I am the first to admit that I am woefully lacking in knowledge of all things Viking......but....

I read an interesting discussion in another group, the start of which can be found here. They have commented on how ironic it was that the three armies which took the field in the last years of what was Anglo-Saxon England were actually all descendants of the Vikings or were Vikings themselves.

This then brings up the next question.......I know that they raided and settled throughout Europe and along the Mediterranean. Just how pervasive were they? How many noble houses and royal houses could trace their lineage back to the Vikings during this and subsequent periods?