Mainland Europe and the British Isles. It began in 793CE with the Norse raid on the Monastery of Lindisfarne in Northumbria, Britain and it ended in 1066CE with the arrival of William the Conqueror in Britain. The Vikings are so well-known, even in modern times, primarily because of the great frequency and success of their raids. A secondary reason for why the Vikings are so well known is that the Christian Church, the largest literate organisation in Europe at the time, was targeted to a great extent