the shield. For protection, warriors also wore metal or leather helmets, often with horns, and warriors from the nobility often wore chain mail.

Viking ships. The highest technical achievement of the Vikings were their warships. These boats, kept in exemplary order, were often described with great love in Viking poetry and were a source of pride for them. The narrow frame of such a vessel was very convenient for approaching the shore and quickly passing along rivers and lakes. Lighter ships were especially suitable for surprise attacks; they could be dragged from one river to another to bypass rapids, waterfalls, dams and fortifications. The disadvantage of these ships was that they were not sufficiently adapted for long voyages on the open sea, which was compensated for by the navigational art of the Vikings. Viking boats differed in the number of pairs of rowing oars, large ships - in the number of rowing benches. 13 pairs of oars determined the minimum size of a combat vessel. The very first ships were designed for 40-80 people each, and a large keel ship of the 11th century. could accommodate several hundred people. Such large combat units exceeded 46 m in length. Ships were often built from planks laid in rows with overlap and fastened with curved frames. Above the waterline, most of the warships were brightly painted. Carved dragon heads, sometimes gilded, adorned the bows of ships. The same decoration could be on the stern, and in some cases there was a writhing tail of a dragon. When sailing in the waters of Scandinavia, these decorations were usually removed so as not to frighten the good spirits. Often, when approaching a port, shields were hung in a row on the sides of ships, but this was not allowed on the open sea.
Viking ships moved with the help of sails and oars. The simple, square-shaped sail, made from rough canvas, was often painted with stripes and checkered patterns. The mast could be shortened and even removed altogether. With the help of skillful devices, the captain could steer the ship against the wind. The ships were controlled by a blade-shaped rudder mounted on the stern on the starboard side.

Vikings in England
June 8, 793 AD e. The Vikings landed on the island of Lindisfarne in Northumbria, destroying and devastating the monastery of St. Cuthberta. This is the first Viking attack clearly recorded in written sources, although it is clear that Scandinavians visited British shores before. Since the Vikings initially used pin strike tactics, chroniclers did not attach much importance to their raids. However, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions a raid by sea robbers of unknown origin on Portland in Dorset in 787. The conquest of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the occupation of the western and northern parts of England was a major success of the Danish Vikings. In 865, the sons of the Danish king Ragnar Lodbrok brought a large army to the shores of England, dubbed by the chroniclers the “great army of the pagans.” In 870-871 the sons of Ragnar subjected the kings of East Anglia and Northumbria to cruel execution, and their possessions were divided among themselves. Following this, the Danes began to conquer Mercia.
King Alfred the Great of Wessex was forced to conclude first a truce with the Danes, and then a full-fledged peace treaty, thereby legitimizing their possessions in Britain. The city of Jorvik became the English capital of the Vikings. Despite the influx of fresh forces from Scandinavia in 892 and 899, Alfred and his son Edward the Elder successfully resisted the Danish conquerors, clearing the territory of East Anglia and Mercia of them by 924. Scandinavian dominance in remote Northumbria continued until 954.
A new wave of Viking raids on British shores began in 980. Its culmination was the conquest of England in 1013 by the Danish Vikings Sven Forkbeard. In 1016-35 Canute the Great was at the head of the united Anglo-Danish monarchy. After his death, the Wessex dynasty in the person of Edward the Confessor regained the English throne. In 1066, the British repelled another Scandinavian invasion, this time led by the Norwegian king Harald the Severe.
The Scandinavian influence on the political culture, social structure and language of Ireland and other Celtic lands was much greater than in England, but the chronology of their invasions cannot be reconstructed with the same accuracy due to the paucity of sources. The first raid on Ireland is mentioned in 795. The arrival of the Vikings is associated with the founding of Dublin, which the Scandinavians ruled for two centuries. Limerick and Waterford had their own Scandinavian kings, while the Dublin kings extended their power even to Northumbria at the beginning of the 10th century.
The Vikings' relationship with the Frankish Empire was complex. During the times of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, the empire was relatively protected from attacks from the north. Galicia, Portugal and some Mediterranean lands suffered from occasional Norman raids in the 9th and 10th centuries. Viking leaders such as Rörik of Jutland entered the service of the Frankish rulers in order to defend the borders of the empire from their own tribesmen, at the same time controlling the rich markets in the Rhine delta, such as Walcheren and Dorestad. The King of Jutland, Harald Klak, swore an oath of allegiance to Louis the Pious back in 823.
The penetration of the Vikings into the Finnish lands began in the 2nd half of the 8th century, as evidenced by the oldest layers of Staraya Ladoga. At approximately the same time, these lands were inhabited and developed by the Slavs. Unlike the raids on the shores of Western Europe, Viking settlements in Eastern Europe were more stable. The Scandinavians themselves noted the abundance of fortified settlements in eastern Europe, dubbing Ancient Rus' “the country of cities” - Gard. Evidence of violent Viking penetration in eastern Europe is not as abundant as in the west. An example is the Swedish invasion of the Curonian lands, which is described in the life of Ansgar. The main object of interest of the Vikings was the river routes along which, through a system of portages, it was possible to reach the Arab Caliphate. Their settlements are known on the Volkhov, Volga and Dnieper. The concentration of Scandinavian burial grounds, as a rule, are several kilometers from the urban centers where the local population, mainly Slavic, settled, and in many cases from the river arteries themselves.
In the 9th century, the Vikings ensured trade with the Khazars along the Volga with the help of a proto-state structure, called by some historians the Russian Kaganate. Judging by the finds of treasures of coins, in the 10th century the Dnieper became the main trade artery, and the main trading partner instead of Khazaria was Byzantium. According to the Norman theory, from the symbiosis of the newcomer Varangians with the Slavic population, the state of Kievan Rus was born, led by the Rurikovichs - the descendants of Prince Rurik.

