Chapter VII

NORTHWESTERN EUROPE IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES

The North-West region consists of two sub-regions or historical-territorial communities: Britain, which unites England, Scotland, Ireland, and Northern Europe - the Scandinavian countries and Finland. In addition to Sweden and Norway located on the Scandinavian Peninsula, according to the historical and cultural tradition, the Scandinavian countries also include Denmark, which occupies the Jutland Peninsula and adjacent islands, as well as the island of Iceland. Not only the two sub-regions included in North-Western Europe, but also the 8 countries that made them up were largely historically independent; however, they had many common features.

The Scandinavian countries were distinguished by a generally homogeneous ethno-cultural composition. By the beginning of the Middle Ages, they were inhabited mainly by northern Germans (Scandinavians), who had mutual language, economic activities, material culture, beliefs, ways of settling. Britain is different. Its main population at the beginning of the Middle Ages were the Celts, who in the southeastern part of the country underwent a certain Romanization. From the middle of the 5th to the middle of the 11th century. the sub-region was the object of almost continuous invasion and colonization by the North Germans.

Common features characteristic of the entire North-West region were similar living conditions, partly economic life, but most importantly, all the countries of this region were characterized by a largely non-synthetic path of development of feudalism (a noticeable Romanesque influence took place only in the South-East of England, in Kent). This path of development gave rise to the similarity of the social system, political organization, spiritual culture. It is no coincidence that the Scandinavian epic "Elder Edda" reflects the realities of the entire North German barbarian world, and the Anglo-Saxon "Beowulf Saga" and the Icelandic sagas are valuable sources on the history of the entire North-West region in the early Middle Ages.

Feudalism in the Northwestern region was formed relatively slowly. Pre-class barbarian structures persisted for a long time, primarily free (to varying degrees) peasantry, big family, tribal organization, neighborhood community, small land ownership and patriarchal slavery.

In the first period of the early Middle Ages (VI-VIII centuries), both sub-regions went through a barbarian stage with initial elements feudalization. In the second (IX-XI centuries), the feudal structure was formed more actively, and in England by the XI century. became the leader.

Due to warm sea ​​currents The climate of the region, excluding the northern regions, is predominantly humid and temperate. The territories of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jutland, as well as Britain are strongly elongated from north to south, which led to a significant variety of climate in all these areas, as well as soils and vegetation. The relief, which was influenced by the advancing and retreating glaciers, is represented by three forms: mountains, rolling plain and lowland. Low mountains cover almost the entire territory of Norway, only on the Atlantic coast lies a narrow strip of hilly plains. On the territory of central Sweden and the Skåne peninsula, low plateaus and hilly fertile plains predominate. The Jutland Peninsula and the Danish archipelago are flat lowlands. Britain also has the highlands of Scotland, Northern England, Cornwall and Wales are gradually moving into the plains of the south and southeast of the country, quite suitable for agriculture. Mostly flat Ireland is the "Green Isle".

The natural conditions of most of the Scandinavian sub-region are characterized by the predominance of poor stony soils, dense forest cover, low temperatures, a short growing season of plants, and a limited area of ​​lowlands. These conditions were not conducive to agriculture. Favorable conditions for arable farming were in lowland Denmark and in most of the future England. At the same time, the conditions of the region contributed to cattle breeding, in particular sheep breeding.

Important common feature nature of the North-West region - its proximity to the sea. The north of the region is the coast of the Northern Arctic Ocean and the Barents Sea. West and southwest through the Norwegian and North Seas, like the British Isles, are washed by the waters of the boundless Atlantic. The sea played prominent role in political life, occupations, economic, cultural ties population of the countries of the North-West region. Longest coastlines, indented by many kilometers of narrow bays-fjords, provided a lot of convenient ports and parking lots. In the occupations of the population, the most important place was occupied by sea crafts, navigation and shipbuilding, and maritime trade. The sea contributed to the political unification of the northern countries, the internal consolidation of each of them. At the same time, the sea and the straits - the English Channel, Sound (Øresund), Kattegat, Skagerrak - contributed to the early development of contacts, including trade between the countries of the North-West region. It should also be noted the abundance in the region inland waters- lakes (especially in Scandinavia) and rivers, which connected with each other and with the sea all the interior regions of the region.

In the early Middle Ages, the population density of the Northwestern region was still quite low. The Danish territories, South-East England, the eastern coast of Scandinavia, the islands of Elaid and Gotland were most densely populated. At the beginning of the Middle Ages (5th-6th centuries), the movement of North Germanic tribes took place in the region. Tribes, as well as unions of related tribes, as a rule, were fragile, they were the main political associations there, they were the supreme owner-manager and guardian of the occupied territory.

Central Sweden was already occupied at that time by the Svei, divided into eastern, southern and northern ones. To the south are the Yotas (Goths, Geats, later Guts); some of them inhabited the island of Gotland. The settlement of these main tribal groups is captured in the later names of the territory: Svealand (Land of the Svei), Yotaland (Land of the Yots), Gotland (Land of the Guts). In the V - the first half of the VI century. large communities developed on the territories of the Svei and Yots, which apparently became the first barbarian kingdoms: Svitiod and Gautiod, led by kings, more precisely, king-leaders who were chosen from the noble family of the Ynglings. From this family, according to legend, came the Swedish and Norwegian kings.

In Western Scandinavia, there were small tribes of the Ranrikians ( modern area Ostfoll), Raums (in the area of ​​modern Oslo), Trends (Trondheim) and others - up to 30 German- and Finnish-speaking tribes in total. In the second half of the 1st millennium, four tribal unions formed on the territory of Norway. The Skåne peninsula was inhabited by tribal associations of the Danes, who also lived on the islands of the Danish archipelago and in North Jutland. In the V-VI centuries. Jutes and Angles settled in Jutland, Saxons and neighboring Frisians partially leaked there. Simultaneously with the kingdoms of the Ynglings in Sweden and Norway, the kingdom of Skvoldungs ​​in Denmark arose.

Region modern Finland Since ancient times, the Sami-Lapps (Laplanders), who roamed in the north, inhabited, the Finns, who occupied the south of the country, and the Karelians - in its southeast. In the middle of the 1st millennium, among the disunited local tribes, tribal unions Häme (Tavasts) and Finns (Suomi), as well as Karelians.

