Were the Vikings, as contemporary descriptions had it, a 'valiant, wrathful, foreign, purely pagan people' who swept in from the sea to plunder and slaughter? Or in the words of a Manx folksong ‘ware-wolves keen in hungry quest’, who lived and died by the seas and the sword? Or were they unusually successful merchants, extortionists and pioneer explorers?
This book, by leading international scholars, considers the latest research and presents a compelling picture of the Vikings and their age. Excavation as far apart as Dublin and Newfoundland, York and Kiev, provide fascinating archaeological evidence, expertly interpreted in this extensively illustrated book.
Contents:
List of Colour Plates
List of Maps and Figures
List of Contributors
Note on Personal Names
1. The Age of the Vikings, and Before
2. The Frankish Empire
3. The Vikings in England, c790-1016
4. Ireland, Wales, Man, and the Hebrides
5. The Atlantic Islands
6. Scandinavians in European Russia
7. The Danish Empire and the End of the Viking Age
8. Ships and Seamanship
9. Religions Old and New
10. The Vikings in History and Legend
11. The Viking Legacy
Further Reading
Chronology
Illustrations Sources
Index
Review:The illustrations ... are superb and the whole book is a treasurehouse for anyone with more than a casual interest in the period - Seafarer
... a scholarly well illustrated survey edited by Peter Sawyer, which draws on recent research - Church Time
