How Sex and Christianity Ended the Vikings

The Viking Age saw the pillaging of the British Isles, France, and the Mediterranean until inequality, Christianity, and sex ended the era.

The period when Scandinavians sailed their boats and raided the lands surrounding them for riches and fame lasted from 790 to 1066 AD. The Vikings were a select few people who hailed from the modern-day nations of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark and chose to sail out to loot and conquer, not to be confused with the rest of the people who resided in these places and carried out normal lives farming and selling goods. The Viking warriors were troublesome for the Europeans at their peak, ransoming cities like Paris and forcing the hands of kings throughout the continent.

The Viking Age

The Vikings got their official start in the year 790 when a group of Norsemen traveled by boat to the land of Wessex in southern England. Upon landing on the shores of the unfamiliar land, they killed the first messenger that came to greet them, showing no attempt to feign their purpose for their voyage: to kill and ransack the area and bring home the rewards.

The first recorded raid in history was on June 8, 793 when another team of warriors pillaged St. Cuthbert Church at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, England. What made this raid stand out in history and to the local people at the time was that churches were considered untouchable due to the consequence of being condemned to hell for vandalizing God’s territory on Earth.

Meanwhile, these rugged-looking men and women from distant lands showed little interest in adopting Christianity and did not hesitate to raid a sacred place of worship, leaving devastation in their wake. This attitude caused terror to spread through England, and the raid’s survivors marked the event in what is known as the Doomsday Stone.

From there, Viking raids regularly occurred in various parts of England and Frankia, modern-day France, and Germany. Many rulers and noblemen had no idea how to respond to the new threat and took drastic measures to try to subdue the Vikings, but most failed.

One such failure ended up starting one of the catalysts of the Viking’s end. When King Charlamagne saw the raids, he decided that converting the Norsemen to Christianity would be the best solution, but this first attempt at spreading the Gospel went horribly. Some missionaries were killed, and only a few Scandinavians converted to Christianity. However, these few conversions would lay the seeds of the religion in the culture, which would have future implications.

The end of the Vikings due to inequality, sex and Christianity

As the centuries waged on, the Vikings saw more and more success. They pillaged several major cities throughout England, France, and Germany. Several settlements in the conquered lands were established and at one point King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark became King of England, only for five weeks. Campaigns by the legendary Ragnar Lodbrok saw several towns in England conquered and Paris ransomed for more than 5,600 pounds of gold and silver.

However, as the 10th and 11th centuries came around, the Viking way of life slowly began fading away. Scandinavian society was changing as a result of both internal and external influences.

Power began to become consolidated in the form of Kings. Not that there wasn’t any power hierarchy before as there were Earls for every town and rulers of smaller regions, but larger nations began to form under rich and powerful monarchs.

This meant that Vikings could no longer raid and loot as they pleased. Rather, they had to seek approval from the king, which took time as conquests took planning and allies had to be considered. Not only that, but a warrior risked losing their land when they were gone, which wasn’t a concern at the start of the era. The raiders’ loss of power discouraged the lifestyle, leading to its demise.

Weirdly enough, sex also led to the demise of the Viking culture. As their successes grew, many began to settle in the conquered lands. Eventually, Viking culture was lost through marrying and reproducing with the local townsfolk. They viewed themselves as either descended from great warrior clans or they left their past behind and considered themselves fully a part of the culture their ancestors joined.

Lastly, Christianity played a large role in the end of the Norsemen. As missionary efforts continued in Scandinavia and trade increased, Christianity spread like wildfire. Christian morality was the very antithesis of Viking morality, and therefore practicing Christians abandoned their former lifestyles. Eventually, the old Norse gods died out.