The Attack on Lindisfarne

When the Vikings attacked the holy land of Lindisfarne in 793, it was the earliest recorded Viking raid in the west. Lindisfarne, located of the coast of Northumberland, was a monastery founded by Saint Aiden in 630. In Lindisfarne was the monastery named " Saint Cuthbert ", one of the most sacred places in Britain. Is it there that the sacred Lindisfarne gospels were located. For more than 150 years Lindisfarne had collected many riches in the monastery from people donating to the church. These people believed that if they donated, their souls would be saved. All of these riches were soon stolen by the Vikings. The Vikings loved to attack monasteries for the reason that they could take all of the riches that were located in them. For the people who wrote of the attack, it was horrible and merciless. Many monks were killed and others kidnapped. The alters and the fabric of the building was also destroyed. The Vikings continued to attack in the later years in various places including Jarrow, and Iona and stealing riches. These two places also had become destroyed. One entry writes that the Vikings came, killed the monks, took the riches, and left as if it were nothing. For the next 273 years the Vikings would continue this kind of attacking all across Britain. It was not until 1066 when the Vikings were beaten at the battle of Stamford Bridge.

Who were the Vikings? The Vikings were a group of seafaring people who at their height controlled most of Northern Europe. Viking sailors were credited with discovering America and heading far into Russia. In fact the first people to ever discover Hawaii were probably the Vikings. Many peoples impressions on the Vikings were ruthless, cold-blooded murderers. Although ruthless they did contribute to Britain.

Why would the Vikings invade Britain? This is a question that was never really answered. Experts say it was probably a number of things that lead the Vikings to Lindisfarne. One obviously being the riches. An expanding part of the world in the East might have also caused the taking of Lindisfarne. Another reason could be the use of iron and steel to promote the building of weapons. Most say the Vikings became smart and used their new power to get what they wanted. The first Viking raids were hit and runs. No coordination and no long term planning were involved at the time. Well designed boats and good winds helped the Vikings with many of their raids.