The Vikings from Norway/Denmark also took another route, they started to attack the coast in the neighbourhood of the land of the Friser (That is: the Northern part of the Netherlands. They arrived in great fleets which could contains as many as 200 ships. Behind these crusades stood the Danish king Godfred. He ruled over the Danish Islands and the countrypart skåne in sweden. Godfred founded the city Hedeby which was used as a trading center for his people. He also built a wall over southern Jylland in Denmark, called Danevirke. The work was completed after onehundred years by the king Gorm the old and his wife Tyra which according to the tales had a great beauty and wisedom.
In denmark archaeologist have found four large fortified (?) camps built in the same style as the military bases in Konstantinopel. Here Godfred could train up to 5000 men in each camp and it was here that his ships was fitted.
The danes tried to invade Bretland (the British Isles) and in the end of the 9:th century they succeeded to settle down in NorthUmberland (in the center of England) and in East Anglia norteast of london. Here they tried to live their life as Settlers and they founded several small kingdoms in an area called Danelagen.
The Vikings kept on comming, partly in big fleets which slaid and took everything they wanted from the natives and partly in small disorganized numbers which just was to get some food or slaves. The Englishmen slowly organized themselves and built a row of stronghold in the south of England. in the 11:th century the danes triumphed over the englismen and their country was finally conquered by the danish king Knut the great. The English king Edmund Ironside recognized Knut as the new king in his own country.
Now the danes rules over a vast empire which included england, denmark, large parts of Sweden, all of Norway and some countries called Slavonien and samland. Knut lived his life as an english king should have done, got married in to the english royal family by marriage to Edmund Ironsides Mother (what Edmund Ironside thought about htis isn't told anywhere...). But to be on the safe side he kept lifeguard consiting of a Viking Elite force.
In Ireland the Viking plundered energetically but they also traded with the locals and settled down to do some farming. Vikingarna founded most of the important cities of today (like Dublin, founded by a norwegian named Turgeis in 840, Wexford, Waterford Cork and Limerick). They turned these towns in to real trading and harbour centers. The First church in Dublin was built by the Viking Sigtrygg Silkesskägg at 1038, right on top the street 'High street'.
The Vikings blended in rather fast with the natives and their customs and language soon got mixed with the locals as they took up their religion and got married to local girls.
The danes, strengthened with Swedes, also battled on in France. They fought their way up the rivers of Weser, Rhen, Maas and Seine in to France (or Valland as they called it). In the history books from the french monasteries one can read about their triumphs. They tell about the great forces which besieged Paris at easter 845 commanded by no one less than Ragnar Lodenbrok which according to the tales governed over Sweden, Denmark, Finland parts of England and some assorted countries in the east. He came with 120 ships and 5000 warriors. When they closed in on Paris the French King Karl the Bald fled to the monastary of St Denis where he praid to the saints Dionysos, St Germain and St Germanus. Anyhow nothng helped and 28:th of March the great army of the Viking stood outside the walls of Paris. To convince the people of Paris that they should give their gold to the Viking they killed som of their prisoners before the eyes of the Paris people.
The king could not do anything else than give the Vikings what they wanted and after some trading they left with over 7000 pounds worth of silver (which in those day was an enormous amount of money). This kind of money showed what the city had to offer if they would come back, and they did...
They came every summer afterwards, especially after the wine harvest. The city of Rouen was destroyed six times. Usually they struck on a religious holliday or during the market period (any time rally when there was a lot of people with a lot of goods in the city).
After some years Ragnars son Björn Järnsida took over the enterprise from his father and and cidnapped Karl the Greats grandsons Ludvig and Gocelin and the ransom, which the now more or less broke Karl the Bald, had to pay brought his country to the verge of economic ruin. In the year 885 a large number of Viking beseiged Paris but they didn't give in and after some time the Viking gave up and fled towards Bourgogne.
Ragnar Lodbrok had several sons which all got very famous for their their capacities as warriors and merchants. They had interesting names like: Ivar Benlös, Sigurd Ormöga and in some hstory books: Hastein (in centraleurope: Hastings). According to the tales the two brothers Hastings and Björn Järnsida lead an expedition down the french coast.
They fought in Aquitanien, went up the river Garonne in to the wine district of Bordeaux. They visited St Emilion (which even in those days was famous for it's fine wine). They threatened Toulouse and plundered a bit at the coast of Asturien and continued to Sevilla (up the river Guadalquivir) to threaten the moores led by Abdal Rahman II. He managed to defend himself, this time, more attacks were to follow...
