INVADERS OF CHARLEMAGNE’S

EMPIRE

Vikings

Warriors from Scandinavia Most Scandinavians worked as

fisherman or farmers Soil was not very fertile

Started looking for new food and wealth

Viking Raids Superb ship builders, sailors, and navigators First targets = France and England

Vikings began raiding places farther away from their homeland and inland locations

People were constantly afraid because there was no warning the Vikings were coming

Fast moving ships allowed them to move quickly and give little time for the ones they were attacking to prepare

Vikings would grab any expensive item they could find and attack whoever got in their wayMonasteries were their favorite targets

Viking Settlements

Vikings settled in Iceland and thrived for centuries, much longer than mainland Europe

According to sagas, the Vikings reached Greenland in 982.

Around 100 years later, Vikings under the rule of Leif Erikson reached North America – Canada

Vikings under the rule of Chief Rollo settled in Northern France.

Magyars

Invaded Europe from the east Skilled horseback riders Magyars planned their raids carefully;

attacked small settlements versus heavily defended towns

In the mid-900’s King Otto the Great of Germany crushed a huge Magyar army, ending their raids

Muslims

In 711, a Muslim army from northern Africa conquered Spain

By 732, the Muslims had swept into France

In the 800’s and 900’s the Muslims stopped their full scale invasions and ordered smaller raids in southern Italy and France Rome

Muslims fleets would block trading, loot ships, and sell their crews into slavery