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The Age of the Vikings
A major reassessment of the vikings and their legacy
The Vikings maintain their grip on our imagination, but their image is too often distorted by myth. It is true that they pillaged, looted, and enslaved. But they also settled peacefully and traveled far from their homelands in swift and sturdy ships to explore. The Age of the Vikings tells the full story of this exciting period in history. Drawing on a wealth of written, visual, and archaeological evidence, 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. The Age of the Vikings sheds new light on the complex society, culture, and legacy of these legendary seafarers.
The Vikings maintain their grip on our imagination, but their image is too often distorted by myth. It is true that they pillaged, looted, and enslaved. But they also settled peacefully and traveled far from their homelands in swift and sturdy ships to explore. The Age of the Vikings tells the full story of this exciting period in history. Drawing on a wealth of written, visual, and archaeological evidence, 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. The Age of the Vikings sheds new light on the complex society, culture, and legacy of these legendary seafarers.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published August 21, 2014
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3085 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 137 reviews
August 11, 2021
Anders Winroth delivered exactly what I expected in his book The Age of the Vikings, but he also delivered a little something more, and it was the surprise of that little something more that filled me with a hint of wonder, rekindling my dreams of my career that never was.
Winroth's overview of the Viking Age was broken up into precisely the categories I hoped, addressing the stereotypes and our shared knowledge of what the Vikings were with a desire to dispel the myths and mistakes embedded in the knowledge we think we have. For instance, his discussion of our vision of the Vikings as bloodthirsty raiders takes on the witnesses who have passed this image down to us by analyzing much of the overlooked evidence that points to countless motives that go beyond mere bloodlust, and uncovering the many times the Vikings turned their ships around and went home when they were paid off by the "targets" of their raids. Then he takes his argument a step further, pointing out that much of the reports of Viking savagery come from the priests living under the incredibly bloody -- and genocidal -- reign of Charlemagne (a man celebrated today for his enlightenment despite the enormous death toll he amassed).
This deconstruction of our perceptions is at the heart of Winroth's history of the Viking Age, and it reveals that theirs was a culture of complexity, flexibility and durability that was much, much more than a band of violent raiders, pillagers, and plunderers.
But then there is that extra little thing that Anders Winroth delivers in The Age of the Vikings. It has to do with a commentary on history (and the places from which history draws its evidence -- archaeology, literature, religion, anthropology). Winroth's unstated thesis is that ultimately we just don't know the way things were, in any age, and we can't. All of our sources are biased, or speculative, or flawed, and that maybe the best any historian can do is eliminate things we know a time was not. That and give the best guess without pretending it is an absolute truth.
This idea brought me back to my sideways love of archaeology, of my desire, long held but never acted upon, to become an archeologist. And right here, near my home, I have one of the richest Viking finds connected to a school I love's archaeology department, and maybe 45 is not too old to just go ahead and start digging in the wet, cold soil and turning my speculative mind to the evidence of a thousand years ago. I like that. I like being reminded of those paths long overgrown but always waiting to be returned to.
Winroth's overview of the Viking Age was broken up into precisely the categories I hoped, addressing the stereotypes and our shared knowledge of what the Vikings were with a desire to dispel the myths and mistakes embedded in the knowledge we think we have. For instance, his discussion of our vision of the Vikings as bloodthirsty raiders takes on the witnesses who have passed this image down to us by analyzing much of the overlooked evidence that points to countless motives that go beyond mere bloodlust, and uncovering the many times the Vikings turned their ships around and went home when they were paid off by the "targets" of their raids. Then he takes his argument a step further, pointing out that much of the reports of Viking savagery come from the priests living under the incredibly bloody -- and genocidal -- reign of Charlemagne (a man celebrated today for his enlightenment despite the enormous death toll he amassed).
This deconstruction of our perceptions is at the heart of Winroth's history of the Viking Age, and it reveals that theirs was a culture of complexity, flexibility and durability that was much, much more than a band of violent raiders, pillagers, and plunderers.
But then there is that extra little thing that Anders Winroth delivers in The Age of the Vikings. It has to do with a commentary on history (and the places from which history draws its evidence -- archaeology, literature, religion, anthropology). Winroth's unstated thesis is that ultimately we just don't know the way things were, in any age, and we can't. All of our sources are biased, or speculative, or flawed, and that maybe the best any historian can do is eliminate things we know a time was not. That and give the best guess without pretending it is an absolute truth.
This idea brought me back to my sideways love of archaeology, of my desire, long held but never acted upon, to become an archeologist. And right here, near my home, I have one of the richest Viking finds connected to a school I love's archaeology department, and maybe 45 is not too old to just go ahead and start digging in the wet, cold soil and turning my speculative mind to the evidence of a thousand years ago. I like that. I like being reminded of those paths long overgrown but always waiting to be returned to.
May 8, 2016
This book a nice serious scholarly work, with great attention to the sources but not great as an introduction. The content is not organised chronologically, but by theme. The information is presented as discursive essays, with each chapter spanning decades or even centuries, sometimes covering more than one topic. Some chapters are better than others.
Winroth often challenges the veracity of long-held views of the Vikings and their practices putting them down as “creations of a vivid imagination of the high medieval writers”.
He presents interesting theories based on the latest archaeological evidence; the sections on the “Farm beneath the sand” and Osberg burial site were fascinating. I also found the chapter on economy and commerce well explained with the parallels between East and West carefully analysed.
Though the content is extremely interesting and well researched, the author’s style is somewhat dry. I overall enjoyed reading this book but I would not recommend it on its own to someone who is not already familiar with the subject. 3.5 stars.
Favourite quotes:
Viking Age emigration from Scandinavia was not driven primarily by population pressures at home, as is often imagined. Populations always tend to grow, but such growth is typically balanced by famine, war, and disease, as Thomas Malthus (1766–1834) postulated. People may always feel pressured by the lack of opportunity at home; what made the Viking Age different was not exceptionally great pressures at home but the appearance of real opportunities elsewhere.
It mattered that the Vikings brought into circulation silver and gold that had been hidden away in ecclesiastical treasure-houses, but we must not exaggerate the impact. Church plate had always been taken to mints and melted down when a bishop, an abbot, or a king needed cash, so it was never permanently withdrawn from the economy when placed in a treasury. More important for the early medieval resurgence of commerce in western Europe was the central Asian silver that Scandinavian merchants brought to Europe.
Although no exact statistics are available, it seems that Scandinavians and others who exported slaves, fur, and other articles to the Arab Caliphate and Byzantium rectified for some time the lopsided trade balance between western Europe and the East, stopping or perhaps even reversing the flow of silver and gold that had been leaving the western economy. The influx strengthened the European stock of silver, the coinage, and thus commerce. It was during the Viking Age that the European economy slowly began to grow again, eventually, in the modern era, leading to Europe’s economic, political, and cultural hegemony.
Their power over people extended so far that they could no longer maintain the kind of personal friendships that the gift economy of previous centuries promoted. Instead, they needed military and administrative structures to run what increasingly looked like older European kingdoms. The Church was the best organized institution in Europe at the time, and kings received help from clerics to build up their royal administration. Chieftaincy based on charisma and friendships yielded to organized and administrative kingship, although for a long time both “systems” existed in parallel.
Winroth often challenges the veracity of long-held views of the Vikings and their practices putting them down as “creations of a vivid imagination of the high medieval writers”.
He presents interesting theories based on the latest archaeological evidence; the sections on the “Farm beneath the sand” and Osberg burial site were fascinating. I also found the chapter on economy and commerce well explained with the parallels between East and West carefully analysed.
Though the content is extremely interesting and well researched, the author’s style is somewhat dry. I overall enjoyed reading this book but I would not recommend it on its own to someone who is not already familiar with the subject. 3.5 stars.
Favourite quotes:
Viking Age emigration from Scandinavia was not driven primarily by population pressures at home, as is often imagined. Populations always tend to grow, but such growth is typically balanced by famine, war, and disease, as Thomas Malthus (1766–1834) postulated. People may always feel pressured by the lack of opportunity at home; what made the Viking Age different was not exceptionally great pressures at home but the appearance of real opportunities elsewhere.
It mattered that the Vikings brought into circulation silver and gold that had been hidden away in ecclesiastical treasure-houses, but we must not exaggerate the impact. Church plate had always been taken to mints and melted down when a bishop, an abbot, or a king needed cash, so it was never permanently withdrawn from the economy when placed in a treasury. More important for the early medieval resurgence of commerce in western Europe was the central Asian silver that Scandinavian merchants brought to Europe.
Although no exact statistics are available, it seems that Scandinavians and others who exported slaves, fur, and other articles to the Arab Caliphate and Byzantium rectified for some time the lopsided trade balance between western Europe and the East, stopping or perhaps even reversing the flow of silver and gold that had been leaving the western economy. The influx strengthened the European stock of silver, the coinage, and thus commerce. It was during the Viking Age that the European economy slowly began to grow again, eventually, in the modern era, leading to Europe’s economic, political, and cultural hegemony.
Their power over people extended so far that they could no longer maintain the kind of personal friendships that the gift economy of previous centuries promoted. Instead, they needed military and administrative structures to run what increasingly looked like older European kingdoms. The Church was the best organized institution in Europe at the time, and kings received help from clerics to build up their royal administration. Chieftaincy based on charisma and friendships yielded to organized and administrative kingship, although for a long time both “systems” existed in parallel.
January 29, 2017
Probably the only reason I did not give The Age of the Vikings by Anders Winroth five stars is that I dearly love the Icelandic sagas, which are mentioned only in passing in this book.
Where it succeeds is in giving an excellent picture of the Vikings on the Scandinavian mainland, where my previous knowledge concentrated on Iceland, which I have visited twice. In addition to concentrating on mainland Scandinavia, it also concentrates on the Viking culture prior to the conversion to Christianity (which would account for skipping the mostly 13th century sagas). For literature, that leaves only fragments of skaldic poetry that have come down to us from the sagas and from runic stones.