In Britain at the beginning of the Middle Ages, the tribes and tribal unions of the Celts - Gaels, Belgians, Britons, Picts, Scots, etc. North Sea. At first, the Germanic vigilantes appeared on the island, who were hired by the Celtic tribal leaders who fought among themselves. Then mass (whole tribes) resettlement of the Germans to Britain began. The German conquerors formed on the territory of the future England seven barbarian kingdoms: Kent - the kingdom of the Jutes in the extreme southeast of modern England; the Saxon kingdoms of Wessex, Sussex in the south of the country, Essex in the east north of Kent, the kingdoms of the Angles - Northumbria in the north and Mercia - in the center of the country; East Anglia - north of Essex. These kingdoms entered into a fierce struggle among themselves. The priority of Kent (the end of the 6th and 7th centuries) was replaced by the leadership of Northumbria (from the middle of the 7th century), Mercia (the 8th century). The ruler of the dominant kingdom - Britwalda ("Lord of Britain") - had the right to receive tribute and military aid from other kings.

Celts at the beginning of the 7th century. they were mainly pushed back to the northern and western outskirts of Britain, partially exterminated, part of the Britons moved to the Armorica peninsula (future Brittany). An insignificant part of the Celts, who remained to live interspersed with the Germans as their slaves and tributaries, subsequently assimilated with the conquerors. The Celts retained their independence, tribal system only in mountainous regions - on the peninsulas of Wales and Cornwall (Britons), as well as in Scotland (Picts, Gaels, Scots) and Ireland (Scots).

The economy of the Northwestern region in the early Middle Ages was extensive. But economic life varied considerably depending on local conditions. On the far north In Norway and Sweden, the main occupations were reindeer herding and hunting. Even in the IX-X centuries. cattle ranching was the mainstay of the economy here, as was the case in Fennoscania (future Finland), the highlands of Britain, as well as in Scotland and Ireland. Shepherding was combined with agriculture, and the significant role of crafts (fishing and hunting for sea animals) remained. Plow farming was the main occupation on the plains of England, Denmark, Skåne, southern and eastern Sweden, and southeastern Norway. The rest of the Scandinavians did not know the correct crop rotation for a long time. Developed agriculture was also everywhere combined with livestock breeding, especially since the bulls served as a draft force, and a lot of manure was required to fertilize the soil. According to later records, 6-12 cows was the average for a large family farm in Norway. With the relatively small size of arable land, with difficulty conquered from stones and forests, in Scandinavia, abundant manure made it possible to leave the land less often for fallow. The Anglo-Saxons and Danes already in the 1st millennium were dominated by a two-field system, which only gradually spread to the agricultural regions of the Scandinavian Peninsula, replacing the slash-and-burn system.

In Britain, the Celts, and later the Anglo-Saxons, used a wheeled plow with a moldboard on heavy soils, to which 4-8 oxen were harnessed; the ground under it was cut into long strips (" long brim"). Then the wheeled plow and the system of "long fields" were borrowed in Denmark, and through it on the Scandinavian Peninsula. But a wooden plow with an iron plowshare prevailed here for a long time, it is more convenient to work stony soils with it. In addition, in both sub-regions, a light, moldboardless plow with a team of two oxen was used.

Since the end of the 1st millennium, due to population growth, internal colonization has intensified due to the clearing of territories from forests and the drainage of swamps. New settlements were founded. In general, internal colonization was associated with economic progress and population dynamics. But important factors there were also changes in the social and political system: the growth and isolation of the nobility, the development of relations of land dependence, the folding of barbarian kingdoms.

The peoples of the entire region were excellent sailors and shipbuilders. The oar-sailing ships of the Scandinavians, stable and maneuverable, were especially famous. Owning a ship was also a sign of power. Pagan kings of the Viking Age were usually buried in a ship, such burials have been found in East Anglia and in the kingdom of Svitjod. In long-distance sea voyages, a special type of brave, warlike and enterprising northern navigator developed.

The special wealth of the region was metal ores, on the basis of which certain crafts emerged early: ore mining, foundry, blacksmithing, weapons and jewelry. In Britain, in particular, Dean Forest was famous for its iron, Cornwall for lead and tin; the territory of Central Sweden - reserves of iron and copper. Among other crafts, shipbuilding and stone-cutting, pottery (except for Norway, where there were no clays of their own and ceramics were imported), spinning and making fabrics from linen and wool should be noted. Coarse wool weaving and cloth making were developed in Britain and Sweden, fine cloth was produced in the south of the Jutland Peninsula and in some parts of England. Salt making was widespread in England. Crafts were mostly domestic in nature. However, already in the V-VI centuries. there is a tendency for the concentration of handicrafts (especially blacksmithing) and exchange in some places.

The greatest success was achieved in the early Middle Ages by material culture and trade in England. In its southeastern regions, the Romans built many excellent roads, harbors, and fortifications; they taught the British how to use the coin, develop deposits of metal ores and salt, stone construction, introduced them to some agricultural crops. Finally, under the influence of the Romans, the largest Celtic settlements turned into cities of the Roman type: Londinium (London), Camulodunus (Colchester), Verulamius (St. Albans). Many cities grew up around the former military camps of the Romans (as evidenced by the names in -chester and -caster).

And after the departure of the Romans in Southeast and Central Britain, the villas of the Celtic nobility, based on the exploitation of slaves and columns, remained for some time. However, in other parts of the country, a primitive clan system dominated. On the whole, the Romanization of Britain was nowhere near as deep as in Gaul. The Anglo-Saxons brought a more primitive social order to Britain and in the course of the conquest destroyed much of the Roman heritage, including in the southeast of the country. But even these weak elements of the Romano-Germanic synthesis were of great importance. The impact of Anglo-Saxon institutions, and later also contacts with the more developed society of the Frankish kingdom, in the presence of such a basic factor as the predominance of agriculture here, led to a greater dynamism in the development of England than other areas of the region. The next place in terms of development was occupied by Denmark, then - by Norway, Sweden. Ireland, Scotland and Fennoscania lagged behind the most. From the end of the 4th century trade relations The Northwestern region with the Mediterranean world were broken, but internal ties between the subregions increased, as well as contacts between the Scandinavians and Western Slavs, Baltic and Finnish tribes, England - with the Frankish state.

