The Frankish Kingdom
The story of Viking mercenaries within the Kingdom of the Franks is an interesting one. This is perhaps because the Frankish Empire, after acquiring the territory of the Saxons around the late-eighth century, was one of the only Medieval European kingdoms to have a physical connection to the Scandinavian mainland? Unlike the Byzantines or the English, the people living in the eastern part of the Frankish Empire had long been aware of the threat their northern neighbors posed. As a result of this closeness, or possibly any number of a hundred other reasons, the Franks and the Vikings whom they employed developed a unique relationship. Unlike in England, where mercenaries like Thorkell the Tall became national symbols, the Nordic mercenaries in Frankia were treated with extreme levels of hostility and mistrust. In fact, the relationship between these two groups may have been so toxic that it helped to play a role in bringing about the end of the Carolingian dynasty.
Disclaimer and Tips:
- Major cities which may have multiple points – Aachen, Paris
- Remember to use the zoom feature; there are quite a lot of points on this map.
- If you find yourself clicking on the same point over and over again, check to see if there isn’t a small arrow symbol (looks like a play symbol) in the pop-up window. If there you find this symbol, it means that at your current zoom level the points are too close to one another and therefore have been lumped together. From here, you can either click this button to cycle through the points at your current zoom level, or, use the built in zoom tool and re-adjust your view until the points are distinct from one another.
- Unless said otherwise, the color of each map-point is specific to a particular mercenary. Legends are provided for more detail.
- For those who have slower setups or may be accessing the maps via WiFi I recommend slow scrolling. These story maps have quite a lot of media and data attached to them and if one scrolls too fast there is a chance that the page will not load or display properly.