Three ships filled with Vikings attacked the island of Portland in the Wessex Kingdom, this was the first recorded raid on England. The first person killed by a Viking there was Beaduheard, who mistook the Vikings as traders and tried to get them to register and pay taxes to the king. The Vikings took it as a threat and killed him.

The raid on Lindisfarne is widely regarded as the start of the Viking age as this was the first well documented Viking raid. Lindisfarne was home to a monastery with monks living inside, the Vikings plundered the monastery for all its treasures and either killed or enslaved the people living there.

Viking ships appeared in river systems and created fortified bases for more extensive raiding. Dublin a major Viking settlement, other settlements include: Waterford, Limerick, Cork and Wexford all created from this period onwards.

Led by Viking chieftain Ragnar Lodbrok, a fleet of 120 Viking longships attacked Paris, plundered it for all its resources and then destroyed it (this process is called sacking). France was an easy target due to the political situation and the Viking knew well about it, using the situation to their advantage.

The Great Heathen Army take York in England and use it as a settlement. York was renamed as Jorvik, the Vikings capturing this city led to the creation of Danelaw in 886 CE.

The Vikings had set up permanent settlements in England and overran Wessex in the battle of Edington forcing King Alfred into hiding. The Vikings would maintain control over Wessex until 886 CE when a treaty was signed with King Alfred and Danelaw was created.

After the defeat of the battle of Edington, King Alfred was forced into hiding but after 8 years King Alfred signed a treaty with the Vikings that states that King Alfred would keep the west and the Vikings would keep the East, hence leading to the creation of Danelaw.

Norse explorer Erik the Red discovers Greenland after travelling from Iceland. He named it Greenland because he was hoping that it would attract more settlers. He also set up settlements in the Eastern and Western sections of Greenland after landing near the South.

While the actual date is unknown, it is believed that Leif Erikson had discovered Vinland (which is now Newfoundland, Canada) around this time, making him the first known European to set foot on North America as this predates Christopher Columbus by centuries. The exact location is debatable but most historians agree that it's at the site of L'Anse aux Meadows, a former Viking settlement.

1066 CE is generally considered the end of the Viking Age due to King Harold Hardrada being defeated in the battle of Stamford Bridge, this marked the final Viking Raid on England and after this defeat, Viking activity dwindled drastically with no new major raids or battles happening after.