The Kingdom of Northumbria was in the midst of civil war when the Vikings raided and captured York in 866.

Ten years later the Danish King Halfdan shared out the lands of Northumbria from his capital, Jorvik, and the former warriors settled down to a peaceful existence.

Jorvik became a major river port, part of the extensive Viking trading routes throughout northern Europe. The last Danish ruler of Jorvik, Eric Bloodaxe, was driven from the town in the year 965 by King Eadred of Wessex who succeeded in uniting Northumbria with the southern kingdom. But for another hundred years, the north was largely ruled by earls of both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian blood.

During 1065-66, following rebellion of the local earls, there came invasion by the Norwegians and the defeat of their army at Stamford Bridge. But a few weeks later, the victor, King Harold II of England was himself defeated and killed at the Battle of Hastings by the Normans when William the Conqueror invaded the country.