The Vikings Have Landed!

Yes it was the school half term holiday last week, so the annual York Viking Festival was back in business.

This shot is an impression of a Viking ship and was amongst many displays of crafts, arts and souvenirs on show and on sale in Parliament Street and St Sampsons Square.

The Viking invasion of York took place on November 1st 866AD and was led by Ivar The Boneless who along with King Halfden renamed the city Jorvik. The Vikings who settled in York were mainly a peaceful bunch despite what we read about their bloody campaigns in other places.

The Vikings farmed the land and were craftsmen, traders, artists, engineers and ship builders. Over the one hundred years that York was under Viking rule the city prospered considerably.

Today the Viking heritage is still celebrated in the city, through the Scandinavian name for a road, ‘Gata’, which appears in street names such as Stonegate and Petergate, to the well known Jorvik Viking Centre which takes visitors on a journey back in time to relive everyday Viking life.

Ian

[Oli Lindenskov]

Great pic and storry👍😊

[Dorothy]

Looks like a fun festival for winter.

[Peter Dulis]

Is there someone sleeping under that boat ? :)

[Joan Robillard]

Good capture

[Christine Sztukowski]

This is so awesome

[Cordiander]

Nice pic. Ivar the Boneless is a scary name. I read that he had brittle bone disease.

[Margaret Brown]

A great fun festival and info

[Bill Davidson]

Nice photo and interesting text.

[Rob Z]

What a super festival to have on during school holidays.

[Judith Johnson]

What a great way to celebrate the festival

[Corinne C]

A neat story and a fun celebration!

[Babs]

Sounds like a great festival. My ancestry is Viking and our lot landed in Yorkshire.

[Boxplayer]

Clever thing

[gloria jones]

Great capture

[Kathy A]

Nice shot and narrative

[Dione Giorgio]

Lovely shot and narrative. The Vikings were great explorers.

[Fisher Family]

@mubbur @illinilass @pdulis @joansmor @365projectorgchristine @cordulaamann @craftymeg @billdavidson @robz @busylady @corinnec @onewing @boxplayer @seattlite @kjarn @sangwann

Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.

I enjoyed my wander around the displays, there is such a lot to see, though sadly a few of the displays are rather tacky. The Vikings mad a significant impact on the UK, and many of us will carry at least some Viking genes. The travels of the Vikings are a remarkable story.

Ian

[Fisher Family]

@pdulis

Not sure what it is, but it could be someone asleep, or perhaps the body of a victim of Eric Bloodaxe, or perhaps the packed lunches for all the Vikings taking part in the event!

Ian