Picture a quiet island off the coast of England. Monks spend their days copying books by hand. They have golden cups and jeweled crosses. They feel safe because no army has ever come by sea. Then on June 8, 793, strange ships appeared on the water. Viking warriors from Scandinavia leaped onto the shore. They raided the monastery at Lindisfarne, stealing treasure and capturing monks. The attack shocked all of Europe. Nobody expected invaders to cross the rough North Sea. At that time, most people in England could not imagine an enemy arriving by boat. The Vikings were expert sailors who built long, narrow ships called longships. These vessels could cross oceans and also travel up shallow rivers. After Lindisfarne, Viking raids spread across England, Ireland, and France. The monks of Lindisfarne had kept a famous book called the Lindisfarne Gospels. They managed to save it during the attack. The raid on Lindisfarne marks the beginning of the Viking Age, a period that lasted nearly 300 years. During that time, Vikings explored lands from North America to the Middle East.