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LAST MINUTE DEALS. Travel to Kiev, Kazan, Novgorod, Moscow Russia Brief History of Ancient Russia. From Perun to Vladimir the Red Sun Internet |
Short History of Russia from Perun to Vladimir the Red Sun
Who Were Those Vikings, Anyway?Vikings, boat, attack, Europe, sun, sea, countries, heathens, Islands, church, French, built, Britain, English, ships, shore, England, north east, Normandy, Viking Age, Swedish History, water, success, village, warriors, Russia, kingdoms, heathen race, terror, Lindesfarne. A part of Swedish History: The Viking Age.Perhaps the best known period of Swedish history (internationally), is the time of the Vikings (no, not the football team in America). The stereotype Viking is a tall blond figure possesed with a raging fury which he releases upon other countries.. Although this period was short compared to the rest of the long history of Sweden, it is one of the most widely known. The 8th of June was a beautiful summer day on the holy Island of Lindisfarne, situated on the Northumberland coast in the north east of England. It had a monastery which was founded in the 6th century and was famous for the fact that some of the finest literature of its time came from here. Some of the books written there are still intact and readable. The monks, who didn't suspect anything unusual, went down to the shore to greet the strangers who had arrived. This is what an author said about 100 years later: 'The same year the heathens arrived from the north to Brittany with a fleet of ships. They were like stinging wasps, and they spread in all directions like horrible wolves, wrecking, robbing, shattering and killing not only animals but also priests, monks and nuns. They came to the church of Lindesfarne, slayed everything alive, dug up the altars and took all the treasures of the holy church'. Numerous smaller attacks had been made earlier. However, they tended to be rather sporadic. The attack came as a shock to the rulers of Brittany and the rumours about the fearless Nordic men spread over Europe. The French king Karl the Great had an English adviser by the name of Alcuin. As soon as he heard of the attack on Lindesfarne, he wrote: 'In nearly 350 years we and our forefathers have been living in this the best of countries and never before has such terror struck Britain as the one we now have to suffer from this heathen race. Nor was it thought to be possible that such an attack could be carried out from the sea. Look at S:t Cuthbert's church sprinkled with the blood of the holy priests, deprived of it's decorations, a room more venerable than any in Britain given as spoils to this Heathen race'. The next year the Vikings returned and plundered the convent in Jarrow, just a few miles from Lindisfarne. This was the real start of the Viking Age. The Vikings were to be the first Europeans who passed the winter in Labrador and New foundland. They populated Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Shetland Islands, Orkney, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. They founded states in Ireland and in Britain. They conquered Normandy in France and founded a dynasty which lived and ruled far into the Middle Ages. They even founded the first colony in America long before anyone else in Europe even thought that there existed land that far westwards. Vikings also founded kingdoms in Russia and built trade stations along the rivers all the way down to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. They went to Constantinople and Bahgdad, Gurgan and Chorezm. They even came into contact with Byzantium and they formed a feared elite regiment for the East Roman Emperor, a guard which existed for some hundred years. They conquered London, besieged Lisbon, burnt Santiago, assaulted Seville, attacked Mallorca, and sold European slaves in North Africa. They terrorized Paris (on numerous occasions) and burnt Hamburg and many other German cities. They even went to Jerusalem and possibly also to Alexandria. During a quarter of a century, from 8th June 793 until 15th October 1066, these men would come in waves, often young and seeking a fight, and extremely skilled as sailors and warriors. Over 900 of the most common English words come from the Vikings (sky, skin, scrape, skirt, husband (husbonde) and window (vindue) are some examples). There are over 600 village names in England which can be directly related to the Vikings (Grimsby, Thoresby, Brimtoft, Langtoft and so on). In the North East of England the Nordic languages were spoken until as late as the 12th century, on the Isle Of Man until the middle of the 15th century. In Normandy there are still village names which have their originn in the Nordic countries like: Dalbec, Runitot, Bourguebu (Borgeby) and sex la londe (av lund, offerlund). In Russia, which was founded by the people from Rus (the Swedish Roslagen County), millions of people still hold the name Oleg, Olga and Igor - from the names of the Viking gods Helge, Helga and Ingvar. Even today some French schoolbooks explain the Viking temperament in terms of the climate in which they lived. Since they came from such barbaric, cold and boring (!) countries, they were forced to break the melancholy by a bit of good old fashioned slaughtering of innocent people (and getting some sun into the bargain!). At the beginning of the Viking era there were no united kingdoms in Scandinavia, and the people who went out on crusades were a minority. One of the main reasons for their success is the fact that Europe at the time had a hard time getting united. The Vikings, who from birth were taught how to fight well (and encouraged by their religion to do it) and how to manouvre a boat (which by the way was by far the best ever built in Europe by that time, possibly even the best in the world), were given rather easy targets. When they started to take horses on board the boats, the Vikings were more or less invincible when attacking a town, especially as the attacks came very suddenly and often from the open sea by boats which could travel at a good 15 knots all the way in to the shore. They didn't need deep water (normally a Viking boat could be used as a landing vehicle) and they could still take a heavy load.
Sacred Sign of Perun Slavic Gods Glossary - Old Slavic Gods Reference Short History of Russia from Perun to Vladimir the Red Sun ADVENTURE TRAVEL to Russia. Flights to Kazan, Samara, Novgorod
Is Ruegen Island same as Buyan Island? Slavic Gods Temple Prince Vladimir the Red Sun Accepts Jesus as his Saviour Slavic Gods - Slavic Domovoi Spirit of Home The Founding of the City of Kiev Religion of Russia Before Christianity. Major Concepts of Slavic Religion Prince Oleg Attacks the Greeks Prince Yaroslav Wrestles a Bear and Wins Respect of Finn Tribesmen |
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