Where it succeeds is in giving an excellent picture of the Vikings on the Scandinavian mainland, where my previous knowledge concentrated on Iceland, which I have visited twice. In addition to concentrating on mainland Scandinavia, it also concentrates on the Viking culture prior to the conversion to Christianity (which would account for skipping the mostly 13th century sagas). For literature, that leaves only fragments of skaldic poetry that have come down to us from the sagas and from runic stones.
October 15, 2014
This is a very academic text, and I think that's the explanation for the mediocre ratings. Ironically, the popular misconceptions that Winroth seeks to dispel with his book are likely what makes this book disappointing to some.
I welcomed the academic treatment of the subject, though I admit it was a bit dry at times.
He covers the culture and economy as well as the military/political history of this fascinating people and the period of time. They were a fearsome and complicated people, worthy of the respect and fear they inspired. On the other hand, they were not exceptional in their ferocity - they were a violent people in a violent time. They are cast as the "bad guys" because most of the written source material was written by the people they raided and not the Norsemen themselves.
What else is good? His explanations of the various sources and their limitations; the discussion of their poetry and art; and his coverage of religion. The last is particularly difficult given that almost all the material we have on it was recorded by Christians a century and more after nearly all Scandinavia had converted to Christianity. The Christians were more interested in consolidating variations instead of preserving them separately, and, once consolidated, harmonizing them with Christian material.
Overall, a 3.5/5. I'd go with 4 if it was a bit more engaging. Other than that, the factual material is great and it's presented well enough.
I welcomed the academic treatment of the subject, though I admit it was a bit dry at times.
He covers the culture and economy as well as the military/political history of this fascinating people and the period of time. They were a fearsome and complicated people, worthy of the respect and fear they inspired. On the other hand, they were not exceptional in their ferocity - they were a violent people in a violent time. They are cast as the "bad guys" because most of the written source material was written by the people they raided and not the Norsemen themselves.
What else is good? His explanations of the various sources and their limitations; the discussion of their poetry and art; and his coverage of religion. The last is particularly difficult given that almost all the material we have on it was recorded by Christians a century and more after nearly all Scandinavia had converted to Christianity. The Christians were more interested in consolidating variations instead of preserving them separately, and, once consolidated, harmonizing them with Christian material.
Overall, a 3.5/5. I'd go with 4 if it was a bit more engaging. Other than that, the factual material is great and it's presented well enough.
October 13, 2024
Dull. Like many modern historians, Winroth hyper-focuses on social history with the result that human beings are abstracted away into ‘peasant’, ‘woman’, ‘elite’ etc. This obsession also leads him to ignore political history: he doesn’t even offer a skeleton account like e.g. Chris Whickam does in the otherwise social-history focused “Inheritence of Rome”. Events are mentioned casually with no context, only to illustrate a point about broad change.
There’s nothing tieing the book together, no narrative besides the repeating pattern of ‘Scandanavia was unique with respect to x broad topic and then it joined Europe around 1100’. The book is best understood as a series of nine disconnected essays.
He’s also just a bad writer. Take this sentence from the last chapter: “Women subdued by virile suducers are common literary and artistic images of conquered lands.” What? That’s not even mentioning his repetitions, unnecessary summaries/exegesis of self evident quotations, or the insane, masturbatory paragraph he inserts early on only composed in Norse loan words.
Ultimately, he gives us a shapeless, empty history.
There’s nothing tieing the book together, no narrative besides the repeating pattern of ‘Scandanavia was unique with respect to x broad topic and then it joined Europe around 1100’. The book is best understood as a series of nine disconnected essays.
He’s also just a bad writer. Take this sentence from the last chapter: “Women subdued by virile suducers are common literary and artistic images of conquered lands.” What? That’s not even mentioning his repetitions, unnecessary summaries/exegesis of self evident quotations, or the insane, masturbatory paragraph he inserts early on only composed in Norse loan words.
Ultimately, he gives us a shapeless, empty history.
April 20, 2020
3.5*. I like how the author challenges many known ‘facts’. Enjoyable.
May 1, 2024
For a large part of spring 2024, I decided to devote myself to learning something about the Vikings. This was the second book down in that project. Unfortunately, because the Vikings still have a stranglehold on our imagination, there’s a lot to learn about them – and just as much to unlearn. Yes, they pillaged, looted, and enslaved people, but to what end? Since the Vikings weren’t literate in the sense of having a workaday alphabet (the use of runes seems mostly limited to religion, magic, and the commemoration of ancestors), most of the hows and whys of Viking history come down to us only from Christians who wrote about them centuries after the fact. Consequently, any kind of history ones writes – social, cultural, literary – will lean heavily into archaeology almost out of necessity.
The book’s opening scene is characteristic of Winroth’s approach of setting a scene and building narrative interest for the casual reader: he details a skald (an Old Norse poet) reading at the hall of a jarl (or earl). These little vignettes that he inserts throughout the book make it ideal for engaging the attention of someone new to the subject. To introduce Viking migration and expansion, he discusses the diverging paths of two men named Rorik – one who became an important leader in Holland while the other traveled all over Europe. The chapter about life on a farm opens with the story of Estrid whose husband died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
The two dates that sandwich the so-called Viking age are its sudden arrival in 793 (with the attack at Lindisfarne) and 1066 (when Harold Hardrada takes an arrow to the neck at Stamford Bridge in 1066). In just 250 pages, this book touches on nearly every topic you could hope to read about in a popular history: the place of violence in Viking culture; how the Vikings emerged as a people at the end of the Age of Migration; their settlements throughout Scandinavia and slow movement toward Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and even Vinland; the construction of longships; and Viking paganism and the religious syncretism it formed as they slowly became Christianized. It ends with a discussion of skaldic poetry, runes, and the visual arts. Chapters are topical instead of chronological.
In a book so short, things must be left out. This is not a compendium of Norse myths, or a distillation of the eddas. While there’s some detail about the interactions with the people Vikings encountered (the Franks, Frisians, and the Rus), there isn’t nearly as much as I would have liked about the raiding of Christian monasteries along the British Isles like Lindisfarne and Jarrow (the very same monastery that the Venerable Bede lived in just a couple of generations before the attack). The monkish chronicles that were written by survivors made it sound like the raids were portents of the apocalypse, so they must have been unimaginably horrifying. Though in Winroth’s defense, he does cover the 843 Viking raid on Nantes which sounds every bit as chilling. Winroth uses the Nantes raid to illustrate how methodical and observant Vikings were before they attacked. It may have seemed random to the citizens of Nantes, but it wasn’t. They attacked on a major Christian holiday (the Feast of John the Baptist) when they knew Christians would be preoccupied and the coffers in the cathedral would be full to the brim with offerings.
University press books are sometimes a bit hit-or-miss when it comes to the author’s ability to engage and entertain, but where Winroth can he usually tells you about a single person, family, or event and then makes cautious inductions from it (or so it seems to this rank amateur), so the book isn’t based on dry findings of people whose names have been lost to history. Coupling this with other books like it, like Neil Price’s “Children of Ash and Elm” and Robert Ferguson’s “The Vikings: A History” along with a few books on mythology and a sprinkling of sagas, should give you the quick-and-dirty Viking education you’re looking for.
The book’s opening scene is characteristic of Winroth’s approach of setting a scene and building narrative interest for the casual reader: he details a skald (an Old Norse poet) reading at the hall of a jarl (or earl). These little vignettes that he inserts throughout the book make it ideal for engaging the attention of someone new to the subject. To introduce Viking migration and expansion, he discusses the diverging paths of two men named Rorik – one who became an important leader in Holland while the other traveled all over Europe. The chapter about life on a farm opens with the story of Estrid whose husband died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
The two dates that sandwich the so-called Viking age are its sudden arrival in 793 (with the attack at Lindisfarne) and 1066 (when Harold Hardrada takes an arrow to the neck at Stamford Bridge in 1066). In just 250 pages, this book touches on nearly every topic you could hope to read about in a popular history: the place of violence in Viking culture; how the Vikings emerged as a people at the end of the Age of Migration; their settlements throughout Scandinavia and slow movement toward Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and even Vinland; the construction of longships; and Viking paganism and the religious syncretism it formed as they slowly became Christianized. It ends with a discussion of skaldic poetry, runes, and the visual arts. Chapters are topical instead of chronological.
In a book so short, things must be left out. This is not a compendium of Norse myths, or a distillation of the eddas. While there’s some detail about the interactions with the people Vikings encountered (the Franks, Frisians, and the Rus), there isn’t nearly as much as I would have liked about the raiding of Christian monasteries along the British Isles like Lindisfarne and Jarrow (the very same monastery that the Venerable Bede lived in just a couple of generations before the attack). The monkish chronicles that were written by survivors made it sound like the raids were portents of the apocalypse, so they must have been unimaginably horrifying. Though in Winroth’s defense, he does cover the 843 Viking raid on Nantes which sounds every bit as chilling. Winroth uses the Nantes raid to illustrate how methodical and observant Vikings were before they attacked. It may have seemed random to the citizens of Nantes, but it wasn’t. They attacked on a major Christian holiday (the Feast of John the Baptist) when they knew Christians would be preoccupied and the coffers in the cathedral would be full to the brim with offerings.
University press books are sometimes a bit hit-or-miss when it comes to the author’s ability to engage and entertain, but where Winroth can he usually tells you about a single person, family, or event and then makes cautious inductions from it (or so it seems to this rank amateur), so the book isn’t based on dry findings of people whose names have been lost to history. Coupling this with other books like it, like Neil Price’s “Children of Ash and Elm” and Robert Ferguson’s “The Vikings: A History” along with a few books on mythology and a sprinkling of sagas, should give you the quick-and-dirty Viking education you’re looking for.