In the lands of the Prussians, the Vikings controlled the trading centers of Kaup and Truso, where the “Amber Road” to the Mediterranean began. In Finland, traces of their long-term presence were found on the shores of Lake Vanajavesi. In Staraya Ladoga, under Yaroslav the Wise, Regnvald Ulvson sat as jarl. The Vikings traveled to the mouth of the Northern Dvina for fur and explored the Zavolotsky route. Ibn Fadlan met them in Volga Bulgaria in 922. Through the Volga-Don portage near Sarkel, the Rus descended into the Caspian Sea. For two centuries they fought and traded with Byzantium, concluding several treaties with it.
Termination of sea voyages. The Vikings curtailed their campaigns of conquest in the first half of the 11th century. This is due to the decline in the population of the Scandinavian lands and the spread of Christianity in northern Europe, which did not approve of robberies and the slave trade. In parallel, the clan system was replaced by feudal relations, and the traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle of the Vikings gave way to a sedentary one. Another factor was the reorientation of trade routes: the Volga and Dnieper river routes were steadily losing importance to Mediterranean trade, which was revived by the Venetian and other trading republics. In the 11th century, individual adventurers from Scandinavia were still hired into the service of Byzantine emperors and ancient Russian princes. Historians include Olaf Haraldson and Harald the Harsh, who died trying to conquer England, as the last Vikings on the Norwegian throne. One of the last to undertake a long overseas expedition in the spirit of his ancestors was Ingvar the Traveler, who died during an expedition on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Having adopted Christianity, yesterday's Vikings organized in 1107-1110. own crusade to the Holy Land.
Weapons and armor
Horned helmet- in the mass consciousness it is considered almost an obligatory attribute of a Viking, which was worn by everyone. However, in the entire history of excavations, not a single horned helmet was found. They found thousands of different ones - pointed and blunt, decorated and not, they even dug up a couple of helmets with wings, like Hermes, but not a single one with horns. Different peoples had such helmets, but it is assumed that they were primarily for ritual and decorative purposes. The fact is that the sword can slip along the pointed helmet, and if it catches on the horn, it either rips the helmet off the head, or turns it 90 degrees, or cuts it off along with the head. In fact, the most common helmet among the Vikings was a helmet similar to the “St. Wenceslas” helmet, that is, conical, with a nasal cap and aventail. At that time - a pretty big innovation.

Shield- the main protection of the Viking was precisely it, round, with a umbo, about a meter in diameter, in the simplest case, stupidly knocked together from boards, sometimes covered with leather and bound with metal for reinforcement, but still - a consumable material. It is he who withstands most of the blows; there are a number of cunning and not so clever tactics to divert him to the side, and the one left in the hole without a shield is almost guaranteed to die if he does not have time to jump behind the backs of his comrades. During hiking, the shield was hung on the back, and at sea it was attached to the sides of the longship. Shields were also used as a signal flag: a white shield raised on a mast meant peaceful intentions, a red one meant “now they are going to kill someone.”
Armor- depending on wealth: from a leather jacket or sleeveless vest made of bearskin for ordinary warriors to chain mail with additional scales put on top or a vest made of lamellar for a jarl or an experienced fighter.
Sword- the most popular weapon. The classic Viking sword - straight, double-edged, with a rounded end and a spherical pommel - is intended only for slashing. In the 10th-11th centuries, fencing as a discipline did not yet exist, and sword fighting included such elements as “swing harder”, “fuck as hard as you can” and “take the blow on the shield”. They did not practice stabbing blows, they did not parry a sword with a sword - rough forged iron from such disrespect was easily jagged and could easily break. Actually, the main purpose of the sword is to cut down a weakly protected enemy or cut off extra limbs of armored ones.
Ax/axe- the second most popular and first most important weapon. When one hears the word “Viking”, one most often imagines a huge big man in a horned helmet, chain mail and a double-sided axe. In fact, the latter was used by the ancient Greeks and all sorts of Asians, and the Vikings preferred one-sided axes, the reason for which is quite simple: they fought in tight formation, forming a wall of shields, and in such conditions, when swinging, you can easily hit your neighbor. In general, an ax is not only a weapon, but also a universal tool of that time - you can repair a longship, chop wood, break down a gate, break a skull, and cook porridge. And when robbing civilians, the ax is more convenient due to its versatility. Chopping down doors with a sword would strangle a toad, but an ax would not be a waste of time for such a task, because high-quality steel was used only for making the blade, and the butt and other parts were made of ordinary iron. In battle, with an ax it is much more practical to break shields and cut through armor, plus the ax continues to chop tolerably, even after losing its sharpening, while the sword turns into a useless crowbar. Well, you shouldn’t write off the economic aspect: an ax is easier to make ⇒ cheaper, and therefore more accessible to the poor, and it’s easier to straighten a chipped blade.
Brodex- an ax with a 45 cm blade, sitting on a meter-long ax handle with a two-handed grip. Invaluable for crumbling into a fine vinaigrette. It is no coincidence that fighters with Brodex were placed at the tip of the wedge of the attacking Scandinavian stealth infantry.
Hammer- a less common, but most respected type of weapon. It could be both combat and throwing. The hammer of the Scandinavian god Thor, Mjolnir, is known, which was homing, caused lightning when struck, and after hitting the target returned back to the hand. Accordingly, the Vikings, who respected their god, wore hammer-shaped pendants. From a practical point of view, it is good because it penetrates such flexible armor as chain mail.
Spears- were used by the Vikings along with all their neighbors, they distinguished between throwing and combat. The combat ones usually had a long leaf-shaped tip, which could not only stab, but also chop, and the shaft was bound with metal.
Viking ships
Drakkar- terrifying Viking ships. A dragon head was always placed on the bow of the ship, at the sight of which the civilian population stained their pants and ran away in horror. The ship operated manually, by rowing the oars against the water. With a tailwind, a square sail added speed. Thanks to their clever design, these ships were universal, all-terrain and invisible.
For a Viking, a longship meant more than a family castle for a knight, and it was a great disgrace to screw up a longship - such a leader could easily have his entire squad run away. Contrary to popular belief, only free Vikings could row a longship, and if for some reason a slave was placed at the oars, then after that he received freedom. Drakkar oarsmen had different statuses depending on their location on the ship. The most honorable places were at the bow of the ship. This was due to the fact that the speed and efficiency of the ship’s movement depended on the rowers; at the same time, they were also warriors, and when moving into hand-to-hand combat, the units sitting at the bow were the first to enter the battle.

