The Viking Age is the period from 793 AD to 1066 AD in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, following the Germanic Iron Age. It is the period of history when Scandinavian Norsemen explored Europe by its seas and rivers for trade, raids and conquest. In this period, the Vikings also settled in Norse Greenland, Newfoundland, and present-day Faroe Islands, Iceland, Normandy, Scotland, Ukraine, Ireland, Russia and Anatolia. Though Viking travellers and colonists were seen at many points in history as brutal raiders, some historical documents suggest that their invasion of other countries was motivated by overpopulation, trade inequities, and the lack of viable farmland in their homeland. Information about the Viking Age is drawn largely from primary sources of archaeology, supplied with secondary sources like the Icelandic Sagas.
