Yves Cohat's The Vikings,
Lords of the Seas
(Part I)

By Paul Rice

Cover The Vikings, Lords of the Seas, by Yves Cohat (Harry Abrams, April 1992). 175 page paperback edition.

Chapter I -- The Forerunners of the Vikings

[First some definitions. If you didn't know, "Scandinavia" generally refers to the areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. "The Vikings" generally refers to the people of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, and to a lesser extent Finland and the settlements in Ireland, Greenland, and North America from about 700-1000CE. "Norse" was a common language to Viking inhabited areas.

My knowledge of the Vikings at the time of this writing was limited to the mediocre book Vikings I read this winter (Howard LaFay), a good PBS program from 1997, their partial entry in Columbia's History of the World, a wargame or two, and the usual slew of bad Hollywood movies, among other sources.]

As early as 6000BCE, Scandinavians explored the ocean, sea, and fjords in canoes, some covered with hide. They also spread inland, and domesticated the reindeer. Scandinavians entered the bronze age a little late, and caught up quickly with iron.

Cohat gives 793CE as the date of the first raid. [LaFay used a date in the early 9th century.] Demographics, economics, and climate of Scandinavia in the ninth century resulted in a tremendous population explosion. A logical way to solve it was to ship their young men off to raid and plunder everyone else.

Cohat shows several photos of 3 ships unearthed, some archaeological finds, ancient paintings and illuminations from ancient manuscripts. I'm guessing this book is from the early 1980s.

Chapter II -- Can the Norwegians Conquer the World?

You betcha!

Again if you didn't know -- the Swedes traveled the rivers through (what we now call) Russia to the Caspian and Black Seas (and to Byzantium), the Danes went overland into Germany, and invaded southern England in force, and the Norwegians went to sea, colonizing the Shetlands, Orkneys, Faroes, Iceland, Ireland, Greenland, Newfoundland, and raiding Great Britain.

Author again uses 793 as the start date of the Norwegian raids. The Viking tactic was primarily based on surprise. Their drakkars would appear on the horizon and quickly pull up to shore. Then the raiders would jump to the land and race to wherever the valuables were -- which was usually the church or monastery -- killing anyone who got in the way. They then headed back to the ships, carrying all the gold and silver they could carry, as many women as they could grab, perhaps the odd man or two for slaves, and a few domestic animals. If time permitted, the Vikings would torch a building or two. Vikings were not good neighbors. The general idea was to hit town, grab the gold and women and get out before any kind of army could show up. That they were able to pull this off for 200 years says a lot.

Generally these boys did not fight pitched battles.

In 839 the Norwegians hit Ireland and decided to stay. They conquered Ulster and founded Dublin. In 851 the Danish Vikings settled there. After a while they forgot they were all Vikings, and started fighting each other. The Irish took advantage of the schism, and kicked them out. Then the Norwegians came back with a vengeance. It wasn't until 1000 that Brian Boru was able to kick the Vikings out for good, but of course by that time the blood lines had mixed so much it was like the Vikings are still there. The Vikings made profit in another way -- by taking holy relics and selling them back.

By 843 the Norwegians were raiding France, sailing up the rivers. By 884, Spain. Arab silver in Norway indicates they may have made it to Africa.

Norway settled Iceland. In one of the greatest PR stunts of all time, they labeled the island of lush green lands, volcanoes, and hot vents "Iceland", and the glacier continent "Greenland." The names still survive today. Iceland is still pretty much Nordic, a millenium later. The Althing was founded in 930, and still operates today! Eric the Red, banished for murder, discovered Greenland, and founded the colonies there which lasted, some believe, 500 years until the 15th century, until they disappeared without a trace. After discovery, of the original 25 colonizing ships, only 15 completed the voyage from Iceland, the rest lost at sea.

His son, Leif Erikson, rediscovered America, 500 years before Columbo thought he was standing in India. [The PBS show covered this in good detail. This book states they only stayed for 3 years; I think PBS gave them about 30 - 60 years. PBS claimed they left because the Skraelings were just too combative.]

[I'll point out that whenever the Vikings first met either Greenlanders, Innuits, or Skraelings (an unnamed northeast woodlands tribe (Algonquins?)), at that moment mankind had circled the globe for the first time, not surprisingly near the north pole where the circle is smaller. The Vikings probably unknowingly celebrated this accomplishment by putting metal to the strangers.]

In a future email I will attempt a DBA OOB for Skraelings.

Imports (much from the Swedes) included furs from the New World, "walrus ivory, skins, furs, and wool from Greenland; fish and animal fat from Iceland; tin, wheat, and honey from England; slaves, furs, and wax from Russia; and silks, fruits, spices, wines, and gems from Byzantium."

