The Vikings were a seafaring people originating from Scandinavia (modern-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) who profoundly impacted early medieval Europe from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries, a period known as the Viking Age. Expert navigators of their distinctive longships, they engaged in extensive raiding, trading, and settlement, reaching as far west as Vinland (Newfoundland, North America)—making them the first Europeans there—and as far east as the Caspian Sea, even attacking Constantinople. Their activities shaped the political and social development of regions like England and France, and they established Kievan Rus', the precursor to modern Russia.
Beyond their warrior image, Vikings were also farmers, traders, and skilled craftsmen, speaking Old Norse, using runes, and gradually adopting Christianity between the 8th and 12th centuries from their original Old Norse religion. They founded significant Norse settlements across the British Isles, Iceland, and Greenland, influencing both the genetic and cultural development of these lands and their homelands. It's important to note that many popular depictions, such as horned helmets, are romanticized 19th-century inventions, contrasting with the complex and advanced civilization revealed by archaeological and historical evidence.