Furia ludzi Północy. Dzieje świata Wikingów

by Philip Parker, Norbert Radomski (Translator)

Krew Wikingów płynie w żyłach milionów mieszkańców Europy i Ameryki, a opowieść o ich podbojach, wyprawach odkrywczych i dokonaniach nie przestaje inspirować ludzi na całym świecie.

Pewnego letniego dnia 793 roku z morza na wyspę Lindisfarne wyszła śmierć. Ci, którzy napadli i złupili położony na niej klasztor benedyktynów, byli pierwszymi wikingami. Przez następne dwieście lat siali oni grozę w całej Europie. Ich długie łodzie, a nawet sama nazwa budziły paniczny lęk przed „furią ludzi Północy”. Jednak mimo reputacji krwiożerczych wojowników mieli wyrafinowaną kulturę – tworzyli urokliwe dzieła sztuki, literaturę o nieprzemijającej sile oddziaływania oraz zaskakująco trwałe państwa.

Philip Parker opowiada ich historię od pierwszych, drobnych wypraw łupieskich po inwazje wielkich armii, które wyruszały ze Skandynawii, by podbić całe połacie Francji, Wielkiej Brytanii i Irlandii. Relacjonuje ich homeryckie podróże przez Atlantyk do skutych lodem fiordów Grenlandii i Ameryki Północnej, gdzie dotarli cztery stulecia przed Kolumbem, oraz na wschód, wielkimi rzekami Rusi, po bogactwa Bizancjum.

Furia ludzi Północy mówi o tym, jak położona na skraju Europy Skandynawia zdołała niemal na trzy wieki zdominować i sterroryzować znaczną część kontynentu oraz jak koniec końców chrześcijaństwo oraz rosnąca potęga królów złagodziły brutalność wikingów i położyły kres ich najazdom.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, European History, Medieval, Medieval History, Historical

488 pages, Hardcover

First published February 27, 2014

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you hear the word Viking, you think of tall blond Scandinavian man with a horned helmet, an aggressive attitude, a round shield, a sword who has just stepped off a longboat. Most of those facts are right, apart from the horned helmet. These men came out of nowhere in the 8th century to wreak havoc and bloodshed across the lands of England, France and Ireland. People who lived close to seas and rivers were fearful for their very lives at the sight of a sail on the horizon.

Whilst they were bloodthirsty and brutal, they also possessed a sophisticated culture that was capable of subtle art, complex literature and had whose culture held for many hundreds of years. Not only that, they were expert sailors not only crossing the North Sea to the UK, but also sending ships to Shetland, the Faroes, Iceland Greenland and even to America, way before Columbus. Their influence crossed Europe too, as they navigated down the rivers they even reached Constantinople, played a fundamental part in the birth of Russia and came to dominate the politics of the continent.

In this interesting book book Parker has laid bare the Viking influence across Europe and the Atlantic ocean. They were a pretty brutal bunch, having no qualms about wholesale slaughter if needed, whilst having a strong belief in their gods and culture. There is plenty of details on the the various factions that settled in England and the battles between the various native tribes and the invaders. It does feel a little dry at times, but that is down to the immense amount of detail in the book scoured from the sagas, their stories and tales of myth and legend. Their influence on the UK is still felt today, with place names in certain parts of the country having Viking origins, as well as leaving a lasting genetic trail in the population. Good overall and worth reading if you like anything to do with history.

[Elentarri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting, nicely written, straight-forward history of the Vikings, from their inception in the 8th century to the end of Viking culture - from small Viking raids to settlements and ultimately kingdoms; chieftains, kings and farmers; literature and types of government; from pagans to Christians; not to mention sailors and warriors.  Each chapter covers a specific region and sphere of influence and is told in chronological order.  So, we have Vikings in France, Britain and Ireland; the Faroes and Iceland; also in Greenland and North America; Vikings in Russia and in Constantinople; and their Scandinavian empires.  Parker concludes the book with a brief overview of the legacy left by Vikings to this day.  The author also makes a point of letting the readers know the source of his information, whether from historical texts or archaeological finds.  The book includes 13 maps and a chronology. This is a broad introduction to a complex subject, but a bit short in terms of the everyday life of the peasants/farmers/craft-folk/traders that made up the Viking world.

[Sage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gosh, it's like women didn't exist in the history of the Viking world, but for a handful of wives, courtesans, mistresses, and queens. I know this book is a survey, but disappearing the lives of 51% of the population does no one any favors. Especially if you're going to title the book after a female deity.

Apart from that, I appreciated the far-reaching geography of this history, ranging from Constantinople to Canada.

