Starting in the 9th Century, Western Europe was barraged by Invasions from all sides, with these overwhelming attacks continuing into the 10th Century. People known as Norse, Northmen, or Vikings from Scandinavia began raiding coastal and river cities in France.
After the death of King Louis the Pious, the Franks failed to end the invasions due to their weak central government and inability to conduct proper naval warfare. Unlike the barbarians who attacked the Roman Empire in the 3rd Century, the Vikings did not respect or want to live in Frankish lands. This caused them to be extremely brutal, destroying and looting everything in their path. Setting their sights inland, the Vikings would besiege Paris four times, pillage it three times, and burn it twice in the course of 40 years. After these raids, the Vikings would return to their homes in Scandinavia with the riches.
Being too weak to provide protection, kings in Western Europe lost much of their power giving way to the development of feudalism. Victims of Vikings sought protection from local figures called “lords” instead of kings. In return the local lords received labor from the people called “serfs.” “Vassals” were warriors who helped defend the community and received land as compensation.
Eventually, the Franks were forced to concede land to the Vikings (despite the Vikings not wanting to settle in foreign lands) in order to please them. This is the part of France known as “Normandy” which was given over in 911. The German lands did not suffer from Viking pillaging, but were instead faced with enemies from Central Asia known as “Magyars.” These people were not nearly as brutal as the Vikings and by 1000, many had converted to Christianity, settling in what is now Hungary.
Around this time, England was composed of different people groups including the Angles and Saxons, who were Germanic peoples, the native Britons, and beginning in the 8th Century, even Viking attackers from Denmark. Most of the Britons accepted the conquests and did not fight, but some who wished to keep resisting settled in Wales. Seven kingdoms emerged in England: which were: Kent (populated by Danish), Essex, Sussex, and Wessex (populated by Saxons), Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia (populated by Angles). Under the rule of Alfred the Great (871-899), Wessex eventually became the most powerful of all the English kingdoms. Constructing a navy and fortifications, Alfred successfully defeated the Vikings. He also exerted the power of the Wessex monarchy which would lead to the lineage of the Kings of all of England.