Great Battles

For many centuries, nomads invaded the expanses of the southern steppes in an almost continuous stream. In the winter, the newly arrived pastoral tribes stopped at the mouths of rivers, near the sea coasts, and in the summer they moved to the feather grass steppes, closer to the forest belt. They constantly carried out predatory raids on Russian settlements.

From the 9th to the 13th centuries, Kievan Rus waged a stubborn struggle against these tribes. Already in the 10th century it was a large state, occupying a vast territory from the Carpathians to the Caucasus and from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, and in its cultural development and military power it was not inferior to Byzantium. This is evidenced by chronicles and archaeological materials found in mounds and ancient settlements The center of the economic and cultural life of Rus' was the city of Kiev, where trade routes “from the Varangians to the Greeks” crossed and from Europe to the east, to Arabia. The Grand Duke of Kiev united almost all the tribes of the Eastern Slavs. Other princes were dependent on him. boyars

The warriors of Kievan Rus more than once made campaigns against Constantinople (Constantinople). Thus, as a result of Oleg’s campaign in 911, an agreement with the Greeks that was beneficial for Rus' was concluded. But the campaigns of the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav, son of Igor, acquired a particularly wide scope. Many hostile tribes experienced the formidable strength of his squad. Svyatoslav dealt a crushing blow to the Khozar kingdom and imposed tribute on the Yasses and Kasogs. He waged a constant struggle with the Pechenegs, who did not know agriculture and were mainly engaged in robbery. The Pecheneg hordes, armed with spears and bows, attacked the enemy with lightning speed and just as quickly disappeared from him. Pecheneg raids brought great harm to Kievan Rus. In 968 they attacked Kyiv. At this time, Svyatoslav was on a campaign with the main troops, so Kyiv was defended by a small detachment led by governor Pretich. It would have been difficult for this detachment to fight against the unequal forces of the enemy, but the Pechenegs suddenly fled upon learning that Svyatoslav and his squad were returning from a campaign.

Even more dangerous enemies of the Russian principalities were the new nomads - the Polovtsians, who appeared in the Don steppes in the middle of the 11th century. They ousted the Torks and Pechenegs from here, occupying the northern shores of the Azov and Black Seas to the Dnieper. After three fierce battles with the Russian princes (1061, 1068, 1093), the Cumans captured the territory of the Don and the Kuban steppes. Azov Rus and the Taman principality with the city of Tmutarakan were cut off from Kievan Rus.

Only in 1095 did Russian troops led by Grand Duke Vladimir Monomakh for the first time defeat the Polovtsians on their own land, and in 1101 they were dealt a new heavy blow on the Don by the combined forces of the Russian princes. In a fierce battle on the Suten River ( Dairy) 20 Polovtsian princes were killed. Among them is Prince Azup, whose name in ancient times the current city of Azov was called.

In subsequent years, Russian squads defeated the Polovtsians more than once. So, in 1111, a large army led by Vladimir Monomakh again moved to the Don. The nomads lost about 10 thousand people in the battle with the Russians. Five years later, Russian troops led by Yaropolk made a campaign in the vicinity of the Don. Three Polovtsian cities were taken: Balin, Chevshlyuev and Sugrov, and many Yasses, allies of the Polovtsians, were captured.

The pages of ancient chronicles tell about the glorious military deeds of Russian soldiers, about their brave leaders. Thus, from the Volyn Chronicle we know how the troops of Vladimir Monomakh forced the Polovtsian Khan Otrok to leave for the Caucasus, who was subsequently invited to return to his homeland, to the Don steppes, by his brother Syrchan. This historical incident was vividly conveyed in the poem “Emshan” by the 19th century poet Maykov. The youth, having become the king of one of the nationalities of the Caucasus, at first flatly refused the invitation of his brother. But when the singer, who arrived as a messenger from Syrchan, showed a bunch of emshan brought from the Don steppes, the Youth was deeply touched and agreed to return.

The gloomy youth took on the appearance and, without looking at the singer, made a sign to take him away, commanding His obedient kunaks. And he took a bunch of steppe grass. Then the singer gave it to the khan; And the khan looks - and he himself is not himself, As if sensing a wound in his heart, He clutches his chest... Everyone looks: He is a formidable khan, what does this mean? He, before whom everything trembles, kisses a bunch of grass and cries! And suddenly, waving his fist, “I’m no longer your king from now on!” - He exclaimed. “Death in your native land is miles better than glory in a foreign land!”

The next morning, Otrok equipped the caravans and set off with his squad to the Don steppe.

This is also described in other Russian chronicles. For example, the Tale of Bygone Years (Laurentian list) reports the defeat of Sharukan and Bonyak, inflicted in 1106 by the troops of Vladimir Monomakh, and that five years later he was defeated and driven to the Caucasus, behind the iron gates (to Abkhazia) and Polovtsian Khan Otrok Sharukanovich.

At the end of the 12th century, the situation of Kievan Rus deteriorated sharply. Every now and then feudal strife arose between the princes, which led to the weakening of the Russian lands. Self-interested feudal lords cared more about their own interests, and not about the fate of the Russian people and the independence of their Motherland.

The Polovtsians were quick to take advantage of this. They intensified their raids on Kievan Rus, exposing it to plunder and devastation. The lands of the outlying principalities suffered especially badly.

Isolated actions of the Russian princes, who did not want to tolerate oppression, usually were not successful and only aggravated the plight of the Russian people.

One of these unsuccessful campaigns was undertaken in 1185 by the Novgorod-Seversk prince Igor Svyatoslavich. Having gathered a small squad and without consulting with other princes, without warning the great Kyiv prince Svyatoslav about such a responsible step, Igor went to the Polovtsian steppes, where in a clash with numerous detachments of the Polovtsians he was defeated.

It is significant that this event, which was vividly reflected in the monuments of ancient Russian literature, and, above all, in the “Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” took place on the Wild Field, in the endless expanses of the southern Russian steppes. Both in ancient chronicles and in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” the words “Don”, “Donets” are mentioned more than once, pictures of Don nature are drawn, the majestic steppe landscape is described.

