tailieunhanh - The A to Z of the Vikings 4

The A to Z of the Vikings 4. This book provides a comprehensive work of reference for people interested in the Vikings, including entries on the main historical figures involved in this dramatic period, important battles and treaties, significant archaeological finds, and key works and sources of information on the period. It also summarizes the impact the Vikings had on the areas where they traveled and settled. There is a chronological table, detailed and annotated bibliographies for different themes and geographical locations, and an introduction discussing the major events and developments of the Viking age | 8 INTRODUCTION brief period to the Norwegian king Magnus the Good. After Magnus s death in 1047 Cnut s family in the form of his nephew Svein Estrithsson regained the Danish throne. While Svein harbored plans to win back England for the Danes he had enough trouble at home for much of his reign. For example in 1050 and 1066 the lucrative trading place at Hedeby was attacked firstly by Harald Hard-Ruler of Norway and then by Slavs. Svein was succeeded in turn by his five sons one of whom also called Knut was declared a saint after his murder in Odense at the shrine of St. Albans. His assassination takes us more or less to the end of the Viking Age to 1086. With him also died the last hopes of the Danish kings for regaining England. Norway North Way Norway was more remote from the continent than Denmark although it had connections in the west with the British Isles and it was also harder to unite politically because of its geography huge distances isolated valleys and mountainous terrain. Thus at the beginning of the Viking Age there was again in contrast to Denmark no evidence of any central political power in Norway. The country appears to have been divided up into small territories ruled by local chieftains which were separated by large tracts of unoccupied mountainous land. However we learn about the emergence of a more powerful king in southern Norway in the 880s. He was called Harald Fine-Hair. Harald was king of Vestfold a district that lies to the west of present-day Oslo. Around the year 900 he is said to have fought and won a battle at Hafrsfjord near modern Stavanger on the southeastern coast of Norway. Here Harald defeated an alliance of petty chieftains and he promptly declared himself king of Norway. In reality his kingdom probably only consisted of southern Norway and there remained considerable opposition to his rule. In particular the Earls of Lade who controlled the district of Trpndelag around modern Trondheim resisted all attempts to be .