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THE MAKING OF EUROPE / EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY

From Hutton Webster's, Early European History (1917); edited for this on-line publication, by ELLOPOS

XIV. THE NORTHMEN AND THE NORMANS TO 1066 A.D.

Em. Macron, Rediscovering the Path to Europe

» Contents of this Chapter

Scandinavia and the Northmen   * The Viking Age   * Scandinavian Heathenism   * The Northmen in the West   * The Northmen in the East   * Conquest of England by the Danes; Alfred the Great   * Norman Conquest of England; William the Conqueror   * Results of the Norman Conquest   * Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily   * The Normans in European History

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SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE IN RUSSIA

The Northmen in Russia maintained close intercourse with their mother country for about two centuries. During this period they did much to open up northeastern Europe to the forces of civilization and progress. Colonies were founded, cities were built, commerce was fostered, and a stable government was established. Russia under the sway of the Northmen became for the first time a truly European state.

THE NORTHMEN AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE EAST

Having penetrated the wilds of Russia, it was comparatively easy for the Northmen to sail down the Russian rivers to the Black Sea and thence to Constantinople. Some of them went as raiders and several times devastated the neighborhood of Constantinople, until bought off by the payment of tribute. Many Northmen also joined the bodyguard of the eastern emperor and saw service under his standard in different parts of the Mediterranean.

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THE MAKING OF EUROPE / EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY: Table of Contents

url: www.ellopos.net/politics/european-history/default.asp

IN PRINT

Cf. The Ancient Greece * The Ancient Rome
Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) * Western Medieval Europe * Renaissance in Italy