[Liam || Books 'n Beards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been fascinated by the Vikings, as I'm sure a lot of people are. They were such an interesting society, with unique beliefs and myths that still capture the imagination of people 800~ years after they in a mainstream sense, faded into history.

Parker's book is the most thorough exploration of their history that I've yet read, and I very much enjoyed it. Beginning with their origins and the infamous 'first' Viking raid at the monastery of Lindisfarne, Northmen's Fury breaks down the first hundred years of the Viking Age, their raids and eventual settlement in Normandy, England and Ireland.

From there there is a chapter each going in depth into the Norse settlement of the Faroes and Iceland, the ill-fated colony of Greenland (something I've always been interested in), the failed attempted settlement of North America and Newfoundland, and the Viking usurpation of the fledgling Russian societies and settlements of Novgorod and Kiev.

This was the strongest part of the book - deep-dives into specific subjects are my jam, and the Norse settlement of Greenland and North America are subjects I've always been hugely keen to learn more about - however, they cause the general layout of the book to stumble a little bit, which I'll talk about further down.

After this, Northmen's Fury explores the transition of Scandinavia and Britain from disparate, feuding factions into defined countries and monarchies, and the arrival of Christianity and its effects on Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Finally, it goes into the transformation of the Vikings in the British Isles and France into the Normans, those in eastern Europe into the homologous Rus, and the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and the Battle of Hastings - which are generally accepted as the end of 'Vikings' as a raiding force of warriors.

My main issue with the book is that the first couple of chapters chronologically explore the Viking world as a whole, as do the last few chapters - in the middle, you have those 'deep-dives' that I mentioned above, which go into detail on the various colonies and settlements of the Norse, which follow the chronology of these settlements start-to-end. This makes everything a little bit messy and confusing, as you'll read about people during these deep dives who then die or accomplish something, etc., and then later in the book they'll be re-introduced as part of the larger narrative.

Not a huge complaint, and other than that I very much enjoyed Northmen's Fury - it can be a bit dry, but certainly the best and most extensive exploration of Viking history that I've read. Highly recommend to anybody with an interest in the subject.

[Nick Garbutt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a disappointing treatment of a fascinating topic. The Vikings were a very important an influential force that helped shape Britain, Ireland and swathes of Europe. They were also pioneers, colonising Greenland and visiting America long before other Europeans.
Their culture was vibrant, their martial prowess intimidating and their skills in both ship building and animal husbandry and farming produced remarkable results.
Although Parker attempts to summarise their achievements in his final chapter his analysis is thin and unimpressive. He writes of the end of the age of the Vikings without having troubled himself to explain what that age entailed. He writes competently enough but, as a work of history, this is poor.

[Marcus Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty comprehensive history of the Viking age, the author should be commended for that alone. However it is not an easy read, and I found his writing style to be very flat and unexciting. It became too much of a chore to read in the end and I was relieved to eventually finish it, a shame really given the exciting subject matter.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely delightful, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable book to read. A very detailed world wide trip through every year of Viking history from the feuding countries of pre-scandinavia through each country they encountered. Not just the well known ones like England, Ireland, Iceland and Greenland but France, Russia, Faroes/Shetland & Hebridies and far east into Istanbul and beyond. For anyone interested in Vikings whether just a bit curious or with an avid interest.

[Norman Howe · Rating 3 out of 5]

They're Vikings, and they're okay.

[Pieter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting overview on the Viking history. Already ancient Greeks and Romans knew about these people living in the North of Europe (region Phyteas called 'Thule'). We all learned in school about the numerous attacks on Francia. The author believes the Vikings not to be particularly more violent than their contemporaries.

We read about how Vikings colonized Scotland and Ireland during 8-9th century; Iceland and the Faroes (900-1300); Greenland (1000-1450); Vinland (i.e. Nova Scotia and Maine; 1000-1350); Russia and Byzantium (or 'The Great City', i.e. 'Miklegard') (800-1040).

During 11th century, the Vikings ruled regions in almost every part of Europe, even in Sicily and the Balkans. The Normans also played in an important role in organising the first crusades. Truly amazing for a people who used to be pagans just of few generations before.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful sweep of the history of the vikings, from their notorious raid at Lindisfarne to the settlements of Orkney, Iceland, Greenland, Russia and the elusive Vinland, somewhere in north America.

[Reelika Raimet]

https://raamaturiiulike.wordpress.com...

