Map Of Viking Expansion Between 790 & 1066

Map created by reddit user PisseGuri82

The map above is a stunningly detailed look at Viking Expansion between 790 and 1066.

Here’s what’s included in the legend:

LEGEND

• Norse homelands
• Military conquest establishing Norse ruling class
• Areas of regular plundering and extortion raids
• Areas of sporadic plundering
• Areas of settlement, some majority Scandinavian
• Areas of settlement, Norse minority
• Main trade routes
• Occasional trade routes
• Occasional raiding routes
• Excursions inland
•  Exploits by Norsemen as invaders or mercenaries
• Tribe hub
• Viking monastery site
• Viking attack
• Landfall by Norse explorers
• Date of Norse arrival
• End of Norse settlement

Below the legend on the map, there some text summarizing specific Viking-influenced regions.

Here’s the extracted text:

1. KINGDOM OF THE ISLES

Settled by Norwegians around 850, ceded to Scotland 1266.

2. NORTHUMBRIA

Captured by Danes in 867, ruled by Anglo, Norse and Anglo-Danish kings until 954. Also occupied by Norse from north in 918.

3. THE DANELAW

Captured by Danes in 867–80, later settled and ruled until 954. Area of limited revival by Danish kings 1013–42.

4. IRISH KINGDOMS

Power struggle between diverse existing Irish kingdoms gave rise to particular Norse-Gaelic culture and language.

5. BRITTANY

Occupied by unidentified Vikings 914–919.

6. NORMANDY

Given by Franks to Norse chief Rollo in 911. Settled by Danes and Norwegians who assimilated into local Frankish population.

7. RUS

Occupied by Danes 841–882.

8. FRISIA

Taken by Swedish traders around 850, expanded over three centuries to dominate the Slavic Rus. Built by this time the first towns known in Scandinavia.

And here’s the author of the map explaining a bit more about it:

Yes, I also have an issue with the existing maps almost always trying to colour in Norman Sicily for some reason.

Yes, Normans were decendants of Vikings. Yes, 19th century nationalistic historians did utilise them as extensions of Scandinavian conquests and that idea has carried over in a lot of historical maps even today. However, the “Vikings expansions” are, as per current historians’ consensus, a specific term with a specific definition, and that is the travels of “Norse explorers, traders and warriors”.

The Normans did not speak Norse, they did not follow Norse customs, and they did not utilise Norse raiding/military tactics. They were French-speaking Catholic dukes of the Frankish King, their conquest of Sicily and Italy was dependent on heavy cavalry, a tactic completely alien to the Vikings.

The Normans were 3-4 generations removed from their Norse-born ancestors, just like a lot of people in Minnesota today are 3-4 generations removed from their Scandinavian-born ancestors. Already Rollo’s son, William Longsword, faced a rebellion by his father’s generation who felt he had become too Gallic.

To call his grand- and great grandchildren Norse is a stretch.

The Normans have a place in Viking history, but they are an addendum and they are not within the scope of “Viking expansions”. Note that the territory of the Rus’ is depicted here precicely as it was at the time they became Slavonicised, the settlements in Iceland precicely as they were during the first stage of settlement, etc.

The territory of the Normans is also depicted as it was at the time they became Gallicised around 950.

You can read more about it from the original reddit thread here.

Below is another map showing what the world would have looked like If the Vikings’ assumptions about world geography were accurate:

Map created by reddit user LeoMatteoArtsIt’s a stylized Norse or Old Norse–language map of the North Atlantic world, with names corresponding to various real-world regions and countries, written as Vikings might have known or imagined them.

Names from the map:

Norse Name	Modern Equivalent	Explanation
Helluland	Baffin Island (Canada)	Mentioned in Norse sagas as a land of flat stones, one of the lands west of Greenland discovered by Leif Erikson.
Markland	Labrador (Canada)	Another land from the Vinland sagas, meaning “Forest Land.” Believed to correspond to modern Labrador.
Vinland	Newfoundland (Canada) or further south	“Wine Land,” discovered by Leif Erikson; described as fertile and mild compared to Greenland.
Groenland	Greenland	Literally “Green Land,” named by Erik the Red to attract settlers.
Island	Iceland	“Island” or “Ice Land,” the Norse homeland in the North Atlantic.
Svalbard	Svalbard (Norway)	Archipelago north of mainland Norway; name means “cold coast.”
Norger / Sviþjod	Norway / Sweden	“Noregr” (Norway) and “Svíþjóð” (Sweden) in Old Norse.
Danmork	Denmark	“Borderland of the Danes.”
Finland	Finland	Same as modern name; part of the Viking trade and war routes.
Gardariki	Russia (Kievan Rus)	“The Realm of Towns,” Norse name for the eastern lands around Novgorod and Kiev.
Saxland	Germany	Land of the Saxons.
Frakkland	France	Land of the Franks.
Spánland	Spain	The Iberian Peninsula; known from Norse sagas.
Grikkland	Greece / Byzantine Empire	“Land of the Greeks”; often used for the Byzantine Empire (Miklagarðr was specifically Constantinople).
Tyrkland	Turkey / Asia Minor	Land of the Turks; corresponds to Anatolia.
Serkland	The Islamic World (Middle East, Arabia)	Norse term for lands inhabited by “Saracens,” i.e., Muslim peoples.
Egiptaland	Egypt	Known from Norse sources; land of the Pharaohs and biblical tales.
Bláland	Africa (specifically North or Sub-Saharan Africa)	“Land of the blue/black people,” Norse term for Africa or Ethiopia.
Atlanterhavet	The Atlantic Ocean	Literally “Atlantic Ocean.”

This map represents how a Norse explorer or geographer might have envisioned the world, with:

• A north-oriented perspective (centered around the North Atlantic),
• Norse names for known and semi-mythical lands,
• A focus on the Viking exploration sphere (North Atlantic and Europe),
• Limited awareness of sub-Saharan Africa or Asia beyond the “Serkland” and “Egiptaland” regions.

What do you think?