According to chronicles, Prince Igor set out on a campaign on April 23, 1185. A week later, on May 1, he reached the Donets and, despite a bad omen (a solar eclipse, which was considered a harbinger of misfortune in Rus'), ordered his army to cross to the other side. At Oskol he made a two-day stop, waiting for his brother Vsevolod with his squad, who was going the other way from Kursk, and then headed to the Polovtsian steppes - to the “blue Don”.

Igor hoped that he would be able to take the Polovtsians by surprise. However, the sentinels sent forward soon reported that the Polovtsians knew about the approach of the Russians and were ready to engage in battle. Igor was advised to go back (“as it is not our time,” that is, the time is unfavorable for us), but he was a brave and ambitious prince and rejected this advice. If you do not go against the enemy, then “the shame will be worse than death.”

The next day, the Russians met with the Polovtsian regiments and put the Polovtsians to flight, capturing their vezhi ( Nomadic dwellings on a cart) and the big one is full (of prisoners).

However, the next morning the enemy, having gathered “the entire Polovtsian land”, “ak borove” (like a forest), began to attack Igor’s army. It was obvious that he could not resist in this unequal battle.

But the brave Russian warriors did not lose heart, courage did not leave their brave hearts. A brutal massacre began, which lasted three days and three nights.

Igor’s regiments fought stubbornly and selflessly, and they beat many of the filthy Polovtsians. The prince was wounded in the battle. Igor, but even wounded he continued to fight. His brother Vsevolod fought until his last strength, while the weapon remained in his hands.

Only on the third day the Polovtsians, led by Khan Konchak, managed to break the Russians. Igor, his son Vladimir and brother Vsevolod, as well as the surviving warriors, were captured.

There is an indirect indication that Prince Igor, during his time in captivity, was on the Don, possibly in the Kobyakov settlement (the western part of the present city of Aksai), which for a long time served as the headquarters of the Polovtsian khans. There is interesting information about this in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Talking about the preparations for Igor’s escape from captivity, the author of “The Lay” says:

Igor is sleeping, Igor is watching. Igor measures the field of thought from the great Don to the small Donets

The author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” managed to understand well the contradictions in the socio-political life of Kievan Rus. He considered the main evil in the Russian state to be discord between princes. Having summarized and compared historical facts, the author of the Lay came to a compelling conclusion: a call for unity among the princes and the entire Russian people, in which he saw the only way out to save the culture and independence of Kievan Rus from the predatory invasions of nomads.

Rus' has long been an obstacle on the way of nomads to Western Europe. In feudal Europe at this time, cities arose and the urban population grew. Free peasants turned into serfs, dependent on their lords. The struggle between peasants and feudal lords intensified, and uprisings broke out. The struggle grew between the feudal lords and the townspeople. Robbery and robbery flourished: feudal lords attacked merchants traveling with caravans, robbed them, collected high duties from them, making the normal development of trade impossible.

Even a century before the appearance of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” the political disintegration of feudal states into many possessions began. There were continuous wars between states. The clergy preached renunciation of earthly goods and inspired the downtrodden people that the end of the world would soon come. Bonfires burned in the squares of large and small European cities. The clergy burned “heretics” there. The popes called on kings and knights to crusade against Jerusalem, against Muslims, in the name of saving the Holy Sepulcher. Sultans and shahs called on Muslims to destroy Christians in the name of Allah. Christian and Muslim blood was shed...

And from ancient Rus' in those days the alarming voice of the Russian genius poet was heard:

On Russian soil Rarely do plowmen shout, But often crows play, Dividing corpses among themselves...

Addressing the Galician prince Yaroslav Osmomysl, the author of the Lay calls:

Shoot the filthy Koschey, Mr. Konchak, for the Russian land, for the wounds of Igor, the Brave Svyatoslavich!..

The Russian heroic people took on their shoulders the blows of countless hordes of nomads. What would have happened to Europe if Rus' had not delayed the advance of nomads to the West? It is likely that the development of European culture would have been suspended for a certain period. Western culture was not destroyed. In Rus', many cultural values ​​and written monuments perished.

In the middle of the 13th century, the Dutch monk Rubruquis was sent to Batu's headquarters by the French Saint Louis with the goal of persuading the Tatars to accept the Christian faith. Rubrukvis, driving through the Don steppes, noted in his notes that on the Don, from the mixing of the Alan-Yas with the Russians, a special people was formed: battle-hardened warriors, lost among foreigners alien to them, obtaining everything they needed for themselves through war, hunting and fishing. Unfavorable living conditions did not allow them to build expensive buildings and have crowded cities. To protect them from cold and bad weather, they built dugouts and kitchens from wattle and reeds. But they did not deny their wives and daughters rich, royal attire. Their wives decorated their heads like French women and trimmed the bottom of their dresses with squirrels, otters, and ermines. Men dressed more simply: in summer and winter they wore tall black lambskin hats and caftans. This special people is known in chronicles as Brodniki ( The name comes from the word “wander”, which meant “to be free, independent”).

Another ambassador, John of Plano Carpini, was sent by Pope Innocent IV to Batu in 1246. Having visited the Golden Horde, he spoke in his notes about the numerous peoples who lived on the Don, about the populous city of Ornas, whose population consisted of Christian Alans, Khazars, Rus and Muslim Saracens, who had shops and warehouses of goods in this city. Ornas had a good harbor for ships. The Tatars decided to take Ornas by storm. But this attempt was unsuccessful: the city was surrounded by strong walls, and the inhabitants offered desperate resistance. Then the Tatars, with the help of Italian engineers, dammed the river that flowed through the city and drowned all the inhabitants of Ornas.

Where was this city? In all likelihood, ancient Ornas was located on the site of the city of Cherkassk, now the village of Starocherkasskaya, through which at that time flowed a tributary of the Don River - Protoka. Several centuries later, in the 16th century, free communities of Don Cossacks arose along the banks of the Don, continuing the traditions of the wanderers.

The Don expanses were destined to become the scene of another great battle, which played an extremely important role in the history of our Motherland. In the spring of 1236, the Tatar-Mongol hordes led by Batu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, invaded the Russian land. On their way, the invaders plundered, burned cities and villages, and took many prisoners into captivity.

