THE RAIDS AND TRADE OF THE VIKINGS

At first, Vikings sought wealth not land. - The commercial expansion in north-west Europe, - very large stock of silver from an unidentified source found in Frisia, - trading in fur, skin, whale-bone, amber, ship-ropes made from walrus-hide and sealskin. - familiarity wth western European sailing-ships, - information about the wealth and conflicts in Europe, - pirate opportunities in Baltic merchant ships, - Danish overlordship in Scandinavia forced some(people from Viken, the land flanking Oslo Fjord) to exile as raiders. (Source: The Oxford Illustrated history of the Vikings - Peter Sawyer)