Season 2· 793 AD - 1066 AD

Viking SagasThe story of the Vikings, from the first raid to the last king

Dragon ships on the horizon, gods in Valhalla and traders from Greenland to Constantinople: experience the Viking Age as it really was. The people, places and sagas that shaped the North.

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Chapter 01

Sea, storm and saga

The horizon burns as dragon heads pierce through the fog.

We throw you right into the expansion: From the bloody beaches of Northumbria to the magnificent palaces of the East. Adventure here means: Win everything or lose everything.

Chapter 02

The many faces of the Vikings

Vikings leap from their longships onto a dark beach and charge toward the burning monastery of Lindisfarne

The raids

On 8 June 793, Vikings raided the monastery of Lindisfarne, marking the start of the Viking Age. Soon their dragon ships were feared on every coast, and in 865 the Great Heathen Army landed in England.

A Viking longship with a striped sail glides between icebergs beneath the northern lights on the voyage west

Across the sea to the West

The Vikings settled Iceland, Erik the Red founded settlements in Greenland, and his son Leif Erikson reached North America around the year 1000, some 500 years before Columbus.

A Varangian Guard warrior raises his axe with a roar in front of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople

East to Constantinople

Along the rivers of Eastern Europe, Swedish Vikings travelled as far as Byzantium and the Caspian Sea. As Varangians they founded the Rus, and in Constantinople they served in the emperor's bodyguard.

Vikings holding torches stand on the shore of a fjord, watching a burning longship drift away in a funeral at dusk

Fire for the journey to Valhalla

Odin, Thor and Freya shaped the Vikings' world. Important people were buried with their ship, sometimes also burned, so they would travel well equipped into the afterlife. From the 10th century, Christianity gradually took hold.

A lone Viking with an axe holds a wooden bridge at Stamford Bridge against charging Anglo-Saxon warriors

Kings in the fight for England

Alfred the Great stood against the Great Army, and Cnut the Great later ruled England, Denmark and Norway. In 1066 Harald Hardrada fell at Stamford Bridge, and with him the Viking Age came to an end.

A Viking settlement of turf-roofed longhouses lies on a fjord at sunset, with boats moored along the shore

Life in the North

Most Vikings were farmers, fishermen, traders and craftsmen. They lived in longhouses along fjords and coasts, often under one roof with their animals, and made important decisions at the Thing. Iceland's Althing, founded in 930, is one of the oldest parliaments in the world.

Chapter 03

These and many more sagas await you

A fleet of Viking longships with striped sails glides between steep cliffs out of a fjord toward the open sea — A fleet sets out from the fjord

A roaring Viking with an axe leads his men through a burning town as they carry off chests full of gold — Vikings plunder a burning town

Viking longships sail up a river between autumn vineyards and Roman ruins toward a hilltop town in golden light — Longships push deep into foreign lands

Ingvar the Far-Travelled's men haul their longships on wooden rollers across the barren coast of the Caspian Sea — Ingvar the Far-Travelled – a journey of no return

Hedeby with its longhouses, harbor and semicircular rampart lies in the morning mist on an inlet of the Schlei — Hedeby, the Viking trading town

Men and women gather in a circle of standing stones in a sunlit forest, listening to speakers at the Thing assembly — The Thing – the assembly of the free

Vikings feast around a fire and laden tables in a longhouse hall as a man raises his drinking horn in a toast — A feast in the great hall

A Viking longship battles through stormy waves past a towering sea stack off the coast of Orkney at sunset — A longship off the cliffs of Orkney

People in furs warm themselves by a fire outside a turf house beneath the northern lights as sled dogs rest nearby — A winter night in a settlement in the far north

A Valkyrie in a winged helmet kneels before a dying warrior at a rune stone and offers him a drinking horn — A Valkyrie comes to take the warrior to Valhalla

A wooden stave church with carved dragon heads on its gables stands in a misty forest in the morning light — A stave church in the misty forest

Torches and fire baskets light the path to a chieftain's great thatched longhouse as night falls over the village — The chieftain's longhouse at nightfall

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Chapter 04

What's inside the season

10h+of playtime

203lessonseach with its own collectible card

The whole picture · 203 entries across five categories

35 people48 places50 events35 ideas35 objects

Chapter 05

Who were the Vikings? What you need to know

The Vikings came from what is now Denmark, Norway and Sweden. As seafarers, warriors, traders and settlers, they shaped Europe from the late 8th to the 11th century.

When was the Viking Age?

It is usually dated from the raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne in 793. It is generally said to end in 1066, when the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada fell at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

Who were the Vikings?

"Viking" was originally not the name of a whole people but of men who went off on expeditions. Most people in the North lived as farmers, fishermen, traders and craftsmen.

Did Vikings wear horned helmets?

No. Horned and winged helmets were invented in the 19th century and became famous through costumes for Wagner's operas. Real Viking helmets were simple iron or leather caps.

Where did the Vikings travel?

In their longships they reached England, Ireland and France, and followed the rivers of Eastern Europe as far as Constantinople and the Caspian Sea. In the West they settled Iceland and Greenland, and around the year 1000 Leif Erikson reached North America.

What did the Vikings believe?

The Vikings worshipped gods such as Odin, Thor and Freya. Fallen warriors hoped to reach Valhalla, Odin's hall. From the 10th century, Christianity gradually spread across the North.

How did the Vikings live?

Families lived in longhouses, often under one roof with their animals. Important decisions were made at the Thing, the assembly of free men. Trading towns such as Hedeby linked the North with the rest of Europe.

In HistoryBytes, you experience the world of the Vikings in short episodes: the people, places, events, ideas and objects of the era. Piece by piece, you build the whole picture, from Lindisfarne to Stamford Bridge.