The Vikings

by Magnusson, Magnus

• ISBN13: 9780752417981
• ISBN10: 0752417983
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-09-01
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square

Summary

The Vikings hold a particular place in the history of the West, both symbolically and in the significant impact they had on Northern Europe. Magnus Magnusson's indispensable study of this great period presents a rounded and fascinating picture of a people who, in modern eyes, would seem to embody striking contradictions. They were undoubtedly pillagers, raiders and terrifying warriors, but they were also great pioneers, artists and traders -- a dynamic people, whose skill and daring in their exploration of the world has left an indelible impression a thousand years on. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Magnus Magnusson, the well-known television broadcaster, has been closely associated with history and archaeology throughout his career. He has written and presented many historical documentaries for television and radio.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	6	(7)
List of illustrations	7	(2)
The Hammer and the Raven	9	(14)
The mythological, literary and historical context
Bolt From the Blue	23	(24)
Norway from the first raids west-over-sea to Harald Fine-Hair
`From the Fury of the Northmen...'	47	(22)
Denmark from the first assaults on Western Europe to Harald Blue-Tooth
`Halfdan was Here'	69	(22)
Sweden, the Russian connection and Constantinople
England at Bay	91	(18)
From the first Danish invasions to Alfred the Great
`Bitter is the Wind...'	109	(22)
Ireland, the Isle of Man and the north of England, to Eirik Blood-Axe
`An Island Called Thule'	131	(20)
Iceland and the Faroes
The Ultimate Outpost	151
The colonisation of Greenland and the attempted settlement of Vinland---North America
Empire of the North Sea
The Norse earldom in Scotland and the Anglo-Viking empire of England, Denmark and Norway under Knut the Great
`Here King Harold is Killed'
1066 -- The end of the Viking Age
Bibliography
Index