Viking Age – Timeline
The Viking Age roughly spans the period from the late 8th to the late 11th century. The dates given here follow the standard Western European chronology and, as is common in early medieval studies, are in some cases only approximate or derive from written sources recorded centuries later (such as the Icelandic sagas).
Earlier events mostly rely on external sources (e.g. Anglo-Saxon or Frankish chronicles), while later ones also draw on Icelandic sagas and archaeological finds. Where scholarly opinion differs, the dates given should be read as approximations.
Early trading hubs such as Ribe and Hedeby expand rapidly. Scandinavian seafaring and shipbuilding (longships) advance quickly — the technical foundation of the Viking Age takes shape.
Raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne on the English coast — in Western European tradition, this event is conventionally seen as the start of the Viking Age.
First recorded Viking raids on the Frankish coast.
Vikings establish a permanent settlement on the site of present-day Dublin.
First Viking raids along the Iberian coast.
First attack by the Rus (Vikings active in the eastern trade networks) on Constantinople.
The “Great Heathen Army” campaigns across England; large parts of eastern England fall under Danish control (the Danelaw).
Systematic settlement of Iceland begins, traditionally associated with Ingólfur Arnarson as the first settler.
Battle of Edington: Alfred the Great defeats the Danish leader Guthrum, laying the ground for an uneasy peace between Anglo-Saxons and Danes.
Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte: the West Frankish king grants the Viking leader Rollo land at the mouth of the Seine — the beginning of Normandy.
Founding of the Alþingi in Iceland, one of the oldest still-existing assemblies in the world.
Harald Bluetooth is baptised and claims on the Jelling stones to have converted the Danes to Christianity.
Erik the Red settles Greenland after being exiled from Iceland.
According to Icelandic tradition, Leif Erikson is among the first Europeans to reach North America (“Vinland”).
Sweyn Forkbeard and his son Cnut the Great conquer England.
Cnut the Great rules a North Sea empire spanning England, Denmark and Norway.
The Battle of Stamford Bridge (death of Harald Hardrada) and the Battle of Hastings (Norman conquest of England) — traditionally mark the end of the Viking Age in classical historiography.
