Book of Viking Age England

English Heritage

by J.D. Richards

This book provides a synthesis of knowledge of the Vikings in England, including new interpretations and recent information recovered from excavation and surveys. The author of this book concentrates on two main areas - what was the precise nature of the Viking contribution to the history of England and their effect on local developments already underway and what was the native response to the Vikings? The impact of the Viking settlement is discussed in relation to various aspects of society including rural settlement and economy, the growth of towns, trade and exchange, craft industry and burial rituals and stone memorials. This book includes new information gathered from recent excavations, in particular the Viking site in Coppergate, York.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Archaeology, Historical, British Literature

Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Birgitta Hoffmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and surprising account of the evidence for Viking Age England. This is not a book about the Vikings, this is what the archaeology of England looked like during the Age of the Vikings and in many ways how much of the Anglo-Saxon culture continued to survive and shape the 'Viking archaeology', especially in the towns.

[Gemma Fasheun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed reading it and gathered new information about how life was in England in 9 - 11th century A.D.

[Jenn Phizacklea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had so much potential, but I grew impatient with it very swiftly.
There are many examples of the author stating as facts things that are not confirmed, speculation, or at best, a best academic guess, but the author rarely acknowledges this. No references or sources are provided for these statements, so it is impossible to fact check the text, which is disappointing.
I think what bothered me most was how often he writes in generalities when the reality was a lot more complex (and interesting). For example, Viking raiding parties, especially in the later centuries of the period, and particularly when we get to the period of the Great Army & Summer Army, were not made up of only Scandinavians, and the use of Vikings and Scandinavians as interchangeable terms in this context is really problematic.
I suppose the idea was to provide a kind of brief overview of the history of the period, but if so, too much was sacrificed for the sake of brevity.
You would definitely be better off spending your time reading ‘The Children of Ash and Elm’ by Neil Price.

[G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of the history and evidence for Anglo Saxon/Viking society; the first part of the book is a broad overview of historical sources, while the latter part concentrates on material culture and archaeological evidence.

[Thomas Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fine overview of the 'Viking Age' in England. I'm not sure what I was expecting going into this but half way through I realised that it is very much an introduction. The scope of the book is a little bit too big which leaves some chapters feeling a little thin.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Richards looks at the impact Scandinavian raiders and settlers had on Saxon England. He explores whether there was more integration than first believed and if the archaeological discoveries don't tell the whole truth. A little dry in parts but an interesting topic.

[Dio Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good as a starting off point - plenty of topics covered, and very quick and easy to read. The bibliography is a good size and includes a really good range of further sources.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this book is a very interesting read and does make the reader aware of a lot of important and influental factors affecting not just the Anglo-Saxon people at the time period its writen about but also the factors that influenced many of the Norwegian and Danish viking settlers and their lives since the founding of the Danelaw.

It is rather dry in its tone though, it isn't as informal or as enthusiastic than some other factual books on the middle ages and viking era I have but it did prove to be interesting and a worthwhile read if you want a deeper insight into this time period.