Viking York

From Eorforwick to Jorvik

Of all the extraordinary chapters in York’s history perhaps the one that most captures the public imagination is that period of less than one hundred years towards the end of the first millennium AD when the Saxon settlement of Eorforwick became Jorvik and the city found itself under Viking rule.

How it all began

In 866 the Viking ‘Great Army’, a huge armada of Danish pirates, sailed up the Ouse and seized Eorforwick under the leadership of the memorably named Ivar the Boneless. In 876 they made York their capital. The conquest lasted until 954 when the last Viking ruler, the equally colourfully monikered Eric Bloodaxe, the deposed King of Norway, was driven out by the English King Eadred. In between the Vikings had doubled the size of the town and turned it into one of the greatest trading ports in Northern Europe.

One of the reasons why the Scandinavian invaders still exercise such a hold on the imagination is that apart from the unique community uncovered in Coppergate in the mid 1970s little evidence remains of their British reign. There is something mysterious and contradictory about these warriors who despite their warlike image and track-record as pillagers were sophisticated traders and capable of extending the existing coinage in use, quality and quantity. Even their reputation as heathens is inaccurate: Danish Vikings in York adopted Christianity and worked with the Church.

Coppergate reveals its Viking secrets

York and Dublin were the only two lasting Viking kingdoms in the British Isles, and the Viking heyday was short-lived. It is thanks to the unusual soil conditions in the Coppergate area (the very heart of Viking Jorvik) that so much organic matter – bone, leather, even food – has survived to bring to life a vivid era.

World-famous Jorvik

Today the world-famous Jorvik takes visitors on an unforgettable journey back in time to relive everyday Viking life as it was lived over 1000 years ago. It is easy to see why in 1981 the Coppergate dig and the way its treasures were shared with the public was called “possibly the biggest, perhaps the most lavish, and certainly the most imaginative excavations of our generation.”

Time Team’s Viking finds in Walmgate

The city is still yielding up gems from the Viking era. When the Time Team archaeologists excavated in Walmgate in 1999 they discovered evidence of Viking trading posts and even uncovered a beautiful and intricate bead from the period, proving that the Norsemen were craftsmen as well as warriors.

Viking Streetnames

The Vikings left their mark throughout York, particularly in the streetnames. ‘Gata’, the Scandinavian name for a road or way, is the origin of Stonegate, Petergate and many more.

And finally…

And York’s outstanding Viking heritage has allowed experts to firmly discount one popular belief. They didn’t wear horns on their helmets.

For any further information and your free guide to York please contact: York Visitor Information Centre, Tel: 01904 550099, email: info@visityork.org or visit the website at www.visityork.org

Press contact: Kay Hyde, PR Manager - Visit York, Tel: 01904 554451, email: kh@visityork.org website: www.visityork.org