Description
Book SynopsisFrom rape and pillage to exploration and piety - the whole story of the Vikings
Trade Review"This is a stimulating and accessible approach to the Viking Age. Focusing on Vikings as Christian rulers and their followers opens up the question of just what we mean when we think of 'Vikings'. Violent barbarians of legend have their place in this book but the authors look deeper at what it meant to live and prosper in early medieval societies, taking the 'end' of the Viking Age beyond where it is often assumed to be and ensuring that the story is told in terms which make it a truly international one." Dr Ryan Lavelle, Reader in Early Medieval History, University of Winchester
Table of ContentsContents
Map viii
Timeline of Key Events x
Key People xviii
Glossary xxv
Introduction 1
Chapter 1: The Pagan Vikings 8
Chapter 2: Storm from the North 23
Chapter 3: The Viking Conversion in England 39
Chapter 4: The Cross and the Hammer: Christians and Pagans 54
in the North of England
Chapter 5: The Other Island… 69
Chapter 6: The Duchy of the Northmen 83
Chapter 7: The Christian Vikings of Denmark 95
Chapter 8: The Christian Vikings of Norway 111
Chapter 9: The Christian Vikings of Sweden 126
Chapter 10: Vikings in the East: Christian Vikings 140
in Russia and the Byzantine Empire
Chapter 11: Christian Vikings of the North Atlantic 159
Chapter 12: The First American Christians 175
Chapter 13: A Christian Viking King of England 189
Chapter 14: Christian Jarls of the Northern and Western Isles 203
A Final Thought: The Viking World in 1150 218
About the authors 222
Notes 223
Bibliography 248
Index 251