Chapter III -- The Danes Attack Western Christendom

The Danes flirted with raids on England, northern France, and the Frisians in the late 8th century, and then in 834 several hundred ships sailed up the Elbe and took Hamburg. Rouen, Chartres, and Tours fell next. Charles the Bald, King of France, tried everything to stop them, but eventually had to pay the Danegeld.

In 885CE 30,000 Danish Vikings in 700 ships besieged Paris, which consisted only of the Ile de la Cite, walled in, and two bridges. The author, Yves Cohat, makes a big deal that Paris was defended by only 200 knights (under Count Odo), but clearly 200 men can't hold off 30,000 for a year, and they undoubtedly had several thousand peasants helping out. After the first night, everything wooden in the city was burned down. The Danes could not storm the walls, and elected to siege the city for a year.

In 886 King Charles the Fat arrived. The author gives him great credit for relieving the city and "lifting" the siege, then casually mentioning that he did so not by force of arms, but by paying the Danegeld, and then "allowed" the Vikings to go up river. The Vikings sailed up river and attacked Burgundy.

Rollo settled and founded Normandy, promising his men would become farmers and cease raiding. Rollo converted to Christianity. "All the warriors of the Viking immigrants became Norman. The Scandinavian laws were radically altered. Law and property were no longer protected by the assembly -- the Althing -- but by the hierarchy. Thus were sowed the seeds of the autocratic feudal system, government without the consent of the people." Of course in 1066 the Normans conquered England.

In 835 the Danes attacked England and stayed. The tide of war flowed back and forth many times over the next two centuries, but for the most part the Danelaw was in effect throughout the 10th century in most of England.

In 859-860 a Viking named Hastein took 60 ships into the Med., raided Algeciras, Morocco, the Rhone delta, and Luna (near Genoa). [La Fay mentioned the sacking of Luna.]

Back in England, on 13 Nov 1002, King Ethelred ordered the murder of all Danes on the island. In retaliation, King Sven Forkbeard reconquered the island in 1014. King Canute was next in line, and after his death in 1035, Danish power slipped away. The Vikings lost a pitched battle at Stamford bridge in 1066 to Harold, and then 3 years later their last battle to William at York.

Two pages are devoted to weapons and tactics. Some men had breastplates, some mail, some no armor. Most had large shields of linden wood. Most men had bows of yew, and started combat off with the bow. The two most common weapons for close-in fighting were swords and heavy battle-axes. Lesser used weapons were javelins and daggers. Many warriors drank before battle. No surprises here. Popular colors for clothing were red, violet, green, and black.

"The cavalry was chiefly made up of Magyars, superb horsemen from Hungary. Capable of shooting an arrow at full gallop, they evolved a method of fighting in formation. Their favorite weapons, besides the bow, were the dagger, sword, and lance."

Cohat, like other sources, gives a lot of credit to the Vikings' remarkable ships.

The Vikings preferred to attack on Sundays, saint's days, or during their enemies' religious services, and emphasized the element of surprise and speed.

Chapter IV - The Swedes and the Route to the East

"In the 9th century, the 'Rus' -- a name borrowed from the Finns to designate the Swedes -- imposed themselves on the Slavic tribes. The Russian Primary Chronicle, written by Orthodox monks in the 12th century, states that the Slavs made the following proposal -- which could not be clearer -- in 862: 'Our country is rich and immense, but it is rent by disorder. Come and govern us and reign over us.'" Man! Why can't somebody make *me* that proposal?!?

Cohat flat out states the Rus are Swedes, somewhat disputed by other sources.

The Swedes first established their capital at Novgorod (under Rurik), then at Kiev. The building of Kiev into one of the great commerce cities of eastern Europe was largely a Swedish effort. Many Russian cities, lakes, and rivers are named. It's like looking at a map of any WWII Eastern front game. All this travel and trade was done by boats on rivers, porting where necessary.

In 907 a Rus army under Oleg the Wise reached Constantinople/ Byzantium/ Mikligardr. The book shows a six panel Byzantine artwork. In panel 5, the Byzantines on shore are shown using some kind of blowgun to shoot fire at approaching Viking ships. Sounds like Greek fire to me. The Byzantines paid the Danegeld, and everybody was happy. The treaty the Rus signed with the Byzantines in 911 starts, "We of the Rus: Karli, Ingeld, Farlof, Vermud, Rulov, Gody, Ruald, Karn, Frelav, Aktevu, Truan, Lidul, Fost, Stemid, sent by Oleg, great prince of Rus..." Add in the reference to Mikligardr, and these are some pretty Nordic sounding names. Nowhere does Cohat mention the Varangian Guard.

In 963, Svyatoslav "defeated the Great Khan on the banks of the Volga."

Vladimir was baptized in 988. "Under threat of death by sword, he forced his subjects to undergo mass baptism in the river Dnieper."

In 1040 Ingvar the Great Voyager and 30 ships got as far as Syria. Further east, the Swedes got as far as the Caspian Sea and Baghdad. That was pretty much about it.

[ Review Continued ]

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