Why was the Viking era so short?

by JustAnotherDude1q2

I was reading about Vikings and it made a quick mention of the era. It seemed very short and I was wondering if someone could answer.

BRIStoneman

It really depends what you mean by the Viking era. In England, the Vikings started raiding in 793 at Lindesfarne (although there may have been an earlier raid at Weymouth) but they'd been actively raiding France for longer. Arguably the 'First Viking Age' in England ends in the 850s, when they switch from raiding to essentially state-level attempts at conquest.

The end of the Second Viking Age in England is brought about through the military and state reforms of Alfred the Great and his children who rule Wessex and Mercia, and his grandson Æthelstan who is the first king of a united England. Viking warfare is based on mobility and speed, and the English burh system meant that strategic roads and rivers were blocked, defended and patrolled by standing garrisons. The Vikings in England are on the defensive for the 10th Century, and despite some resurgences, are essentially assimilated into England by the 960s. They simply don't have the economic background and level of state organisation to compete with the English state.

That said, the English system falls apart in the 980s onwards while Scandinavia reforms along English lines, and Cnut's conquest in 1016 marks the highpoint of a third Viking age. Technically that ends in 1066, although given that the Normans are descendants of the Vikings who integrated into France, the Viking age kind of fizzles out through waves of intermarriage and integration rather than through any main event.