Norway
From the 8th to the 10th century, the wider Scandinavian region was the source of Vikings. The looting of the monastery at Lindisfarne in Northeast England in 793 by Norse people has long been regarded as the event which marked the beginning of the Viking Age. This age was characterised by expansion and emigration by Viking seafarers. They colonised, raided, and traded in all parts of Europe. Norwegian Viking explorers first discovered Iceland by accident in the 9th century when heading for the Faroe Islands, and eventually came across Vinland, known today as Newfoundland, in Canada. The Vikings from Norway were most active in the northern and western British Isles and eastern North America isles.
Viking raids in the Rhineland
During this time, the Vikings attacked the Frankish Empire sailing their ships up the big rivers from the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Such raids mainly affected areas on the Seine and in modern-day Netherlands and Belgium. Previously, the Vikings had raided England (Lindisfarne, 793) and Ireland (Dublin, 795). In 820, the first major attack by Vikings on the Frankish Empire was recorded, taking place around the mouth of the river Seine, and at the same time other Vikings probably invaded Flanders. In 845, Paris was attacked for the first time with about 700 longships up the Seine. The Parisians bought the raiders off with 7,000 pounds of silver. By 926, thirteen of these payments have been documented in the Frankish Empire. The Elbe estuary and the already fortified city of Hamburg were attacked by Danish warriors in 845.