It’s a myth! Lindisfarne Wasn’t The First Viking Contact

We all know that the Viking age is 793-1066 right! Well, not quite!

The Show ‘Vikings’ added more confusion by suggesting that the Norse hadn’t even discovered Britannia by then and the Britons didn’t know who these rogue warriors were with Ragnar Lothbrok leading the charge! Hooraaa 🍻🪓

In fact they had been trading for decades. Plus the Angles, Saxons and Jutes who stepped into the void left by the Romans actually a shared lineage. Ever wonder why Saxon and Norse shields, weapons and armour are almost the identical! What was Jutland later became Denmark.
Trading nicely that is until the Volcano incident ruined all that, maybe I’ll explain that next time!

Back to topic! The first written evidence of a raid was 4 years before that and that Badge goes to Portland in Dorset in 789. A chronicle from the time reports:

 Here Beorhtric took King Offa's daughter Eadburh. And in his days came first 3 ships from Hordaland: and then the reeve rode there and wanted to compel them to go to the king's town because he did not know who they were; and then they killed him. These were the first ships of the Danish men which sought out the land of the English race

It is very likely that raids occurred before and after this date that weren’t captured. The fact that a Reeve (magistrate) was killed there and then later the Monastery at Lindisfarne was sacked made them much more newsworthy! As we know the raids became more frequent and eventually turned into a land grab. All thanks to that bloody volcano 🌋…..