Editing Viking Age (section)

== Northern Europe ==
{{See also|Viking activity in the British Isles|Viking expansion#Britain and Ireland |Invasions of the British Isles#Viking raids and invasions}}

=== England ===
[[File:Viking weight combined only reflection.jpg|thumb|Anglo-Saxon-Viking coin weight, used for trading [[bullion]] and [[hacksilver]]: Material is [[lead (metal)|lead]] and weighs around {{convert|36|g|abbr=on}}. It is embedded with an Anglo-Saxon [[sceat]] (Series K type 32a) dating to 720–750 and minted in Kent. It is edged in a dotted triangle pattern. Origin is the Danelaw region and dates to 870–930.]]

According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicles'', Viking raiders struck England in 793 and raided Lindisfarne, the monastery that held [[Saint Cuthbert]]'s relics, killing the monks and capturing the valuables. The raid marked the beginning of the "Viking Age of Invasion". Great but sporadic violence continued on England's northern and eastern shores, with raids continuing on a small scale across coastal England. While the initial raiding groups were small, a great amount of planning is believed to have been involved. The Vikings raided during the winter of 840–841, rather than the usual summer, having waited on an island off Ireland.{{sfn|Hall|2010|p=13}}

In 850, the Vikings overwintered for the first time in England, on the [[Isle of Thanet|island of Thanet]], [[Kent]]. In 854, a raiding party overwintered a second time, at the [[Isle of Sheppey]] in the Thames estuary. In 864, they reverted to Thanet for their winter encampment.{{sfn|Hall|2010|p=13}}

The following year, the [[Great Heathen Army]], led by brothers [[Ivar the Boneless]], [[Halfdan Ragnarsson|Halfdan]] and [[Ubba]], and also by another Viking [[Guthrum]], arrived in East Anglia. They proceeded to cross England into Northumbria and captured York, establishing a Viking community in [[Jorvik]], where some settled as farmers and craftsmen. Most of the English kingdoms, being in turmoil, could not stand against the Vikings. In 867, Northumbria became the northern kingdom of the coalescing [[Danelaw]], after its conquest by the Ragnarsson brothers, who installed an Englishman, [[Ecgberht I of Northumbria|Ecgberht]], as a puppet king. By 870, the "Great Summer Army" arrived in England, led by a Viking leader called [[Bagsecg]] and his five [[earl]]s. Aided by the Great Heathen Army (which had already overrun much of England from its base in Jorvik), Bagsecg's forces, and Halfdan's forces (through an alliance), the combined Viking forces raided much of England until 871, when they planned an invasion of Wessex. On 8 January 871, Bagsecg was killed at the [[Battle of Ashdown]] along with his earls. As a result, many of the Vikings returned to northern England, where Jorvic had become the centre of the Viking kingdom, but [[Alfred the Great|Alfred of Wessex]] managed to keep them out of his country. Alfred and his successors continued to drive back the Viking frontier and take York. A new wave of Vikings appeared in England in 947, when [[Eric Bloodaxe]] captured York.

In 1003, the Danish King [[Sweyn Forkbeard]] started a series of raids against England to avenge the [[St. Brice's Day massacre]] of England's Danish inhabitants, culminating in a full-scale invasion that led to Sweyn being crowned king of England in 1013.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAnglo-Saxonkings/Sweyn.aspx |publisher=The Official Website Of The British Monarchy |title=Sweyn (r. 1013–1014) |access-date=16 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129012256/http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAnglo-Saxonkings/Sweyn.aspx |archive-date=29 November 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Badsey et al.">Badsey, S. Nicolle, D, Turnbull, S (1999). "The Timechart of Military History". Worth Press Ltd, {{ISBN|1-903025-00-1}}.</ref> Sweyn was also king of Denmark and parts of Norway at this time.<ref name="Lund">Lund, Niels (2001). "The Danish Empire and the End of the Viking Age", pp. 167–181 in ''The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings''. Ed. P.H. Sawyer. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-285434-8}}.</ref> The throne of England passed to [[Edmund Ironside]] of Wessex after Sweyn's death in 1014. Sweyn's son, [[Cnut the Great]], won the throne of England in 1016 through conquest. When Cnut the Great died in 1035 he was a king of Denmark, England, Norway, and parts of Sweden.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAnglo-Saxonkings/CanutetheGreat.aspx |publisher=The Official Website Of The British Monarchy |title=Canute 'The Great' (r. 1016–1035) |access-date=16 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129012257/http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAnglo-Saxonkings/CanutetheGreat.aspx |archive-date=29 November 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Lawson">Lawson, M.K. (2004). "Cnut: England's Viking King 1016–35". The History Press Ltd. {{ISBN|978-0-582-05970-2}}.</ref> [[Harold Harefoot]] became king of England after Cnut's death, and Viking rule of England ceased.{{clarify|date=April 2020}}

