BattlefieldsViking Raid on Lindisfarne 793
Early Medieval

Viking Raid on Lindisfarne 793

793
Northumberland, England
Also known as: Sack of Lindisfarne 793 · First Viking raid on Lindisfarne
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Northumberland, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Lindisfarne monastery
Forces
unarmed monastic community
VS
Victor
Viking raiders (Norse)
Forces
Norse longship crews
Outcome
Monastery sacked; monks killed, enslaved, or drowned; treasures stolen; Christian world shocked
The Battle

History & Significance

The Viking attack on Lindisfarne on 8 June 793 was the event that announced the Viking Age to the Christian world. Alcuin wrote that never before had such terror appeared in Britain. The monastery of Cuthbert, the holiest site in Northumbria, was ransacked. The raid was remembered as a cataclysm and is the conventional starting point of the Viking Age in Britain.

Casualties & Losses

Monks killed, drowned, or enslaved; church treasures and livestock taken

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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