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Les Vikings
Nourri de vagues réminiscences médiévales, exacerbé au 19e siècle par les aspirations nationalistes des pays scandinaves, le mythe viking a la vie dure. R. Boyer se propose de démêler ce fatras de confusions et d'erreurs. Pourquoi ces hommes ont-ils pu circuler dans toute l'Europe? Qu'ont-ils apporté à l'Occident?...
- GenresHistoryNonfictionFrance
442 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 10, 2025
76.
Cattle die and kinsmen die,
thyself too soon must die,
but one thing never, I ween, will die, --
the doom on each one dead.
77.
Full-stocked folds had the Fatling's sons,
who bear now a beggar's staff:
brief is wealth, as the winking of an eye,
most faithless ever of friends.
93.
The mind knows alone what is nearest the heart
and sees where the soul is turned:
no sickness seems to the wise so sore
as in nought to know content.
118. l.5-10
hast thou a friend whom thou trustest well,
fare thou to find him oft;
for with brushwood grows and with grasses high
the path where no foot doth pass.
120. l.5-10
be never the first with friend of thine
to break the bond of fellowship;
care shall gnaw thy heart if thou canst not tell
all thy mind to another.
132. l.4-6
none is found so good, but some fault attends him,
or so ill but he serves for somewhat.
Hávamál
The Words of Odin the High One from the Elder or Poetic Edda (Sæmund's Edda) translated by Olive Bray and edited by D. L. Ashliman
You can find a full translation here : https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/havamal.html
RÉGIS BOYER'S CONTRIBUTION :
First, the sources from the latin, christian and romantic are sifted out, in order to try and decide who the Vikings, stripped from their apocryphal garments, are.
Then, key words are defined : 'Viking', 'Varangians', 'Rus''
Ultimately, Viking life is sketched :
The bondi (>husband), the felag, the Þing, hamingja and hamr (respectively the fate of the kin and the personal fate).
As you read, you win some sizeable victories with The Vikings.
1) The Vikings are given back their human scale.
2) You realize Viking attacks were mostly raids and pilfer, limited in time, aims and numbers involved. What is salient is how Viking excel at pragmatism and how fast they assimilate ideas and techniques overseas : the Celts', Saxons', Slavs', Irish's, Franks', Byzantines', Levantins'...
3) They are farmers, craftsmen, weaver-poets, storytellers, merchants, ocasionnally warriors... at the same time! Now you get how Vikings could play so many parts in Europe and with such a success. Pirates, international traders, temporary or fixed settlers, rulers, agents of modernity and mongers of civilization. At the end of the day, you size up the Vikings more fairly.
4) Eventually, that is called inner growth. The Vikings and their legacy are yours.
You are better equipped and still part of mankind, only more so.
--------
LXXVI
Meurent les biens, meurent les parents
Et toi aussi tu mourras
Mais la réputation ne meurt jamais
De celui qui a vécu honorablement
LXXVII
Meurent les biens, meurent les parents
Et toi aussi tu mourras
Mais je connais une chose qui jamais ne meurt :
Le jugement porté sur chaque mort
XCIII
Mon âme peut seule juger
Ce qui est dans mon coeur
Je suis seul avec moi-même
Il n'est pire peine pour un homme sage
Que de n'être pas satisfait de lui
CXVIII 5-10
Si tu as un ami
En qui tu as toute confiance,
Va le trouver souvent
Car les taillis croissent
Ainsi que l'herbe haute
Sur le chemin que nul ne foule
CXX 5-10
Avec ton ami ne sois pas le premier à rompre
Le chagrin dévore le cœur
De qui n'a personne à qui ouvrir son âme
CXXXIII 4-6
Il n'est nul homme excellent
Qui ne soit sans défaut
Ni si mauvais qu'il soit inutile
Le Havamal
Une traduction intégrale ici : http://library.flawlesslogic.com/hava...
LES APPORTS DE RÉGIS BOYER :
D'abord on débrouille les apports latins, chrétiens et romantiques pour tenter de dégager le propre du Viking.
Ensuite vient la définition des termes généraux,
"Viking", "Varègues", "Rus",...
Alors, la définition de réalités bien vikings :
Le bondi (qui donnera husband), le félag, le Þing, hamingja et hamr (le destin familial et personnel),...
Chemin faisant, on remporte en même temps que les Vikings plusieurs victoires :
1) Les Vikings sont rendus à une échelle humaine.
2) On découvre que les attaques des Vikings étaient des coups de mains, limités en effectifs, en temps comme en objectifs. Des Vikings on retient surtout le pragmatisme et leurs évidentes capacités d'assimilation au contact des étrangers : Celtes, Saxons, Slaves, Irlandais, Francs, Byzantins, Levantins...