The Viking presence declined until 1066, when they lost their final battle with the English at [[Battle of Stamford Bridge|Stamford Bridge]]. The death in the battle of King [[Harald Hardrada]] of Norway ended any hope of reviving Cnut's [[North Sea Empire]], and it is because of this, rather than the Norman conquest, that 1066 is often taken as the end of the Viking Age. Nineteen days later, a large army containing and led by senior Normans, themselves mostly male-line descendants of Norsemen, [[Norman conquest of England|invaded England]] and defeated the weakened English army at the [[Battle of Hastings]]. The army invited others from across Norman gentry and ecclesiastical society to join them. There were several unsuccessful attempts by Scandinavian kings to regain control of England, the last of which took place in 1086.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bagge|first=Sverre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFJNAgAAQBAJ|title=Cross and Scepter: The Rise of the Scandinavian Kingdoms from the Vikings to the Reformation|date=2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-5010-5|page=39|language=en|access-date=25 July 2021|archive-date=23 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423120140/https://books.google.com/books?id=NFJNAgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1152, [[Eystein II of Norway]] led a plundering raid down the east coast of Britain.{{sfn|Forte|Oram|Pedersen|2005|p=216}}

=== Ireland ===
{{main|History of Ireland (800–1169)|Early Scandinavian Dublin|Norse-Gaels}}
[[File:Vikings 841 at Dublin.jpg|thumb|"Irishmen oppose the landing of the Viking fleet", a painting in [[Dublin City Hall]] by James Ward ({{circa|1914}}).]]

In 795, small bands of Vikings began plundering monastic settlements along the coast of [[Gaelic Ireland]]. The [[Annals of Ulster]] state that in 821 the Vikings plundered [[Howth]] and "carried off a great number of women into captivity".<ref name="DolfiniCrellin20182">{{cite book|author1=Andrea Dolfini|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8e1lDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA349|title=Prehistoric Warfare and Violence: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches|author2=Rachel J. Crellin|author3=Christian Horn|author4=Marion Uckelmann|publisher=Springer|year=2018|isbn=978-3-319-78828-9|page=349|access-date=30 April 2020|archive-date=14 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414031027/https://books.google.com/books?id=8e1lDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA349|url-status=live}}</ref> From 840 the Vikings began building fortified encampments, ''[[longphort]]s'', on the coast and overwintering in Ireland. The first were at [[History of Dublin to 795|Dublin]] and [[Linn Duachaill]].<ref>Ó Corráin, Donnchadh (2001), "The Vikings in Ireland", in Larsen, Anne-Christine (ed.), ''The Vikings in Ireland''. The Viking Ship Museum, p. 19</ref> Their attacks became bigger and reached further inland, striking larger monastic settlements such as [[Armagh]], [[Clonmacnoise]], [[Glendalough]], [[Abbey of Kells|Kells]], and [[Kildare]], and also plundering the ancient tombs of [[Brú na Bóinne]].<ref>Ó Cróinín, Dáibhí. ''Early Medieval Ireland 400–1200''. Taylor & Francis, 2016. p. 267</ref> Viking chief [[Thorgest]] is said to have raided the whole midlands of Ireland until he was killed by [[Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid|Máel Sechnaill I]] in 845.