In the harsh winter of 1237, after a five-day defense, Ryazan fell under the blows of the Tatar hordes. The Tatars brutally dealt with its courageous defenders. They burned the city and killed all the inhabitants. Only smoke, earth and ashes, as the chronicle tells, remained on the site of ancient Ryazan. Following it, almost all the Russian principalities were defeated one after another, which, due to their fragmentation, were unable to resist the countless hordes of the enemy. The Tatar-Mongol yoke was established in Rus'. Countless exactions, taxes and duties, bullying and oppression became a common, everyday occurrence during the period of Tatar rule in Rus'.

But the freedom-loving Russian people could not come to terms with the position of a powerless slave. The Russian people more than once rebelled against the hated Tatar rulers. However, the first attempts to throw off the Tatar yoke were unsuccessful. The Golden Horde, the Tatar state that occupied the lands conquered by Batu, was still very strong, and the scattered, unorganized actions of the Russians were too weak. Many decades passed before Rus', gradually uniting the fragmented lands, was able to accumulate forces to fight the Tatars.

Only when Prince Dmitry Ivanovich became the head of the Moscow principality (1359) were these forces already sufficient to deal a decisive blow to the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

In the struggle for the liberation of the Russian people from the yoke of the Tatar enslavers, Dmitry Ivanovich played an outstanding role. This brave, freedom-loving politician, deeply devoted to the interests of his Motherland, understood well that it was possible to overthrow the centuries-old rule of the Tatars only through the joint actions of all Russian principalities. Therefore, he appealed to all princes, to all Russian people with a call to gather troops and militias and go all together against the enemy.

The Russian people warmly responded to this cry. Under the banner of the Moscow prince, princely detachments and people's militias (“regiments”) marched from all over the Russian land - Murom, Vladimir, Kostroma, Rostov, Yaroslavl and others, which made up the bulk of the Russian army.

Gathering an army of one hundred thousand, Dmitry Ivanovich set out on a campaign against the Golden Horde Khan Mamai. On August 27, he crossed the Oka and headed along the Ryazan land to the Don. On September 5, 1380, advanced cavalry detachments of the Russian army approached the mouth of the Nepryadva River, which flows into the Don. On this day, Dmitry Ivanovich received a message from his sentinels that Mamai was already on the Don.

Countless hordes of Tatars, like a cloud, were ready to fall on the Russian troops. A fierce battle with the enemy lay ahead. But Dmitry Ivanovich did not flinch in the face of mortal danger. Without hesitation, he decided to enter into battle with the Tatars, although there were cowards and people of little faith in his camp who advised the prince not to cross the Don and not to start battles.

Addressing the Russian army, Dmitry Ivanovich said:

“Friends and brothers! Know that I did not bring you here to guard the Don River. I brought the army to deliver the Russian land from captivity and ruin, or to lay down my life for everyone. An honest death is better than a bad life. It would be better not to go against the filthy than to come and stand, waiting for the enemy to attack us. I will not wait for the enemy, I will go to meet him. Now - for the Don! Either we will win there and save everything from destruction, or we will lay down our heads. We have only one way left! Forward, for the Don!”

By the evening of September 7, the Russian regiments crossed the Don and settled down on a small hilly field, completely cut up by ravines and rivers with steep steep banks. In the middle of it stretched a swamp in which many waders lived. This was the famous Kulikovo field, on which Dmitry Ivanovich decided to give battle to Mamai.

The choice was not random. Possessing remarkable abilities as a military leader, Dmitry Ivanovich correctly calculated that the Tatars would not be able to use their usual flanking tactics, since rivers and ravines interfered with this. In such a situation, they could only attack Russian troops from the front, “head-on”, and this gave the latter a great advantage in the upcoming battle.

The day of the battle - September 8 - turned out to be unusual. From early morning, the Kulikovo field was enveloped in a thick, impenetrable fog. Everything was hidden in it: hills, rivers, ravines, forests.

A “advanced regiment” was placed in front, which almost entirely consisted of infantry. Behind him was a “large regiment” under the command of Dmitry Ivanovich himself. On its flanks, the “left-hand regiment” and the “right-hand regiment” took up positions. In the rear, in the forest thickets, the “western (ambush) regiment” took refuge under the command of the experienced governor, boyar Bobrok-Volynets and Prince Serpukhovsky.

As soon as the first rays of the late autumn sun splashed, Mamaev's horde of thousands, like locusts, moved towards the Russians. In front, in several rows, were infantry in dark clothes, in helmets and armor, with spears of different lengths; on the sides moved countless detachments of cavalry, armed with curved sabers, bows and arrows. The ground trembled with a roar under the feet of the countless Tatar army. Clouds of dust raised by the cavalry covered the horizon like a continuous curtain.

Finally, the troops converged. Before the start of the battle, as an old legend tells, a duel between two heroes took place - the Tatar Timur-Murza (Telebey) and the Russian Peresvet. It was a short and brutal battle in which both opponents died. Their collision served as a signal for the start of the battle. The famous Battle of Kulikovo broke out. “It was not hawks and falcons, nor white gyrfalcons, flying quickly over the Don, that struck many herds of geese and swans,” the monument of ancient Russian literature “Zadonshchina” tells about the beginning of the battle. “Then the Russian princes and heroes rode against the great Tatar forces and struck the Tatar armor with their Kharaluzhny spears. Damask swords rattled against the khan’s helmets on the Kulikovo field, on the Nepryadva river” ( ). The Tatars hit the “advanced regiment” like an avalanche. The Russian soldiers fought courageously, but the enemy’s strength was too great. “Spears broke like straw, arrows fell like rain, dust covered the rays of the sun, swords flashed like lightning, and people fell like grass before a scythe. Blood flowed like water and flowed in streams" ( "Military tales of ancient Rus'." M.-L., 1949), says the chronicle. Soon almost the entire regiment was cut to pieces by the Tatars. Intoxicated by their first success, they intensified their attack and crashed into the middle of a large regiment. A terrible battle began. The clang of weapons mingled with the screams and groans of the wounded, the neighing of horses and the cries of the fighting. The battlefield was so crowded that the warriors were fighting chest to chest. Many of them died under the hooves of horses or suffocated.

