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Reasons for Viking Invasions

History: KS3, topic 2.1.2

Reasons for Viking Invasions

The Vikings saw divided England as an easy target, and wanted to plunder the gold and valuables they could find there.

Easy target

Easy target

  • England, being an island, had a huge coastline which was wide open to attack from sea, making it an easy target for the Vikings and their longships.
  • England was divided into seven kingdoms which were often fighting one another.
  • If one kingdom in England put up a strong enough fight against the Vikings, the Vikings would just turn their attacks on another kingdom.
Fall of the kingdoms

Fall of the kingdoms

  • This way, the Vikings were able to take over most of England kingdom by kingdom:
    • Northumbria fell to the Vikings in 867.
    • East Anglia fell in 869.
    • Mercia fell in 874.
Gold and plunder

Gold and plunder

  • England was one of the most wealthy countries in Europe at the time.
  • It was home to many monasteries (religious houses where monks live) and these monasteries were full of gold, valuables and precious artefacts.
'Danegeld'

'Danegeld'

  • These monasteries were a key target for the Vikings as they searched for plunder.
  • Once English kingdoms began to fall to the Vikings, parts of the country decided to pay the Vikings a fee called ‘danegeld’ to leave them be.
  • This worked for a while, until the Vikings decided to conquer anyway.
The Great Heathen Army

The Great Heathen Army

  • 865 was the first serious attack by the Viking army, known as the Great Heathen Army.
  • The Great Heathen Army was different to previous Viking raids since it attacked with the intention of settling, not just raiding and plundering.
  • The Great Heathen Army attacked York, the capital of Northumbria.
York

York

  • They then took York for their capital and used it as a base from which to conquer the rest of England.
  • Between 865 and 874, the Great Heathen Army conquered huge swathes of England, and people from Denmark and Norway settled in these English lands.

Test yourself on Reasons for Viking Invasions

  • Viking Victories

  • Why was the attack by the Great Heathen Army in 865 different from previous attacks?

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