A history of the Scandinavian Compact, using modern archaelogical and traditional sources to compile an accurate historical account. Written by Eric Emers, Chief historyian of the Trondheim University, and Royal Keeper of Records for the court of Parliament.
The Gods of Combat: History of the Vikings
1.) Before The Dawn; The Ancients
Before the foundation of Trondheim and the beginning of the Scandinavian civilization, the peoples who would someday make up early Scandinavia roamed in small bands in the lands around what is now Trondheim. Recent digs have found early artifacts of pre-writing Scandinavians even within the current site of Trondheim proper itself, as far back as 6000 years ago. With this knowledge, let's see how the people who are now Scandinavians came to inherit this land.
What made the Ancients able to conquer their surrounding tribes, when they were just a small band themselves? The first thing we find is that they lived in an area of fertile land, and they were lucky. They apparently found grain that they could grow consistantly a little bit earlier than their competitors, and therefor soon had a larger population, large enough to sustain a small landed settlement in Trondheim. with this, they began to expand, soon building up enough industry to complete a castle for their local cheiftan, and with this, the first dynasty of ancient Scandinavia began.
2.) The Slow Flow To Nationhood: Though Trondheim had become the greatest of the warring tribes, it was still not invulnerable to their attacks. Digs of old warrior graves predating writing have found them buried with stone axes and spears, which is assumed to have been their weapons of choice. They were not advanced, yet they had enough strength [Probably around a hundred men] to send off and defeat several lesser tribes surrounding the new town, as well as solidify Trondheim's hold on the city limits itself.
It is speculated that Trondheim had sent scouting parties very early on, as they had encountered another tribe in the far side of the land, called London. This town's culture was quite a deal different from the early Vikings, and they were not too friendly, either. This is learned by excavations in both ancient Trondheim and London, dating circa 3000 B.C., showing small levels of influecne and trade between the two nations. They, however, maintained an unsteady truce in the face of the many small tribes threatening to pillage both cities. In fact, tradition tells us that arond c. 2500 B.C., Trondheim's military force collapsed within the town, allowing hordes of these tribes in, destroying and robbing the town, and causing serious damage to the palace. Tradition also states that this is what caused the fist movements for colonization of what were now called Parparous lands, [taken, probably, from the English form, "Barbarian"] and finally lay control of the lands once and for all. Unfortunantly, by this time London had grown so large [due to it's even more fertile lands] to the point of expelling several thousand citizens to found a colony of its own, then called York. Immediately after the invasion, Trondheim began to send out large numbers of citizens to form new town strongholds, to fend off the barbarians, and increase the chieftan's holdings.
In time, the Viking villages slowly grew and increased in number, however not without numerous, seemingly endless attacks from the retreating lesser tribes. In time, however, they were vanqueshed from the areas surrounding Trondheim and its colonies, allowing a firm hold to be set. However, to the north, English colonists had soon settled very near to the border towns of the fledgling Scandinavian nation, and the current king decided something had to be done. So he sent his small, recently united military force of about 750, as English tradition states, and burned down the recently formed English colony. Until recently, however, this was thought to have been a myth invented by the English to begin a battle with the Vikings. Also until recently, as far back as two thousand years ago, the Scandinavian government denied destroying any English city. In fact, Viking records state the existance of no such city. Yet new digs in the region known to suppossedly hold this forgotten city have found that there are burned huts of English design buried underground, reminiscent of other English towns of that era. However, this is not enough evidence to indite the early vikings as the perpetrators of this destruction.
Either way, however, battle had begun, and the Scandinavian military mobilized. While Viking oral tradition states that the small Viking military fought against outrageous odds against an invading English horde, and held them off in epic combat until they could retreat home, the English written records of the time [some of the earliest] record it differently, stating that the Viking forces were weak, unsophisticated, and cowardly. These records state that the small, ill-equiped Viking bands retreated without a fight from the English bowmen, and that they had almost reached the city when the Viking king desperately pleaded for a treaty, which was given.
