We Explored the Holy Island Brutally Raided by the Vikings



In 793 AD, the holy island of Lindisfarne was subject to one of the most infamous Viking raids on Britain. ‘Heathen’ men plundered the sacred monastery in an event that shook Christian Europe.

Dan Snow travels across the tidal causeway to Lindisfarne to discover the rich culture of this holy place before the Vikings raided – a beautiful site of pilgrimage and artistry. He also goes to Jarrow to discover more about the powerful Anglo Saxon kingdom of Northumbria and its great religious and historical writers such as Bede.

And History Hit is on site at the Lindisfarne excavations of DigVentures: working with Durham University they have uncovered remarkable rune-inscribed namestones and a charming glass gaming piece that reveals the vibrant culture of the North Sea world in the early medieval period. Most intriguing of all is a complicated multiple burial that Dan witnesses being meticulously excavated.

We also examine how the Lindisfarne attack of 793 fits with the wider story of Viking raiding and settlement. Dr Jane Kershaw of Oxford University puts it into context, from earlier forays further south to the economic factors that could have driven the Vikings seaborne adventures – raids that changed the kingdom of Northumbria, and far beyond, forever…
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It was fascinating making this film and working with some very interesting organisations in the process:

DigVentures is a civic participation archaeology platform doing crowdfunded and crowdsourced work across Britain and beyond. To find out more, look at reports covering their Linsfarne excavations and get involved yourself, visit: https://digventures.com/

English Heritage look after beautiful Lindisfarne Priory and have an interesting museum on site. To find out more visit: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/lindisfarne-priory/

Jarrow Hall has a great exhibition and replica Anglo Saxon farm and village – take a look at https://jarrowhall.com/

And next to Jarrow Hall is the beautiful St Paul’s Monastery (English Heritage) and parish church, home to the Venerable Bede.

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32 thoughts on “We Explored the Holy Island Brutally Raided by the Vikings”

  1. What about the impact on the early medieval period of the cooling climate? One theory I've heard advanced as to why the Vikings turned from farmers in their own country to raiders is that a sudden shift in climate made subsistence farming impossible.

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  2. It was an informative and wonderful historical coverage documentary about Christian ✝️ Holly Island near the Northumberland kingdom sea shore….where assaulted by Pagen Vikings for plundering goods in the 9th AD century …wonderful an incredible historical explore ✨️ Archeology work thanks for sharing 😊

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  3. I've seen this story told in a million different ways now and I know exactly what happens but I've never clicked anything faster when I saw that history hit uploaded a video about it

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  4. As Ex-President Trump said, the 793 visit by Vikings was a Love fest, the Vikings were peaceful and just a Woodstock! Nobody died, except the ones that did. Was just a beautiful visit.

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  5. The Viking raids of Lindisfarne and further afield were the Pagan world’s vengeance towards the Roman Empire for their genocide of the pre-Christian Pagan world. The genocide of Gaul at the hands of Julius Caesar, the campaigns of Charlemagne and his genocide of the Saxons on behalf of the Roman Empire, etc etc. The Danes knew that Lindisfarne and other places important for the Church were large money-making centres for the “Holy” Roman Empire & they knew that attacking these centres would financially and emotionally hurt those in-power very deeply.
    Paganism will always bite back when globalist power-hubs come knocking at our doors & threaten our entire way of life and very existence. Just as today the Abrahamic mind-plague is being directed at our ancient lands, we Pagans consolidate our strength and prepare our counterattack.

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  6. Vikings didn't "raid" anybody. They retaliated against the christian missionaries who raped and pillaged their way around the world. "Vikings" were simply farmers up until they were forced to convert with the threat of death and then had their wives raped on their wedding day. Do some fucking research. Christians started it and the Scandinavian peoples finished it. Don't bite off what you can't chew. Show me a time in history that Christians weren't out wiping cultures off the face of the earth to steal their gold and rape their women. What a fucked up way to frame this.

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