The Greenland settlement eventually died out, possibly due to climate change. They also may well have been deliberately sought out, perhaps on the basis of the accounts of sailors who had seen land in the distance. Many of these lands, specifically Greenland and Iceland, may have been originally discovered by sailors blown off course. Viking navigators opened the road to new lands to the north, west and east, resulting in the foundation of independent settlements in the Shetland, Orkney, and Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and L'Anse aux Meadows, a short-lived settlement in Newfoundland, circa 1000 A.D. Geographically, a "Viking Age" may be assigned not only to Scandinavian lands (modern Denmark, Norway and Sweden), but also to territories under North Germanic dominance, mainly the Danelaw, which replaced the powerful English kingdom of Northumbria. Many of the medieval kings of Norway and Denmark were married to English and Scottish royalty and Viking forces were often a factor in dynastic disputes prior to 1066. Likewise, King Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England who was killed during the Norman invasion in 1066, was descended from Danish Vikings. In that respect, descendants of the Vikings continued to have an influence in northern Europe. The Normans, however, were descended from Danish Vikings who were given feudal overlordship of areas in northern France - the Duchy of Normandy - in the 8th century. The period from the earliest recorded raids in the 790s until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 is commonly known as the Viking Age of Scandinavian History. The Gokstad Viking ship on display in Oslo, Norway. These terms, however, were used for the Viking peoples as a whole, and thus never accounted for the class distinction between vikings and other Norsemen nor the variety of the Nordic peoples. These included heathens, northmen, Lochlannachs in the Irish tongue, the people from the north, the Danes, Rus', or simply the foreigners. These names were common mainly in Scandinavia itself, however, and many other terms were generally used in the wider world. This could involve seeking the stewardship of kings, trading in foreign parts and raiding. There some were considered vikings and to be "going on Viking" who sailed out to claim fame and fortune for themselves. Though mostly used as a general term for pirates there are instances of another use in some of the Icelandic sagas. By the end of the Viking period, the term referred to pirates or robbers operating by sea, known as "vikingr" in West Norse, and was used as a term for sea-born warfare and harrying in the West Norse "Viking". "one who came from the fjords", from "vik", meaning a bay, creek, fjord or inlet. The word Viking comes from the Old Norse word "vikingr", lit. Once seen through the classical mindset of the "barbaric North", the historical image of the Vikings, although still under the shadow of traditional views, now shows the Vikings as aspirational, adventurous peoples, with ingenuity in ship and town construction, and a proficiency as seafarers and traders to match. This period of Viking expansion is known as the Viking Age, and forms a major part of Scandinavian history, with a minor, yet significant part in European history. These Norsemen used their famed longships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, and as far west as Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland. The Danes and Northmen were expert ship builders and seafarers, travelling as far as Vinland in North America to the west Persia to the east and Arabia to the south.Viking refers to a member of the Norse ( Scandinavian) peoples, famous as explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates, who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late 8th to the early 11th century. After the King had been executed by King Ælla of Northymbre, the sons of Ragnar, the Ragnarssons that were looked up to as sons of a great warrior and leader, lead the Great Heathen Invasion that conquered Northymbre, East Anglea and most of Mierce, thereby forming the Danelaw (Rule of Danes). Great heroes or legends like Ragnar Lothbrok inspired many to go out on Viking expeditions. This made them hated across the Christian world, which has in turn given us the view of vikings as barbarians. The Norse were mostly pagan in this time, and the rules for Vikings (Old Norse vikingr: some who goes on an expedition, a viking), did not ban one from killing and stealing from the Men of The church. Here there were enough land, and enough plunder for men to get rich fast. Due to the overpopulation of Northvegr and Danmark many Northmen and Danes started moving from their homelands to amongst others the British Isles.
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