What if The Vikings did not convert to Christianity?

[eiskalt]

The Great Heathen Army would like a word with you.

Okay so basically 1000 thousand men gather together to kill women and children and they are now making converts and are a threat to christianity?

 

[Augustus]

From the Umayyad dynasty until the First Crusade Islam was the naval power.

Interestingly, their navy was mostly Egyptian and Syrian Christians at first, the Hijazi Arabs not being noted seafarers after all.

It took quite some time before the Islamic navy was actually staffed by Muslims.

 

[Shad]

Interestingly, their navy was mostly Egyptian and Syrian Christians at first, the Hijazi Arabs not being noted seafarers after all.

It took quite some time before the Islamic navy was actually staffed by Muslims.

Well they used the galley type ship as the primary naval vessel which required not only a crew on deck but a crew for the oars. The oar crews were more often than not slaves. Hijazi Arabs were never numerous enough to fulfill both roles along with other roles such as garrison forces of the established garrison towns. The Islamic Empires made good uses of it's auxiliary and irregular forces when needed.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

To my knowledge, Christianity was more or less an uncontested naval power in the Mediterranean. That wouldn't be the case in the Baltic & North Sea. That's going to make both moving troops and, most importantly, food extremely difficult. All the while the Norse, with their mastery of the rivers and streams, can constantly harass their armies and cities.

It'll undoubtedly be difficult, but it's doable if you can bring Scandinavia under a single ruler, allowing for a much more orchestrated and coordinated effort.

I'd see your last point as the most difficult to maintain. I'd wager that the Christian armies wouldn't be adverse to buying off some of the Heathen groups, and use them as proxies...something that was more difficult to orchestrate when it came to Saracens. The Christians themselves would be similarly fragmented, I'm sure, but they would be less biddable, I'd guess. Whether the Norsemen could take advantage of any fractures or disagreements in the Christian camps...well...dunno. I'm dubious, but that could well be because I'm basing too much on stereotypes, and reading on a small subset of Viking leaders who tended towards the unsubtle.