It's safe to say that this was much closer to the truth in this event. However, either way, the Viking forces, satisfactory against traditional foes, proved to be insufficient for any real sustained combat with an organized armed force. In the end, England won the land wars, gaining far more land than the Vikings, which proved a devestating setback for future times, even after England became part of Scandinavia, for without that head start, Scandinavia would be behind technologically for most of its history.
Yet Scandinavia went to work, and built itself into a strong, centrally controlled state, building up its forces, and preparing for a grand revenge, which would, when it came, kill more than a third of the total population of the continent.
3.) The War State
When the land was all claimed by either forces, Scandinavia, while having less land, possessed extremely frtile land throughout almost all of its nation. This advantage played to the growth of enough population to allow large armies of thousands to be furbished with ease.
England was far more advanced than Scandinavia. This was partly due to a major internal conflict between the English Queen and the now powerful landowners. After several years of conflict, a new system had been created, with the Queen possessing more limited control. Wth this feudal system in place, corruption was weakened, and the country's advancement came at a startlingly rapid rate.
Yet while this was happening, the Viking nation had been preparing. By now, all of the Viking cities had grown so large that population controls were in place, and city walls, and decent infrastructure was also in place. Barracks were in every city, as military units were trained. These were not the stone-axe weilding warriors of the last war, however. The Vikings had learned to extract iron from the earth in usable form, and began to use this to create swords with far more effective edges than bronze, and armor strong enough to protect against English bows and arrows to a great extent. Though the English had the capabilites to produce iron weapons, they regretebly had no major iron deposits, which was something that Scandinavia had large numbers of.
In time, England had built up a feeling of superiority to those they felt were the 'savage barbarians of the south'. They believed themselves greater, and with some good reason. However, at this point, Scandinavia was quite literally a war camp, making its focus on military might, and throwing all of its efforts on training men, not on building new ideas. They had enough to suit them for their army.
Now around 2000 years ago, Scandinavia had reached a point of desperation. It needed new infrasturcture, and new lands for its citizens. And the only place to go was into England.
The Gods of Combat: History of the Vikings
1.) Before The Dawn; The Ancients
Before the foundation of Trondheim and the beginning of the Scandinavian civilization, the peoples who would someday make up early Scandinavia roamed in small bands in the lands around what is now Trondheim. Recent digs have found early artifacts of pre-writing Scandinavians even within the current site of Trondheim proper itself, as far back as 6000 years ago. With this knowledge, let's see how the people who are now Scandinavians came to inherit this land.
What made the Ancients able to conquer their surrounding tribes, when they were just a small band themselves? The first thing we find is that they lived in an area of fertile land, and they were lucky. They apparently found grain that they could grow consistantly a little bit earlier than their competitors, and therefor soon had a larger population, large enough to sustain a small landed settlement in Trondheim. with this, they began to expand, soon building up enough industry to complete a castle for their local cheiftan, and with this, the first dynasty of ancient Scandinavia began.
2.) The Slow Flow To Nationhood: Though Trondheim had become the greatest of the warring tribes, it was still not invulnerable to their attacks. Digs of old warrior graves predating writing have found them buried with stone axes and spears, which is assumed to have been their weapons of choice. They were not advanced, yet they had enough strength [Probably around a hundred men] to send off and defeat several lesser tribes surrounding the new town, as well as solidify Trondheim's hold on the city limits itself.