[晓木曰兮历史系 Chinese · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is an interesting storyline in "Legend of the Vikings". Flo Gene, for religious differences, privately killed Ezestein, a Christian missionary trusted by Ragnar. After Ragnar learned the truth, he tied him to the crowded square to show the public. Frocky ran away and was caught back. This time, Ragnar imprisoned him in a damp and cold cave and punished him with dripping water above his head. In order to ease Frocky's pain, his loyal wife Heigl held a bowl above his head to catch water.

Froggy's killing of Esserstein reflects the religious conflicts between the Vikings and Europeans in the process of plundering all parts of Europe. During the Middle Ages, the Vikings in northern Europe still retained the original polytheism, and many countries on the European continent have embraced Christianity. In the centuries that the Vikings conquered abroad, the conflict of beliefs has always been an important factor. Froggy and Ezestein are the representatives of the two beliefs.

However, the most interesting thing was the strange punishment Froggy suffered from dripping water from the top of his head. The water droplets from the top of the cave kept hitting the top of his head, and he was bound by the chain, unable to escape. As the so-called dripping through the stone, this kind of punishment is slow and painful, but it is actually cruel.

I have always wondered about the origin of this punishment. I recently read "The World of the Vikings" by the British historian Philip Parker, only to realize that this plot uses a part of the story of the Nordic mythology-Badr's death.

The story begins with a nightmare in Badr. Badr is the son of Odin, the god of light. He dreamed that he would be murdered to death. In order to protect Badr, his mother Frigga asked all creatures to swear not to hurt Badr. However, Frigga felt that a young mistletoe had no power to hurt people, so she skipped it. This left a hidden danger for Badr's death.

Friga's efforts were not in vain. The gods used arrows of various materials to shoot at Badr, and Badr was unharmed as expected. However, Loki, who was jealous of Badr, learned of Friga's negligence. He made the mistletoe into shears and made Badr's blind brother, the dark god Hoddle, killed Badr with this arrow.

After Badr's death, Helmod, the god of war, asked the goddess of the underworld, Haier, to release Badr. The goddess of the underworld made a condition and asked all creatures to shed tears and mourn for Badr. Loki pretends to be an elderly giantess in the cave, Thok refuses to cry, causing Badr to be trapped in the underworld forever.

After discovering the truth that Badr was killed by Loki, the gods tied Loki to the rock. On top of Loki's head, a venomous snake kept dripping venom on him, burning his body. In order to keep Loki from being harmed by the venom, his loyal wife Segelin held up a bowl to receive the venom.

The form of punishment Froki received was to use the punishment that Loki received, and they all had loyal wives who used a bowl to catch dripping liquid to protect them.

In fact, "Legend of Viking" Sinochem uses many historical materials and cultural elements of Viking, and the above is just one example.

For example, there is a little neurotic Frocky in the technology flow, and this role is very complicated. He is a symbol of the Vikings' polytheistic worship and faith, and when Ragnar promised to convert to Christ in exchange for faith, he was very manic. The conflict of beliefs was particularly strong in him, and because of his rejection of the Christian faith, he privately decided to kill the preacher Ethiopian.

The conflict of beliefs has always been accompanied by the process of conquering the Vikings. The cross of the Isle of Man in the 10th century has the image of Odin in the Nordic faith on one side and the image of Christ on the other. This unique combination also reflects the conflict of beliefs that occurred after the Vikings invaded.

In the later period, Froky's thoughts were shocked, and he decided to lead a group of Vikings to open up a new world of his own. The group of people led by Frocky bears the shadow of the Vikings who pioneered Iceland in the early days. In history, the Viking who established settlements in Iceland and named the island "Iceland" was called Frocky. He took three crows to sail to choose the sailing route. Later, he was called Harafin- Frocky, the crow-Frocky.

Philip Parker mentioned in "The World of Vikings" that "Iceland is the only Viking overseas territory with a relatively complete settlement record." There are two main sources of recorded data. The Icelandic monk Ali Solgilsson, known as the "Ponditioner", records the history of Icelandic settlements from the early 1970s to the 12th century in "The Book of Icelanders", and also in "The Icelandic Family Sakya" Records the conflicts and endings between families in Iceland. Sakya is a collection of Norse myths and stories.

In "Iceland Family Sakya", "Nyar Sakya" records the story of two families murdering each other and seeking revenge. In the end, Nyar was burned to death. These story elements are reflected in the plot of Frocky's development of the branch line in Iceland.

There are many historical stories in "Legend of Viking". For example, when Ragnar captured Paris in the play, Ragnar agreed to convert to Christianity and was carried into the city by lying in a coffin, and then suddenly "resurrected" to take the initiative. Historically, Ragnar did lead the Vikings to attack Paris and received a generous ransom. But the story of fraudulent death comes from the account of Dudo of Saint Quentin, the Norman chronicler. In Dudo's story, Hasstein wants to capture the fortified city of Luni. He made a plan, claiming to convert to Christianity, and then died fraud. The Vikings pretended to enter the church to hold a funeral, and used a coffin to carry Hasstein into the city of Luni, and eventually ransacked the city.