At the beginning of the Middle Ages, the peoples of Northwestern Europe lived in a tribal society at the stage of military democracy. Natural conditions and peripheral position hampered the decomposition of primitive communal relations in this region. The monuments of the Old Norse epic, the sudniks (“pravda”) of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, as well as the data of archeology, toponymy, historical linguistics unanimously testify that the majority of the population of the region at the beginning of the Middle Ages were free, full-fledged community members: curls among the Anglo-Saxons, karls or bonds among the Scandinavians. Curl or bond - primarily a farmer, a peasant, sometimes also engaged in cattle breeding and crafts. They were usually the heads of large families, which included, as a rule, three generations - up to several dozen relatives and kept several slaves. The head of such a kindred collective disposed of property and household, judged his household members and performed pagan rites. Small individual families began to prevail in England not earlier than the middle of the 7th century, and among other peoples of the region much later. At the same time, traces of tribal ties and a large family remained for a long time and everywhere (the right to the wergeld of relatives, the collective right of the clan to hereditary land, the right of blood feud).

Free community members - heads of families participated in a national gathering: a mote (or a large gathering - gemote) of the Saxons, a met or a ting of Scandinavians. There they decided the affairs of the tribe concerning war and peace, the payment of tribute and the election of a leader, they held court, discussed economic issues. Free community members had the right-duty to bear arms and participate in the militia: the firde of the Anglo-Saxons, the hirde and ledung of the Scandinavians. All this testified to their full rights.

The narrow upper stratum of society was made up of the tribal nobility: the earls of the Anglo-Saxons, the jarls and hevdings of the Scandinavians. A noble member of the tribe owned several dozen large estates, which were serviced by personally dependent people: slaves-tralls and columns. Military service people also belonged to the privileged part of society: the bodyguards of the king and the nobility (huscarls of the Anglo-Saxons, huscarls of the Scandinavians), as well as other warriors and ministerials (gesites of the Anglo-Saxons, guards of the Scandinavians).

There was a noticeable stratum in one way or another of the personally dependent population, sharply separated from the free. In the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, these were years close to the Roman columns, and similar to the slaves of the Sue and Wili (apparently, part of the local Celts who lost their land and freedom). Among the Scandinavians, the interlayer of trells and colons in the period under consideration was formed mainly due to captives. In the households of ordinary community members, as a rule, domestic slaves (servants) were used, probably performing auxiliary functions. In the estates of the nobility, slaves planted on the land, unfree and semi-free people also worked. Role of slaves in folding feudal relations in Scandinavia and Britain was very significant.

The different social status of the individual strata was reflected in the size of the wergelds. According to the Kentish Pravda (VI century), 200 shillings were paid for the murder of a curl, 400 shillings for an earl, and 600 shillings for a gezit (from the end of the 7th century); and for the summer, ulu, wilya - from 40 to 80 shillings.

Slowly (in England not earlier than the middle of the 7th century, in Scandinavia later) a transition was made from a large family to a neighboring community. In Scandinavia, due to the peculiarities of natural conditions, occupations and the method of settlement, such a community often took on looser forms. In Jutland and the Danish Islands, where village settlements have been fixed since the beginning of the new era, a classic neighborhood community, the brand, has developed. A community of this type also took shape in Britain, gradually destroying the family community. The territory occupied in the process of resettlement became the common land of the conquerors - folkland. Its supreme manager was the king, who endowed the land to the tribal nobility and combatants. The territories of individual communities were considered part of the folkland. Arable land was distributed for hereditary use among free family groups.

The land of the neighboring community consisted of many scattered plots, lying in strips in accordance with the system of fields adopted here - in two (rarely three) fields. The totality of such plots received by the Curl (with his large or small family) in each field constituted his inalienable allotment. Usually it was equal to a haida - an average of about 50 hectares (a plot that could be worked by a team of eight oxen). However, the earls had estates of 40 guides, the gesites - 3-20 guides each. Royal confidants sometimes received hundreds of guides - entire districts. The lands were in the joint use of community members; grazing was carried out in pairs (the system of "open fields") and forced crop rotation. The possession of a curl could not be alienated without the consent of the community and the closest relatives - members of a large family.

As the individual family develops and large land holdings the original equality of the curls was violated. Some of them began to fall into land and personal dependence. The royal power strongly contributed to the growth of large landownership. Already in the VII-VIII centuries. English kings began to distribute separate territories to their servants and churches according to special letters (side) for a period of life, less often in hereditary management (under their judiciary) and in "feeding" (receiving part of the royal requisitions and fines). The holders of such land (bockland) were called glafords (later lords), which means seigneur, lord. People carrying military and other services to the king, clergymen and church institutions - holders of bocklands began to be exempt from taxes. At first, the boxland was not their landed property, but, as it were, an immune district. But, having wide judicial and fiscal rights in it, Glaford gradually made the Curls, especially the impoverished ones, in land dependence. They were given land for use - for bearing corvée and dues. The distribution of bocklands has become in England one of the main ways of building up a large feudal tenure. But a strong community hampered the decomposition of the free peasantry and the process of feudalization. Essentially in Britain until the ninth century. neither allod nor precaria formed. State exploitation prevailed until the 10th century.

To an even greater extent, these processes were slowed down on the Scandinavian Peninsula. The natural conditions of the European North, unfavorable for the development of agriculture, contributed to the long-term preservation of the North German tradition of isolated single-yard or farm settlements there, owned by a large family that also owned slaves. Initially, the union of several large families was patronymy and, apparently, among the northern Scandinavians, the genus - ett. Such families probably inhabited the "large" or "long" houses that covered Scandinavia in the first centuries AD. and remained in Sweden until the VI., and in Norway until the VII century. Villages in Northern Europe arose no later than the 1st millennium, but remained scattered and small in size - from 3 to 8 households.