In 853, Viking leader [[Amlaíb Conung|Amlaíb]] (Olaf) became the first [[Kingdom of Dublin|king of Dublin]]. He ruled along with his brothers [[Ímar]] (possibly [[Ivar the Boneless]]) and [[Auisle]].<ref>Ó Corráin, "The Vikings in Ireland", pp. 28–29.</ref> Over the following decades, there was regular warfare between the Vikings and the Irish, and between two groups of Vikings: the [[Dubgaill and Finngaill]] (dark and fair foreigners). The Vikings also briefly allied with various Irish kings against their rivals. In 866, [[Áed Findliath]] burnt all Viking longphorts in the north, and they never managed to establish permanent settlements in that region.<ref>Ó Corráin, "The Vikings in Ireland", p. 20.</ref> The Vikings were driven from Dublin in 902.<ref>{{cite book |last=Downham |first=Clare |year=2007 |title=Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014 |publisher=[[Dunedin Academic Press]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j-sWAQAAIAAJ |isbn=978-1-903765-89-0 |page=26 |access-date=19 May 2020 |archive-date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202171918/https://books.google.com/books?id=j-sWAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

They returned in 914, now led by the [[Uí Ímair]] (House of Ivar).<ref>Ó Corráin, "The Vikings in Ireland", p. 22.</ref> During the next eight years the Vikings won decisive battles against the Irish, [[Battle of Confey|regained control]] of Dublin, and founded settlements at [[Waterford]], [[Wexford]], [[Cork (city)|Cork]], and [[Limerick]], which became Ireland's first large towns. They were important trading hubs, and Viking Dublin was the biggest slave port in western Europe.<ref>Gorski, Richard. ''Roles of the Sea in Medieval England''. Boydell Press, 2012. p. 149</ref>

These Viking territories became part of the patchwork of kingdoms in Ireland. Vikings intermarried with the Irish and adopted elements of Irish culture, becoming the [[Norse-Gaels]]. Some Viking kings of Dublin also ruled the [[kingdom of the Isles]] and [[Scandinavian York|York]]; such as [[Sitric Cáech]], [[Gofraid ua Ímair]], [[Olaf Guthfrithson]], and [[Olaf Cuaran]]. [[Sigtrygg Silkbeard]] was "a patron of the arts, a benefactor of the church, and an economic innovator" who established Ireland's first [[mint (coin)|mint]], in Dublin.<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB |id=25545 |title=Sihtric (Sigtryggr Óláfsson, Sigtryggr Silkiskegg) (died 1042) |first=Benjamin T. |last=Hudson}}</ref>

In {{CE|980}}, [[Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill|Máel Sechnaill Mór]] [[Battle of Tara (Ireland)|defeated]] the Dublin Vikings and forced them into submission.<ref>Downham, ''Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland'', pp. 51–52</ref> Over the following thirty years, [[Brian Boru]] subdued the Viking territories and made himself [[High King of Ireland]]. The Dublin Vikings, together with [[Kingdom of Leinster|Leinster]], twice rebelled against him, but they were defeated in the battles of [[Battle of Glenmama|Glenmama]] ({{CE|999}}) and [[Battle of Clontarf|Clontarf]] ({{CE|1014}}). After the battle of Clontarf, the Dublin Vikings could no longer "single-handedly threaten the power of the most powerful kings of Ireland".<ref>Downham, ''Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland'', p. 61</ref> Brian's rise to power and conflict with the Vikings is chronicled in ''[[Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib]]'' ("The War of the Irish with the Foreigners").

=== Scotland ===
{{Main|Scandinavian Scotland}}
While few records are known, the Vikings are thought to have led their first raids in [[Scotland]] on the holy island of [[Iona]] in 794, the year following the raid on the other holy island of [[Lindisfarne]], Northumbria.

In 839, a large Norse fleet invaded via the [[River Tay]] and [[River Earn]], both of which were highly navigable, and reached into the heart of the [[Picts|Pictish kingdom]] of [[Fortriu]]. They defeated [[Uen of the Picts|Eogán mac Óengusa]], king of the Picts, his brother Bran, and the king of the Scots of [[Dál Riata]], [[Áed mac Boanta]], along with many members of the Pictish aristocracy in battle. The sophisticated kingdom that had been built fell apart, as did the Pictish leadership, which had been stable for more than 100 years since the time of [[Óengus I of the Picts|Óengus mac Fergusa]] (The accession of [[Kenneth I of Scotland|Cináed mac Ailpín]] as king of both Picts and Scots can be attributed to the aftermath of this event).