3) Souvent à la fois paysans, artisans, poètes-tisserands, conteurs, d'abord commerçants, à l'occasion guerriers, on comprend mieux comment les Vikings ont joué autant de rôles et avec cette réussite. Pirates, acteurs du commerce international, colons temporaires ou à long terme, administrateurs, toujours ferments de modernité et passeurs de civilisations, les Vikings ressortent immanquablement grandis de cette présentation.
4) À l'arrivée, une révolution intérieure. On fait siens le Viking et son apport à l'humanité. On en sort déniaisé, et davantage un homme.
January 20, 2016
Divisant le sujet en deux parties, l’Histoire et le mode de vie, Régis Boyer présente ici les vikings de façon rationnelle, se reposant sur des preuves, archéologiques notamment, pour rétablir la vérité concernant cette civilisation qui fascine encore aujourd’hui, à travers des séries télévisées par exemple. À travers la dimension historique, le lecteur apprend ce qui a poussé les vikings à migrer, qu’elles furent leurs routes commerciales, les influences qu’ils ont pu avoir sur l’Europe. À travers la dimension culturelle, on découvre leur mode de vie, leurs outils, et on comprend ce qui a fait disparaître cette civilisation.
Un ouvrage complet pour tordre le cou aux idées reçues!
https://deslivresdesfilsetunpeudefari...
Un ouvrage complet pour tordre le cou aux idées reçues!
https://deslivresdesfilsetunpeudefari...
December 31, 2015
Обзор скандинавской цивилизации, некогда простиравшейся от Северной Америки до Царьграда. Обзор включает в себя как хронологическое изложение событий, так и специальные разделы по отдельным аспектам цивилизации викингов: их гибкой и децентрализованной общественной организации, трансформации их религии, уникальной правовой системе, способности налаживать выгодный для себя modus vivendi с окружающими народами, движущим силы их экспансии.
July 30, 2011
Un livre érudit, écrit par un spécialiste qui possède remarquablement son sujet. Pour un lecteur féru d histoire, une deception du fait que le coté ethnologique est trop important, empéchant une prise de recul et une appréciation des grandes lignes historiques qui sont trop dispersées.
August 2, 2024
Régis Boyer was one of France's best-known experts on the Vikings, the sagas, and alike. He's written many works on the subject, though I've only read his magnum opus, 'Les Vikings'. This was originally published in 1994 and several times reissued, though I don't know it was revised or not, considering new discoveries and studies over the past few decades.
'Les Vikings' is, in any case, not the layman, you're advised to already have some basic knowledge about the Vikings. Even though Mr Boyer does offer quite a complete overview of the few centuries these people put their stamp on the world. While most books on the Vikings start with or close to the historic attack on Lindisfarne in 793 AD, Mr Boyer goes farther back in time, as a run-up, to try to display what happened prior to the rise of the Vikings, prior to what would become the Viking Age. That's already what makes this book stand out from most others, as far as I know, of course.
And from there, he takes the reader on quite a long, but interesting and eye-opening journey of the evolution of said Age, and how everything evolved from there. The various phases, the causes and first manifestations, the reasons for the Danish, Swedish and Norwegians to seek new lands (money, trade, farming, ...), and how they also colonised various territories. And let's not forget the sagas either, something Mr Boyer also invested a lot of time and effort in during his career.
A big part of the book is thus about economic and political causes and impacts, with the obligatory explanation of the structure with thralls, karls (or bændr) and jarls, bondi, the (Al)Thing, and more. The second "half" deals with civilisation, how they lived, what they believed (and how Christianity came into the picture) and more (e.g. art, poetry, ...). In other words, the structure of their society, the domestic culture, public life, slavery, and ultimately, the end of the Viking Age. On a side-note, according to Mr Boyer, the Vikings' influence and behaviour was important - he does not deny that at all -, but apparently not as determinative as often believed or proclaimed. He wrote that European civilisation was already progressing towards something else, regardless of the Vikings' invasions, attacks, colonisations, trade, ...
Mr Boyer had a way with words, as an academic. Of course it's not written in easy French, but he did manage to convey his interest and passion in a clear way, also regarding the language these people spoke, and how it influenced English and other Germanic languages.
While some readers wrote there aren't any or not enough illustrations or maps, I partly agree. There are a few maps at the end, there's an extensive index, but notes are on the respective pages, which is excellent! When notes are put at the end, in its own segment, I tend to not even consult them, because it really breaks the reading rhythm, creates the impression that notes aren't really that important anyway. But sometimes (or mostly) they are, therefore I prefer seeing them on their respective pages. But again, yes, a wee bit more illustrations, especially when tackling the Vikings' lifestyle, habits, and so on, would have been helpful.
While I've read a good handful of books on the Viking Age so far, I've still got enough to read and explore. Mr Boyer's work did revive my interest, as did Bernard Cornwell's fantastic series 'The Saxon Stories' (or 'The Last Kingdom', the first volume and also title of the TV-series, which I haven't seen). From fiction to non-fiction and back. 'Les Vikings: Histoire et Civilisation' is nothing less but heavily recommended.
