Vikings of renown

[Rev. Allen M. Drago ~ Traveler]

Vikings of renown

• Askold and Dir, legendary Varangian conquerors of Kiev.
• Björn Ironside, son of Ragnar Lodbrok, pillaged in Italy.
• Bagsecg, A Viking who Invaded and pillaged in England in 870, But was killed in 871 at The Battle of Ashdown.
• Brodir of Man, a Danish Viking who killed the High King of Ireland, Brian Boru.
• Halfdan Ragnarsson, pillaged in England conquered London and Northumbria, son of Ragnar Lodbrok
• Cnut the Great, king of England and Denmark, Norway, and of some of Sweden,
  was possibly the greatest Viking king. A son of Sweyn Forkbeard, and grandson of Harold Bluetooth, he was a member of
  the dynasty that was key to the unification and Christianisation of Denmark. Some modern historians have dubbed him the ‘Emperor
  
  of the North’ because of his position as one of the magnates of
  medieval Europe and as a reflection of the Holy Roman Empire to the south.
• Egill Skallagrímsson, Icelandic warrior and skald. (See also Egils saga).
• Eric the Victorious, a king of Sweden whose dynasty is the first known to have ruled as kings of the nation. It is possible he was king of Denmark for a time.
• Erik the Red, colonizer of Greenland.
• Freydís Eiríksdóttir, a Viking woman who sailed to Vínland.
• Gardar Svavarsson, originally from Sweden, the discoverer of Iceland. There is another contender for the discoverer of Iceland: Naddoddr, a Norwegian/Faeroese Viking explorer.
• Godfrid, Duke of Frisia, a pillager of the Low Countries and the Rhine area and briefly a lord of Frisia.
• Godfrid Haraldsson, son of Harald Klak and pillager of the Low Countries and northern France.
• Grímur Kamban, a Norwegian or Norwegian/Irish Viking who around 825 was, according to the Færeyinga Saga, the first Nordic settler in the Faeroes.
• Guthrum, colonizer of Danelaw.
• Harald Klak (Harald Halfdansson), a 9th c. king in Jutland who made peace with Louis the Pious and was possibly the first Viking to be granted Frankish land in exchange for protection.
• Harald Bluetooth (Harald Gormson), who according to the Jelling Stones that he had erected, "won the whole of Denmark and Norway and turned the Danes to Christianity". Father of Sweyn Forkbeard; grandfather of Cnut the Great.
• Harald Hardrada, a Norwegian king who died, along with his men, at Stamford Bridge in an unsuccessful attempt to conquer England
  in 1066. Only a fraction of the invasion force is thought to have made
  their escape.
• Hastein, a chieftain who raided in the Mediterranean, Son of Ragnar Lodbrok.
• Ingólfur Arnarson, colonizer of Iceland.
• Ingvar the Far-Travelled, the leader of the last great Swedish Viking expedition to pillage the shores of the Caspian Sea.
• Ivar the Boneless, the disabled Viking who conquered York, despite having to be carried on a shield. Son of Ragnar Lodbrok.
• Leif Ericsson, discoverer of Vínland, son of Erik the Red.
• Naddoddr, a Norwegian/Faeroese Viking explorer.
• Olaf Tryggvason, king of Norway from 995 to 1000. He forced thousands to convert to Christianity. He once burned London
  
  Bridge down out of anger because people were disobeying his orders
  (and this is conjectured to be origin of the children's rhyme "London Bridge
  is Falling Down").
• St Olaf (Olav Haraldsson), patron saint of Norway, and king of Norway from 1015 to approx. 1030.
• Oleg of Kiev, led an offensive against Constantinople.
• Ragnar Lodbrok, captured Paris.
• Rollo of Normandy, founder of Normandy.
• Rorik of Dorestad, a Viking lord of Frisia and nephew of Harald Klak.
• Rurik, founder of the Rus' rule in Eastern Europe.
• Ubbe Ragnarsson, son of Ragnar Lodbrok, pillaged in England and was killed in 878 at The Battle of Cynwit.
• Sigmundur Brestisson, Faeroese, a Viking chieftain who, according to the Færeyinga Saga, introduced Christianity and Norwegian supremacy to the Faeroes
  in 999.
• Sweyn Forkbeard, king of Denmark, Norway, and England, as well as founder of Swansea
  ("Sweyn's island"). In 1013, the Danes under Sweyn led a Viking
  offensive against the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The English king
  was forced into exile, and in late 1013 Sweyn became King of England,
  though he died early in 1014, and the former king was brought out of
  exile to challenge his son.
• Thorfinn Karlsefni, explorer who, along with Freydís Eiríksdóttir, sailed to Vínland. His wife Gudridr gave birth to Snorri, the first European known to have been born in the New World.
• Thorgils (Thorgest), founder of Dublin.
• Tróndur í Gøtu, a Faeroese Viking chieftain who, according to the Færeyinga Saga, was opposed to the introduction of Christianity to, and the Norwegian supremacy of, the Faeroes.
• William the Conqueror, ruler of Normandy and the victor at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, considered by historians as the last great Viking invasion. His kingship of England saw the end of
  the Anglo-Saxon era and the encroachment of continental magnates and the
  ideals of Christendom.
  His great great uncle was Cnut the Great.