The Vikings: From Odin to Christ

by Martyn Whittock, Hannah Whittock

The popular image of the Vikings is of tall red-headed men, raping and pillaging their way around the coast of Europe, stopping only to ransack monasteries and burn longships. But the violent Vikings of the 8th century became the pious Christians of the 11th century, who gave gold crosses to Christian churches and in whose areas of rule pagan idols were destroyed and churches were built. So how did this radical transformation happen, and why? What difference did it make to the Vikings, and to those around them, and what is their legacy today? This book takes a "global" look at this key period in Viking history, exploring all the major areas of Viking settlement. Written to be an accessible and engaging overview for the general reader.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Christianity, Medieval History, Religion

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 22, 2018

About the author

I graduated in Politics from Bristol University in 1980, where my degree special studies were in radical Christian politics and theology of the seventeenth century & also the development of the Soviet State.
I taught history for thirty-five years (as Head of History & Director of Humanities Faculty at a number of secondary schools in the UK). Latterly I was curriculum leader for Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural education at a secondary comprehensive school in the UK. During this time I developed an interest in early medieval history (especially Anglo-Saxons and Vikings), as well as continuing my interests in radical Christian millenarianism and also Soviet history.
I have acted as an historical consultant to the National Trust, the BBC and English Heritage. I am a Licensed Lay Minister, in the Church of England, with an active interest in theology.
I retired from teaching in 2016 to devote more time to writing, historical & political commenting & guest blogging.
I am the author or co-author of fifty-three books. These include school history textbooks and adult history books. The latter are written with the aim of making historical themes both engaging and accessible to adult readers.

Reviews

[Sumit RK · Rating 3 out of 5]

The forgotten story of the ‘Christian Vikings’.

The popular image of the Vikings is that of tall red-headed warriors with longships, worshiping Odin & Thor and ransacking every kingdom in their path. But the violent Vikings of the 8th century became the pious Christians of the 11th century. So how did this radical transformation happen, and why? This book is a fascinating account of Vikings throughout history as well as their travels around the world.

The Vikings: From Odin to Christ focuses on the brief period of history from the 8th century to 11th century detailing how Vikings were converted to Christianity from their Pagan religion. The authors detail how and where these people settled, the politics involved, and what archaeological evidence we have for their conversions.

This book focuses specifically on the religious conversion of the Vikings, i.e. how and why this conversion happened in various regions, from Scandinavia to the Western Isles of Scotland and even Russia. The author makes good use of archeological evidence, artifacts, and some contemporary written sources to support the narrative.

If you want to read more about the early Vikings and Odin & Thor, this book is not for you. Also if you are a casual reader, you may sometimes find the narrative difficult to follow as the book lists out dry facts instead of an engaging narrative that would help the reader follow along. The chapters are arranged country wise, which helps to know the specific history of the region. The level of detail and research in this book is top notch.

Overall, this was an interesting and worthwhile book that may help dispel some of the myths about the Vikings. The author tries to paint a realistic picture of the Vikings without trying to paint them as heroes or villains. If you are interested in the religious history of the Vikings, this book may interest you. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Many thanks to the publishers Lion Books, the authors Martyn Whittock and Hannah Whittock and NetGalley for the ARC.

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about the conversion of the Scandinavian peoples.

Starts with an overview of the original situation and goes through such things as the conversion of Viking settlers in Great Britain. Tended to be very fast in regions where they were few -- the Viking rulers of York were coining coins with the inscription "St. Edmund the King" a generation after the Vikings had killed him, despite no missionaries being sent -- and slower where they were massive in number, especially in the Orkneys where they may have engaged in active ethnic cleansing.

Ireland and where they settled and how they integrated and became Christian as well as Gaelic speaking and intermarrying with the Irish. (Later Irish chroniclers tend to call them pagan to make a simple fight over the independence of a trading city look more noble for a king.)

Also in Scandinavia itself, where records tended to arrive with Christianity and writing. The support of kings -- and women. Then Russia, when the Rus went there, and America, Iceland, and Greenland.

Interesting stuff.

[Don Gerstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the title may cause one to jump to the conclusion that the book has a religious bent, the truth is not quite so restrictive. Though the authors do talk about the Vikings becoming Christians, this story is more of the backbone of the book rather than a driving focus.

What I found interesting about the book were the many “facts” I had come to accept as true that have no basis in actual history. Authors Martyn Whittock and Hannah Whittock (father and daughter) dispel many myths that have rooted and grown over the years, including the fact that no archaeological dig has ever unearthed those skullcaps with horns we always see in the movies.

This book is a fascinating account of Vikings throughout history as well as their travels around the world. Their exploits took them everywhere, including the Middle East (would you believe the decline of the Middle East brought about a reduction of silver, which provided a reason to why Vikings needed to venture out and find more, although in a more violent fashion than when they traded for it).

The impact of the Vikings upon the world (and the world upon them) provides a different viewpoint, one most of us have probably never experienced before. History buffs as well as those who only possess a mild curiosity about the past should both find this book a good read. Five stars.

[Alyssa Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

The Vikings: From Odin to Christ contains a great wealth of information about how Vikings were converted and transitioned to Christianity from their religion. In order to give full context of how this happened, the authors detail how and where these people settled, the politics involved, and what archaeological evidence we have for their conversions.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It has a lot of information that most other histories of Vikings don’t really touch on; focusing specifically on the religion conversion helps to give this book a sole focus, which was great. I do think this book would be a lot easier to read in print, because there is a reference for which famous Vikings are which, so when they’re mentioned in a chapter, it would be easy to look at and understand where the information fits into the larger whole; this was rather difficult to manage in the e-book.