In 870, the [[Hen Ogledd|Britons of the Old North]] around the [[Firth of Clyde]] came under Viking attack as well. The fortress atop [[Alt Clut]] ("Rock of the Clyde", the [[Brittonic languages|Brythonic]] name for [[Dumbarton Rock]], which had become the [[metonym]] for their kingdom) was besieged by the Viking kings [[Amlaíb]] and [[Ímar]]. After four months, its water supply failed, and the fortress fell. The Vikings are recorded to have transported a vast prey of British, Pictish, and English captives back to Ireland. These prisoners may have included the ruling family of Alt Clut including the king [[Arthgal ap Dyfnwal]], who was slain the following year under uncertain circumstances. The fall of Alt Clut marked a watershed in the history of the realm. Afterwards, the capital of the restructured kingdom was relocated about 12{{nbsp}}miles (20{{nbsp}}km) up the River Clyde to the vicinity of [[Govan]] and [[Partick]] (within present-day [[Glasgow]]), and became known as the [[Kingdom of Strathclyde]], which persisted as a major regional political player for another 150 years.

The land that now comprises most of the [[Scottish Lowlands]] had previously been the northernmost part of the Anglo-Saxon [[kingdom of Northumbria]], which fell apart with its Viking conquest; these lands were never regained by the Anglo-Saxons, or England. The upheaval and pressure of Viking raiding, occupation, conquest and settlement resulted in alliances among the formerly enemy peoples that comprised what would become present-day Scotland. Over the subsequent 300 years, this Viking upheaval and pressure led to the unification of the previously contending Gaelic, Pictish, British, and English kingdoms, first into the [[Kingdom of Alba]], and finally into the greater [[Kingdom of Scotland]].<ref>''The Makers of Scotland: Picts, Romans, Gaels and Vikings'', by Tim Clarkson, Birlinn Ltd, Edinburgh, 2013."</ref> The Viking Age in Scotland came to an end after another 100 years. The last vestiges of Norse power in the Scottish seas and islands were completely relinquished after another 200 years.

==== Earldom of Orkney ====
By the mid-9th century, the Norsemen had settled in Shetland, Orkney (the Nordreys- ''[[Norðreyjar]]''), the Hebrides and Isle of Man, (the Sudreys- ''[[Kingdom of the Isles|Suðreyjar]]''—this survives in the [[Diocese of Sodor and Man]]) and parts of mainland Scotland. The Norse settlers were to some extent integrating with the local [[Gael]]ic population (see [[Norse-Gaels]]) in the Hebrides and Man. These areas were ruled over by local [[Jarl (title)|Jarls]], originally captains of ships or ''[[hersir]]s''. [[Earl of Orkney|The Jarl of Orkney]] and Shetland, however, claimed supremacy.

In 875, King Harald Fairhair led a fleet from Norway to Scotland. In his attempt to unite Norway, he found that many of those opposed to his rise to power had taken refuge in the Isles. From here, they were raiding not only foreign lands but were also attacking Norway itself. After organising a fleet, Harald was able to subdue the rebels, and in doing so brought the independent Jarls under his control, many of the rebels having fled to Iceland. He found himself ruling not only Norway, but also the Isles, Man, and parts of Scotland.

==== Kings of the Isles ====
{{Main|Kingdom of the Isles}}
In 876, the Norse-Gaels of Mann and the Hebrides rebelled against Harald. A fleet was sent against them led by [[Ketil Flatnose]] to regain control. On his success, Ketil was to rule the Sudreys as a vassal of [[Harald Fairhair|King Harald]]. His grandson, [[Thorstein the Red]], and [[Sigurd Eysteinsson|Sigurd the Mighty]], Jarl of Orkney, invaded Scotland and were able to exact tribute from nearly half the kingdom until their deaths in battle. Ketil declared himself King of the Isles. Ketil was eventually outlawed and, fearing the bounty on his head, fled to Iceland.