'Les Vikings' is, in any case, not the layman, you're advised to already have some basic knowledge about the Vikings. Even though Mr Boyer does offer quite a complete overview of the few centuries these people put their stamp on the world. While most books on the Vikings start with or close to the historic attack on Lindisfarne in 793 AD, Mr Boyer goes farther back in time, as a run-up, to try to display what happened prior to the rise of the Vikings, prior to what would become the Viking Age. That's already what makes this book stand out from most others, as far as I know, of course.
And from there, he takes the reader on quite a long, but interesting and eye-opening journey of the evolution of said Age, and how everything evolved from there. The various phases, the causes and first manifestations, the reasons for the Danish, Swedish and Norwegians to seek new lands (money, trade, farming, ...), and how they also colonised various territories. And let's not forget the sagas either, something Mr Boyer also invested a lot of time and effort in during his career.
A big part of the book is thus about economic and political causes and impacts, with the obligatory explanation of the structure with thralls, karls (or bændr) and jarls, bondi, the (Al)Thing, and more. The second "half" deals with civilisation, how they lived, what they believed (and how Christianity came into the picture) and more (e.g. art, poetry, ...). In other words, the structure of their society, the domestic culture, public life, slavery, and ultimately, the end of the Viking Age. On a side-note, according to Mr Boyer, the Vikings' influence and behaviour was important - he does not deny that at all -, but apparently not as determinative as often believed or proclaimed. He wrote that European civilisation was already progressing towards something else, regardless of the Vikings' invasions, attacks, colonisations, trade, ...
Mr Boyer had a way with words, as an academic. Of course it's not written in easy French, but he did manage to convey his interest and passion in a clear way, also regarding the language these people spoke, and how it influenced English and other Germanic languages.
While some readers wrote there aren't any or not enough illustrations or maps, I partly agree. There are a few maps at the end, there's an extensive index, but notes are on the respective pages, which is excellent! When notes are put at the end, in its own segment, I tend to not even consult them, because it really breaks the reading rhythm, creates the impression that notes aren't really that important anyway. But sometimes (or mostly) they are, therefore I prefer seeing them on their respective pages. But again, yes, a wee bit more illustrations, especially when tackling the Vikings' lifestyle, habits, and so on, would have been helpful.
While I've read a good handful of books on the Viking Age so far, I've still got enough to read and explore. Mr Boyer's work did revive my interest, as did Bernard Cornwell's fantastic series 'The Saxon Stories' (or 'The Last Kingdom', the first volume and also title of the TV-series, which I haven't seen). From fiction to non-fiction and back. 'Les Vikings: Histoire et Civilisation' is nothing less but heavily recommended.
November 4, 2020
Un livre très intéressant car très complet. Mais il aurait fallu rajouter de cartes ou des illustrations pour mieux se rendre compte de leur migration et expédition en autre. R. Boyer à effectué un énorme travail de recherche donnant une image plus humain et moins barbare et sanguinaire des scandinaves. Effaçant les stéréotypes que l'on à, à cause des séries. Je me suis un peu perdu dans la géographie scandinave ne la connaissant peu. Mais je le répète vraiment passionnant.
January 26, 2022
Maravilloso. De lo mejor para introducirse a los vikingos. No por nada Boyer es de los historiadores más reconocidos y prestigiosos de los últimos años. Junto a Niel Price, creo que no hay forma más óptima de adentrarse en la diáspora vikinga.
July 11, 2019
Incredible. Boyer gives a true look to the real viking, and even plays with the true meaning of being a viking.
September 14, 2020
Pas toujours facile d'accès mais s'il y avait une étude à lire ce serait celle-là.
January 6, 2020
Très instructif, l'auteur défend évidemment très bien sa thèse et nous permet en même temps d'imaginer la vie et les relations sociales à l'ère viking. En cela, c'est vraiment fascinant. Par contre, il enfonce parfois un peu trop le clou: les vikings sont avant tout des marchands rusés et opportunistes et se livrent aux exactions que parce que cela leur est profitable. Pour un regard neuf et nord-américain, c'est tout à fait plausible et on peut facilement accepter sa thèse, mais l'auteur la répète beaucoup! C'est un détail dans tout cela, mais son argument pour douter de la présence scandinave en Amérique est assez ténu en comparaison avec les éléments qu'il utilise pour accepter la présence des vikings ailleurs dans le monde. Au final, cependant, c'est un livre qui vaut la peine d'être lu pour comprendre une période fascinante de l'histoire du monde
August 26, 2020
Un ouvrage très précis et spécialiste, pas très indiqué pour un débutant, dont la difficulté relative à le suivre par moments. Il sera très apprécié par ceux qui possèdent une bonne base sur la matière ou qui cherchent un avis d’autorité ou une interprétation sur un point en particulier.
January 31, 2017
Le titre en dit tout. Style plutot academic que narratif.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews