This encyclopaedic study brings together wide-ranging research on
Viking art, burial customs, class divisions, jewellery, kingship,
poetry and family life and, in this revised edition, has been updated
to include recent discoveries.
From the Cover:
"The Viking Age," writes Else Roesdahl, "is shot through with the
spirit of adventure. For 300 years, from just before AD 800 until
well into the eleventh century ... the Vikings affected almost every
region accessible to their ships, and left traces that are still
part of life today ..."
Far from being just "wild, barbaric, axe-wielding pirates", the
Vikings created complex social institutions, oversaw the coming of
Christianity to Scandinavia and made a major impact on European
history through trade, travel and far-flung colonization. This
encyclopaedic study brings together wide-ranging research on
Viking art, burial customs, class divisions, jewellery, kingship,
poetry and family life and, in this revised edition, has been updated
to include recent discoveries. The result is a rich and compelling
picture of an extraordinary civilization.
"A full and fascinating survey of both their achievements abroad
and Scandinavian background that made possible the discovery of
America and Greenland, the colonization of Iceland, early trade with
Russia and much else." - Publishing News
