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Essay / Viking Development After the Invasion of York wild. Evidence found at archaeological sites in York, England, challenges stereotypes that have been associated with them for years. The general assumption made about the Vikings has remained the same for most of human history. For a long time, stereotypes about Vikings were true. By 866 BCE, Viking raiders had built a solid reputation through their conquests on the English coast. The Vikings targeted wealthy monasteries for their treasures, took people from villages as slaves, and then returned home to Scandinavia (Ross, 2019). This period of savagery and domination improved in the 9th century with the invasion of York, England. This invasion sparked a change in the Vikings' behavior and attitudes towards their traditions and culture. Some historians believe that York was just another conquest to add to the Vikings' resume, but some archaeological and historical contexts disagree. Researchers have studied and collected data from sites that changed the view of who the Vikings were as a people. The Vikings did not attack York, England, for military gains and blind conquest, but to find a starting point for cultivating culture and establishing a permanent, progressing society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Life of the Vikings before the Capture of YorkTo better understand the Vikings and the drastic change in their way of life, we need to look at what life was like for the Vikings before the capture of York, England. Although the Vikings were known as fearsome warriors, most began by exploring, trading, and living peacefully in different parts of Europe. Most Vikings were skilled fishermen and farmers, self-reliant and able to take advantage of what nature offered them (Ross, 2019). With the increase in human numbers and advances in boat building, many Vikings were able to leave their farms and travel to newer lands further from home. These groups began carrying out small raids in towns near their homes in Scandinavia. With this increase in travel, word of the cities, their growing produce, and profitable religious holdings in neighboring towns reached the Vikings, which made these cities favorable targets for the Vikings (Design, 2019). Getting used to this lifestyle, the Vikings were able to undertake larger scale raids with better trained armies, which led to more success. Their great conquest of cities in England led them to the discovery of York, a place that would become the center of their new civilization.The Vikings after the invasion of YorkOn November 1, 866 BCE, the Vikings invaded York. This date was carefully chosen by the Vikings, as it was All Saints' Day in York. On that day, most of the city's leaders would have been present in the cathedral, which would have made the surprise attack more effective (Design, 2019). This allowed the Vikings to successfully capture York. However, the two main kings of York, Aelle and Osbert were not captured, preventing the initial raid from being fully effective. But after a few attacks against other kingdoms, theVikings returned to York with a vengeance, taking full control and killing the two ancient kings. From this point on, the Vikings' progress began gradually. The Vikings began attempting to settle York over the next few years, taking a less violent approach, attempting to trade and make treaties with surrounding kingdoms as well as farming the lands they had taken control of . For a long time, most kingdoms wanted nothing to do with the Vikings, out of fear of the Vikings seeing treaties as weakness and a sort of invitation to invade their cities. This changed when King Alfred of Wessex agreed to a truce with the current Viking king, Guthrum, which divided England between the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom and the Danelaw (Ross, 2019). The Danelaw was under Viking control and included most of the northern counties of England. This was the first division between the north and south of England. The Vikings, after taking this new control, changed the name of the city to Jorvik. They began to build farms in the countryside and more and more Vikings from other parts of Europe began to settle there. Rulers began to experiment with trade and York eventually became an important market for local products and foreign trade (Design, 2019). They built houses for their inhabitants as well as streets lined with workshops and wells. The Vikings began to develop Anglo-Scandinavian culture in the city of York. When they arrived, they worshiped their own gods, but many Vikings converted to Christianity and began intermarrying with local people (Design, 2019). The Vikings dedicated the following years to pursuing a peaceful community based on agriculture, trade, and providing the best possible quality of life for its residents. Cultural ChangeThe Vikings experienced a significant cultural change during the first years of their settlement. York. Before the Vikings settled Jorvik, towns did not exist. Instead, societies were organized around nomadic kings, who did not use the urban environment to oversee their kingdoms (Trynoski, 2019). Only specific places in towns were important for certain rituals such as the coronation of kings or the knighting of soldiers, but there were no settlements or organized markets. After the settlement of the Vikings, the dwellings were created in the same way, but arranged differently. Good archaeological material has been recovered, demonstrating a great level of similarity between buildings before and after the Viking capture of York. The houses were arranged one against the other. The front of the house was designed to serve as a workshop so the owner could create their product at home. The back of the house was used for eating, sleeping and storing the families who lived there. The backyard was primarily used for waste and human offal (Trynoski, 2019). Development of Government Another way that Viking culture changed was through the development of government. Under Viking rule, the two separate cities, York and Dublin, were part of a single kingdom, but sometimes served as two separate capitals (Trynoski, 2019). York was the site of greater political importance, as it was the official capital of the Viking territory. Evidence suggests that the system of government in both cities was similar in nature to that found in Scandinavia (Trynoski, 2019). One of the differences between the Viking government and the Scandinavian government is the presence of Thingmotes: a mound built as a funerary monument and as a meeting place for discussion.
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