The Viking reputation is of bloodthirsty seafaring warriors, repeatedly plundering the British Isles and the North Atlantic throughout the early Middle Ages. Yet Vikings were also traders, settlers, and farmers, with a complex artistic and linguistic culture. Highlighting the latest archaeological evidence, Julian Richards reveals the whole Viking world: their history, society and culture, and their expansion overseas for trade, colonization, and plunder. We also look at the Viking identity, and their story is brought up to date by examining their legacy, from the medieval Icelandic sagas to 19th Century nationalism, Wagner, and the Nazis.
Table of contents
List of illustrations; 1. Vikings then and now; 2. Early Scandinavian kingdoms; 3. Pagans and Christians; 4. Changes in the countryside; 5. Towns and trade; 6. Across the ocean: ships and seafaring; 7. Expansion overseas; 8. Vikings in England; 9. Raiders and settlers around the Irish Sea; 10. Vikings and Picts: genocide or assimilation?; 11. Landnam in the North Atlantic; 12. The edge of the world: Greenland and North America; 13. Re-inventing the Vikings; Further reading; Index