The Norse-Gaelic Kings of the Isles continued to act semi independently, in 973 forming a defensive pact with the Kings of Scotland and [[Kingdom of Strathclyde|Strathclyde]]. In 1095, the [[King of Mann and the Isles]] [[Godred Crovan]] was killed by [[Magnus Barelegs]], King of Norway. Magnus and King [[Edgar of Scotland]] agreed on a treaty. The islands would be controlled by Norway, but mainland territories would go to Scotland. The King of Norway nominally continued to be king of the Isles and Man. However, in 1156, The kingdom was split into two. The Western Isles and Man continued as to be called the "Kingdom of Man and the Isles", but the [[Inner Hebrides]] came under the influence of [[Somerled]], a [[Scottish Gaelic|Gaelic]] speaker, who was styled 'King of the Hebrides'. His kingdom was to develop latterly into the [[Lord of the Isles|Lordship of the Isles]].

In eastern [[Aberdeenshire]], the Danes invaded at least as far north as the area near [[Cruden Bay]].<ref>Hogan, C. Michael (2008) [http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/11227/catto.html#fieldnotes "Catto Long Barrow fieldnotes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118120409/http://themodernantiquarian.com/site/11227/catto.html#fieldnotes |date=18 January 2009 }}. ''The Modern Antiquarian''</ref>

The Jarls of Orkney continued to rule much of northern Scotland until 1196, when [[Harald Maddadsson]] agreed to pay tribute to [[William the Lion]], King of Scots, for his territories on the [[mainland]].

The end of the Viking Age ''proper'' in Scotland is generally considered to be in 1266. In 1263, King Haakon IV of Norway, in retaliation for a Scots expedition to [[Skye]], arrived on the west coast with a fleet from Norway and Orkney. His fleet linked up with those of [[Magnus Olafsson|King Magnus of Man]] and [[Dubhghall mac Ruaidhri|King Dougal of the Hebrides]]. After peace talks failed, his forces met with the Scots at [[Battle of Largs|Largs]], in Ayrshire. The battle proved indecisive, but it did ensure that the Norse were not able to mount a further attack that year. Haakon died overwintering in Orkney, and by 1266, his son [[Magnus VI of Norway|Magnus the Law-Mender]] ceded the Kingdom of Man and the Isles, with all territories on mainland Scotland to Alexander III, through the [[Treaty of Perth]].

Orkney and Shetland continued to be ruled as autonomous Jarldoms under Norway until 1468, when King [[Christian I]] pledged them as security on the [[dowry]] of his daughter, who was betrothed to [[James III of Scotland]]. Although attempts were made during the 17th and 18th centuries to redeem Shetland, without success,<ref>[http://universitas.uio.no/Arkiv/1996/16okt96/norsk.htm "Norsken som døde"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724185409/http://universitas.uio.no/Arkiv/1996/16okt96/norsk.htm |date=24 July 2011 }}. ''Universitas&nbsp;– Kultur onsdag''. 9 October 1996</ref> and [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] ratifying the pawning in the [[Orkney and Shetland Act 1669]], explicitly exempting them from any "dissolution of His Majesty's lands",<ref>[http://www.udallaw.com/1669%20Act%20of%20Annexation.htm 1669 Act for annexation of Orkney and Shetland to the Crown] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518075141/http://www.udallaw.com/1669%20Act%20of%20Annexation.htm |date=18 May 2011 }}. Shetland & Orkney Udal Law group</ref> they are currently considered as being officially part of the United Kingdom.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20111002065507/http://www.shetlandtourism.com/pages/history_%26_heritage.htm History and Heritage]. Shetland Tourism</ref><ref>[http://www.shetland.gov.uk/ports/ "Shetland Islands Council – Ports and Harbours"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914213156/http://www.shetland.gov.uk/ports/ |date=14 September 2010 }}. ''shetland.gov.uk''.</ref>

=== Wales ===
Incursions in Wales were decisively reversed at the [[Battle of Buttington]] in Powys, in 893, when a combined Welsh and Mercian army under [[Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians]], defeated a Danish band.

