When the Vikings arrived in Mallorca
Although today we associate the Vikings with Scandinavia, the fjords and northern Europe, their expeditions also reached the Mediterranean. Mallorca suffered Norman raids during the Middle Ages and, for centuries, the sea was a constant source of threat to the Balearic Islands
Were there Vikings in Mallorca
The Vikings came from Scandinavia and earned their reputation for being tough and brutal through their own efforts. They were great warriors who, between the 8th and 12th centuries, raided many major cities across Europe: Paris, Santiago de Compostela, Lisbon, Seville, Cadiz, Pisa…
But what few people know is that they also attacked Mallorca and did not forget to visit Ibiza, Formentera and Menorca either.
The Norman reids in the Balearic Islands
Expedition of the year 859
It was the year 859 when Björn Ragnarsson (nicknamed ‘Björn Ironside’) and his brother Hastein decided to organise a major expedition. They assembled a fleet of 62 ships and set sail from Sweden and Denmark, bound for southern Europe. They crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and, once in the Mediterranean, terrorised the coasts and towns of what is now Spain, France and Italy, as well as North Africa.
Pisa, Sicily, Majorca and the Balearic Islands in general were among their many targets, where they secured substantial plunder. This expedition lasted until the year 862, when they decided to return to Scandinavia. Despite their successes, only around 20 ships returned.
Vikings expedition of 1108
Many years later, in 1108, another fleet of 60 ships and some 6,000 Vikings set sail from Bergen in Norway. It was commanded by Sigurd I (nicknamed ‘The Crusader’) and its final destination was Jerusalem, as his main aim was to fight the Muslims there.
En route, they already had skirmishes with the Muslims in Portugal and, upon reaching the Balearic Islands in 1109, they also attacked our coasts. The attacks were most intense in Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, as these islands were plagued by Saracen pirates.
The historical legacy in Mallorca
There aren’t many records on the subject, but the Vikings surely left some trace of their time here…… Sometimes, when I’m in the Campos/Llucmajor area and I meet a lifelong Mallorcan – an elderly man with blue eyes and blond hair – I wonder… Could he perhaps be a descendant of one of those early Scandinavian visitors to Mallorca?
For those who want to know more: “Vikings in Menorca. The raids of the ‘Men of the North’ in the Balearic Islands”. Book by Ferrán Lagarda Mata
If you enjoyed this short article, you might be interested in reading a little about the watchtowers that the Mallorcans built along the coast to spot pirate raids before they reached the shores of Mallorca. Click on the link below: Pirates in Mallorca and the defence towers