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787
First Viking attack on England.
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793
Vikings raid St Cuthbert’s monastery on the island of Lindisfarne in Britain.
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795
Viking raids begin in Ireland.
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799
Viking raids begin in France.
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867
Viking raiders (from modern-day Denmark) settle in northern England.
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870
The first Viking settlement in Ireland.
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878
Alfred the Great (king of Wessex in Britain) makes a treaty with Danish Vikings; they are given control of an area of east Britain in which to settle and trade (known as the Danelaw).
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911
The king of France makes a treaty with invading Vikings led by Rollo. The Vikings are given a tract of land, which later becomes known as Normandy.
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930
The first Althing (Viking parliament) is held in Iceland.
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985
Erik the Red is banished form Iceland for three years for murder; he sails west and discovers Greenland.
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991
In a bid to stop Viking invasions in England, the English king, Ethelred, pays Danish Vikings the first of many tax payments known as the Danegold (Danes’ gold).
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1001
Leif Ericson, son of Erik the Red, sails east from Greenland to reach Labrador in North America. A small settlement is set up there but is abandoned by 1015CE.
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1015
Danish chief Cnut invades England; he becomes king of England in 1016 (and later of Denmark and Norway).
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1066
In England, King Edward dies. Harold Godwinson becomes king. Another contender, William of Normandy, defeats King Harold at the Battle of Hastings and becomes king of England. He becomes known as William the Conqueror.