The possession of a karl or bond - odal ("property") was the inalienable collective property of a large family. Even in the conditions of feudal relations, the Norwegians retained the concept of "anciently inherited land." Swedish laws singled out the so-called arv as part of real estate - land that was inherited in the family for at least two generations. supreme law land ownership and here originally belonged to the tribe, and then passed to the kings. Ownership of an odal gave the bond civil full rights, which distinguished him from the aliens, slaves, and freedmen who settled on the territory of a farm or village. Odal, like the English folkland, could not be alienated without the consent of a certain circle of relatives, but he was less dependent on the neighboring community. The community among the Scandinavians was generally less clearly defined, did not know the system of "open fields", striping and forced crop rotation, but in its collective property there were common lands - almennings ("possessions of all people"), which she disposed of. To a certain extent, the neighboring community also regulated the ownership of arable land, since plots of arable land were cut from the almenning for those community members who lacked it, land for the villagers, etc. The forces of the neighboring communities built defensive structures for entire regions, the neighbors gathered for Things and for the performance of religious rites, and went on campaigns together.

Bonds were the backbone, the backbone of the Old Norse society. But along with them, there were already dozens of personally dependent people who served each estate of a noble husband, often the farms of simple bonds. In addition, among the free Scandinavians, there were land-poor and landless poor people - the Husmans. Already by virtue of their lack of land, they were doomed to lack of rights in the community. At the other extreme of society was the tribal nobility. The power and wealth of the Scandinavian tribal nobility, especially the kings, is evidenced by the "big mounds" in the Swedish Uppland and in South-East Norway. The composition of this upper stratum is already beginning to expand to include military service people.

In the process of settlement, inter-tribal struggle and conquests, the tribal homogeneity of the Germans of the North-West region was destroyed. Territorial administrative structure. Several communities united in districts - hundreds (English hundert, scand. hund, later hundari), each with its own assembly. The hundredth division had a direct connection with the military organization of the population - the military militia of the community members. Hundreds united in more than large areas who occupied the lands of the former tribal associations. In Sweden, these were lands, in England - shires (future counties), in Norway - counties. The affairs of the region, respectively, were decided on its people's assembly- Volksmote Anglo-Saxons, Volksmet or Folketing Scandinavians. The elected guardian who headed the regional gathering - the lagman ("guardian of the law") of the Scandinavians and the eldorman ("senior man") of the Anglo-Saxons had significant powers and authority.

The supreme power, in particular the right of the highest court, belonged to the kings. They also performed, apparently, sacred functions. And although the crown was inherited by the royal family, the succession to the throne was formalized through elections, and its order was often violated. In the North German epic, the king (rig, germ, rigr) is the recognized son of God, who received from him his power, property and, as it were, “creating society” power.

Under the Anglo-Saxon kings, a council of magnates, the so-called "council of the wise" (uitenagemot), also took part in the election of kings. A similar body - the council of nobles (genus) arose among the Scandinavians.

Instead of a guarantee of peace and protection, the administration of military and sacred functions, the kings begin to receive the first, earliest tax from their fellow tribesmen. At first it is polyudye, gifts, feeding - a feast; in Scandinavia, respectively - skatt and weitzla, in England - firm or "money" (geld). Tributes and all other requisitions were delivered to tax collection points or to the residence of the king. In each estate, the king lived for a certain time, together with the court and a certain number of combatants, consuming what he collected. In England, a firm in the 7th century. all free peasants paid. The unit of taxation was the usual put on of a curl-gaida. Nobility and church institutions, receiving boxland, enjoyed fiscal privileges. State requisitions prevailed in the exploitation of the peasants. The kings, in addition, received income in the form of duties from foreign trade, as well as tribute - "gifts" from the leaders of subject tribes. But the most stable, regular was the income of the kings from the emerging domain and his own (family) estates, which the rulers expanded in every way.

Thus, by the 7th-8th centuries. the main features of the tribal system among the peoples of the North-West region have already disappeared. The independence and equality of all members of the tribe were violated, early statehood began to take shape. However, vestiges of military democracy persisted in the region much longer than in continental Europe.

The beliefs, morality and ideology of the pagan Scandinavians until the end of the 1st millennium retained the features of a warlike and free barbarian world. The custom of blood feud was strictly observed. The supreme god Odin, as well as the gods Thor, Frey and Freya, the aces (later the goddess of fertility) and other gods personified the supreme power over the world, they protected the family hearth and the weak, patronized the brave. Like the tribal nobility, they spent their time in wars and robberies. In the abode of Odin Valhalla - the coveted afterlife of the Scandinavian - only those who fell on the battlefield were allowed. The rite of burial was given great importance. The king, a noble person, for reasons of prestige, was buried in a boat (because they imitated it with stones laid out in the ground) or in high barrows. In Scandinavia, godi priests usually belonged to the nobility, the power of kings also had a sacred character.

Christianity was already known only in England in the early Middle Ages, although here it was introduced with difficulty: the Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons, which began in 597, was basically completed only by the end of the 7th century. The earlier Christianization of this subregion corresponded to a more rapid process of development of early feudal relations and, in turn, as in other regions, contributed to this process and the strengthening of early feudal state in England.

VIKING AGE (END OF VIII - FIRST HALF OF XI CENTURY)

From the middle of the 8th century the process of class formation in Scandinavia led to an outbreak of activity and to a new “ejection” of the population of the subregion beyond its borders. The Viking Age (793-1066) is characterized by the wide expansion of the Scandinavians in Europe. Scandinavians, who in Europe were usually called Normans (and in Russia also Varangians), settled big islands North Atlantic, created their colonies and principalities in Britain, Northern France, Southern Italy and Sicily, founded a settlement in North America, served as combatants and warriors in Russia and Byzantium, reached the Volga region and Caliphate of Baghdad. In the history of the North-West region, the Viking Age was characterized by the acceleration of the genesis of feudal relations, more effective in England, then in Denmark, less - in Sweden, Norway, Ireland, and Scotland.

The decomposition of the tribal system, the development of the individual family and the formation of statehood sharply intensified the struggle between the individual strata of Scandinavian society. But above all, they gave rise to a relative overpopulation and an acute shortage of livelihoods, the stable source of which was the land. The possibilities of internal colonization, which began in Northern Europe in the 8th century, were severely limited by natural conditions. This stimulated the desire to "expand" beyond their own territory. The Norwegians organized their military-trading expeditions against their northern neighbors - the Saami (Lapps), imposing tribute on them or directly seizing their lands. The Swedes operated mainly on the Finnish coast and in the Baltic states, receiving tribute from the local population in furs, skins, whalebone, which the Vikings sold "beyond the sea."

