In 793, a Viking raid on Lindisfarne caused much consternation throughout the Christian west and is now often taken as the beginning of the Viking Age. The English seemed to turn their back on the sea as they became more settled. Many monasteries were established on islands, peninsulas, river mouths and cliffs. Isolated communities were less susceptible to interference and the politics of the heartland. The amazement of the English at the raids from the sea must have been matched by the amazement of the raiders at such (to them) vulnerable, wealthy and unarmed settlements. The Holy Island of Lindisfarne was an important centre of Celtic Christianity under Saints Aidan, Cuthbert, Eadfrith and Eadberht. A small castle was built upon it in 1550.
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