Viking longboats cut through the sea while on expedition. King Harald’s nickname was “Hardradi,” meaning “the ruthless;” something his enemies could surely attest to.

Viking

Harald “Land Waster” Hardradi

by Kenneth Cline

For many history buffs, the date 1066 conjures up an image of Norman knights breaking through the shield wall of the ax-wielding Anglo-Saxons at Senlac Hill. Read more

The 9th-century Oseberg ship in the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo was excavated in the early 20th century from a burial mound in southern Norway. The karve-style, clinker-built ship with its broad hull is made almost entirely from oak.

Viking

The Viking Longship

By John Spindler

In the first week of October 844, Emir Abd ar-Rahman II of Cordoba learned disturbing news: Vikings had captured Seville. Read more

Viking

The Great Viking Siege of Paris

By Victor Kamenir

Well before the great Viking siege of Paris, more than 300 islands dotted the length of the Seine River, reduced over the centuries by human impact and natural changes to slightly more than 100. Read more

The Normans make their bid for Saxon England against King Harold in the Battle of Hastings.

Viking

King Harold and the Battle of Hastings

by Frederick Grant

On December 25, 1065, King Edward the Confessor presided over a spectacular Christmas banquet at his palace on Thorney Island in the Thames River, just two miles upstream from London. Read more

Erik the Red became the first Viking to settle in Greenland, while his son Leif Eriksson may have been the first European to visit North America.

Viking

Viking Father & Son: Erik the Red & Leif Eriksson

by Michael Haskew

While they are primarily remembered as fierce warriors, who raided far and wide from their homes in Scandinavia, the Vikings were also some of the earliest European explorers who ventured across miles of trackless ocean to previously unknown corners of the world. Read more

Viking wood and metalworkers fashioned durable weapons of high quality steel for their warriors, including spears, battleaxes, and swords.

Viking

The Spear, Axe & Sword: Viking Weapons

by Michael Haskew

The fearsome Vikings who pillaged and colonized throughout Western Europe and much of the known world from the Eighth to the 11th centuries were armed with weaponry that served them well in combat. Read more

Viking

Bastogne Must Fall

By Mike Phifer

In the early morning of December 16, 1944, 80-man German shock companies from the 5th Panzer Army slipped toward the American lines in the Ardennes region under the cover of heavy fog. Read more