In search of places suitable for settlement, especially for peasant colonization, the eyes of the Scandinavians turned to the richer territories of Europe. Fishermen, sea hunters, brave sailors and skilled shipbuilders were not embarrassed by long voyages.

At the core military organization The Vikings had two components: the militia (ledung) and the ship. The Scandinavians built maneuverable single-masted ships (drakens) with oars and a sail, up to 23 m or more in length and 5 m in width, with a sculpture of a dragon on the bow. Often dozens and hundreds of ships gathered on a campaign. The Vikings were well armed; each had a long sword and knife, a battle ax and a pike, an iron helmet, metal mail and a shield.

The equipment of the ships was carried out by bonds united in ship districts. A team-detachment was made up of bonds - up to 60-100 adult soldiers. Riding horses were loaded on ships (for movement by land), stocks fresh water and food, including livestock. The warriors hung their shields along the sides of the ship and sat on the oars. Teams were usually led by a noble person - a jarl, and a large ledung - by a king or members of his family. Noble Scandinavians had their own ships, went on campaigns with their squad.

From the end of the 8th century episodic pirate raids of the Vikings on ships and villages of the nearest coasts are replaced by regular massive and organized campaigns, sometimes with the aim of capturing new territories. At the beginning of the X century. the activity of the expansion of the Vikings falls due to the need to master what has already been captured, as well as due to the rebuff from the consolidated European states. The last outbreak of military activity of the Vikings occurred at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century.

Most of the Ledungs ​​were attended by representatives of various North Germanic tribes. But still, the Danes and Norwegians went mainly to Western Europe, the Swedes - to the East. The most important for the local population were the Viking captures in Britain, where the Danes and Norwegians played the main role, but the Swedes and Gotlanders also participated. In 793, the Danes, as all Vikings were called in Britain, destroyed a monastery on the island of Lindisfarne off the coast of Northumbria. Not meeting a serious rebuff from the Anglo-Saxons, in 866 they took York, Rochester, London and other cities, ruined many settlements, while destroying the Christian clergy and reviving paganism. Most of the country was in the hands of the Danes: half of Northumbria and Mercia, East Anglia and Essex. Northwestern Northumbria at the same time fell into the hands of the Norwegians, who invaded there from Ireland, where in the 30s of the IX century. Viking Prince Olav created a kingdom centered in Dublin. Now the Vikings began to settle in the occupied territories, bringing families and settling especially in the eastern and northern regions England, which became the "Area of ​​Danish Law" (Eng. Denlo, Scand. Danelag).

Similarly, the Vikings colonized the east coast of Ireland, as well as East and West Scotland. They established their own rules on the conquered lands, imposed tribute on the local population - “Danish money”, with which they paid off new Scandinavian raids. Among the Anglo-Saxons, the Danes assimilated rather quickly, which was facilitated by the adoption of Christianity by the Denlo Scandinavians. But their dominance left a significant imprint on the development of Denlo; East and North East England remained more backward throughout most of the Middle Ages, with a larger stratum of free peasantry.

Under King Alfred the Great (871-899 or 900), the Anglo-Saxons, having created a strong fleet, a system of fortifications and a ground army, stopped the advances of the Normans in the liberation struggle and began to retake England. By the 70s of the X century. England was united again, including Denlo. Since the 90s, under the English king Ethelred the Indecisive (978-1016), the Vikings, having strengthened due to the folding of three large, united kingdoms in Scandinavia, resumed attacks on England. After the death of Ethelred, the Danish king Knut the Great became the king of England (1016-1035), made it his support and the center of a huge power, which also included Denmark and Schleswig (1018-1035), Norway (1030-1035), southern part Scandinavian Peninsula (Skone, Halland, Blekinge). However, after the death of King Knut, his power fell apart. In England, his sons Harald ruled for some time, then Hardaknut, but then the nobility elected his son Ethelred Edward (1042-1066) king. Later, in 1066, the Norwegian king Harald Hardrad (Terrible) made an attempt to seize the country, but was defeated by the British at Stamfordbridge.

Around 1001, the leader of Munster (Southern Ireland), Brian Boroyme, became the supreme leader (king) of the Irish tribes. Thus ended the rule of the Danes in Ireland. Ireland remained independent until the capture of part of the country by the English feudal lords at the end of the 12th century.

Established in the same XI century. (also during the liberation struggle against the Normans), the Kingdom of Scotland retained its independence until the end of the 13th century.

Simultaneously with the conquests in Britain, the Danes and Norwegians began robbery and seizures on the coast continental Europe. They, predominantly Danes, created the duchy of Normandy, a vassal of France, at the mouth of the Seine (911). It was from Normandy in 1066 that the last conquest of England in history was carried out.

The Norse operated mainly in Celtic Ireland and Scotland. They settled on the Orkney and Shetland Islands, which began to inhabit even before the Viking Age; mastered the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the Faroe Islands, reached Svalbard. In 874, the Norwegians began settling a deserted island, which they called the "Ice Country" - Iceland. By 930, they had occupied and divided up vast seaside territories suitable for habitation. Economic and social relations the island retained a pre-feudal character. Magnificent sailors, Icelanders in the 80s of the X century. settled in Greenland, and at the end of 1000 the noble Viking Leif Eiriksson landed in North America, where Scandinavian colonies existed in the first third of the 12th century.

The bulk of the diverse Vikings in Eastern Europe and Byzantium were the Swedes, who in Russia were called the Varangians (and the Baltic Sea - Varangian). Trade and service in the squads of princes gradually became the most important sphere of their activity in Russia. In general, the Vikings were widely engaged in barter, trade transit and the sale of loot, growing rich at this expense. The Vikings also went on special trading expeditions. The Swedes traded most actively, moving along the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" and along the Volga - to the Bulgars, Khazars and the Transcaspian peoples.