April 14, 2020
Unfortunately I haven't had time to do reviews lately, so enough time passed between me reading this book and trying to write the review that I don't have a great recollection of what I liked and didn't like about this book.
I do recall that Winroth goes out of his way to examine the day-to-day life of Viking society, not just the heroic battles and conquests, which is very much something I like. If I recall correctly, this book is a surface treatment of many aspects of Viking life and left me really interested in learning more - though that would be a lot to ask of just one book.
3.5 of 5 stars
I do recall that Winroth goes out of his way to examine the day-to-day life of Viking society, not just the heroic battles and conquests, which is very much something I like. If I recall correctly, this book is a surface treatment of many aspects of Viking life and left me really interested in learning more - though that would be a lot to ask of just one book.
3.5 of 5 stars
March 22, 2015
It was very thorough, & so sometimes tedious reading. However there were many interesting things to learn. Much has been learned from poems & writings that were written at time of their happenings. Also the burial grounds taught much about their lives & stations in life by things buried with them. Also the Rune stones while very, almost secretly, relaying about the people buried there. There was a huge acknowledgements section, also a large Bibliography & note section for the entire book. Much research went into this book!
March 14, 2016
Fairly disappointing. Reads very dryly, like a sequence of Year 12 students' essays back to back. Each chapter has a subject, begins with a vaguely interesting introductory paragraph, then many random pieces of information from various different sources slapped together, and the chapter finishes with a conclusion which goes over what we've learned. And then it begins again.
Wouldn't recommend - that coverart is nice though.
Wouldn't recommend - that coverart is nice though.
May 29, 2022
With "The Age of the Vikings" Anders Winroth wrote a succinct but gripping summary of the Scandinavian culture between the 8th and 11th centuries CE.
The author does not dwell on conjecture, and where he briefly touches upon it he is quick to point out either the flimsiness or the bias of the sources we have. (Most often both.) Nor does he get lost in the droning of dates and lineages of various leaders and kings, unless the subject matter requires it.
And that is exactly how the book is divided up by the way: themes and subject matters. This is no timeline or atlas of the Vikings, rather it is a thematic and very humanizing overview of their entire culture, insofar as we can tell with a degree of certainty.
That is probably the cause for the rather low score on Goodreads. This book is written to be understood by the layman, but its foundations are academic. The Norse culture is lifted entirely out of myth and "Hollywoodification" by the time you've finished reading this book. No doubt this will have disappointed several readers who had a grander, more romanticized idea of what the Norse were like.
Below I will briefly summarize each of the 10 chapters.
Chapter 1, the introduction, gives us a taste of the following chapters, briefly touching upon every subject matter in a tiny little piece of historical fiction. The chapter concludes that Norse culture revolved around the chieftains and their halls, around prestige of the chieftains, and that the main way of increasing prestige and loyalty is to share their wealth with their followers.
Chapter 2 focuses on violence. Winroth dismantles the idea that the Vikings were any more violent than their Christian contemporaries or that they were amazing on the battlefield. In an open battle, the mainland armies of Europe would likely mop the floor with (especially early) Viking age raiders. Their weapons, equipment, and training were simply inferior. Rather they struck hard and fast with their longships in rich areas that were poorly defended, and left before there was any chance of retaliation. The reason for their fierce and devilish reputation is because they were pagans who attacked Christians, and the vast majority of surviving sources were of course written by Christian clergymen.
Chapter 3 focuses on emigration and gives an overview of the settling of Britain, Iceland, Greenland, and more. Winroth's main point in this chapter is that these emigrations were not entire peoples packing and moving. Instead they were what you could call Viking "entrepreneurs". They did not leave because things were horrible in Scandinavia necessarily, as was often believed in the past, but because they thought elsewhere simply better provided better opportunities. There was no emigration pressure in Scandinavia, there was immigration pressure in all these various other places! And so these chieftains and leaders tried their luck, with some ventures being more successful than others, and with the Norse often quickly assimilating into the local culture.
Chapter 4 delves into technical details and the importance of the Viking longships, not just for trading and warfare but also in burial practices. Needless to say, there would not have been a Viking age to speak of without these incredible vessels. Modern reproductions are still very seaworthy, as the author points out with various examples.
Chapter 5 is where Winroth firmly starts to place the Vikings within the broader European, almost global context. The chapter deals with economy and was my favorite in the entire book. The Norse main exports were furs, walrus ivory, and slaves. With remarkable clarity the author points out that the Viking raids and trading of goods in fact boosted European economy.
Chapter 6 deals with the beginnings of the three Scandinavian kingdoms around the turn of the millennium. Through what is essentially a long period of political darwinism, more and more power ended up in the hands of fewer and fewer people. The line is vague but at a certain point it became proper to speak of kings rather than chieftains. Later on they adopted certain European practices for fee and tax collecting (essentially, feudalism) that turned these large swathes of land from barely governable and unstable, to stable kingdoms that laid the foundations for modern day Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
Chapter 7 deals with the daily life of the Viking age. Some time is spent on clothing and food, but mostly the chapter deals with the role of women. The chapter concludes that while raiding was a dangerous venture, staying at and tending to the farm might not have been much better. Life was hard back then, not idyllic, no matter what path you might take.
Chapter 8 focuses on religion. Winroth points out how little we know of the old pagan beliefs, and how much of the sources are likely fictitious. Again, some readers might have been turned off by this. The conclusion here is that the conversion of Scandinavia to christendom was driven by its chieftains and kings, not missionaries. The leaders of chieftains were always looking for power, prestige, and wealth, as through redistributing it is how their social and economic culture worked. Mainland Europe projected a lot of power, and it had a lot of riches, and the Christian clergy (next to feudal tax systems) provided many ways to fill the coffers.
At first, conversions were likely pragmatic. The Norse likely took on traditions and rites of Christianity bit by bit. Over time and after a few generations, these beliefs grew stronger and stronger until in fact, all of Scandinavia had become Christian.
Chapter 9 deals with the arts. A good deal is spent on futhark, the runic alphabet. Sadly the author can only draw a solemn conclusion: that we only have the tip of the iceberg and that we will never know much of their culture. But without a doubt there was much more to the Norse than raiding and plunder.
Chapter 10 is very brief and talks about the end of the Viking age. Traditionally 1066 CE is chosen as the end date, with the battle of Stamford Bridge. Winroth suggests that this date is rather symbolic. The age of the Vikings ended when the old Norse beliefs were making way for Christianity and when they started to adopt much of the European mainland's customs, traditions, ways of trading and governing. Just like with the chieftains and the kings, the line is vague. But at a certain time in the European Middle Ages it is no longer appropriate to speak of the Vikings. What set them apart had slowly eroded and they had assimilated into Europe, driven over time more by pragmatism than anything else.
The author does not dwell on conjecture, and where he briefly touches upon it he is quick to point out either the flimsiness or the bias of the sources we have. (Most often both.) Nor does he get lost in the droning of dates and lineages of various leaders and kings, unless the subject matter requires it.
And that is exactly how the book is divided up by the way: themes and subject matters. This is no timeline or atlas of the Vikings, rather it is a thematic and very humanizing overview of their entire culture, insofar as we can tell with a degree of certainty.
That is probably the cause for the rather low score on Goodreads. This book is written to be understood by the layman, but its foundations are academic. The Norse culture is lifted entirely out of myth and "Hollywoodification" by the time you've finished reading this book. No doubt this will have disappointed several readers who had a grander, more romanticized idea of what the Norse were like.
Below I will briefly summarize each of the 10 chapters.
Chapter 1, the introduction, gives us a taste of the following chapters, briefly touching upon every subject matter in a tiny little piece of historical fiction. The chapter concludes that Norse culture revolved around the chieftains and their halls, around prestige of the chieftains, and that the main way of increasing prestige and loyalty is to share their wealth with their followers.
Chapter 2 focuses on violence. Winroth dismantles the idea that the Vikings were any more violent than their Christian contemporaries or that they were amazing on the battlefield. In an open battle, the mainland armies of Europe would likely mop the floor with (especially early) Viking age raiders. Their weapons, equipment, and training were simply inferior. Rather they struck hard and fast with their longships in rich areas that were poorly defended, and left before there was any chance of retaliation. The reason for their fierce and devilish reputation is because they were pagans who attacked Christians, and the vast majority of surviving sources were of course written by Christian clergymen.
Chapter 3 focuses on emigration and gives an overview of the settling of Britain, Iceland, Greenland, and more. Winroth's main point in this chapter is that these emigrations were not entire peoples packing and moving. Instead they were what you could call Viking "entrepreneurs". They did not leave because things were horrible in Scandinavia necessarily, as was often believed in the past, but because they thought elsewhere simply better provided better opportunities. There was no emigration pressure in Scandinavia, there was immigration pressure in all these various other places! And so these chieftains and leaders tried their luck, with some ventures being more successful than others, and with the Norse often quickly assimilating into the local culture.
Chapter 4 delves into technical details and the importance of the Viking longships, not just for trading and warfare but also in burial practices. Needless to say, there would not have been a Viking age to speak of without these incredible vessels. Modern reproductions are still very seaworthy, as the author points out with various examples.
Chapter 5 is where Winroth firmly starts to place the Vikings within the broader European, almost global context. The chapter deals with economy and was my favorite in the entire book. The Norse main exports were furs, walrus ivory, and slaves. With remarkable clarity the author points out that the Viking raids and trading of goods in fact boosted European economy.
