Revelations in History

© MMXII V.1.0.3
by Morley Evans

Specialists often do not see the forest for the trees. They are busy examining bark and leaves. They do not see the big picture. Generalists rely on specialists for the information that makes the big picture. Without the details there cannot be a picture. Both are important.

What happened to the Vikings? The usual answer is that they faded away after the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 to become the peaceful, Christian, Scandinavians we know today. That is completely incorrect. The correct answer is they did not fade away. They changed their name and their persona. They became the people they conquered: 1). Some of the Vikings became Normans who, after a couple of generations, became French; in 1066, the Normans invaded England (immediately after Stamford Bridge) and after a couple of generations became English; after 500 years the French got rid of the English in 1453 with the Battle of Castillon. The English became the Americans in 1776. The American empire subsumed the British Empire in 1945. We live today in the Viking Empire that traces itself directly down through history to William the Conqueror in 1066 and his Viking predecessors. William's descendant lives in the castle he built at Windsor. Her name is Elizabeth II.

France at the time of Joan of Arc 1415

The Vikings faded away at the end of the Dark Ages in 1066. No, they did not. They are far more important and interesting than is usually thought. Some went west to colonize Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland. Some raided Ireland, England and Scotland. Some went south from Denmark to raid and settle all the way to the Iberian peninsula. Some entered the Mediterranean Sea to conquer Sicily and the southern half of Italy. Some established a kingdom in present day Lebanon. Some attacked the Byzantine Empire from the south. Others went east on the Baltic. They rowed their ships down the rivers of eastern Europe to the Black Sea and the Byzantine Empire which they call "Greece". The local Slavic people called these Vikings, who had become their lords, the Rus. They founded the country that became known as Russia. The most successful Viking enterprise was founded by William of Normandy. It is history's most successful empire. It is still in business today, dominating the world.