This dramatic moment was vividly captured by the famous Decembrist poet Ryleev in his thought “Dmitry Donskoy”. The battle was a truly stunning spectacle:

Blood gushed out - and clouds of dust, Rising like a whirlwind to the heavens, Hid the luminary of the day from view, And darkness spread across the fields, Blood gushed out in streams everywhere. The green valley turned purple. There the Russian is struck by enemies, Here the trampled Mongol fell, Here the crack of spears and sounds are heard, There sword is crushed on sword, Severed hands fly, And heads roll from shoulders.

Many Russians died the death of the brave, their ranks were greatly thinned, but the warriors did not falter and did not retreat. Then Mamai threw in fresh forces of cavalry, which rushed around the Russian troops from the left.

With renewed vigor, “gilded armor rings, scarlet shields knock, damask swords rattle, sharp sabers shine near the heads of the brave men. Heroic blood flows over the forged saddles and gilded helmets roll under the horses’ feet” ( "Military Tales of Ancient Rus'").

Finally, the Tatars managed to defeat the “left-hand regiment” and push it back to Nepryadva; it seemed that victory was assured. But suddenly the “western regiment” of Bobrok-Volynets flew out of the ambush. His warriors thirsted for revenge for their dead brothers and with unstoppable force rushed towards the confused Tatars.

The sudden appearance of Russian cavalry inspired the remaining soldiers, and they went on the offensive. Unable to withstand this blow, the Tatars began to retreat in confusion. Soon their retreat turned into a disorderly flight. The Russians drove the enemy far beyond the Kulikovo field. Mamai himself fled in panic from his tent on the Red Hill, from which he watched the progress of the battle.

The Battle of Kulikovo ended in the complete defeat of Mamai. She brought glory to Russian weapons and was an example of the unshakable courage, perseverance and courage of the Russian warrior. For the victory won on the Kulikovo field, on the glorious quiet Don, Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich received the nickname Donskoy. And although only a century later Rus' freed itself from Tatar domination, the Battle of Kulikovo undermined Tatar power. The Russian people are proud of their valiant ancestors. The heroic exploits of Russian brave men have come down to our time in epics, legends, historical songs and fairy tales, in which vivid images of the defenders of the Russian land are created.

Vikings - who are they? Viking lifestyle. Their history and religion. Viking military art. The Vikings are early medieval Scandinavian sailors who made sea voyages from Vinland to Biarmia and North Africa.

Who are the Vikings?

The English term "Viking" comes from the Old Norse word víkingr, which could have several meanings. The most acceptable, apparently, origin is from the word vík - bay, or bay. Therefore, the word víkingr is translated as "man from the fjord (bay)". The term was used to describe the marauders who took refuge in coastal waters long before the Vikings became notorious in the outside world. However, not all Scandinavians were sea robbers, and the terms “Viking” and “Scandinavian” cannot be considered synonymous. The French usually called the Vikings Normans, and the British indiscriminately classified all Scandinavians as Danes. The Slavs, Khazars, Arabs and Greeks who communicated with the Swedish Vikings called them Rus or Varangians.

Wherever the Vikings went - to the British Isles, France, Spain, Italy or North Africa - they mercilessly plundered and captured foreign lands. In some cases, they settled in conquered countries and became their rulers. Danish Vikings conquered England for some time and settled in Scotland and Ireland. Together they conquered a part of France known as Normandy. The Norwegian Vikings and their descendants created colonies on the North Atlantic islands of Iceland and Greenland and founded a settlement on the coast of Newfoundland in North America, which, however, did not last long. Swedish Vikings began to rule in the eastern Baltic. They spread widely throughout Rus' and, going down the rivers to the Black and Caspian Seas, even threatened Constantinople and some regions of Persia. The Vikings were the last Germanic barbarian conquerors and the first European pioneer seafarers.

There are different interpretations of the reasons for the violent outbreak of Viking activity in the 9th century. There is evidence that Scandinavia was overpopulated and many Scandinavians went abroad to seek their fortune. The rich but undefended cities and monasteries of their southern and western neighbors were easy prey. There was little chance of resistance from the scattered kingdoms of the British Isles or from Charlemagne's weakened empire, consumed by dynastic strife. During the Viking Age, national monarchies gradually consolidated in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Ambitious leaders and powerful clans fought for power. Defeated leaders and their supporters, as well as the younger sons of victorious leaders, unabashedly embraced unfettered plunder as a way of life. Energetic young men from influential families usually gained prestige through participation in one or more campaigns. Many Scandinavians engaged in robbery in the summer and then turned into ordinary landowners. However, the Vikings were not only attracted by the lure of prey. The prospect of establishing trade opened the way to wealth and power. In particular, immigrants from Sweden controlled trade routes in Rus'.

Viking lifestyle

In their homeland, the Vikings obtained food using traditional methods: they cultivated the land, hunted and fished, and raised livestock. And abroad they were most often known as conquerors and robbers, although civilized trade was not alien to them.

Viking peasants were independent, unlike serfs in Russian history. They worked alone or with their family, and regardless of the area of ​​\u200b\u200bcultivable land, they maintained their freedom and were the basis of Scandinavian society. Kinship ties were very important to their society, and when making major decisions, the advice of kin was crucial. The clans protected their good name, and crimes against honor and dignity led to brutal fights, leading to bloody feuds between entire clans.

Family and home

Women in the family The Vikings played a serious role. Unlike many other countries, they could already own property and make their own decisions about marriage and divorce. Outside the family, their rights were less than those of men, so their participation in public life was insignificant. insignificant.

Food. In Viking times, most people ate two meals a day. The main products were meat, fish and cereal grains. Meat and fish were usually boiled, less often fried. For storage, these products were dried and salted. The cereals used were rye, oats, barley and several types of wheat. Usually porridge was made from their grains, but sometimes bread was baked. Vegetables and fruits were rarely eaten. Drinks consumed were milk, beer, fermented honey drink, and in the upper classes of society - imported wine.

Cloth. Peasant clothing consisted of a long woolen shirt, short baggy pants, stockings and a rectangular cape. Vikings from the upper classes wore long pants, socks and capes in bright colors. Woolen mittens and hats, as well as fur hats and even felt hats, were in use. Women from high society usually wore long clothes consisting of a bodice and a skirt. Thin chains hung from the buckles on the clothes, to which scissors and a case for needles, a knife, keys and other small items were attached. Married women wore their hair in a bun and wore conical white linen caps. Unmarried girls had their hair tied up with a ribbon.

