The Vikings maintain their grip on our imagination, but their
image is too often distorted by medieval and modern myth. It is
true that they pillaged, looted, and enslaved. But they also
settled peacefully and developed a vast trading network. They
traveled far from their homelands in swift and sturdy ships, not
only to raid, but also to explore. Despite their fearsome
reputation, the Vikings didn't wear horned helmets, and even the
infamous berserkers were far from invincible.
By dismantling the myths, "The Age of the Vikings" allows the
full story of this period in medieval history to be told. By
exploring every major facet of this exciting age, Anders Winroth
captures the innovation and pure daring of the Vikings without
glossing over their destructive heritage.
He not only explains the Viking attacks, but also looks at
Viking endeavors in commerce, politics, discovery, and
colonization, and reveals how Viking arts, literature, and
religious thought evolved in ways unequaled in the rest of Europe.
He shows how the Vikings seized on the boundless opportunities made
possible by the invention of the longship, using it to venture to
Europe for plunder, to open new trade routes, and to settle in
lands as distant as Russia, Greenland, and the Byzantine Empire.
Challenging the image of the Vikings that comes so easily to mind,
Winroth argues that Viking chieftains were no more violent than men
like Charlemagne, who committed atrocities on a far greater scale
than the northern raiders.
Drawing on a wealth of written, visual, and archaeological
evidence, "The Age of the Vikings" sheds new light on the complex
society and culture of these legendary seafarers.
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