The Norse World: Geography, Society, and the Causes of Expansion

The Vikings came from Scandinavia — the lands of present-day Norway, Denmark, and Sweden — and their age of expansion is conventionally bracketed between 793, the year of the raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne, and 1066, the year of the Battle of Stamford Bridge. The word itself, "vikingr" in Old Norse, most likely means "one who goes on expedition," derived from the "vík," or bay, from which raiding parties set out. Scandinavian geography shaped this maritime destiny directly: deep fjords, long coastlines, and scarce arable land pushed communities toward the sea. Each region developed its own outward orientation — Norway toward the North Atlantic and the British Isles, Denmark toward England, Frisia, and France, and Sweden toward the Baltic and the Russian river routes leading to Constantinople and the Islamic world.