Housing. Peasant dwellings were usually simple one-room houses, built either from tightly fitted vertical beams, or more often from wickerwork coated with clay. Wealthy people usually lived in a large rectangular house, which housed numerous relatives.
In heavily forested Scandinavia, such houses were built from wood, often in combination with clay, and in Iceland and Greenland, where wood was scarce, local stone was widely used. There they built walls 90 cm thick or more. Roofs were usually covered with peat. The central living room of the house was low and dark, with a long fireplace in the middle of it. There they cooked, ate and slept. Sometimes inside the house, pillars were installed in a row along the walls to support the roof, and the side rooms fenced off in this way were used as bedrooms.

Literature and art

Literature and art. The Vikings valued skill in battle, but no less revered literature, history and art. Viking literature existed in oral form, and only some time after the end of the Viking Age the first written works appeared. The runic alphabet was then used only for inscriptions on tombstones, for magic spells and short messages. But Iceland has preserved rich folklore. It was written down at the end of the Viking Age using the Latin alphabet by scribes who wanted to perpetuate the exploits of their ancestors.

Among the treasures of Icelandic literature are the long prose narratives known as sagas. They are divided into three main types. In the most important, so-called family sagas describe real characters from the Viking Age. Several dozen family sagas have survived, five of them are comparable in volume to large novels. The other two types are historical sagas, telling of the Norse kings and the settlement of Iceland, and late Viking Age fictional adventure sagas, reflecting the influence of the Byzantine Empire and India. Another major prose work to appear in Iceland is the Prose Edda, a collection of myths recorded by Snorri Sturluson, a 13th-century Icelandic historian and politician.

Poetry was held in high esteem by the Vikings. Icelandic hero and adventurer Egil Skallagrimsson was as proud of his title as a poet as he was of his achievements in battle. Improvisational poets (skalds) sang the virtues of jarls (leaders) and princes in complex poetic stanzas. Much simpler than the poetry of the skalds were songs about the gods and heroes of the past, preserved in the collection known as the Elder Edda.

The medieval Viking era dates back to the period of the 8th-11th centuries, when the European seas were plied by brave robbers originally from Scandinavia. Their raids struck terror into the civilized inhabitants of the Old World. The Vikings were not only robbers, but also traders and explorers. They were pagans by religion.

The emergence of the Vikings

In the 8th century, residents of the territory of modern Norway, Sweden and Denmark began to build the fastest ships at that time and go on long journeys on them. They were pushed into these adventures by the harsh nature of their native lands. Agriculture in Scandinavia was poorly developed due to the cold climate. The modest harvest did not allow local residents to sufficiently feed their families. Thanks to the robberies, the Vikings became noticeably richer, which gave them the opportunity not only to buy food, but also to trade with their neighbors

The first attack by sailors on neighboring countries occurred in 789. Then the robbers attacked Dorset in southwest England, killed the than and robbed the city. Thus began the Viking Age. Another important reason for the emergence of mass piracy was the disintegration of the previous system based on community and clan. The nobility, having strengthened their influence, began to create the first prototypes of states on For such jarls, robberies became a source of wealth and influence among their compatriots.

Skilled Sailors

The key reason for the Vikings' conquests and geographical discoveries was their ships, which were much better than any other European ones. Scandinavian warships were called drakkars. Sailors often used them as their own home. Such ships were mobile. They could be dragged to the shore relatively easily. At first the ships were oared, but later they acquired sails.

Drakkars were distinguished by their elegant shape, speed, reliability and lightness. They were designed specifically for shallow rivers. By entering them, the Vikings could go deep into the ravaged country. Such voyages came as a complete surprise to the Europeans. As a rule, longships were built from ash wood. They are an important symbol that early medieval history left behind. The Viking Age was not only a period of conquest, but also a period of trade development. For this purpose, the Scandinavians used special merchant ships - knorrs. They were wider and deeper than longships. Much more goods could be loaded onto such ships.

The Viking Age in Northern Europe was marked by the development of navigation. The Scandinavians did not have any special instruments (for example, a compass), but they made good use of the clues of nature. These sailors knew the habits of birds thoroughly and took them with them on voyages to determine whether there was land nearby (if there was none, the birds returned to the ship). The researchers also navigated by the sun, stars and moon.

Raids on Britain

The first Scandinavian raids on England were fleeting. They plundered defenseless monasteries and promptly returned to the sea. However, gradually the Vikings began to lay claim to the lands of the Anglo-Saxons. There was no single kingdom in Britain at that time. The island was divided among several rulers. In 865, the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok set out for Northumbria, but his ships ran aground and were destroyed. The uninvited guests were surrounded and taken prisoner. King Aella II of Northumbria executed Ragnar by ordering him to be thrown into a pit full of poisonous snakes.

Lodbrok's death did not go unpunished. Two years later, the Great Pagan Army landed on the shores of England. This army was led by numerous sons of Ragnar. The Vikings conquered East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia. The rulers of these kingdoms were executed. The last stronghold of the Anglo-Saxons was South Wessex. Its king, Alfred the Great, realizing that his forces were not enough to fight the invaders, concluded a peace treaty with them, and then, in 886, completely recognized their possessions in Britain.

Conquest of England

It took Alfred and his son Edward the Elder four decades to clear their homeland of foreigners. Mercia and East Anglia were liberated by 924. In remote northern Northumbria, Viking rule continued for another thirty years.

After some lull, the Scandinavians again began to appear frequently off the British coast. The next wave of raids began in 980, and in 1013 Sven Forkbeard completely captured the country and became its king. His son Canute the Great ruled three monarchies at once for three decades: England, Denmark and Norway. After his death, the former dynasty from Wessex regained power, and foreigners left Britain.

In the 11th century, the Scandinavians made several more attempts to conquer the island, but they all failed. The Viking Age, in short, left a noticeable imprint on the culture and government of Anglo-Saxon Britain. On the territory that the Danes owned for some time, the Danelaw was established - a system of law adopted from the Scandinavians. This region was isolated from other English provinces throughout the Middle Ages.

