Scandinavian Vikings are renowned for their long journeys and great exploits across the world, with many legends and narratives detailing the variety of identities they assumed in foreign parts: warriors, traders, settlers and mercenaries, artisans, tax collectors, and – not least – skilled shipwrights and navigators. The Vikings’ voyages westwards, to Normandy and the British Isles, are well-documented, but most of these tales are about those who travelled out and returned home again. We have long had a much less clear picture of their journeys to the east, where many remained, creating new settlements and forging new empires – despite the fact that they left behind a far more extensive array of Scandinavian artefacts there than they did on their western expeditions. Now, though, new research in recent years has shed more light on these distant travels, which are the subject of the Moesgaard’s latest special exhibition.
Looking to the east
These expeditions really took off between the 9th and mid-11th centuries AD, with many Scandinavians setting out on long journeys along extensive river networks, through eastern European forests and the vast steppes to the south, driven by curiosity and desire for adventure, or by a thirst for wealth, power, and glory. As in the west, the Vikings became a powerful force, establishing new realms and playing a central role in local power contests. They adopted language, religion, and culture from the peoples they encountered along the way, and soon they became an integral part of the foreign world that on first sight seemed so alien to them. A new people, Rus, emerged as a dominant force in the east.
The decision to set forth into these strange new worlds was driven, at least in part, by Scandinavia’s geography. While Norway looked west to the British Isles and the North Atlantic, and Denmark looked south to the Holy Roman Empire, much of Sweden looked out towards eastern Europe and Russia, and the Byzantine Empire and the Caliphate beyond. Objects from these regions begin to reach Scandinavia by at least the 7th century thanks to growing trade links, but by AD 800 more and more Vikings from eastern Sweden and the surrounding areas are venturing out to these lands themselves. This is not to say, though, that Scandinavians from other regions were not also making these journeys, many artefacts with strong Danish influences are also found across the east. Over the next century, these travellers established fortified trade centres, long-distance cultural networks, and eventually a new empire – the Rus realm.
Sailing to Ithaca?