The sack (plundering) of
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...
occurred in 968 AD, when a Viking fleet led by
Gunrod Gundered ( es, Gunderedo; putatively non, Guðrǫðr; sometimes rendered ''Gunrod'' or ''Gunrød'') was a Viking warlord, known only from a group of twelfth-century Spanish Latin Chronicles all of which derive from the lost eleventh-century '' Chro ...
entered and sacked the city of Santiago de Compostela in northern Hispania (now Spain). The attack had been encouraged by duke
Richard I of Normandy
Richard I (28 August 932 – 20 November 996), also known as Richard the Fearless (French: ''Richard Sans-Peur''; Old Norse: ''Jarl Rikard''), was the count of Rouen from 942 to 996.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln ...
. Three years later Gunrod attempted to sack the city again; however, this time his fleet was met with a powerful army and the sacking was averted.
Background
In the year 968, a Norwegian Viking fleet led by
Gunrod Gundered ( es, Gunderedo; putatively non, Guðrǫðr; sometimes rendered ''Gunrod'' or ''Gunrød'') was a Viking warlord, known only from a group of twelfth-century Spanish Latin Chronicles all of which derive from the lost eleventh-century '' Chro ...
went to help the duke
Richard I of Normandy
Richard I (28 August 932 – 20 November 996), also known as Richard the Fearless (French: ''Richard Sans-Peur''; Old Norse: ''Jarl Rikard''), was the count of Rouen from 942 to 996.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln ...
(the grandson of the Viking chieftain
Rollo
Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...
, first duke of
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
), who was afraid of a possible invasion by the Carolingian king
Lothair I of France
Lothair (french: Lothaire; la, Lothārius; 941 – 2 March 986), sometimes called Lothair II,After the emperor Lothair I. IIICounting Lothair II of Lotharingia, who ruled over modern Lorraine and Belgium. or IV,Counting Lothair II of Italy. ...
. Once the Franks had been defeated, the fleet of Gunrod stayed in Normandy, becoming a threat for Richard, so the Norman duke sent the Norsemen to another place by telling them about the existence of an important pilgrimage site in the north of Hispania,
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...
, where they could pillage a huge treasure. The fleet of Gunrod reached Galicia the same year. They crushed the Galician army, and then entered and sacked the city of Santiago de Compostela. Three years after the sack of Santiago de Compostela, Gunrod attacked Galicia again, only to find a powerful army sent to put an end to the Viking expedition.
[Quoted by Ann Christys, ''Vikings in the South'' (London: Bloomsbury, 2015), pp. 83–84, citing ''Historia Silense'', ed. by J. Pérez de Urbel (Madrid: CSIC, 1959), p. 171.]
See also
*
Vikings in Iberia
Viking activity in the Iberian peninsula seems to have begun around the mid-ninth century as an extension of Viking raids on and establishment of bases in Frankia in the earlier ninth century. While connections between the Norse and Eastern Islami ...
*
Battle of Remich
The Battle of Remich was fought between Vikings and Frankish officials at Remich, Luxembourg, on April 11, 882. The Vikings were led by Godfrid and Sigfrid, while the Franks were led by Wala, the archbishop of Metz, Bertulf, the archbishop ...
*
Viking raid on Galicia and Asturias
The Viking raid on Galicia and Asturias occurred in 844. Many longships were lost in the attack and the fleet retreated to Aquitaine.
Raid
In 844, the Vikings, who at that time infested all the maritime provinces of Europe, made a descent at A C ...
* The Andalusi leader
Almanzor
Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Abi ʿĀmir al-Maʿafiri ( ar, أبو عامر محمد بن عبد الله بن أبي عامر المعافري), nicknamed al-Manṣūr ( ar, المنصور, "the Victorious"), which is often Latiniz ...
led a successful campaign against Santiago in 997.
References
{{reflist
History of Galicia (Spain)
Santiago de Compostela
Battles involving the Vikings
960s conflicts
968
Viking Age in Spain