The Viking people originally lived insmall communities in Scandinavia innorthern Europe,raising crops and
livestock,fishing.and trading goods withtheir neighbors.Each community wasruled by a king or chieftain.By about A.D.790 the population had grown too large,so theVikings began to explore other lands in search ofterritory and booty.Raiders crossed the sea to attackEngland,Ireland,and Scotland.With their swift longships and bloodthirsty ways,they terrified coastalvillages and seized large areas of land.