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Forgotten Vikings: New Approaches to the Viking Age
Forgotten Vikings provides a chronological overview of the Viking Age (793–1066) and quite a lot of history either side of these arbitrary dates. Arbitrary? This book aims to explore the phenomenon of ‘the Vikings’ from new angles, forged out of recent academic breakthroughs largely unexplored in popular history books; the Viking Age viewed as a longer, discrete period from the sixth to the fifteenth centuries.
Focusing on lesser-known aspects of the period, Alex Harvey taps into more obscure regions of the world these people visited, more obscure characters, and more obscure cultural elements. Examples include the evidence for viking activity on the Azores and Madeira, thirteenth-century Baltic raids, and the presence of viking armies in the Netherlands long before they became a threat to England.
Offering unfamiliar perspectives, Forgotten Vikings will change the way you see these often misunderstood people, and unearth a forgotten history.
Focusing on lesser-known aspects of the period, Alex Harvey taps into more obscure regions of the world these people visited, more obscure characters, and more obscure cultural elements. Examples include the evidence for viking activity on the Azores and Madeira, thirteenth-century Baltic raids, and the presence of viking armies in the Netherlands long before they became a threat to England.
Offering unfamiliar perspectives, Forgotten Vikings will change the way you see these often misunderstood people, and unearth a forgotten history.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published April 22, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 23, 2025
Full review forthcoming in Medieval World: Culture and Conflict.
This is a good book but there are a few notes I think are worth sharing here for interested potential readers. The main aspect to highlight is that the title and synopsis are a bit misleading. The synopsis mentions that the book is a chronological overview, which is true, but if you go in expecting lesser known incidents and seldom known figures from the Viking Age to be foremost among the topics covered (as the synopsis also implies), you'll likely be disappointed. While lesser known aspects and individuals are touched upon throughout the course of the book, the emphasis remains on the usual suspects: Harald Fairhair, King Alfred, the raid on Lindisfarne, the Eastern Trail into Russia, etc. The author even comments on page 120: "Throughout this book so far, and indeed in the following chapters, the Viking Age and its themes have been explored through the main characters, the names referenced in annals and chronicles and sagas."
So, the book is primarily an overview of major events and figures rather than a deep dive into obscure, overlooked aspects of viking history. As an overview, it does a very good job synthesizing the latest historical and archaeological research of the period, and as noted above, the periods before and after it--which is very welcome. The holistic approach covering 1000 years of history is great. The language is mostly engaging but readers new to viking history should be aware there are certain references scattered throughout that do not receive further explanation or clarification (Södermanland, oaths in The Lay of Völund, occupation layer phases, to name a few). So anyone unfamiliar with such references will just have to let them slide or go and look them up themselves.
Overall, Forgotten Vikings is a good, comprehensive overview of the whole "viking thing" and I think most readers interested in the subject will enjoy it provided they go into it with accurate expectations.
This is a good book but there are a few notes I think are worth sharing here for interested potential readers. The main aspect to highlight is that the title and synopsis are a bit misleading. The synopsis mentions that the book is a chronological overview, which is true, but if you go in expecting lesser known incidents and seldom known figures from the Viking Age to be foremost among the topics covered (as the synopsis also implies), you'll likely be disappointed. While lesser known aspects and individuals are touched upon throughout the course of the book, the emphasis remains on the usual suspects: Harald Fairhair, King Alfred, the raid on Lindisfarne, the Eastern Trail into Russia, etc. The author even comments on page 120: "Throughout this book so far, and indeed in the following chapters, the Viking Age and its themes have been explored through the main characters, the names referenced in annals and chronicles and sagas."
So, the book is primarily an overview of major events and figures rather than a deep dive into obscure, overlooked aspects of viking history. As an overview, it does a very good job synthesizing the latest historical and archaeological research of the period, and as noted above, the periods before and after it--which is very welcome. The holistic approach covering 1000 years of history is great. The language is mostly engaging but readers new to viking history should be aware there are certain references scattered throughout that do not receive further explanation or clarification (Södermanland, oaths in The Lay of Völund, occupation layer phases, to name a few). So anyone unfamiliar with such references will just have to let them slide or go and look them up themselves.
