Historians usually define the Viking Age as running from the late 8th century to the mid‑11th century , roughly from 793 to 1066 CE.

Quick Scoop

  • The most common textbook dates are:
    • Start: 8 June 793 CE – the famous Viking raid on the monastery at Lindisfarne in Northumbria.
* End: 25 September 1066 CE – the Battle of Stamford Bridge, where the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada was defeated in England.
  • In short, when people ask “when was the Viking Age”, a widely accepted answer is: about 793–1066 CE.

Why those dates?

  • 793 is seen as a clear “shock moment” in written sources: Christian chroniclers recorded the Lindisfarne raid and it symbolised the start of sustained Scandinavian raiding in Western Europe.
  • 1066 marks a turning point because:
    • Scandinavian royal power had consolidated into Christian kingdoms.
    • Large‑scale overseas raiding declined, and the political map of Northern Europe shifted after the Norman Conquest of England.

Is it that simple?

Even specialists admit these dates are a convenient label, not a hard on/off switch:

  • Scandinavian seafaring, trade, and warfare were developing before 793, and continued after 1066, just in different forms.
  • Other start/end points sometimes used:
    • Early raids on England in 789.
* Local timelines in places like Ireland, Eastern Europe, or the North Atlantic that stretch a bit earlier or later.

So, for most purposes (school, quick reference, casual discussion), you can safely say:

The Viking Age ran from the late 700s to the mid‑1000s CE, usually dated 793–1066. 🕰️

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.