Wales was not colonised by the Vikings as heavily as eastern England. The Vikings did, however, settle in the south around [[St. David]]'s, [[Haverfordwest]], and [[Gower Peninsula|Gower]], among other places. Place names such as Skokholm, Skomer, and Swansea remain as evidence of the Norse settlement.<ref>Williams, John Garnons. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060220020051/http://www.gwp.enta.net/walhist.html Wales at the Time of the Treaty of Montgomery in 1267]. Mapping Medieval Wales. gwp.enta.net</ref> The Vikings, however, did not subdue the Welsh mountain kingdoms.

=== Iceland ===
According to the [[Sagas of Icelanders|Icelandic sagas]], Iceland was discovered by [[Naddodd]], a Viking from the Faroe Islands, after which it was settled by mostly Norwegians fleeing the oppressive rule of Harald Fairhair in {{CE|985}}. While harsh, the land allowed for a pastoral farming life familiar to the Norse. According to the saga of [[Erik the Red]], when Erik was exiled from Iceland, he sailed west and pioneered Greenland.

=== Kvenland ===
{{Main|Kvenland}}
Kvenland, known as Cwenland, Kænland, and similar terms in medieval sources, is an ancient name for an area in Scandinavia and [[Fennoscandia]]. A contemporary reference to Kvenland is provided in an [[Old English]] account written in the 9th century. It used the information provided by the Norwegian adventurer and traveller named [[Ohthere of Hålogaland|Ohthere]]. Kvenland, in that or close to that spelling, is also known from [[Nordic countries|Nordic]] sources, primarily Icelandic, but also one that was possibly written in the modern-day area of Norway.

All the remaining Nordic sources discussing Kvenland, using that or close to that spelling, date to the 12th and 13th centuries, but some of them—in part at least—are believed to be rewrites of older texts. Other references and possible references to Kvenland by other names or spellings are discussed in the main article of [[Kvenland]].

=== Estonia ===
[[File:Iru Fort, Estonia, 1924.jpg|thumb|right|The Iru Fort in Northern [[Estonia]]]]

{{Main|Viking Age in Estonia}}

During the Viking Age, Estonia was a [[Baltic Finnic peoples|Finnic]] area divided between two major cultural regions, a coastal and an inland one, corresponding to the historical cultural and linguistic division between [[North Estonian|Northern]] and [[South Estonian|Southern Estonian]].{{sfn|Tvauri|2012|pp=321–322, 325–326}} These two areas were further divided between loosely allied regions.{{sfn|Frucht|2004}} [[Viking Age in Estonia|The Viking Age in Estonia]] is considered to be part of the Iron Age period which started around {{CE|400}} and ended {{circa}} {{CE|1200}}. Some 16th-century Swedish chronicles attribute the [[Pillage of Sigtuna]] in 1187 to Estonian raiders.<<ref name="Tarvel2007"/>

The society, economy, settlement and culture of the territory of what is in the present-day the country of Estonia is studied mainly through archaeological sources. The era is seen to have been a period of rapid change. The Estonian peasant culture came into existence by the end of the Viking Age. The overall understanding of the Viking Age in Estonia is deemed to be fragmentary and superficial, because of the limited amount of surviving source material. The main sources for understanding the period are remains of the farms and fortresses of the era, cemeteries and a large amount of excavated objects.{{sfn|Tvauri|2012}}

The landscape of Ancient Estonia featured numerous hillforts, some later hillforts on [[Saaremaa]] heavily fortified during the Viking Age and on to the 12th century.{{sfn|Mägi|2015|pp=45–46}} There were a number of late prehistoric or medieval harbour sites on the coast of Saaremaa, but none have been found that are large enough to be international trade centres.{{sfn|Mägi|2015|pp=45–46}} The Estonian islands also have a number of graves from the Viking Age, both individual and collective, with weapons and jewellery.{{sfn|Mägi|2015|pp=45–46}} Weapons found in Estonian Viking Age graves are common to types found throughout Northern Europe and Scandinavia.{{sfn|Martens|2004|pp=132–135}}