It is speculated that Trondheim had sent scouting parties very early on, as they had encountered another tribe in the far side of the land, called London. This town's culture was quite a deal different from the early Vikings, and they were not too friendly, either. This is learned by excavations in both ancient Trondheim and London, dating circa 3000 B.C., showing small levels of influecne and trade between the two nations. They, however, maintained an unsteady truce in the face of the many small tribes threatening to pillage both cities. In fact, tradition tells us that arond c. 2500 B.C., Trondheim's military force collapsed within the town, allowing hordes of these tribes in, destroying and robbing the town, and causing serious damage to the palace. Tradition also states that this is what caused the fist movements for colonization of what were now called Parparous lands, [taken, probably, from the English form, "Barbarian"] and finally lay control of the lands once and for all. Unfortunantly, by this time London had grown so large [due to it's even more fertile lands] to the point of expelling several thousand citizens to found a colony of its own, then called York. Immediately after the invasion, Trondheim began to send out large numbers of citizens to form new town strongholds, to fend off the barbarians, and increase the chieftan's holdings.
In time, the Viking villages slowly grew and increased in number, however not without numerous, seemingly endless attacks from the retreating lesser tribes. In time, however, they were vanqueshed from the areas surrounding Trondheim and its colonies, allowing a firm hold to be set. However, to the north, English colonists had soon settled very near to the border towns of the fledgling Scandinavian nation, and the current king decided something had to be done. So he sent his small, recently united military force of about 750, as English tradition states, and burned down the recently formed English colony. Until recently, however, this was thought to have been a myth invented by the English to begin a battle with the Vikings. Also until recently, as far back as two thousand years ago, the Scandinavian government denied destroying any English city. In fact, Viking records state the existance of no such city. Yet new digs in the region known to suppossedly hold this forgotten city have found that there are burned huts of English design buried underground, reminiscent of other English towns of that era. However, this is not enough evidence to indite the early vikings as the perpetrators of this destruction.
Either way, however, battle had begun, and the Scandinavian military mobilized. While Viking oral tradition states that the small Viking military fought against outrageous odds against an invading English horde, and held them off in epic combat until they could retreat home, the English written records of the time [some of the earliest] record it differently, stating that the Viking forces were weak, unsophisticated, and cowardly. These records state that the small, ill-equiped Viking bands retreated without a fight from the English bowmen, and that they had almost reached the city when the Viking king desperately pleaded for a treaty, which was given.
It's safe to say that this was much closer to the truth in this event. However, either way, the Viking forces, satisfactory against traditional foes, proved to be insufficient for any real sustained combat with an organized armed force. In the end, England won the land wars, gaining far more land than the Vikings, which proved a devestating setback for future times, even after England became part of Scandinavia, for without that head start, Scandinavia would be behind technologically for most of its history.
Yet Scandinavia went to work, and built itself into a strong, centrally controlled state, building up its forces, and preparing for a grand revenge, which would, when it came, kill more than a third of the total population of the continent.
3.) The War State
When the land was all claimed by either forces, Scandinavia, while having less land, possessed extremely frtile land throughout almost all of its nation. This advantage played to the growth of enough population to allow large armies of thousands to be furbished with ease.
England was far more advanced than Scandinavia. This was partly due to a major internal conflict between the English Queen and the now powerful landowners. After several years of conflict, a new system had been created, with the Queen possessing more limited control. Wth this feudal system in place, corruption was weakened, and the country's advancement came at a startlingly rapid rate.
Yet while this was happening, the Viking nation had been preparing. By now, all of the Viking cities had grown so large that population controls were in place, and city walls, and decent infrastructure was also in place. Barracks were in every city, as military units were trained. These were not the stone-axe weilding warriors of the last war, however. The Vikings had learned to extract iron from the earth in usable form, and began to use this to create swords with far more effective edges than bronze, and armor strong enough to protect against English bows and arrows to a great extent. Though the English had the capabilites to produce iron weapons, they regretebly had no major iron deposits, which was something that Scandinavia had large numbers of.
In time, England had built up a feeling of superiority to those they felt were the 'savage barbarians of the south'. They believed themselves greater, and with some good reason. However, at this point, Scandinavia was quite literally a war camp, making its focus on military might, and throwing all of its efforts on training men, not on building new ideas. They had enough to suit them for their army.
Now around 2000 years ago, Scandinavia had reached a point of desperation. It needed new infrasturcture, and new lands for its citizens. And the only place to go was into England.