Chapter 6 deals with the beginnings of the three Scandinavian kingdoms around the turn of the millennium. Through what is essentially a long period of political darwinism, more and more power ended up in the hands of fewer and fewer people. The line is vague but at a certain point it became proper to speak of kings rather than chieftains. Later on they adopted certain European practices for fee and tax collecting (essentially, feudalism) that turned these large swathes of land from barely governable and unstable, to stable kingdoms that laid the foundations for modern day Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
Chapter 7 deals with the daily life of the Viking age. Some time is spent on clothing and food, but mostly the chapter deals with the role of women. The chapter concludes that while raiding was a dangerous venture, staying at and tending to the farm might not have been much better. Life was hard back then, not idyllic, no matter what path you might take.
Chapter 8 focuses on religion. Winroth points out how little we know of the old pagan beliefs, and how much of the sources are likely fictitious. Again, some readers might have been turned off by this. The conclusion here is that the conversion of Scandinavia to christendom was driven by its chieftains and kings, not missionaries. The leaders of chieftains were always looking for power, prestige, and wealth, as through redistributing it is how their social and economic culture worked. Mainland Europe projected a lot of power, and it had a lot of riches, and the Christian clergy (next to feudal tax systems) provided many ways to fill the coffers.
At first, conversions were likely pragmatic. The Norse likely took on traditions and rites of Christianity bit by bit. Over time and after a few generations, these beliefs grew stronger and stronger until in fact, all of Scandinavia had become Christian.
Chapter 9 deals with the arts. A good deal is spent on futhark, the runic alphabet. Sadly the author can only draw a solemn conclusion: that we only have the tip of the iceberg and that we will never know much of their culture. But without a doubt there was much more to the Norse than raiding and plunder.
Chapter 10 is very brief and talks about the end of the Viking age. Traditionally 1066 CE is chosen as the end date, with the battle of Stamford Bridge. Winroth suggests that this date is rather symbolic. The age of the Vikings ended when the old Norse beliefs were making way for Christianity and when they started to adopt much of the European mainland's customs, traditions, ways of trading and governing. Just like with the chieftains and the kings, the line is vague. But at a certain time in the European Middle Ages it is no longer appropriate to speak of the Vikings. What set them apart had slowly eroded and they had assimilated into Europe, driven over time more by pragmatism than anything else.
December 23, 2015
Winroth sets out to reclaim the image of Norsemen from today's present obsession with a particular story of vikings as giant-sized pillagers and plunderers who wore horned helmets and raped just about anything that had two legs.
He argues that "Scandinavians spurred political and social change, which in the long run enabled them to enter the mainstream of European history, though at the cost of losing some of what made their culture distinctive." Of Norse descent himself, he remains sympathetic but relatively objective in his approach, though he continually engages in a contemporary political question: who gave birth to Europe, the French, the Germans, or another cultural group? His defense comes in response to the "monks and clerics" whom "well-nigh monopolized early medieval literacy, so preserved chronicles and other literary works" which "preserve their perspective, which understandably was utterly hostile to their attackers [Vikings]." He suggests that Charlemange (among other Medieval oppressors) was equally violent and involved in plundering on a larger scale than the vikings. I am not fully convinced of this but find myself mostly in agreement with him.
Likewise he seems to hold a mixed admiration for the Vikings as I do: "Just as we as a society continue to have a fraught and complex relationship to violence, we are both spellbound and repelled by the Vikings. While we may sympathize with and grieve for their helpless victims and feel put off by all the mindless slaying, we can scarcely help admiring the strength, courage, and virility of the Vikings." They helped to connect Europe with Asia and North America (arriving in the New World four centuries before Columbus).
I found Winroth to be an engaging writer, who often inserted himself into the text, giving it more life than other more detached scholars. The prose came from a real voice. It was fun to have him connect historical figures and cultural contexts with the few that are popular today: Ragnar Lodbrok (the protagonist from the TV series "The Vikings"), Thor, and Beowulf. He appeared to gather from a wide variety of archaeological, historical, and literary sources, but I found myself wanting more from him at the end of the book. It felt scarce. I felt he had hardly unearthed Viking graves, and treasure troves before arriving at his conclusion: "A new era truly arrived when the Vikings' unique moment in history had run its course and Scandinavians instead opted to join Europe, embracing Christianity and other ideologies, and adopting European artistic ideals, military tactics, and trading patterns. When Scandinavians became the subjects of kings and the servants of the universal Church, they were no longer Vikings. The Age of the Vikings had come to a close." Yes, the sources during that era are sparce, and force a historian to speculate a great deal, but I wanted more.
My greatest criticism--which I hurl at most historians--is his focus on military might and politics. Granted the oppressors and power-seekers are the ones who get to write history (most of the time), I would have welcomed further exploration into the ideas which shaped the everyday lives of more praiseworthy and less violent characters. Yes, it was a violent time where most were illiterate, but I would have loved to hear more about the Skalds, the richness of the Norse mythologies, and at least more about the non-political lives of the era's great "heroes." Vikings had romances didn't they? Furthermore, Winroth falls prey to conventional thinking that war makes wealth, the State brings peace, and that taxation (or tithing) are a system we should celebrate or keep in our social structures today. He lauds Viking trade and how it gave Europe a huge boon after the decline in commerce from the fall of Rome, but I would have loved to hear him further explore Iceland and its society which allegedly thrived on relatively libertarian principles. Me thinks his liberal, Nordic-Model-as-Utopia bias shows through here. I hope this book is more evidence that we are in the midst of a Viking revival.
It was an enlightening read and helped me to piece together how Europe evolved from small warring chieftains to centralized kingdoms vitalized by the Catholic church and its alleged divine role in the affairs of men. I am eager to examine more viking history, and European history in general.
He argues that "Scandinavians spurred political and social change, which in the long run enabled them to enter the mainstream of European history, though at the cost of losing some of what made their culture distinctive." Of Norse descent himself, he remains sympathetic but relatively objective in his approach, though he continually engages in a contemporary political question: who gave birth to Europe, the French, the Germans, or another cultural group? His defense comes in response to the "monks and clerics" whom "well-nigh monopolized early medieval literacy, so preserved chronicles and other literary works" which "preserve their perspective, which understandably was utterly hostile to their attackers [Vikings]." He suggests that Charlemange (among other Medieval oppressors) was equally violent and involved in plundering on a larger scale than the vikings. I am not fully convinced of this but find myself mostly in agreement with him.
Likewise he seems to hold a mixed admiration for the Vikings as I do: "Just as we as a society continue to have a fraught and complex relationship to violence, we are both spellbound and repelled by the Vikings. While we may sympathize with and grieve for their helpless victims and feel put off by all the mindless slaying, we can scarcely help admiring the strength, courage, and virility of the Vikings." They helped to connect Europe with Asia and North America (arriving in the New World four centuries before Columbus).
I found Winroth to be an engaging writer, who often inserted himself into the text, giving it more life than other more detached scholars. The prose came from a real voice. It was fun to have him connect historical figures and cultural contexts with the few that are popular today: Ragnar Lodbrok (the protagonist from the TV series "The Vikings"), Thor, and Beowulf. He appeared to gather from a wide variety of archaeological, historical, and literary sources, but I found myself wanting more from him at the end of the book. It felt scarce. I felt he had hardly unearthed Viking graves, and treasure troves before arriving at his conclusion: "A new era truly arrived when the Vikings' unique moment in history had run its course and Scandinavians instead opted to join Europe, embracing Christianity and other ideologies, and adopting European artistic ideals, military tactics, and trading patterns. When Scandinavians became the subjects of kings and the servants of the universal Church, they were no longer Vikings. The Age of the Vikings had come to a close." Yes, the sources during that era are sparce, and force a historian to speculate a great deal, but I wanted more.
My greatest criticism--which I hurl at most historians--is his focus on military might and politics. Granted the oppressors and power-seekers are the ones who get to write history (most of the time), I would have welcomed further exploration into the ideas which shaped the everyday lives of more praiseworthy and less violent characters. Yes, it was a violent time where most were illiterate, but I would have loved to hear more about the Skalds, the richness of the Norse mythologies, and at least more about the non-political lives of the era's great "heroes." Vikings had romances didn't they? Furthermore, Winroth falls prey to conventional thinking that war makes wealth, the State brings peace, and that taxation (or tithing) are a system we should celebrate or keep in our social structures today. He lauds Viking trade and how it gave Europe a huge boon after the decline in commerce from the fall of Rome, but I would have loved to hear him further explore Iceland and its society which allegedly thrived on relatively libertarian principles. Me thinks his liberal, Nordic-Model-as-Utopia bias shows through here. I hope this book is more evidence that we are in the midst of a Viking revival.
It was an enlightening read and helped me to piece together how Europe evolved from small warring chieftains to centralized kingdoms vitalized by the Catholic church and its alleged divine role in the affairs of men. I am eager to examine more viking history, and European history in general.
December 31, 2018
There are a couple facts in this book that have been found to be untrue or evidence has been found to serve another thought. But still! This is so good and I’m keeping it on my “favourites” shelf now. Looks good next to the sagas ;)
September 3, 2016
I learned a lot from this book. I'm surprised that several other reviews here describe it as dry, because I remember specifically thinking that it wasn't. This is also the first book I've read on the topic (not the last), and I didn't find the content overly dense or difficult to follow. However, as things are presented according to themes, rather than chronologically or geographically, I don't think I have a very clear picture of when or where things happened. I do feel like my general understanding is enhanced, in terms of popular misconceptions and a broad overview of Viking life (as well as social changes over time, such as the transition from "pagan" beliefs to Christianity).
July 24, 2018
An academic treatment of the Viking era, grouped into chapters based on methodology or ideas such as Emigration/Trade/Religion etc. IT does a good job of explaining what we do and don't know about the Nordic people of the time and tries to dispel some of the myths that are common about the Vikings in general. It paints a more complete picture of the Scandinavian people of the late 8th century up to the end of the 11th. This is however an academic treatment and thus less readable then other easier works on the subject. It has its place and is a good book but if you don't know the name Harold Bluetooth from Adam then this not the book to start your journey
December 18, 2014
The Age of the Vikings is an informative and entertaining read that can be enjoyed by the hardcore enthusiast and the casual reader alike. Clearly written and nicely presented, Winroth's new book offers a fascinating overview of Viking society and debunks some of the common misconceptions. Well worth a read for anyone interested in this intriguing culture. Includes an excellent list for further reading.