Normans and Franks

The Viking Age is the period of the Norman attacks. It was under this name that the Scandinavians were remembered by their Catholic contemporaries. If the Vikings sailed to the west mainly to plunder England, then in the south the goal of their campaigns was the Frankish Empire. It was created in 800 by Charlemagne. While under him and under his son Louis the Pious, a single strong state was maintained, the country was reliably protected from the pagans.

However, when the empire split into three kingdoms, and they, in turn, began to suffer from the costs of the feudal system, dizzying opportunities opened up for the Vikings. Some Scandinavians plundered the coast every year, while others were hired to serve the Catholic rulers in order to protect Christians for a generous salary. During one of their raids, the Vikings even captured Paris.

In 911, the king of the Franks, Charles the Simple, gave the region to the Vikings. This region became known as Normandy. Its rulers were baptized. This tactic proved effective. More and more Vikings gradually switched to a sedentary lifestyle. But some brave souls continued their campaigns. So, in 1130, the Normans conquered southern Italy and created the Kingdom of Sicily.

Scandinavian discovery of America

Moving further west, the Vikings discovered Ireland. They frequently raided this island and left a significant imprint on the local Celtic culture. For more than two centuries, the Scandinavians ruled Dublin. Around 860, the Vikings discovered Iceland ("Iceland"). They became the first inhabitants of this deserted island. Iceland proved to be a popular location for colonization. Residents of Norway sought there, fleeing the country due to frequent civil wars.

In 900, a Viking ship accidentally lost its way and stumbled upon Greenland. The first colonies appeared there at the end of the 10th century. This discovery inspired other Vikings to continue searching for a route to the west. They rightly hoped that there were new lands far beyond the sea. Around the year 1000, the navigator reached the shores of North America and landed on the Labrador Peninsula. He called this region Vinland. Thus, the Viking Age was marked by the discovery of America five centuries before the expedition of Christopher Columbus.

Rumors about this country were fragmentary and did not leave Scandinavia. In Europe they never learned about the western continent. Viking settlements in Vinland lasted for several decades. Three attempts were made to colonize this land, but they all failed. Indians attacked strangers. Maintaining contact with the colonies was extremely difficult due to the enormous distances. Eventually the Scandinavians left America. Much later, archaeologists found traces of their settlement in Canadian Newfoundland.

Vikings and Rus'

In the second half of the 8th century, Viking detachments began to attack lands inhabited by numerous Finno-Ugric peoples. This is evidenced by archaeological finds discovered in the Russian Staraya Ladoga. If in Europe the Vikings were called Normans, then the Slavs called them Varangians. The Scandinavians controlled several trading ports along the Baltic Sea in Prussia. Here began the profitable amber route, along which amber was transported to the Mediterranean.

How did the Viking Age influence Rus'? In short, thanks to newcomers from Scandinavia, East Slavic statehood was born. According to the official version, the residents of Novgorod, who were often in contact with the Vikings, turned to them for help during internal strife. So the Varangian Rurik was invited to reign. From him came a dynasty, which in the near future united Rus' and began to rule in Kyiv.

Life of the inhabitants of Scandinavia

In their homeland, the Vikings lived in large peasant dwellings. Under the roof of one such building there was room for a family that included three generations at once. Children, parents, and grandparents lived together. This custom was an echo of houses being built from wood and clay. The roofs were turf. In the central large room there was a common fireplace, behind which they not only ate, but also slept.

Even when the Viking Age began, their cities in Scandinavia remained very small, inferior in size even to the settlements of the Slavs. People concentrated mainly around craft and trade centers. Cities were built deep in the fjords. This was done in order to obtain a convenient harbor and, in the event of an attack by an enemy fleet, to know in advance about its approach.

Scandinavian peasants dressed in woolen shirts and short, baggy pants. The Viking Age costume was quite ascetic due to the shortage of raw materials in Scandinavia. Wealthy members of the upper classes could wear colorful clothing that made them stand out from the crowd, showing wealth and status. A woman's costume of the Viking Age necessarily included accessories - metal jewelry, a brooch, pendants and belt buckles. If a girl was married, she put her hair in a bun; unmarried girls tied their hair up with a ribbon.

Viking armor and weapons

In modern popular culture, the image of a Viking with a horned helmet on his head is widespread. In fact, such headdresses were rare and were no longer used for combat, but for rituals. Viking Age clothing included light armor required for all men.

The weapons were much more varied. The northerners often used a spear about one and a half meters long, which could be used to chop and stab the enemy. But the sword remained the most common. These weapons were very light compared to other types that appeared in the subsequent Middle Ages. The Viking Age sword was not necessarily made in Scandinavia itself. Warriors often purchased Frankish weapons, as they were of better quality. The Vikings also had long knives - the Saxons.

The inhabitants of Scandinavia made bows from ash or yew. Braided hair was often used as a bowstring. Axes were common melee weapons. The Vikings preferred a wide, symmetrically diverging blade.

Last Normans

In the first half of the 11th century, the end of the Viking Age came. It was due to several factors. Firstly, in Scandinavia the old clan system completely disintegrated. It was replaced by classic medieval feudalism with overlords and vassals. Half of the inhabitants of Scandinavia have remained in the past and settled in their homeland.

The end of the Viking Age also came due to the spread of Christianity among the northerners. The new faith, unlike the pagan one, opposed bloody campaigns in foreign lands. Gradually, many rituals of sacrifices, etc. were forgotten. The first to be baptized were the nobility, who, with the help of the new faith, were legitimized in the eyes of the rest of the civilized European community. Following the rulers and aristocracy, ordinary residents did the same.

In the changed conditions, the Vikings, who wanted to connect their lives with military affairs, became mercenaries and served with foreign sovereigns. For example, the Byzantine emperors had their own Varangian guards. Residents of the north were valued for their physical strength, unpretentiousness in everyday life and many fighting skills. The last Viking in power in the classical sense of the word was King Harald III of Norway. He traveled to England and attempted to conquer it, but was killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. Then came the end of the Viking Age. William the Conqueror from Normandy (himself also a descendant of Scandinavian sailors) nevertheless conquered England in the same year.