North Germanic peoples
Vikings were also active in Francia. Some of these Vikings would sail through the Strait of Gibraltar and pillage the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. In the early 10th century, a group of Vikings under the leadership of Rollo settled in Rouen, France, and established the Duchy of Normandy. The descendants of these Vikings, known as the "Normans", would in the 11th century conquer England, Southern Italy, and North Africa, and play a leading role in launching the Crusades. Sub-groups of the Normans include Anglo-Normans, Scoto-Normans, Cambro-Normans, Hiberno-Normans and Italo-Normans.
Viking Age
In England, the beginning of the Viking Age is dated to 8 June 793, when Vikings destroyed the abbey on Lindisfarne, a centre of learning on an island off the northeast coast of England in Northumberland. Monks were killed in the abbey, thrown into the sea to drown, or carried away as slaves along with the church treasures, giving rise to the traditional (but unattested) prayer—"A furore Normannorum libera nos, Domine", "Free us from the fury of the Northmen, Lord."