A band of Viking brothers with a strict warrior code of conduct were said to be trained in a semi-mythical fortress in the Baltic Sea known as Jomsborg.
Tradition in the West states that the Age of Vikings ended with Harald Hardrada's death in 1066. Viking raids, however, continued long after the Battle of Stamford Bridge into the later medieval period.
Harald Hardrada, or Harald III Sigurdson, is also known as "the last real Viking," and he was a person that many people considered a real Viking king.
Ruling a huge swathe of Eastern Europe during the medieval period, this dynasty was said to have been founded by Viking warriors. Their legacy stretches long after the last Viking ship ever sailed and was instrumental in the making of modern Russia.
This article was written by Elizabeth Drayson, Emeritus Fellow in Spanish at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge.
Some of the most valuable sources for understanding people in Norse societies are buried 6 feet under. We look at the practicalities and psychology of Viking hoards.
