What If there had been an earlier ,Viking Age' ? Viking was a Verb and ment , raiding'. I'm not particular familiar with Scandinavian peoples during ancient times. Ship technology ist what Made the Viking raiders. Could the technology and mindset had been evented earlier ? Also the conditions that led some Scandianvian people to join raiding parties. Which people could donthis ? Angles, Saxons, Jutes also had been prominent North Sea Germanians famous for piracy. Goths originated from Scandianvia. What could have been the targets of 6th to 8th Century Scandianvia North Sea Raiders, traders and explorers ?
Earlier Scandinavian sea raiders
- Thread starter Byzantion
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Answer: Yes. The archeology shows boats from around 780 without sails but which was complete otherwise. First raids were in the 790's. This seems to indicate the raiding took off as soon they had the tech was ready. So as soon as they had sails they'd be raiding.
Thirty years could make a big difference long term, with Saxony becoming a 4th Scandanavian country rather than part of Germany as a Frankish kingdom being raided from Norse in the North and Arabs in the South might not be able to go on the offensive as effectively.
Thirty years could make a big difference long term, with Saxony becoming a 4th Scandanavian country rather than part of Germany as a Frankish kingdom being raided from Norse in the North and Arabs in the South might not be able to go on the offensive as effectively.
It is unfortunate that the ship building did not develop earlier for the Nordic peoples, they would have fit quite well in the northern economic zone of the Scythians, wherein silver and gold trading was common. 'Vikings' could have contributed immensely to this realm with ship travel along the Volga, enriching the Scythian realms and distributing amber, warriors and slaves in exchange for gold and perhaps horses. This would ultimately add greater complexity in the region and assist the Scythians in rebuffing the Pontic kingdom and likewise in forming more powerful realms. I also suppose that these Vikings could create small expeditionary armies and with enough money, hire enough mercenary to conquer lands in the south or migrate into Central Asia alongside other Scythians.
One of the main reasons of the viking western raiding was the destruction of the pagan Frisian Kingdom by Charles Martell 734 - the Frisians had up to that point dominated the trade in the North Sea, and their sudden absence created a vacuum which the Scandinavians eagerly filled. Ship technology expanded partially because longer trips became necessary for trade (and eventually raiding) when the Frisian middlemen disappeared.
So, if you have the Franks destroy the Frisians earlier, you may very well have earlier viking raids too.
So, if you have the Franks destroy the Frisians earlier, you may very well have earlier viking raids too.
The Frisians had been Germanic Pagans and raiders themselves. They to had similiarities to Vikings. Later the Vikings destroyed several times the Frisians economic center Dorestedt ad rival- to Haithabu ad they did with Slavic city Rerik at the Baltic Coast.