In foreign territories, the more feudalized Danes preferred to seize cultural territories and, not limited to receiving tribute, conduct arable farming there, and sometimes adopted the feudal customs of local societies. The Norwegians either captured the pre-feudal outskirts, where they collected tribute, or colonized uninhabited lands, even far ones; there they were engaged not in agriculture, but in shepherding and sea fishing. The Swedes imposed tribute and partially captured the underdeveloped areas of the Baltic region, and in the more developed and rich environment of Russia and, to a lesser extent, Byzantium, they were introduced primarily as service people and merchants. In Northwestern Europe, the Viking campaigns contributed to the folding united state in England, accelerated the development class society, feudal state, church organization and the urban system of the Scandinavians.

FORMATION OF FEUDAL RELATIONS IN ENGLAND

In the second half of the early medieval period, the development of the British sub-region became even more uneven. Among the Celts, primarily in the areas of Ireland and Scotland untouched by the Normans, to a lesser extent on the peninsulas of Wales and Cornwall, the tribal (clan) system still dominated.

The social development of England was more and more accelerated. In the IX - the first half of the XI century. the feudal system in England becomes the leading one. The kings are increasingly practicing the distribution of vacant, as well as lands inhabited by Curls, to their ministerials, warriors-gesites (later - thegns); the bocklands (see above) are increasingly attached to the glafords, who become large landowners, owners of the granted land (from the end of the 9th century - with the right to freely alienate it) and the lords of the people living there. Church institutions are gradually becoming large landowners, also at the expense of royal grants.

The position of the peasants has changed drastically. In the ninth century already there is an individual property of a community member on an allotment with the right of alienation (similar to the Frankish allod). With its emergence and the separation of small families, there is a fragmentation of allotments: if a large family usually owned a haida, then an individual family owned a virgata (a quarter of a haida, approx. 10.25 acres). This stimulated property stratification among the free Anglo-Saxons; and the continuous robberies and requisitions of the Normans, the growth of payments in favor of the feudal lords and the state contributed to the ruin of many curls.

Under these conditions, not only peasants of non-free origin (colons-uili), but also the descendants of Curls, personally free genites, and partly Geburs, turned out to be land dependent on the Glafords (see below). By paying dues or bearing corvee for the land allotment received from the master, the geburs lost their full rights and found themselves attached to the land. If the glaford received from the king the right of jurisdiction over the immune territory (the so-called soku), then all its inhabitants also fell into judicial dependence on the landowner. Gradually, this territory turned into a fiefdom. From the first half of the X century. a person who did not have a lord, according to the "Laws of Athelstan", was obliged to urgently "find himself a lord."

In the middle of the 10th century, according to The Truth of King Edmund, land-dependent peasants were already considered incompetent. The level of patrimonial exploitation of the peasants was significant. Treatise of the first half of the XI century. "On the Rights and Duties of Different Persons" gives an idea of ​​the manor of a middle-class feudal lord of that time. It distinguishes three main categories of the peasantry: 1) genits - previously free Curls, who turned out to be dependent on the lord - the owner of the bockland. They paid a number of small payments in kind, carried out some orders of the master ("on horseback"), but at the same time they were obliged to the king for horse military service; 2) geburs - peasants who were in heavy land dependence (since they sat on the land of the lord). They probably descended from slaves or wiles, but sometimes from Curls who had lost their right to allotment. Geburas carried the heaviest, including field, corvée (2-3 days a week), made many payments in kind and in cash. This category of dependent peasants, who sat on a medium-sized allotment, bore the main burden of cultivating the lord's land; 3) cotters (kossetli, kotsetli) were holders of the same type, but with small land plots. They also carried weekly corvée, but on a smaller scale, and many small payments. The Kotters were descended from ruined freemen, former slaves and freedmen. On the manor's estate, the labor of yard slaves-serfs was sometimes used.

However, the feudal fiefdom in England by the end of the early medieval period had not yet become widespread. The manorial structure was characteristic primarily for large landholdings. Middle England, and in the country as a whole it was precisely small estates and a transitional form of patrimony that were based mainly on the labor of domestic slaves.

A feature of early feudalism in England was the large proportion of the free peasantry. A significant part of it is still in the X-XI centuries. retained not only personal freedom, but also the right to land, the rights and obligations of a community member and a militia. The preservation of a significant category of free, full-fledged small landowners, who stood, as it were, between the peasants and small patrimonial owners, did not allow individual social categories get closed. According to the treatise of the X - beginning of the XI century. “On Secular Differences and the Law”, a merchant who “sailed the sea three times”, or a free curl, who possessed certain property and a land qualification (5 land guides), could, on condition of serving the king, move into the category of heavily armed warriors - thegns. Undeveloped until the end of the XI century. vassalage and immunity relations also remained.

From the end of the 8th century the successes of the feudalization process and the expansion of the Normans stimulated the political unification of the Anglo-Saxons and the strengthening of the early feudal state. The king of Wessex, the least destroyed by the Scandinavian invasions and turned into a stronghold of anti-Norman resistance, from the 9th century. became Britwald - "Lord of Britain". Under King Ecbert in 829, the history of the united early feudal English state began.

In the 70-90s of the IX century. under King Alfred the Great, this state was significantly strengthened, and the struggle against the Danes also contributed to internal consolidation. Along the border of the country, especially along the coast, up to 30 forts grew. The first English fleet is being created - over 100 "long" (60 or more oars each) ships, more stable and fast than the Scandinavian ones. The ground forces are also being reorganized. It mainly consisted of peasant militia. However, the main fighting force of the troops is now professional heavily armed mounted warriors, each of which owned 5 guides of land. They had metal armor and were accompanied by several foot soldiers. The heavily armed cavalry also included tenes and large feudal lords, including spiritual ones, with their detachments. Thegns, basically the predecessors of future knights, who received land from the king for their service, now made up the majority of feudal lords and became the mainstay of royal power.