=== Curonians ===

{{Main|Curonians}}

The Curonians<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.euratlas.net/history/europe/800/index.html |title=Euratlas Periodis Web – Map of Europe in Year 800 |website=Euratlas.net |access-date=24 November 2018 |archive-date=2 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202231438/http://www.euratlas.net/history/europe/800/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> were known as fierce warriors, excellent sailors and pirates. They were involved in several wars and alliances with [[Sweden|Swedish]], [[Denmark|Danish]], and [[Iceland]]ic [[Vikings]].<ref>Matthews, W. K. "Medieval Baltic Tribes". American Slavic and East European Review, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Apr. 1949), pp. 126–136.</ref>

In {{circa|750}}, according to [[Norna-Gests þáttr]] [[saga]] from {{circa|1157}}, [[Sigurd Hring]] ("ring"), a legendary king of Denmark and Sweden, fought against the invading Curonians and [[Kvenland|Kvens]] (Kvænir) in the southern part of what today is Sweden:

:''"Sigurd Ring (Sigurðr) was not there, since he had to defend his land, Sweden (Svíþjóð), since Curonians (Kúrir) and Kvænir were raiding there."''<ref>Norna-Gests þáttr, c. 1157, Níkulás Bergsson, Iceland.</ref>

Curonians are mentioned among other participants of the [[Battle of Brávellir]].

[[Grobin]] (Grobiņa) was the main centre of the Curonians during the [[Vendel Age]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.euratlas.net/history/europe/700/entity_15194.html|title=Euratlas Periodis Web – Map of Grobina in Year 700|website=Euratlas.net|access-date=24 November 2018|archive-date=6 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106133041/http://www.euratlas.net/history/europe/700/entity_15194.html|url-status=live}}</ref> From the 10th to 13th century, [[Palanga]] served as an important economical, political and cultural centre for the Curonians.<ref>Mickevičius, Artūras (2018). ''[https://www.knygos.lt/lt/knygos/vikingai-lietuvos-istorijoje/ Vikingai Lietuvos istorijoje] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230805114415/https://www.knygos.lt/lt/knygos/vikingai-lietuvos-istorijoje/ |date=5 August 2023 }}'' [''Vikings in the History of Lithuania''] (in Lithuanian). Versus. ISBN 978-9955829195.</ref> Chapter 46 of [[Egils Saga]] describes one Viking expedition by the Vikings Thorolf and [[Egill Skallagrímsson]] in Courland. According to some opinions, they took part in attacking Sweden's main city [[Sigtuna]] in 1187.<ref name="Tarvel2007">[[Enn Tarvel]] (2007). [http://haridus.opleht.ee/Arhiiv/7_82007/38-41.pdf ''Sigtuna hukkumine'']. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011191449/http://haridus.opleht.ee/Arhiiv/7_82007/38-41.pdf |date=11 October 2017}} Haridus, 2007 (7–8), p 38–41</ref> Curonians established temporary settlements near [[Riga]] and in overseas regions including eastern [[Sweden]] and the islands of [[Gotland]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nikitenka |first1=Denisas |title=Pilsoto žemės pilys |publisher=Mažosios Lietuvos istorijos muziejus |date=2018 |isbn=978-9986315056 |language=LT}}</ref> and [[Bornholm]].

Scandinavian settlements existed along the southeastern Baltic coast in [[Truso]] and [[Mokhovoye, Kaliningrad Oblast|Kaup]] ([[Prussia (region)|Old Prussia]]), [[Palanga]]<ref>Butrimas, Adomas. [https://etalpykla.lituanistika.lt/object/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2003~1593455293623/J.04~2003~1593455293623.pdf ''Lietuva iki Mindaugo''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806103215/https://etalpykla.lituanistika.lt/object/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2003~1593455293623/J.04~2003~1593455293623.pdf |date=6 August 2023 }} [''Lithuania Before Mindaugas''] (in Lithuanian). 2003, p. 136. [[:lt:Specialus:Knygų šaltiniai/9986571898|ISBN 9986571898]].</ref> ([[Samogitia]], Lithuania) as well as Grobin ([[Courland]], Latvia).