Viking settlers in Britain
QCA Unit 6C

What's the big idea?

Britain has been invaded many times. The Vikings were just one of the many ethnic groups who settled in Britain and helped to shape its history. Others were the Celts, the Romans, the Saxons and the Normans.

The Vikings came from Norway, Sweden and Denmark. They were great sailors and they travelled all over Europe. They first came to Britain in search of treasure and they targeted the monasteries, which were rich and unprotected. Later groups settled in the north and east of England, taking over from the Saxons who ruled there before them. The only Saxon kingdom to beat off the Vikings was Wessex, under the leadership of Alfred the Great.