In the process of plundering for centuries, the Vikings reached Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa and even the Americas. "The World of the Vikings" showed the world of the Vikings from economic, military, and cultural aspects. From the information in the book, it can be seen that the "Legend of Vikings" does cleverly use the historical and cultural materials of the Vikings, and strive to show the style of the Vikings.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The extent and range of Viking involvement in their three hundred years of dominance is astonishing.

From Newfoundland to Turkey, Russia to Spain, Dublin to Constantinople they ranged in their violence and plunder, affecting the evolution of Western Europe to the extent that even William the Conquerer was of Norse descent.

Parker turns a history book into a fascinating account of the complexity of Viking influence in many aspects of our cultural evolution.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's no doubt this book is full of fascinating facts. I found the author's style quite dull. I'm glad I persevered until the end, however at times I found it a bit of a slog.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really starting to struggle a bit with this, it takes what should be fascinating and turns it into dry, monotonous narrative, maybe it is just me.

[Beorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come later.

[A.T. Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historian Philip Parker, author of The Empire Stops Here: A Journey Around the Frontiers of the Roman World, brings us a gripping historical recitation of one of the most famous (arguably infamous) cultures in European history.

Possessing a highly spiritualist and widely misunderstood culture, the term Viking has become synonymous with violence and bloodshed. This, in truth, as those whom have read this book would already know, is only one small sliver of the Viking way of life. The Vikings were a highly religious people, with an entire plethora of myths and legends. Philip Parker's book The Northmen's Fury: A History of The Viking World, details the rise and fall of the Viking's empire, from the Danish expansion to the British Isles, Iceland and Greenland, their short-lived escapade into North America to the slow and steady erasure of Viking culture in Kiev and the social evolution that lead to the Battle of Hastings, at which time the traditional Viking as we remember them was nothing but a fading sub-culture in a vast Scandinavian socio-political network.

This book, in my humble opinion, is one of the best academic sources regarding the topic of the Vikings. It depth, its style and it vast scope gives The Northmen's Fury a certain consequentiality, making it the ideal compendium of Viking history.

The first chapter introduces the reader to the early days of Viking aggression against other European powers; the raids against England in the early 8th century, and the conflict between migrating Danes and the Franks during the 9th century.

Full Review Here: https://realatjackson.blogspot.co.uk/...

[Rafal Jasinski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Philip Parker imponuje rzetelnym podejściem, ujawniając w swoim opracowaniu historii Wikingów solidne przygotowanie i znajomość najświeższych odkryć związanych z omawianą tematyką. Parker zdaje się nie pomijać żadnego z wartych poruszenia aspektów historii "ludów Północy", jednak przez tak drobiazgowe podejście do niektórych mniej interesujących kwestii, publikacja niniejsza cierpi na raczej skrótowe ujęcie pozostałych z nich.

Oczywiście kwestią gustu i zainteresowań czytelnika jest to, który okres czy ciąg wydarzeń wolałby poznać bardziej szczegółowo, jednak niepodobna oprzeć się wrażeniu, że - w połączeniu z raczej suchym, sprawozdawczym stylem autora - opis sporej cześć zagadnień uległ tu nadmiernej kondensacji, niebezpiecznie zbliżając książkę do poziomu szkolnego podręcznika. Ba, zdarza się nawet, że rozwinięcie kilku naprawdę interesujących informacji, które powinny przynależeć do głównej części publikacji, autor zdecydował się przenieść do przypisów.

Jakkolwiek, książka Parkera jest bardzo dobrym kompendium wiedzy o ludach Północy, którą polecić mogę każdemu, kto złapał "wikińskiego" bakcyla z pośrednictwem seriali "Wikingowie" i "Ostatnie Królestwo" i chciałby pogłębić swą wiedzę w tej dziedzinie (przy okazji dowiadując się, co twórcy wzmiankowanych serii telewizyjnych wypaczyli, przekłamali, bądź "połączyli w jedno").