Under Alfred, the first all-English legislation “The Truth of King Alfred” (c. 890) was also created, which unified and reworked, in accordance with the conditions of the 9th century, the provisions of the former judges of Wessex, Mercia, and Kent. This legislation depicts a society whose tribal basis has already been destroyed. Construction and military duties, as well as taxes, bear the brunt of the Curls, whose legal status is declining. In the middle of the 10th century, under King Edgar (959-975), the name "Land of the Angles" (Engla land), which previously denoted only the possessions of the Wessex kings, spread to the whole country, and its inhabitants began to be called English. At the beginning of the XI century. Danish king Knut the Great became the king of England (1016-1035), making it his support and the center of a huge power, including Denmark and Schleswig (1018-1035), Norway (1030-1035), the southern regions of the Scandinavian Peninsula. In an effort to gain a foothold in England, Knut the Great objectively contributed to the strengthening of English feudal statehood. In his code (“Laws of Knut”), he confirmed the privileges of the feudal lords and the judicial dependence of the peasants on them. State power under Knut and his successor sons was perceived by the masses as main source operation. In 1041, the rebellious population killed the tax collectors Danish king Hardacnut (1040-1042), in 1051-1052. a widespread rebellion arose in the country against the English king Edward the Confessor, demanding "just laws". After the death of this last Anglo-Saxon king, in the course of the unrest that flared up among the pretenders to the English throne, the Duke of Normandy, William, advanced. At the end of September 1066, his powerful army (5 thousand soldiers, 2 thousand of them heavily armed), where knights from all over France gathered, concentrated on the English Channel. Up to 700 baroque transport ships were prepared. Having loaded soldiers, horses, food on them, Duke William crossed the strait and landed on the English coast. On October 14 of the same year, in a battle near the port of Hastings, the knightly army of the Normans utterly defeated the hastily assembled Anglo-Saxon peasant militia. At the end of 1066, the Duke of Normandy was anointed king in Westminster and became King William I of England.

§ 6. Europe in early Middle Ages(V - X centuries) The emergence of medieval civilization. European medieval history can be divided into two periods: the early Middle Ages (V - X centuries) - folding new civilization as a result of the interaction of ancient heritage with

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Starting from the turn of the 7th-8th centuries. and especially in the ninth century. there is another trend that is increasingly influencing the cultural and artistic development Baltic countries - the influence of the northwestern and Western European cultures of Ireland, England and the Frankish power of the Merovingians, and then the Carolingians. For some areas of Scandinavia, this trend has become decisive. It is not always possible to reveal its influence in detail. However, undoubtedly art style of the Viking Age in the art of Scandinavia, represented by magnificent examples in the carving of the Oseberg ship (ill. 13, color ill. 6), as well as countless works of small forms, its appearance is very much due to plant motifs drawn from Frankish art, as well as to the image " Carolingian lion." In the IX-X centuries. these motifs merged in Scandinavian art with ribbon weaving and animal ornaments characteristic of it 49 . However, the latter, it seems, was in turn formed in the previous Vendel period (VI-VIII centuries) under the influence of Anglo-Saxon and especially Irish-Scottish Celtic art 50 . Both the continental European, Frankish, and insular, Anglo-Irish, zones remained a source of influence on the art of Scandinavia throughout the Viking Age until the 11th century. The next wave of impulses is revealed at the end of the Viking Age at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century, when new Western European elements appeared in Scandinavian ornamentation: "masks" and "antennae". Two richly decorated caskets from Bamberg and Kamen, the latter undoubtedly made in the Baltic, demonstrate these connections 51 . Finally, in the late Jellingian style, the image of a large beast is spreading, completely filling the plane of the image; it displaces the animal ornament dating back to the previous period. The beast, depicted in full growth, is particularly monumental. It remains open, however, the question of how widely this new image spread in Scandinavian art, which owes its origin to continental art 52 (ill. 14).

List of Nordic countries. Tourism: capitals, cities and resorts. Maps of foreign states of the Northern Europe region.

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Land of ice and volcanoes, Vikings and fjords, Nobel Prizes and Niels with wild geese, Northern Europe, also referred to as Scandinavia, in many ways unique land. The standard of universalism - from the notorious Swedish families to the Ikea store, orderliness and truly Nordic fortitude, a region with one of the highest living standards in the world, whose citizens demonstrate simply phenomenal examples of a happy, secure old age and the longevity resulting from it, a fiefdom harsh northern nature in all its piercing ice beauty, the birthplace of real men and warlike women, as well as modern queens and kings - all this is about the Scandinavian countries. To feel their soul most clearly, imagine a field of ripe wheat dormant in a milk mist under the morning frost: warmth, comfort, ice, abundance, majestic beauty and stamina - such is Scandinavia, the northernmost part of the Old World.

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In short, Northern Europe is usually referred to European countries cold seas - the Baltic, Norwegian and North (as opposed to the warm southern "Mediterranean" and the western Atlantic). These are Norway and Sweden, dividing the territory of the Scandinavian Peninsula between themselves (poetically speaking, the body of the "tiger" along with the front paws), Finland (its ham and hind legs - well, how can you not remember the famous movie!), As well as Denmark and the "torn off" from the continent of Iceland. These states are close not only geographically, but also boast a common and rather long history, starting from the time when the Goths and Vikings, knowing no borders, roamed the harsh expanses of the peninsula.

Speaking strictly within the framework of geography, several archipelagos are also included here: the Faroe, Shetland and Orkney Islands, as well as the Hebrides, so there is also “island” tourism in Scandinavia.

Northern Europe by bike

Tourist lures of Northern Europe are magnificent nature (which is worth at least the geysers of Iceland and the notorious volcano with a furious name, as well as fields of hardened lava and hydrogen sulfide thawed patches with the corresponding aroma), a sufficient number of interesting historical sights - from parking lots primitive people to medieval town halls and cathedrals and futuristic creations of modern architects, as well as a remarkable "skiing" - without the Franco-Italian golden flair, but with northern good quality, generosity and cordiality. As for the ways to travel around Scandinavia, bus tours are extremely common in the region - the benefit of the “busers” is the direct proximity to St. Petersburg and excellent roads. Cruises are also popular. Norwegian fjords- narrow picturesque bays with crystal clear water and almost steep slopes covered with forests. Well, for those who cannot imagine life without open spaces of water, we recommend going on a multi-day cruise in the Baltic, calling at Scandinavian ports and visiting northern European capitals.