Then, according to the Eddas, the brothers started a mediterranean cruising which has no paralell. They got through Gibraltar (Nörvasund), plundering Algesiras and Murcia on the way. They landed in Mallorca where they took slaves which they sold in North Africa (Blåland, Marocko). They sailed close to the coast of southern france plundering and taking whatever they wanted. Rousillon, Narbonne, Arles and Nimes was visited.
They went up the river Rhone and stayed over the winter on an island there. Thereafter they started a spring campaign with a little trip to Italy (Langbardaland, Lombardiet) where they plundered Pisa and the area of Ligurien. They also (according to normandic authors) invaded the city Luna as they thought it to be Rome. In order to invade the city they used a very sly tactic. They convinced the citizens of Luna that their leader had been killed and that they now wanted to give him a christian burial. To do this they where let in through the town gates... As soon as they had gotten inside they supposedly dead person sprung to life and promptly killed anyone in sight, opened the gates and let the rest of the Vikings in...
On their way home they passed the Island Sikelö (Sicily), Blåland (where they sold everything they robbed from Sikelö and grabbed some slaves which they in turn sold on Ireland).
Historically it has been confirmed that Vikings has been in Spain. The largest recorded attack came the 31:st of July 844 when a larger attack force hit the shores of Asturien. After this it continued (probably it was Hastings and his brother) via Galicien to Lissabon which was plundered. Then the turn came to Sevilla and Cadiz. The arabic Historian Ib Al Qotiya has described when the Madjous (the vikings) came up the river of Guadalquivir. After this first encounter the man in power (not surprisingly) hastily built a city wall in Sevilla and they started to ocnstruct battleships which could meet the enemy out in the open water.
An ambassadour was also sent (a poet and historian with the name Al Ghazal) to the north to meet with this strange people and establish a friendly relationship. The ambassadour wrote about his journey but forgot (!) to tell the name of the country he arrived to. In his books he writes that the kingdom consisted of several Islands far up in he north. There where a lot of fountains and the natives worshipped the fire. There where also many christians there. Probably he had arrived to Iceland.
Unfortunately he got in a lot of trouble when he tried to have an affair with the kings wife and it took him quite some time to recover from this. He stayed for a year and as result the Viking expeditions expired for some time.
Rollo, or Rolf the pirate as he was called in french historybooks was a rather fascinating man. He was an outlaw (even by Viking standards) and had been robbing, slaughtering and plundering all over the french coast for some time. When he got tired of this he sailed up thorugh seine and in to Paris which he besieged. After some time the whole county around Paris hade been so thorougly plundered that the french king, in Sweden called Karl den enfaldige (Karl the stupid), had to negotiate with Rollo.
They met in the little community St Claire at the river Epte between Rouen and Paris. Here they signed a contract which gave Rollo the control over all the land between Epte at Seine to the border of Bretagne, this land is to day called Normandy. The french king had no longer any jurisdiciton over this county (he was not entiteld to get any taxes or enroll men in his army or even appoint a new duke in this county). The treaty was sealed with a marriage between Rollo and the french kings daughter (What she thought about is not told) Gisla. That he was married before this was obviously of no importance.
To be able to get married he had to be baptized. This was done in the Church of St Clair (where the market place in front of the church still is named Place Rollon). The frenchmen formed a group on one side and the Viking on the other. The ceremony was held by Robert of Francien. After the ceremony and the trety had been signed Rollo was meant to kiss the kings foot to show that he accepted the king as his superior. As Rollo according to himself didn't have any superiors he refused to do this. After a short quarrel a representative was sent forward to do it in Rollos place. He, is it told, stepped forward, took the foot in his hand lifted it up kissed it, lifted the king in his feet and throwed him out the window. Needless to say this wasn't very popular among the frenchmen.
The treaty is no longer available but has been reviewed by the author Dudos in his book 'Historia Norrmannorum' which deals with the Normandic dukes history.
Back in Normandy the Nordic King showed what he was worth and surprisingly he turned out to be a very good and rather popular king. He and his people soon settled down in this new country. They got baptized, adopted the christian fate, married local girls and in general blended in with the natives. But the ruling family retained some of the Viking spirit and for several hundred years they where a force to count with. One of his ancestors became Wilhelm the conqueror (his name was Guillaume le Conquerant) which 1066 conquered England and became the new king. Richard Lionheart is one of his ancestors.
Other persons which was related to Rollos family played important roles. Among them where some christian knights which played an important role in the first crusades the years 1095 and 1099. They founded the kingdom Neapel-Sicily and conquered Libanon and created yet another kingdom in Syria. They stayed here until 1402. The same year a normandic knight his own small kingdom at the Canary Islands