Background Information
"The ravages of heathen men miserably destroyed God's church on Lindisfarne, with plunder and slaughter."
- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 793
- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 793
The Norman Conquest affected England in many different ways. After Edward the Confessor died in 1066, ambitious leaders from all over the world began contesting for the throne of England, one of them being Duke William of Normandy, before he became William the Conqueror after the Conquest. William was the grandson of a viking called Rolf the Viking, and the main competitors for the throne were Earl Harold of Wessex, the first king after Edward the Confessor, who crowned himself king on the very day of Edward's funeral; Harold Hardranda, king of Norway; Tosti the Exiled, Earl of Northumbria; and Duke William himself, of Normandy. Closely following William's inheritance of the kingship of Normandy, he came over to fight for the throne of England, desiring even more power. To prevent the Normans from getting the throne, the vikings arrived in England to join in the struggle for power. In about 793, vikings attacked Christian monks, using their usual methods of pillaging using spears, swords, drowning, stripping, and humiliation. Over the next 300 years, many more places and people were attacked and ransacked. However, starting in Paris in 845, Vikings began to accept money in exchange for peace.