[Ruth Harwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do enjoy a good book about the vikings, especially as they were an oral society and everything was passed down by bards, and thus changed a little every time the story was told. This was an interesting book, as it took what has been said by those societies they did cross paths with, and the stories they did eventually put to paper along with evidence and grave epitaphs to weave a history we can understand.
Sure, there's a lot of wiggle room for interpretation, and plenty that could be bias and therefore not really reliable, but the author makes the best of what there is, and it comes together into a good narrative of these peoples with whom most of Europe, Russia, obviously Iceland and Greenlanders as well as the scottish islanders and some parts of Turkey and the old Byzantine Empire all share herritage, which to be honest doesn't leave many of the world's population without viking blood does it? Maybe Africans and far-eastern countries, though there will have been later inter-racial mixing and it's doubtful they could be completely free of viking blood. Makes me proud to think such a society might have given me a part of themselves to pass on to the next generation.
This is an entirely relatable book for anyone who wants to learn more about the society, and I highly recommend it!

[Rachel E · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up on this 3/4 on the way in, reading shouldn't be a chore but this was so dull. The book is the written equivalent to the Shipping Forecast. Yawn.

The book covers an exciting topic, has enticing chapter titles, and has an excellent bibliography (the only reason I'm keeping this on my bookshelf). This is where the pleasure ends. I enjoy history, and I especially enjoy the Viking period, so much so that I'm a student of history.

This book is nothing more than a list of facts, there is no wider context given and no attempt to interpret these facts. Daily life of the Viking diaspora, their changing religion, their technologies, the way they would have interacted with their new environments and how all of these factors work in unison to form the Viking culture is not discussed. There is next to no mention of women in this book (as pointed out by another reviewer).

Parker clearly did thorough research and excellent record keeping when writing this (especially considering the lack of viking contemporary sources) but failed to make this book interesting.

[Linda Rawlinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the first 30 pages or so of this book, I was a little nervous that I was going to have to force myself to finish it - it did feel as though it was going to be a little dry. I was wrong. Once I got into and remembered that I wasn’t taking my history A-Level so didn’t need to memorise the dates and names (it’s packed full of them), I was captivated. This book isn’t dry at all. It’s very fast paced, giving a really strong sense of what the Vikings were about, what motivated the raiders, the complicated twists and turns, individual characters, bloodlines, legacies, influence on the politics of the regions in which they settled, and on and on... and most importantly, what we all ultimately want to know, the likelihood of us having a tiny bit of Viking DNA! This was a beautiful read, and actually had a rather moving closing few pages. I’m thirsty for more books on the Vikings - happily, the juicy bibliography in this one has given me plenty of ideas!

[Brian Page · Rating 2 out of 5]

What it lacks in charm it more than makes up for in shear bulk. The Norsemen’s Fury: A History of the Viking World is an example of historical writing that went out of fashion fifty or sixty years ago. Its 340 text pages read like one long, long, really long, encyclopedia article. The account is centered almost exclusively on the sagas and, as a result, the book is mainly a catalog of where the Vikings went, who they fought, the booty they carried off, and roughly how many people were killed. You’ll learn precious little about everyday Viking life, industries, agriculture, crafts, social structure, arts, government, or any other details that scholars of the last forty years have uncovered. As is, the level of detail is extraordinary and I marvel at author Philip Parker’s ability to stay awake through its compilation from secondary sources (few of which are particularly recent). A better subtitle would have been, “A Reference Work of Viking Battles.”

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does a pretty good job of surveying the growth of the viking world, both east into modern Russia and west across the Atlantic to Greenland and Vinland, using lots of archeological evidence as well as ancients texts and runes and sagas. The couple of centuries invading, threatening and settling in centuries in England are always fun, and the Norman invasion of 1066 is counted as a Viking one, but the most interesting insight here was how what seems to us a stretched-out series of outposts and settlements across vast distances and formidable seas was to Vikings, used to maritime travel as an easier alternative to overland, perfectly manageable.

[Gätlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lugesin ainult 25% raamatust, sest see oli igav nagu üks väga halb ajaloo tund. Minu jaoks oli see ehe näide sellest, kuidas ei peaks ajalugu "õpetama". Hunnik daatumeid ja fakte. Peamiselt kirjutati rüüsteretkedest, kes, kus ja millal ja mis saagiks oli. Väga montoone narratiiv. Kindlasti on ka puudujääke seoses nende tegelikul elustiiliga.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good bits, dreary bits- overall worthwhile but be prepared to get bogged down in random side-alleys which detract from the main thrust of the work. (Or just skip a few pages here and there, as I did towards the end)

[Jennifer Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you dig the Vikings and you’re interested in more than the highlights, this is the book for you. A historical account of the Vikings that is written in a style that keeps the reader engaged.

[Joe Mellanby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished as much as I could. A good book, but heavy!

[James Woo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Cucumbersarnies]

Dnf

[Paulisbored · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this are brilliant, but parts are incredibly turgid. A book I’ve enjoyed having read more than I enjoyed reading.