How the Vikings Saved Civilization

By Daniel B. Karpouzian, Student

An essay that gives examples of how the Vikings saved civilization.

An essay hosted at PhilosophyClassics.com

When writing about the Vikings, first we must define exactly what we are looking at. Here are a few examples of definitions that have been given for this group of people. Dictionary.com points to two somewhat different definitions with some common themes. “One belonging to the pirate crews from among the Northmen, who plundered the coasts of Europe in the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries” and “any of the Scandinavian people who raided the coasts of Europe from the 8th to the 11th centuries” (www.dictionary.com). Although very similar in some respects, these definitions are also significantly different, and also quite lacking in many respects as well. These both imply that the Vikings were Scandinavian pirates, or people from Norway. I plan, in this paper, to show that the Vikings were not only pirates, but misunderstood in the same respect that those called barbarians were misunderstood. What made a barbarian a barbarian is the fact that he didn’t speak Latin. I want to discover what makes a Viking a Viking? What were some of the contributions that this culture has made, both positive and negative?
``The sea king was a man connected with a royal race, either of the small kings of the country, or of the Haarfager family, and who, by right, received the title of king as soon he took the command of men, although only of a single ship's crew, and without having any land or kingdom . . . Vikings were merely pirates, alternately peasants and pirates, deriving the name of viking from the vicks, wicks, or inlets, on the coast in which they harbored with their long ships or rowing galleys.'' –Laing (www.dictionary.com).
If we look at the contributions of the Vikings as a culture, we would see that they are not just the mindless brutes that some would make them out to be. Yes they were brutish, and murderers, but they do have some position in the natural order of things other than that. They were not only a force that produced killers and plunderers, but also artisans and shipwrights. Some people attribute the British for having the best of influence on the world of the ship, but what about the Vikings? It was their ability to sail that made them the fearsome force to be reckoned with that they were. The advances in sailing that they brought (albeit rather forcefully) led to more trade, and the capability to travel more efficiently. Just as some would tell us How the Irish Saved Civilization, I would perhaps be rather risky in suggesting that in their own way, the Vikings inadvertently saved civilization. If you look at maps of some of the Viking invasions, you will see that Viking trading posts were set up along the coast of Ireland, and the mainland was not as touched. Could this be that the Vikings weren’t out for total domination as many people claim?
After the Viking invasions intensified, the Irish people were united to fight them off. They did not succeed in keeping their territory until several years later but they were united. This unity was strengthened under a so called Viking aristocracy and rulership of a man named Turgesius. It was a Viking leader that made significant progress into Ireland, and held it for fifteen years, but he was stopped by a people united under one High King or Aird Righ by the name of Malachy. Besides uniting the Irish people, the Viking invasion had the ability to unite all peoples. “Now came the Emperor Charles, surrounded by soldiers of all nations, even as the sky is adorned with resplendent stars. A great throng, speaking many languages, accompanied him” (A Source Book of Mediaeval History). Ironically enough, these are not the only ways that the Vikings ‘helped’ Europe’s civilization survive. Another way that the Vikings inadvertently helped save civilization was the Viking raider. And it was the Viking raider that paradoxically allowed William to conquer Britain. It all began when Edward the Confessor died, and the Vikings saw a chance to regain a foothold in Britain, and landed an army in Yorkshire in 1066.
Harold marched north to take on the Vikings under Harald of Norway and Tostig (King Harold's brother). He defeated the Norsemen near York, but while celebrating his victory, learnt that William of Normandy had landed in southern England. Within 13 days he had marched his army some 240 miles from Yorkshire to Sussex, where the Normans were camped near Hastings. The ensuing Battle of Hastings was won by the Normans who were fresh, and had better archers and cavalry. Harold died with an arrow through his eye. William was crowned William I in London on Christmas Day 1066
These evens do not justify any of the Vikings actions, but it is showing that they had much to do with Ireland and in fact, all of Europe, being under strong leadership. As in the case of King Arthur (A Celt), it sometimes takes a strong force to unite a people. This does not say that the force is right or wrong, only that it succeeded in uniting a people. The Vikings also had their fair share in harming society and the English language as well. They are responsible for the desecration of several monasteries, and the killing of several monks. These monasteries contained illuminated manuscripts, invaluable, unique pieces of literature because they came in jeweled cases which were seen as a more tangible wealth.
There seemed to be an extended Period of peace between the Viking civilization and monsastic communities that had been in close proximity after awhile. “By 954 the Vikings (or Danes) of Limerick had established a community of their own on the island of Scattery which was able to live in peaceful co-existence with the monastic community” (www.activate.ie). Twenty years after this co-existence began however, it was upset when in 974 Brian, the king-chieftain Magnus of Harold plundered Scattery and captured Imar, one of the Vikings who had settled on there. “A Clonmacnoise chronicler claimed that Brian had violated the holy island by this raid and Brian himself may not have been too fussy over whether it was Viking or monastic plunder that filled his treasure chests” (www.activate.ie). This is when it seems that the Vikings would not just sit back and watch themselves be raided. Ironically enough, they did not want the same thing happening to them that they were doing to others. To counter for this assault, Vikings ceased simply raiding and began invading. Ireland was no exception to these raids.
Just as Arthur had to deal with the Mercenaries that his predecessor hired to protect his lands from the Angles and the Saxons, so did other people. To counter the raids from continental pirates, Vikings, Picts and Scots towns would bring in mercenaries from Europe to defend them from attack. These mercenary soldiers were Angles and Saxons from northern Germany. The deal was that the mercenaries brought their families with them, and got paid with land which they could farm. Eventually the Anglo Saxon mercenaries realized that they were stronger than their employers and appear to have taken over the running of areas themselves.
In conclusion, the Vikings were invaders and encroachers onto the mainland shores of Europe, but all of the killing and destruction they did was not always the worst possible scenario for those involved. The Viking contributions to ship masonry is invaluable, as well as the study of their culture. From Vikings and the Norse (North) people we have such Epic literature as Beowulf, and in the Vikings own way, they saved civilization in many significant ways, just not all of them were as… subtle as they could have been.













Austin, Frederic Ogg, ed., A Source Book of Mediaeval History: Documents Illustrative of
European Life and Institutions from the German Invasions to the Renaissance: New York, 1907. pp. 165-173.
British History. Great Britain. (http://www.great-britain.co.uk/history/ang-sax.htm) 20 Nov.
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Dictionary.com. Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. ( http://www.dictionary.com) 20 Nov. 2002
Viking Invasions. The Clare Library.
(http://www.activate.ie/sites/clarelib/viking_invasions.html) 20 Nov. 2002