The Vikings Culture and Conquest [Paperback]

The story of the Vikings is one of the most dramatic in European history. From their base in Scandinavia, Viking warriors and settlers spread across northern Europe, into Russia and across the Atlantic. After their first impact as fearsome raiders, destroying monasteries and plundering coastal settlements, the Vikings turned to conquest in England, Ireland and Normandy. In their longships they also penetrated into the Mediterranean and as far as Byzantium, as well as establishing settlements in Iceland and Greenland and discovering Vinand, or America. This book is a concise and clear survey of who the Vikings were, what they did, why they did it and how we know about them. It includes an account of heir remarkable saga literature and is likely to become a standard work on the subject.

1 The Vikings in History2 Society and Religion3 Battle on Land and at Sea4 England; Ireland and Wales 789-9005 England, Ireland and Wales 900-10706 Scotland and the Orkneys7 Western Europe8 Russia and the East9 Atlantic Explorations and SettlementsNotesBibliography