Invasions_of_the_9th_and_10th_Centuries

Invasions of 9th and 10th centuries During the 9th, and 10th centuries, there were many invasions imposed on Europe. Many of these invasions were by the Muslims, the Magyars and more importantly the Vikings. Each left an indelible imprint on Europe. Again, all the movements during the ninth and tenth centuries such as raids, trading and settlements left a deep impact on European life. Coming up we will discuss the invasions of these times as well as the impacts they have caused on Europe. To begin, Charlemagne's kingdom was divided into three sections, each assigned to his three surviving grandsons. The three brothers all tried to gain personal power through the Germanic tendency. Even though the kingdom was divided, after being attacked by war, the local economy became even more isolated. The kingdoms had long distance trade which had begun to enrich the Italian cities as well as the Carolingian kings virtually evaporated, and money went out of circulation. The Carolingian empire had hope to recover from mismanagement by the three grandson's, however this was not to happened because the weakened empire would surrender to new invaders from all directions(north,south and east). These invasions were of the Muslims and the Magyars who left a decent imprint on Europe. The most influential invasion was that of the Vikings which i will focus on. The northmen moved to the edges of Europe and their success in the campaigns stemmed largely from their ships and skill as they navigated themselves through their battles. They made their shallow keel, to transport the soldiers into the territories to invade. The long timber that extended the length of the ship and supported the frame. This feature allowed the Vikings to go up rivers during raids and also let them beach the crafts easily and launch them without any difficulty. The west in the world. Chapter 7 The following map shows the impact of these invasions on Europe. From the previous map, we can see that the Vikings came in from various directions which lead to their overall success. The vikings consisted of northmen who travelled east towards Dnieper river to the black sea and Constantinople. The most famous viking, was Harald Sigurdson, who grew so wealthy that he was later named the Great king. He also shipped home a hoard of coins from Norway most probably in the early eleventh-century. This hoard of solid gold coins which were then buried, and or were joined to hooks so the coins could be worn as jewelry instead of circulating as currency, this all shows the wealth that was plundered by the Vikings in their raids. The impacts of these invasions vary. Three of the major impacts that effected Europe was the disruption of the newly established order, learning and the order in the church. Firstly, the invasions from the north, south and east brought violence for over two hundred years. This pressure caused the Viking, Magyar and Muslim conquests to disturb the newly established order. Secondly, the learning suffered because people devoted more of their attention and resources to the wars and invasions. Before his death, Charlemagne had created a great palace school that had drawn even scholars from all over Europe, in which after the invasions ceased functioning. Finally, the third and final major impact was that the order in the church was crumbling. The vikings had almost completely destroyed the Celtic monasteries on the western coast of Britain as well as Ireland. This was all taken in a personal way by the men and women of the church. A specific example, there was a house of women who believed that the Vikings were going to come and rape them, which would then violate their virginity vows. The save themselves from being seen in a bad light by god, they cut off their noses and lips as the Vikings approached their territory, and meeting them with their distorted faces. This goes to show that the word of the Vikings terror had spread, and the women were going into action to protect themselves. Vikings in History In conclusion, the invasions of the ninth and tenth centuries were very influential to Europe. The most influential was those of the Vikings, which caused many changes, such as the disruption of the newly established order, learning in Europe and finally the order in the church. Bibliography: Sherman, Dennis. Salisbury, Joyce. The West in the World. Third Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 2008 Graha,-Campbell,James A. The vikings in England. Academic Article From Academic Search Complete. Retrieved on April 26th, 2010. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail'vid=5&hid=10&sid=56e9a491-dfa9-4e58-95c2-28efc9b0b148@sessionmgr112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=4867972 Logan, Donald F. Vikings in History. New York: Routledge, Chapman, and Hall. 1992.