The Barbarian in Us All

    In the recent centuries of history, Western Europe has been the strong point of the world - invading, conquering, and building, but as Charlemagne, the father of modern Europe, looked out over the North Sea he saw a Viking knarr and said that he feared for his kingdom's future once he was gone. Shortly after Charlemagne's death until well into the eleventh and twelfth centuries, many people near sea and navigable rivers were subjected to Viking raids. These raids had a strong influence on continental Europe and infected the roots of the formation of modern nation states.
     Rollo invaded Paris and raided northern France until he was defeated. He submitted to King Charles and became recognized as a noblemen in exchange for protecting the Seine River. His great-great-great grandson, William the Conquorer, invaded England in 1066 and began the lineage of English monarchs that continue to this day. Nearly a thousand years later this is the last successful invasion of England.
     Rurik was "invited" in by local tribes to rule Kievan Rus' in the 860s. The Russian Tsardom evolved from these early stages but shifted after the Mongol invasions in the 1240s. Russia is an odd mixture of the West and the East, but their passionate convictions, endurance, and energetic enthusiasm credit the strength of the Vikings.
     Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish tribes raided throughout the European world, the Black and Caspian Seas, northern Africa, Iceland, Greenland, and the coast of North America. Even the Byzantine Empire contended with Viking raids. In all the Viking urge to conquer included four continents: North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia while rendering the Holy Roman and Byzantine Empires mostly incompetent.

     The main reason for the end of their raids was assimilation. As Vikings raided, they also settled and assimilated with local cultures similar to how Rome adopted many of the customs of Greece. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Europeans romanticized the Vikings which soothed away the historic fears the name had invoked for centuries. However, Vikings are still revered as fearsome warriors because of their determination to succeed regardless of injury.
     While the nations the Vikings raided eventually became mighty, the influence of the Northmen has lived on over the centuries because they remained strong, true, and worthy adversaries even as they assimilated. Perseverance, courage, and motivation push men to amazing accomplishments. The more difficult something is the more incredible the accomplishment.    

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Agatha Tyche