Aired: 4/12/2020
Most people regard the Vikings as violent robbers, but they were much more than that. Get an insight into the changes in their environment and society that forced them to leave Scandinavia.
In the French Empire, the Vikings come face to face with new defenses and Charlemagne refuses to hand over Christian land to pagans and pirates. The defense continues but then changes.
In the second half of the 900s, the Vikings return to France, but this time they choose unification over robbery. With a political connection, this paves the way for the Duchy of Normandy.
The Vikings have turned from monastic robbery, to a power struggle for the crown. The battle of Hastings 1066 marks the end of the Viking Age, but with the victorious Vilhjálmur, a new era begins.
