David Gray Rodgers

“​The lowest class were called thralls.  Thralls included slaves, bondsmen (what was later called an "indentured servant," a free person who was reduced to slavery for a set term to satisfy some financial or legal obligation), and vagrants.”
― David Gray Rodgers, Sons of Vikings: A Legendary History of the Viking Age

“destruction.  These Norsemen, Danes, or "heathens" as they were called by their various enemies were a catalyzing force in world history.  They helped re-draw the map of Europe and contributed to the transition from early medieval kingdoms to the nations of the modern world.  The Vikings reestablished steady trade between east and west, creating a chain of communication and exchange that stretched from Greenland to Baghdad, and from Norway to Morocco.  The intrepid exploits of the Vikings and the technological advances they made in shipbuilding and navigation laid the groundwork for later ages of exploration and founded the first European settlement in North America.  Viking ideas of equality, fairness, and the rights of free persons have helped shape our laws and civic values.”
― David Gray Rodgers, Sons of Vikings: A Legendary History of the Viking Age