January 4, 2023
Truly excellent history of the Viking Age. Though the author is an accomplished professor and historian, his book is tremendously readable for a general audience. It is detailed without being too dense. He relies on scientific evidence from archeology, linguistics, and anthropology and is careful to note where a historical conclusion is based on educated guesswork rather than hard fact. Great book for those with either a strong or passing interest in Viking history. Strongly recommend!
January 23, 2023
The Age of the Vikings gave a completely different perspective of who the Vikings actually were in contrast to how current media/society portrays them to have been. The chronology was a little confusing at times, but it became easier to understand as I continued reading.
August 11, 2023
This is undoubtedly a decent history of the Viking Age, with a lot of information to be learned (and some nice pictures to look at). Certain parts felt long-winded and overly dry, while others were exciting and made me want to keep reading. I did not really have a problem with the way the book is structured (by theme instead of chronologically), as I have seen some other reviewers complain about. All in all, it is not a bad book.
However, it seems to get off on the wrong foot. While acknowledging that 'Vikings were violent, even ferociously so' (p. 9), Winroth argues that 'their violence ... was no worse than that of others in a savage time' (p. 12) - particularly Charlemagne. I appreciate that killing and plundering was not the Vikings' only concern, but I think Winroth goes a little too far in his apparent attempt to 'rehabilitate' the Vikings and rescue them from their bad reputation.
Winroth describes how the Vikings raided towns and churches, murdering everyone in their path and craftily choosing to attack on major Christian feast days - so that more innocent people would be gathered in one place for easy pickings. He also quotes several contemporary accounts of Viking brutality, but seems more interested in picking holes in them than taking them seriously. It is only natural, we are told, that eyewitnesses and survivors of such horrible events would describe them as... horrible. Yes, of course. But what does this tell us about the Vikings?
Nothing much, apparently, other than that they were just like everyone else - if not a little better. Winroth tells us: 'The goals and methods of Viking expeditions are similar to those typical of other early medieval warfare' (p. 41). He uses Charlemagne as an example, and I get the impression that Winroth thinks the Frankish king is unfairly overrated in comparison with the Vikings. After all, did Charlemagne not fight brutally against the Saxons in Germany?
Well, yes, Charlemagne was brutal and made mistakes. But his campaign against the Saxons was in reprisal for killing and plundering carried out by people who practiced both human sacrifice (like the Vikings) and ritual cannibalism. We can question his methods, but he seems to have been at least partly well-intentioned. I do not see that in the Viking raiders. While killing was perhaps not a goal in itself for them (I am not sure about this), they were willing to kill in order to take the property of innocent people - and to take those people as slaves. That says something about them.
In a BBC article published in the same year as this book, the historian Simon Keynes is described as saying that 'the correction to "cuddly" Vikings had gone too far'. He says in a direct quote: 'There's no question how nasty, unpleasant and brutish they were. They did all that the Vikings were reputed to have done.' I will not belabour the point any further, but I could go on with different ways in which Winroth seems to downplay the peculiar savagery of the Vikings. Would they have become so infamous, one wonders, if they had not been peculiarly savage?
There are two other issues with the book I would like to address. First, Winroth quickly dismisses the idea that the infamous 'blood eagle' was any kind of historical reality - a bit too quickly, I think. He claims that all later references to the practice are based on a misunderstanding of Sigvat Thordarson's poem, Knútsdrápa. People thought he said that 'Ivar cut the eagle on the back of Ella', but he really meant that 'Ivar caused the eagle to cut the back of Ella' - that is, left him for dead so the birds could eat his corpse (p. 37). By 'people' I mean Scandinavian writers of the medieval period. The misunderstanding was finally cleared up by Roberta Frank, an American philologist, in 1984. At least, that is Winroth's view. I think we should be a little more humble and not dismiss most of the sources we have as erroneous accretions. Scientists reported in 2022 that performing the blood eagle is at least possible, and we should remain open to that possibility until we know for sure.
Second, Winroth also dismisses the whole idea of Viking 'berserkers' on similar grounds. He finds the earliest reference to 'bear-shirts' (berserkir) and 'wolf-skins' (ulfhednar) in a poem dedicated to Harald Fairhair, and declares that later writers have misunderstood it. These were just ordinary warriors wearing chain-mail shirts, described metaphorically as bear-shirts and wolf-skins. This is not entirely convincing to me, but Winroth seems certain that later writers did not 'understand' and simply 'dreamed up a fantastic kind of elite warrior' (p. 39).
The problem with this sceptical attitude, which throws so many of our later sources of information about the Viking Age into question, is that it can make it difficult to know much about the Vikings at all. If anything that strikes us as strange can be explained away as a misunderstanding, I think we can lose sight of how weird this people truly was. Someone who shows us this in a masterful way is the English archaeologist Neil Price, whose relatively recent book The Children of Ash and Elm (2020) is on my reading list.
However, it seems to get off on the wrong foot. While acknowledging that 'Vikings were violent, even ferociously so' (p. 9), Winroth argues that 'their violence ... was no worse than that of others in a savage time' (p. 12) - particularly Charlemagne. I appreciate that killing and plundering was not the Vikings' only concern, but I think Winroth goes a little too far in his apparent attempt to 'rehabilitate' the Vikings and rescue them from their bad reputation.
Winroth describes how the Vikings raided towns and churches, murdering everyone in their path and craftily choosing to attack on major Christian feast days - so that more innocent people would be gathered in one place for easy pickings. He also quotes several contemporary accounts of Viking brutality, but seems more interested in picking holes in them than taking them seriously. It is only natural, we are told, that eyewitnesses and survivors of such horrible events would describe them as... horrible. Yes, of course. But what does this tell us about the Vikings?
Nothing much, apparently, other than that they were just like everyone else - if not a little better. Winroth tells us: 'The goals and methods of Viking expeditions are similar to those typical of other early medieval warfare' (p. 41). He uses Charlemagne as an example, and I get the impression that Winroth thinks the Frankish king is unfairly overrated in comparison with the Vikings. After all, did Charlemagne not fight brutally against the Saxons in Germany?
Well, yes, Charlemagne was brutal and made mistakes. But his campaign against the Saxons was in reprisal for killing and plundering carried out by people who practiced both human sacrifice (like the Vikings) and ritual cannibalism. We can question his methods, but he seems to have been at least partly well-intentioned. I do not see that in the Viking raiders. While killing was perhaps not a goal in itself for them (I am not sure about this), they were willing to kill in order to take the property of innocent people - and to take those people as slaves. That says something about them.
In a BBC article published in the same year as this book, the historian Simon Keynes is described as saying that 'the correction to "cuddly" Vikings had gone too far'. He says in a direct quote: 'There's no question how nasty, unpleasant and brutish they were. They did all that the Vikings were reputed to have done.' I will not belabour the point any further, but I could go on with different ways in which Winroth seems to downplay the peculiar savagery of the Vikings. Would they have become so infamous, one wonders, if they had not been peculiarly savage?
There are two other issues with the book I would like to address. First, Winroth quickly dismisses the idea that the infamous 'blood eagle' was any kind of historical reality - a bit too quickly, I think. He claims that all later references to the practice are based on a misunderstanding of Sigvat Thordarson's poem, Knútsdrápa. People thought he said that 'Ivar cut the eagle on the back of Ella', but he really meant that 'Ivar caused the eagle to cut the back of Ella' - that is, left him for dead so the birds could eat his corpse (p. 37). By 'people' I mean Scandinavian writers of the medieval period. The misunderstanding was finally cleared up by Roberta Frank, an American philologist, in 1984. At least, that is Winroth's view. I think we should be a little more humble and not dismiss most of the sources we have as erroneous accretions. Scientists reported in 2022 that performing the blood eagle is at least possible, and we should remain open to that possibility until we know for sure.
Second, Winroth also dismisses the whole idea of Viking 'berserkers' on similar grounds. He finds the earliest reference to 'bear-shirts' (berserkir) and 'wolf-skins' (ulfhednar) in a poem dedicated to Harald Fairhair, and declares that later writers have misunderstood it. These were just ordinary warriors wearing chain-mail shirts, described metaphorically as bear-shirts and wolf-skins. This is not entirely convincing to me, but Winroth seems certain that later writers did not 'understand' and simply 'dreamed up a fantastic kind of elite warrior' (p. 39).
The problem with this sceptical attitude, which throws so many of our later sources of information about the Viking Age into question, is that it can make it difficult to know much about the Vikings at all. If anything that strikes us as strange can be explained away as a misunderstanding, I think we can lose sight of how weird this people truly was. Someone who shows us this in a masterful way is the English archaeologist Neil Price, whose relatively recent book The Children of Ash and Elm (2020) is on my reading list.
February 16, 2020
Book #10 for 2020: Lately, as 100% of my winter miles are on the treadmill, I have made it a point to commit to 52 books for the 52 weeks in 2020. It's my resolution. I have been making it a point to read only books I have not read before. I was excited to read this book by Anders Winroth, as it's one of the best concise summaries of Viking life.
I have been binge watching "Vikings" and "The Last Kingdom" on Netflix while on the treadmill. It's amazing how similar the shows are to this book. It was interesting to read about the burial rituals and how they changed once exposed to Christian ideals. One thing I laughed a bit at but actually thought about was the fact that walnuts were foreign to Vikings and they were given away as a sign of wealth and prestige to gain followers. Could I do the same with my sixth graders?!