Overall, Forgotten Vikings is a good, comprehensive overview of the whole "viking thing" and I think most readers interested in the subject will enjoy it provided they go into it with accurate expectations.
March 25, 2025
An excellent multi-disciplinary study of the 'long Viking Age'.
Begining with the 536 dust veil and ending with the slow decay of the Greenland settlements, Harvey synthesises the best current research to tell an expanded, nuanced and thought-provoking history of Early-Medieval Scandinavians and their diaspora.
In 2025, this is the way the Viking Age ought to be discussed.
Begining with the 536 dust veil and ending with the slow decay of the Greenland settlements, Harvey synthesises the best current research to tell an expanded, nuanced and thought-provoking history of Early-Medieval Scandinavians and their diaspora.
In 2025, this is the way the Viking Age ought to be discussed.
July 18, 2025
I’m writing this review with a bit of a heavy heart because I really wanted to like this book. The premise is captivating: rethinking the Viking Age to take up a wider chronological and geographic lens. It’s the kind of book that needs to be written. This book isn’t it, though.
This book ultimately suffers from just being really bad history. A lot of really big claims are made, asserted as fact, and not backed up with evidence. There are citations throughout, but they’re general and don’t tell you exactly where the information is coming from. We also go to some weird places, like using the movie “Arrival” (2016) for Viking ideas about time.
Ideas like “nation-state” and “imperialism” are thrown around even though we’re a good 1000 years before the French Revolution and neither concept existed. Earlier societies are juxtaposed against “normal” countries. The author talks a lot about the inevitability of certain outcomes—any intro history class will teach you this is called “teleology” and it’s just plain wrong. There’s also a lot of ethnodeterminism going on: just because something we call Denmark exists today doesn’t mean someone living in the ninth century would know themselves to be “Danish.” The sections on Rus’ are particularly bad about this, assuming that the Rus’ must be either 100% Scandinavian or 100% Slavic with no space for nuance in between. Medieval people did not think in these terms—why force them into a box they wouldn’t have any concept of?
That said, there are some moments that shine, especially the exploration of different geographic places the Vikings went juxtaposed against the nine worlds of Norse cosmology. The author pays special attention to slaves, a feature missing from several accounts of the Vikings. The good is there, but it is just way overshadowed by the bad.
There’s tons of books on the market now, like “River Kings,”“Children of Ash and Elm,” and “Embers of the Hands” from experts in this field that are careful, thoughtful, and most importantly, grounded in actual, tangible evidence. I’d suggest reading them instead. If you want a book about the Vikings that reflects historical realities, look elsewhere.
This book ultimately suffers from just being really bad history. A lot of really big claims are made, asserted as fact, and not backed up with evidence. There are citations throughout, but they’re general and don’t tell you exactly where the information is coming from. We also go to some weird places, like using the movie “Arrival” (2016) for Viking ideas about time.
Ideas like “nation-state” and “imperialism” are thrown around even though we’re a good 1000 years before the French Revolution and neither concept existed. Earlier societies are juxtaposed against “normal” countries. The author talks a lot about the inevitability of certain outcomes—any intro history class will teach you this is called “teleology” and it’s just plain wrong. There’s also a lot of ethnodeterminism going on: just because something we call Denmark exists today doesn’t mean someone living in the ninth century would know themselves to be “Danish.” The sections on Rus’ are particularly bad about this, assuming that the Rus’ must be either 100% Scandinavian or 100% Slavic with no space for nuance in between. Medieval people did not think in these terms—why force them into a box they wouldn’t have any concept of?
That said, there are some moments that shine, especially the exploration of different geographic places the Vikings went juxtaposed against the nine worlds of Norse cosmology. The author pays special attention to slaves, a feature missing from several accounts of the Vikings. The good is there, but it is just way overshadowed by the bad.
There’s tons of books on the market now, like “River Kings,”“Children of Ash and Elm,” and “Embers of the Hands” from experts in this field that are careful, thoughtful, and most importantly, grounded in actual, tangible evidence. I’d suggest reading them instead. If you want a book about the Vikings that reflects historical realities, look elsewhere.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews