8th to 11th Century Scandinavian Raiders

The Vikings were the seafaring Norse people from Southern Scandinavia (present day Denmark, Norway and Sweden) who raided, pirated, traded and settled throughout parts of Europe, and explored westward to Iceland, Greenland, and North America. The Vikings had a profound impact on the early medieval history of Scandinavia, the British Isles, France, Estonia, and parts of Eastern Europe.

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Expert sailors and navigators aboard their characteristic Longships, Vikings voyaged as far as the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, and were the first Europeans to reach North America, briefly settling in Newfoundland. Vikings established Norse settlements and governments in the British Isles, Ireland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Normandy, the Baltic coast, and along the Dnieper and Volga trade routes in what is now Greece, European Russia, Belarus and Ukraine (where they were known as Varangians). While spreading Norse culture to foreign lands, they brought home slaves, concubines and foreign cultural influences to Scandinavia, profoundly influencing the genetic and historical development of both. During the Viking Age the Norse homelands were gradually consolidated from smaller kingdoms into three larger kingdoms: Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

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The Vikings spoke Old Norse. For most of the period they followed the Old Norse religion, but later became Christians. The Vikings had their own laws, art and architecture. Most Vikings were also farmers, fishermen, craftsmen and traders.

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A romanticised picture of Vikings as noble savages began to emerge in the 18th century. Perceived views of the Vikings as violent, piratical heathens or as intrepid adventurers owe much to modern Viking myth that had taken shape by the early 20th century and there is no evidence that they ever  wore horned helmets!

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Source: Wikipedia