As they sailed and explored, their diet changed as well, and expanded to include saltwater fish. I had never heard the fact that during the 1864 Danish-Prussian War that the Samso canal and the earthen wall at Davevirle was used for defense, nearly 1150 years after they were built (~730ad).
One thing I believe we do not give adequate credit to is the resourcefulness of the Scandinavian Vikings. They were resourceful, lived off the land, adventured to find new places to live and live off of, and always remembered where they came from. I thought it was interesting to read about how women were buried with keys. Women in viking lands were given keys for buildings that they controlled and it was a sign of power. Whereas men may have been buried with weapons, women were remembered and honored for resourcefulness, leadership, and badass "get shit done" skills.
One part that many people don't know, is that it was the Scandinavian fleets that explored the northern parts of the United Kingdom and settled up in the Shetlands.
I love reading about how Viking graveyards existed after exposure to Christianity. It is interesting how others' ideals come to influence our own outlook on life and death.
I enjoyed this. It wasn't the easiest read, but Winroth worked hard to weave history and prior existing tales in with his own arguments.
I have been binge watching "Vikings" and "The Last Kingdom" on Netflix while on the treadmill. It's amazing how similar the shows are to this book. It was interesting to read about the burial rituals and how they changed once exposed to Christian ideals. One thing I laughed a bit at but actually thought about was the fact that walnuts were foreign to Vikings and they were given away as a sign of wealth and prestige to gain followers. Could I do the same with my sixth graders?!
As they sailed and explored, their diet changed as well, and expanded to include saltwater fish. I had never heard the fact that during the 1864 Danish-Prussian War that the Samso canal and the earthen wall at Davevirle was used for defense, nearly 1150 years after they were built (~730ad).
One thing I believe we do not give adequate credit to is the resourcefulness of the Scandinavian Vikings. They were resourceful, lived off the land, adventured to find new places to live and live off of, and always remembered where they came from. I thought it was interesting to read about how women were buried with keys. Women in viking lands were given keys for buildings that they controlled and it was a sign of power. Whereas men may have been buried with weapons, women were remembered and honored for resourcefulness, leadership, and badass "get shit done" skills.
One part that many people don't know, is that it was the Scandinavian fleets that explored the northern parts of the United Kingdom and settled up in the Shetlands.
I love reading about how Viking graveyards existed after exposure to Christianity. It is interesting how others' ideals come to influence our own outlook on life and death.
I enjoyed this. It wasn't the easiest read, but Winroth worked hard to weave history and prior existing tales in with his own arguments.
April 17, 2019
Before you ask, yes, I did listen to the Skyrim soundtrack every time I picked up this book.
Winroth gave me so much with this wonderful book because I honestly knew so little. Like many, I possessed a great understanding of the superficial aesthetic of the Viking race of people's, with only a slim acumen of real knowledge about these human beings that somehow managed to make a life out of arguably one of the most inhospitable realms on this planet earth. Winroth books give the reader passage after passage of readable, and enjoyable, prose that engages at the same time that it informs.
This is history done right, and Winroth reminds me why I love this subject so much. The Vikings become a real race of peoples with a politics, religion, economy, and literature rather than burly cartoon characters with horns on their helmets, which, p.s. they didn't actually have.
Winroth gave me so much with this wonderful book because I honestly knew so little. Like many, I possessed a great understanding of the superficial aesthetic of the Viking race of people's, with only a slim acumen of real knowledge about these human beings that somehow managed to make a life out of arguably one of the most inhospitable realms on this planet earth. Winroth books give the reader passage after passage of readable, and enjoyable, prose that engages at the same time that it informs.
This is history done right, and Winroth reminds me why I love this subject so much. The Vikings become a real race of peoples with a politics, religion, economy, and literature rather than burly cartoon characters with horns on their helmets, which, p.s. they didn't actually have.
October 11, 2020
With only some minor hiccups, this book a great introduction to Viking history. All chapters, thematically organised, draw the reader in with a little narrative after which the text slips into analysis. The author clearly shows what we can know, what is difficult to know, and how we do so through his lucid references and explanations of Norse poetry, battle descriptions by Christian chroniclers, travel stories by traders, archeological findings of arm bands, ships, runestones and ruins. Despite ending nearly a millennium ago, the Viking era comes to life on these colourful pages.
June 7, 2019
Super fascinating...especially if you’re into dancing w/ the three false goddesses of a post enlightenment academic age:
(1) chronological snobbery
(2) the assumption that one is doing objective scholarship
(3) one must carry out the work w/ a spirit (hermeneutic?) of suspicion.
I did learn a thing or two tho.
(1) chronological snobbery
(2) the assumption that one is doing objective scholarship
(3) one must carry out the work w/ a spirit (hermeneutic?) of suspicion.
I did learn a thing or two tho.
June 22, 2023
Hab zwar 5 Jahre oder ao gebraucht mindestens, um dieses Buch fertig zu lesen aber sonst top!
Schade,dass die Wikinger sich dem Christentum gebeugt haben.
Thor, odin und co waren cooler.
Ich hoffe ich komme auch iwann nach Walhalla!
Schade,dass die Wikinger sich dem Christentum gebeugt haben.
Thor, odin und co waren cooler.
Ich hoffe ich komme auch iwann nach Walhalla!
November 20, 2024
At times I think it got too specific about unimportant events/persons while being too brief about important things.
Chp 1 Introduction
Pg 3-
Viking celebrate Yule, which is a winter festival of sorts
Pg 5-
To feed the raven meant to kill the enemy
Pg 6-
The hall was the center of the Viking world, because this was where the Chieftain would give away gifts that they pillaged during Yule
Pg 6-
They were primarily located in Scandinavia
Pg 6-
Ancient king of the Danes Hrothhar had the hall named Heorot
Pg 7-
Largest hall was Lejre on the Danish island Zealand
Pg 7-
In the hall the chieftain had his wood carved throne and his warriors sat on “mead-benches”
Pg 9-
Viking horned helmets are a myth and never existed
Chp 2 Violence in a Violent Time
Pg 15-
Vikings had a huge raid in the city of Nantes France during the St.John’s Day Festival June 24, 843
Pg 15-
The Vikings came quickly and unexpected, even invading and ransacking while the priest was giving a sermon
Pg 17-
The Vikings knew to attack since other Scandinavians participated in trade within the Frankish empire and in other European cities
Pg 21-
The first recorded Viking attack was against an English island monastery known as Lindisfarne in northeastern England in Northumberland in 793
Pg 22-
Vikings sailed up the Seine
Pg 23-
A writer from the Translation of St. Germain of Paris writes about an attack in 845 in which the Vikings met King Charles the Bald with the Frankish army (who were divided at the time) captured 111 of them and hung them in order to demoralize them and the Frankish people (author makes a good comparison to the Mongols who did this some 500 years later)
Pg 24-
The ax became common in Scandinavia during the Viking Age
Pg 24-
Some Vikings served the Byzantine emperor as mercenaries and were called “Varagians” which translates to “ax-bearing barbarians”
Pg 27-
They also used spears, swords, and arrows
Pg 28-
Using the poem The Battle of Maldon by Scandinavian poet Völuspá the main source of battle was throwing spears
Pg 31-
Swords were viewed by the Vikings as a prestigious weapon, it was seen as an honor to wield one; hilts were at times decorated with gold or silver. The best swords were Frankish
Pg 32-
The best swords were Ulfberht swords, they had the inscription Ulfberht+ or Ulfberh+t
Pg 35-
According to an Icelandic saga titled Loðbrók (Ragnar’s last name) King Ælla captured Ragnar Hairy-Breeches (Loðbrók) and threw him in a pit of snakes and then his
Pg 35-
Sons of Ragnar: Ivar Boneless, Björn Ironside, Whiteshirt, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye defeated and killed King Ella/Ælla at the battle at York, England in 866 avenging their father
Pg 39-
Blood eagle and berserkers were not real, they were written after centuries later in Icelandic Sagas and Saxo’s writings after mistranslations. Berserkers mistranslation was off of a older poem about the battle of Haftsfjord in which the word bear-shirt was mistranslation into berserkir
Pg 40-
Sometimes the Vikings requested tribute before they attacked and sometimes they did so after
Pg 42-
In a single day Charlemagne ordered the decapitation of 4,500 Saxons
Chp 3 Röriks at Home and Away
Pg 49-
12th century Kievan Chronnicler said that the Slavs (northwestern Russia) paid tribute to Varangians (Scandinavians) which meant the Vikings raided them
Pg 49-
Rurik went to Novgorod (North west Russia 2 hours south of St.Petersburg) and his descendants the Rurikids ruled parts of Russia into the 16th century
Pg 51-
“What made the Viking Age different was not exceptionally great pressures at home but the appearance of opportunities elsewhere”
Pg 52-
Warlords NOT POPULATION PRESSURES was the reason for emigration out of Scandinavia
Pg 52-
In 876 Halvdan and his army conquered Northumbria and he “divided up the land” which means he either killed or exiled the native populations or they were already mostly gone due to raiding. Viking Cheiftains seldom held into their territories, Halvdan was killed a year later in 877 after being expelled from Northumbria; the land remained in Scandvauja control off and on.
Pg 52-
Guthrum assimilated to Anglo-Saxon culture after he settled in East Anglia where he got baptized by Alfred the Great of Wessex (878) and adopted the name Ethelstan (different from the King) and issued English coinage. He invaded and battle Alfred’s armies in 865, in was King of East Anglia from 880-890.
Pg 54-
Sitric (his father had become Christian and ruled Northumbria for 10 years) eventually took an army to Ireland in 917 and took control of old Viking Settlements along the Liffey River and built a fortress with streets; which is the origins of the city of Dublin. Sitric had grown so powerful that he Æthelstsn of Mercia gave his sister to him in marriage (mid 920s) who later mothered Olav Cuaran.