Well, in winter, Northern Europe is a balm for the soul of those yearning for a real winter - with fluffy snowdrifts above their heads, sprawling fir trees under snow caps, indispensable evening lanterns under snow-covered roofs and other joys of comfort in the middle of January, such as downy socks, a purring cat and mulled wine with your favorite book .

The interwar years were relatively quiet time for Britain. The obvious movement of all nations towards peace and economic depression reduced the interest in the small British army guarding the interests of the empire and forced them to further reduce the cost of maintaining it. Although the late 1920s and 1930s often considered a period of stagnation, in reality it was a time when the army was laying the foundations for future development. Despite a very limited budget, she nevertheless developed not only new weapons and equipment, but also new uniforms. Much of this work was undoubtedly dictated by the lack of available funds and, as a result, the need to reorganize available resources in order to use both people and materials as efficiently as possible.

At the start of the war in September 1939, the British infantry lacked numbers rather than the quality of available equipment. When the Munich Accords were signed in 1938, Prime Minister Nevil Chamberlain may not have been as wrong as his critics make out. In fact, the treaty gave the Allies additional months to increase their readiness for a second conflict with Germany - a time that was well used to prepare the mass production of weapons and equipment for the new army, including elements that were developed but not produced due to lack of funds. Unfortunately, most of this equipment was abandoned in France and Belgium when the British Expeditionary Force and the French armies retreated under pressure from the Germans in May - June 1940.

This defeat was the result of tactical innovations by the German top leadership, but any serious comparison will show that the British soldier of 1940, unlike his senior officers, could fight his German adversary on an equal footing. The "huge numerical superiority" of the enemy was, in fact, the product of excellent Nazi propaganda and the gullibility of the Allied leadership. The vast French army alone outnumbered the Wehrmacht in tanks and artillery. wonderful German victories were won through concentration of effort, inventive, aggressive air-ground tactics, local superiority, and multiple breakthroughs. The Allied Commander-in-Chief, French General Gamelin, was unable to counter this blitzkrieg tactic. The Allied armies were doomed by inflexible defensive tactics, and as soon as their front lines were breached by mobile German formations, they quickly found themselves disoriented and in some cases demoralized. The German armored units at the spearhead of the attack took serious risks and sometimes paid a heavy price - their commanders left records in which they highly appreciated British troops opposing them; but their speed and confidence usually blinded the Allies, and the complete dominance of the German tactical air force led to collapse.

An infantryman with a Bren light machine gun, serving in the 44th Infantry Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division, autumn 1944. Note the standard sapper shovel tucked into the belt: it provided additional protection for the abdomen and lower chest (here and further in parentheses are the storage numbers of photographic documents in the archives of the Imperial War Museum - Imperial War Museum; IWM B11563).

Soldier of the 7th Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, part of the 154th Brigade of the 51st (Highland) Division of General Victor Fortune. This "big man" in a twill field uniform and a Mk II steel helmet was photographed in Millebosch (France) on June 7, 1940. Apparently, the 51st Division was the only formation of the British Expeditionary Force in which full scheme use of insignia of brigades by color. According to the memoirs of veterans, the divisional sign in the form of the St. Andrew's Cross in purple and green was assigned to the divisional headquarters, red - to the 152nd and brown - to the 154th brigades. The color of the 153rd brigade could not be established. At the level of the battalions that were part of the brigades, various combinations of the number and location of stripes-stripes of the corresponding colors were used. For example, the 7th Battalion wore one horizontal brown patch, while the 8th Battalion wore a vertical one. The junior battalion of the 152nd Brigade, the 4th Cameron Highlander Battalion, was designated by three red horizontal stripes (IWM F4736).

The British Army paid a terrible price for training in modern mobile warfare, but learned its lesson. When she returned to the Continent in June 1944 - hardened by years of fighting in the African desert, in Sicily, in Italy and supported by the power of the industry of her American allies - it was a completely different army, capable of facing the Wehrmacht on equal terms. Losses in the last eleven months of the war were inevitably very high, especially after Germany had gone on the defensive. Historians most often explain the terrible loss of life by the fact that the best units of the SS and army units took part in the battles, who fought almost to the last, as well as by the actions of allied aviation; but this should not hide other reasons.

It should be emphasized that veteran infantrymen of this last campaign noted in their records that most of the German troops they encountered showed less aggressiveness and initiative than Tommy. The privately published memoirs of Lieutenant Sidney Gary, a young platoon leader of the 43rd (Essex) Infantry Division, which fought hard from the Normandy Bocages to victory, made this statement:

“In my 18th platoon, the soldiers were better than anyone we had to fight. The same can be said of D Company and the entire 4th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry [Regiment] ... In many attacks we took more prisoners than there were attackers, and there were only a few German units that resisted in close combat. Unlike us, they rarely fought at night, and if they did, they were extremely nervous and unsure of themselves. Where we heavily patrolled, they avoided it… [ German soldiers] have encouraged the spread of the theory and myth that they are superior fighters and can only be defeated by superior forces and overwhelming firepower. My experience is that this was not the case."

CAMPAIGN RESULTS

"Strange War"

Following the declaration of war on September 3, 1939, Britain hastily ferried the British Expeditionary Force (British Expeditionary Force- BEF) to Northern France. Initially, it was 160,000 people, divided into two corps, each of two divisions: General Barker's I Corps - General Alexander's 1st Division, General Lloyd's 2nd Division; General Brooke's II Corps - General Montgomery's 3rd Division, General Johnson's 4th Division; plus auxiliaries. The reader may note that three of these generals later became top commanders. british army. In December 1939, the 5th Division joined the British Expeditionary Force. Soon these troops were reinforced by units of the territorial divisions of the "first line" (they were formed mainly from volunteer units of the temporary Territorial Army) at the rate of a regular battalion per brigade. From January 1940, the 48th (South Midland), 50th (Northumberland) and 51st (Highland) divisions arrived in France. The 51st Division was sent to the Maginot Line in the Saarland and placed under French command. The remaining units were deployed along the Belgian border, being part of the French army group, headed by General Gaston Billot, commander of the North-Eastern Front. In April 1940, the 42nd, 44th and 46th “first line” divisions arrived, as well as the 12th and part of the 23rd “second line” territorial division. In May, the 1st Armored Division was added to them, although this unit was understaffed and not ready for combat operations.