Pg 54-
Sitric ruled Northumbria briefly as a teenager in 942 then was ousted and went to Dublin in 944 and then went to York until he went back to Ireland in 952 where he reined for almost 30 years growing Dublin into a commercial center.
Pg 60-
Viking moves to Greenland in the 10th century from the leadership of Erik the Red who was escaping poor fortunes in Iceland (committed murder)
Pg 63-
There was a sharp decline and none were there by the 17th century, which is still a mystery
Greenland homes were built out of stone and turf instead of wood like in Iceland
Pg 68-
Anse-dux-Meadows a Scandavian farm was discovered in Northern Newfoundland
Chp 4 Ships. Boats, And Ferries To The Afterworld
Pg 71-
Utilized speed of theirs ships to “burst in” and attack and leave.
Pg 72-
Notable warriors to peaceful peasants were burned in ships to go to the afterlife
Pg 75-
Able to make the ships through the “clinker” or “lap-strake” technique, which was where planks were set next to each other with a slight overlap and were nailed together by small nails (clinkers); this made the hulls strong and flexible
Pg 79-
Ships had short lifespans
Pg 89-
Swedish sunstone at Spånga (outskirts at Stockholm) of a ship and cross to memorialize Gudmar, the ship was either his or to symbolize his moving onto the dead
Pg 90-
Further proof of burial by sea from the old English Poet Beowulf (approx 1000)
Pg 92-
Sea funerals ranged from small rowboats to Viking Longboats; occasionally they were burned but not always
Pg 93-
In depth on ship ritual
Pg 93-
Horses and dogs would be beheaded, some of the killing would take place in the fore ship. “Perhaps the idea was that the funeral ship might sail the women to the Afterworld in a symbolic sea of blood?”
Pg 96-
Account of fire burial ceremony
Chp 5 Coins, Silk, and Herring
Pg 106-
The most successful Viking trading empire was Hedeby, which was founded around 810 and fell around the 11 century
Pg 108-
Archaeological evidence shows that Arabs, Germans, Russian, and English traded at Hedeby
Pg 112-
Before and after the Viking Age Scandinavians traded fur as it was seen as a very luxurious item; reindeer, bear, and fox fur were some of the fur that were traded
Pg 114-
Vikings would go to Russia to trade with Arabs; they’d also go through the Baltic Sea and travel through Russia to the Baltic Sea and sometimes even Constantinople (12th century)
Pg 116-
Vikings traded slaves to the Byzantine Empire and the Arab Caliphate; many of these slaves were traded at Hedeby
Pg 123-
After fall of the Roman Empire commerce took a big hit in Europe and as the economy tried to recover it was hampered by a lack of physical money (forced to barter) which made the Vikings stealing gold and silver even more disastrous
Pg 125-
They either sold their booty back at Markets or broke it down to sikver
Chp 6 From Chieftains to Kings
Pg 134-
To obtain power a chieftain needed to recruit a large army and needed to win battles for fame and to pay said army
Pg 135-
One way kings/chieftians were generous was giving away “arm rings” made of gold or silver
Pg 143-
Oldest Viking legal book was the Gulatingslov in which the preamble it stated that a ruler should “be our friend, and we his” (sometime in the early 11th century)
Pg 143-
After Gulatingslov, in 1277 King Magnus Hakonsson of Norway issued a law book for the aristocracy of his kingdom, the Hirdlov or Law of the Retinue in which he referred to the retainers (aristocracy that officially served the king) as “pjónn” which translates to “servant”. This change shows how Christianity had permeated through Vikings society
Pg 149-
King Amleth is the Denmark king that made world-famous as Hamlet
At Home On The Farm
Pg 163-
Pre-Christian graves had animal bones
Pg 164-
Most of the young men who went raiding were single and did not own land
The Religions Of The North
Pg 182-
Earl Håkon was one of the last Pagan Viking rulers, he ruled in Norway and embraced Paganism once King Harald of Norway was killed (in a time of famine and bad weather) as the gods now shined favorably upon them. At the time, this would have been different from a considerable amount of Scandinavians, including King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark
Pg 183-
Håkon also said he was a descendent of the God Odin and the giantess Skadi
Pg 184-
Ironically Håkon was killed by a converted Viking now Christian missionary King Olav Tryggvason
Pg 185-
Thor was a favorite god portrayed with red hair, a red beard, and a hammer named Mjöllnir; he also had a temper and was quick to anger
Pg 186-
Most popular story was with Thor and the Midgard Serpent from Snorri Sturluson
Pg 189-
Snorri, since he was a Christian and had never met a Pagan (13th century and Scandinavian had become Christianized by 1000) so he misreported certain things and added Christian elements to them
Pg 190-
Story of Ragnarök
Pg 199-
Mainly the Conversion to Christianity (completed by the 11th century) occurred from kings and chieftains as it was used to enhance their loyal following and increase their political power and economy
Pg 200-
It was not a quick instant change, over time Scandinavians adopted Christian practices and symbols such as a cross while keeping their pagan traditions and symbols
Pg 202-
Early 9th century was when Missionaries began to travel to Scandinavia, they preached to rulers and higher ups and sold them on the idea of Conversion which demanded exclusively
Chp 1 Introduction
Pg 3-
Viking celebrate Yule, which is a winter festival of sorts
Pg 5-
To feed the raven meant to kill the enemy
Pg 6-
The hall was the center of the Viking world, because this was where the Chieftain would give away gifts that they pillaged during Yule
Pg 6-
They were primarily located in Scandinavia
Pg 6-
Ancient king of the Danes Hrothhar had the hall named Heorot
Pg 7-
Largest hall was Lejre on the Danish island Zealand
Pg 7-
In the hall the chieftain had his wood carved throne and his warriors sat on “mead-benches”
Pg 9-
Viking horned helmets are a myth and never existed
Chp 2 Violence in a Violent Time
Pg 15-
Vikings had a huge raid in the city of Nantes France during the St.John’s Day Festival June 24, 843
Pg 15-
The Vikings came quickly and unexpected, even invading and ransacking while the priest was giving a sermon
Pg 17-
The Vikings knew to attack since other Scandinavians participated in trade within the Frankish empire and in other European cities
Pg 21-
The first recorded Viking attack was against an English island monastery known as Lindisfarne in northeastern England in Northumberland in 793
Pg 22-
Vikings sailed up the Seine
Pg 23-
A writer from the Translation of St. Germain of Paris writes about an attack in 845 in which the Vikings met King Charles the Bald with the Frankish army (who were divided at the time) captured 111 of them and hung them in order to demoralize them and the Frankish people (author makes a good comparison to the Mongols who did this some 500 years later)
Pg 24-
The ax became common in Scandinavia during the Viking Age
Pg 24-
Some Vikings served the Byzantine emperor as mercenaries and were called “Varagians” which translates to “ax-bearing barbarians”
Pg 27-
They also used spears, swords, and arrows
Pg 28-
Using the poem The Battle of Maldon by Scandinavian poet Völuspá the main source of battle was throwing spears
Pg 31-
Swords were viewed by the Vikings as a prestigious weapon, it was seen as an honor to wield one; hilts were at times decorated with gold or silver. The best swords were Frankish
Pg 32-
The best swords were Ulfberht swords, they had the inscription Ulfberht+ or Ulfberh+t
Pg 35-
According to an Icelandic saga titled Loðbrók (Ragnar’s last name) King Ælla captured Ragnar Hairy-Breeches (Loðbrók) and threw him in a pit of snakes and then his
Pg 35-
Sons of Ragnar: Ivar Boneless, Björn Ironside, Whiteshirt, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye defeated and killed King Ella/Ælla at the battle at York, England in 866 avenging their father
Pg 39-
Blood eagle and berserkers were not real, they were written after centuries later in Icelandic Sagas and Saxo’s writings after mistranslations. Berserkers mistranslation was off of a older poem about the battle of Haftsfjord in which the word bear-shirt was mistranslation into berserkir
Pg 40-
Sometimes the Vikings requested tribute before they attacked and sometimes they did so after
Pg 42-
In a single day Charlemagne ordered the decapitation of 4,500 Saxons
Chp 3 Röriks at Home and Away
Pg 49-
12th century Kievan Chronnicler said that the Slavs (northwestern Russia) paid tribute to Varangians (Scandinavians) which meant the Vikings raided them
Pg 49-
Rurik went to Novgorod (North west Russia 2 hours south of St.Petersburg) and his descendants the Rurikids ruled parts of Russia into the 16th century
Pg 51-
“What made the Viking Age different was not exceptionally great pressures at home but the appearance of opportunities elsewhere”
Pg 52-
Warlords NOT POPULATION PRESSURES was the reason for emigration out of Scandinavia
Pg 52-
In 876 Halvdan and his army conquered Northumbria and he “divided up the land” which means he either killed or exiled the native populations or they were already mostly gone due to raiding. Viking Cheiftains seldom held into their territories, Halvdan was killed a year later in 877 after being expelled from Northumbria; the land remained in Scandvauja control off and on.
Pg 52-
Guthrum assimilated to Anglo-Saxon culture after he settled in East Anglia where he got baptized by Alfred the Great of Wessex (878) and adopted the name Ethelstan (different from the King) and issued English coinage. He invaded and battle Alfred’s armies in 865, in was King of East Anglia from 880-890.
Pg 54-
Sitric (his father had become Christian and ruled Northumbria for 10 years) eventually took an army to Ireland in 917 and took control of old Viking Settlements along the Liffey River and built a fortress with streets; which is the origins of the city of Dublin. Sitric had grown so powerful that he Æthelstsn of Mercia gave his sister to him in marriage (mid 920s) who later mothered Olav Cuaran.
Pg 54-
Sitric ruled Northumbria briefly as a teenager in 942 then was ousted and went to Dublin in 944 and then went to York until he went back to Ireland in 952 where he reined for almost 30 years growing Dublin into a commercial center.
Pg 60-
Viking moves to Greenland in the 10th century from the leadership of Erik the Red who was escaping poor fortunes in Iceland (committed murder)
Pg 63-
There was a sharp decline and none were there by the 17th century, which is still a mystery
Greenland homes were built out of stone and turf instead of wood like in Iceland
Pg 68-
Anse-dux-Meadows a Scandavian farm was discovered in Northern Newfoundland
Chp 4 Ships. Boats, And Ferries To The Afterworld
Pg 71-
Utilized speed of theirs ships to “burst in” and attack and leave.
Pg 72-
Notable warriors to peaceful peasants were burned in ships to go to the afterlife
Pg 75-
Able to make the ships through the “clinker” or “lap-strake” technique, which was where planks were set next to each other with a slight overlap and were nailed together by small nails (clinkers); this made the hulls strong and flexible
Pg 79-
Ships had short lifespans
Pg 89-
Swedish sunstone at Spånga (outskirts at Stockholm) of a ship and cross to memorialize Gudmar, the ship was either his or to symbolize his moving onto the dead
Pg 90-
Further proof of burial by sea from the old English Poet Beowulf (approx 1000)
Pg 92-
Sea funerals ranged from small rowboats to Viking Longboats; occasionally they were burned but not always
Pg 93-
In depth on ship ritual
Pg 93-
Horses and dogs would be beheaded, some of the killing would take place in the fore ship. “Perhaps the idea was that the funeral ship might sail the women to the Afterworld in a symbolic sea of blood?”
Pg 96-
Account of fire burial ceremony
Chp 5 Coins, Silk, and Herring
Pg 106-
The most successful Viking trading empire was Hedeby, which was founded around 810 and fell around the 11 century
Pg 108-
Archaeological evidence shows that Arabs, Germans, Russian, and English traded at Hedeby
Pg 112-
Before and after the Viking Age Scandinavians traded fur as it was seen as a very luxurious item; reindeer, bear, and fox fur were some of the fur that were traded
Pg 114-
Vikings would go to Russia to trade with Arabs; they’d also go through the Baltic Sea and travel through Russia to the Baltic Sea and sometimes even Constantinople (12th century)
Pg 116-
Vikings traded slaves to the Byzantine Empire and the Arab Caliphate; many of these slaves were traded at Hedeby
Pg 123-
After fall of the Roman Empire commerce took a big hit in Europe and as the economy tried to recover it was hampered by a lack of physical money (forced to barter) which made the Vikings stealing gold and silver even more disastrous
Pg 125-
They either sold their booty back at Markets or broke it down to sikver
Chp 6 From Chieftains to Kings
Pg 134-
To obtain power a chieftain needed to recruit a large army and needed to win battles for fame and to pay said army
Pg 135-
One way kings/chieftians were generous was giving away “arm rings” made of gold or silver
Pg 143-
Oldest Viking legal book was the Gulatingslov in which the preamble it stated that a ruler should “be our friend, and we his” (sometime in the early 11th century)
Pg 143-
After Gulatingslov, in 1277 King Magnus Hakonsson of Norway issued a law book for the aristocracy of his kingdom, the Hirdlov or Law of the Retinue in which he referred to the retainers (aristocracy that officially served the king) as “pjónn” which translates to “servant”. This change shows how Christianity had permeated through Vikings society
Pg 149-
King Amleth is the Denmark king that made world-famous as Hamlet
At Home On The Farm
Pg 163-
Pre-Christian graves had animal bones
Pg 164-
Most of the young men who went raiding were single and did not own land
The Religions Of The North
Pg 182-
Earl Håkon was one of the last Pagan Viking rulers, he ruled in Norway and embraced Paganism once King Harald of Norway was killed (in a time of famine and bad weather) as the gods now shined favorably upon them. At the time, this would have been different from a considerable amount of Scandinavians, including King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark
Pg 183-
Håkon also said he was a descendent of the God Odin and the giantess Skadi
Pg 184-
Ironically Håkon was killed by a converted Viking now Christian missionary King Olav Tryggvason
Pg 185-
Thor was a favorite god portrayed with red hair, a red beard, and a hammer named Mjöllnir; he also had a temper and was quick to anger
Pg 186-
Most popular story was with Thor and the Midgard Serpent from Snorri Sturluson
Pg 189-
Snorri, since he was a Christian and had never met a Pagan (13th century and Scandinavian had become Christianized by 1000) so he misreported certain things and added Christian elements to them
Pg 190-
Story of Ragnarök
Pg 199-
Mainly the Conversion to Christianity (completed by the 11th century) occurred from kings and chieftains as it was used to enhance their loyal following and increase their political power and economy
Pg 200-
It was not a quick instant change, over time Scandinavians adopted Christian practices and symbols such as a cross while keeping their pagan traditions and symbols
Pg 202-
Early 9th century was when Missionaries began to travel to Scandinavia, they preached to rulers and higher ups and sold them on the idea of Conversion which demanded exclusively
January 19, 2021
Anders Winroth's The Age of the Vikings is a colorful and informative illustration of some of the major cultural and political aspects that defined Viking culture. This book is not a history of the Vikings, but rather an exploration of some key elements of the Viking Age (ships, trade, political economy, Christianization) presented with interesting, but non-exhaustive, names and dates. Readers seeking a chronological history of Viking battles, settlements, and warlords will be disappointed, but those who come to the book with basic background knowledge will find it engaging and eye-opening, particularly in its complication or refutation of common misconceptions (even among scholars) regarding Viking behavior and practices. Winroth does an excellent job of characterizing the Viking Age without relying on specific domains or rulers, which leads to a convincing argument for when and how each of these elements was Europeanized, marking the end of the Age of the Vikings.
February 15, 2021
This is not a classic history book that starts on a given date and describes events up until another given date. Rather, it's divided in a set of chapters that touch on particular aspects of the Viking era : violence and warfare, shipbuilding and seafaring, commerce and trade routes... This thematic exploration means that within a single chapter half a dozen events/buildings/archeological finds/chieftains/settlements can be be discussed, spanning several centuries and geographies. The material discussed can move in a few lines from the very general ("Vikings were not more violent than Charlemagne") to very specific descriptions of, say, the nails in a Viking ship, or the bones in a Viking grave, or the exact meaning of a poetic circumlocution in Skaldic poetry.
For some readers this jumping around may have been engaging, but to me it was dizzying - I had trouble putting it all together myself and would have appreciated a more orderly approach.
For some readers this jumping around may have been engaging, but to me it was dizzying - I had trouble putting it all together myself and would have appreciated a more orderly approach.
May 6, 2017
Informative and well written, soundly based.
The book covers the Viking forays through Christianization and the establishment of kingdoms, the end of the Age, c. 1250. From the violence of the fast longboat raids to the solidification of the various national units (p 144), the book tells a fascinating story of exploration, to the west, and trade, deep into the east and southeast of Eurasia, including, apparently, the Middle East.
Christianization of Scandinavia, according to Winroth, had as much to do with the establishment of governmental hierarchy and the consolidation of the populace in one belief structure under an exclusive and exotic religion. Much of this aided in the Europeanizing of the northern countries as they passed into the High Middle Ages.
There are a couple of useful maps and some illustrations of crafts, grave leavings, implements of war, ship replicas.
The unreliability of the sagas, most of which were written well after the events portrayed and after Christianization, makes for an interesting mystification, rune-like, of the Viking beliefs and the Scandinavian past.
The book covers the Viking forays through Christianization and the establishment of kingdoms, the end of the Age, c. 1250. From the violence of the fast longboat raids to the solidification of the various national units (p 144), the book tells a fascinating story of exploration, to the west, and trade, deep into the east and southeast of Eurasia, including, apparently, the Middle East.
Christianization of Scandinavia, according to Winroth, had as much to do with the establishment of governmental hierarchy and the consolidation of the populace in one belief structure under an exclusive and exotic religion. Much of this aided in the Europeanizing of the northern countries as they passed into the High Middle Ages.
There are a couple of useful maps and some illustrations of crafts, grave leavings, implements of war, ship replicas.
The unreliability of the sagas, most of which were written well after the events portrayed and after Christianization, makes for an interesting mystification, rune-like, of the Viking beliefs and the Scandinavian past.
January 7, 2017
I thought this book was fantastic. While I'm no expert on the Vikings, is seems Anders Winroth took extraordinary care to give readers an accurate view on what Viking Age life was all about. I'm no stranger to reading anthropological texts, and this work stands out for not only the wealth of information it provides, but its readability as well. Sure, it may not be as riveting for some, as say, reading an action packed historical fiction novel would be- this point is debatable. I was totally engrossed - but that isn't this book's aim. The goal is to fill in all of the gaps that historical fiction novels leave, and accurately depict true to life Viking society and culture. The book was well done, and one that I highly recommend.
September 10, 2023
Covers the entire era that could be called "Viking" from the days of Charlemagne to the final Christianization and end of the raids.
Religion was front and center for a lot of it. A lot of violence, invasion, enslavement, and conquest. Discusses artifacts, such as grave goods, and laws, but any details about daily life are incidental. Much about kings and the conflicts ensuing there, too.
At one point, he notes no genetic difference between the Danes and Anglo-Saxons -- which claim he was reading into a document that didn't have it, I think. But the rest covers a lot of facts.
Religion was front and center for a lot of it. A lot of violence, invasion, enslavement, and conquest. Discusses artifacts, such as grave goods, and laws, but any details about daily life are incidental. Much about kings and the conflicts ensuing there, too.
At one point, he notes no genetic difference between the Danes and Anglo-Saxons -- which claim he was reading into a document that didn't have it, I think. But the rest covers a lot of facts.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 137 reviews