I also wish there some sort of narrative focus or better organization, because the information was sometimes difficult to follow. As a reference book, this is great, but if you’re wanting to sit down with some reading about Vikings, it might be a struggle, since a lot of the times, this book lists out dry facts rather than having a cohesive narrative that would help the reader follow along. However, it contains a lot of reference material and I appreciated just how many citations were included, since I felt secure in trusting the material.

Definitely recommend for this interested in religious or Viking history!

Also posted on Purple People Readers.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This informative text book contains the history of the Norse from pagan times to early Christianity.

It was a very interesting read, but, since it's a text book, it's not a book you read for leasure/pleasure. Hence it took me some time to get through it.

[Melisende · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this was a highly informative journey into the transformation of the "pagan" Viking into the acceptable "christian" that is well annotated and referenced, and makes use of the voices of the Vikings themselves, through their sagas, to provide context. The authors explore the conversion of the Viking peoples and how and why this religious transformation took place. What is interesting is the differing views on what constituted conversion, where the roots of conversion eminated from, and the how each conversion event was unique.

The authors make clever use of their chapters to sort out and compartmentalise the history of the conversion of each group or nation, making it more accessible to the reader. We take a look at who were the Vikings of the pre-christian world, and compare that with our modern perception of them. We look at how different forms of Christianity were the driving forces behind the conversions - German, Irish, British and Greek missionaries each had their sphere of influence and success.

This is truly a remarkable journey of the Christianisation of the Scandinavian world that really kicked off in the late 9th century and lasted for a period of three hundred years.

For full review: http://melisendeslibrary.blogspot.com...

[English · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting History book on how the Vikings became Christian. Its not something that's usually written about, as there seems to be a strong prejudice against associating Christianity with anything to do with the Vikings.
This is inaccurate and frankly bordering on xenophobic. There were, the author demonstrates, a number of prominent figures in Scandinavian history who were proudly Christian, and were still 'Vikings'. Warriors and adventurers including King Olaf of Norway, King Cnut, and Gudrid 'the Far Traveler' who was one of a group of Vikings to traveled to the New world.

This book explores how and why this conversion happened in various regions, from Scandinavia to the Western Isles of Scotland and the Outer Hebrides, which were also important areas of Norse settlement.
The author makes good use of archeological evidence, artifacts, and some contemporary written sources to support the narrative.

One aspect that I found interesting was the reasons why Viking women might have converted to Christianity. Its recently been claimed that pagan Viking women had it better than anyone else in Europe at this time: I for one find this claim hard to believe. As Mr Whittock demonstrates, not all women in Scandinavia were freeborn shield maidens.
Many were slaves: yes the Vikings were major slave-traders. Some were taken from their homelands as wives or companions to settlers of new lands. Many came from Ireland and may already have been Christian, providing the impetus for later conversion.

There was also a darker side: with evidence that the Vikings practiced infanticide though exposure of unwanted babies, and that this may have been more common with female children. Christianity expressly forbade such practices, and as such gave women more hope for survival in the present life, and a better afterlife than the one promised in Norse Paganism (nobody seems to have been sure whether women could enter the legendary Valhalla).

Overall, this was an interesting and worthwhile book that may help dispel some of the myths about the Vikings. The author does not pull any punches, or engage in any revisionist exoneration of the Vikings by trying to convince us that they were really not that bad. Nor are they painted as total villains.
This is not a dry and boring history book though: the chapters are pretty short and concise, following a roughly chronological timeline, and it makes for an easy read.

Thanks to Lion Hudson approving me for this title on Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.

[Triumphal Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I did receive a digital version of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review*

Most history books covering the Viking Age are all fairly similar in their content in that the political/military narrative takes center stage, relegating everything else to the periphery. Not so with this book. As one might tell from the subtitle, The Vikings: From Odin to Christ is a book that emphasizes the cultural and religious aspects of Viking society. While some political history by necessity is included, this is based in the broader context of the assimilation of the Vikings into the Western European fold. Another interesting push that this book successfully imparts onto the reader is just how quickly the varying Viking societies Christianized. This leads to the understanding of how much of the "barbarous" activity of the popular image of the heathen Northmen was actually carried out by Christian Vikings.
Despite this interesting take on the Vikings, it did tend to lead some problems. First of all, sometimes dates and numerous proper names of lesser known figures (such as missionaries to the various Viking societies) would occur rather rapidly leading to rather dry listings of facts. Actual lists were employed a couple of times as an explanatory device, though these were sparing enough to not detract from the text. These dry spells also led to a couple of clunky areas of writing. This wasn't helped out by a few other decisions regarding the primary texts. For example, the Heimskringla was often employed as a source. However, every time it was mentioned its literal English translation was also included so as to be Heimskringla (Circle of the World). When multiple primary sources and sagas are used in ever chapter, often more than once, it did become a little jarring.
Still, some of these textual problems were almost byproducts of what the book did well. Such as when the primary source was often written in both its Norse and English forms. It became quite noticeable because of the rich and extensive usage of primary source material did demonstrate points and bolster arguments. Also on the plus side, setting the entire book in the context of cultural assimilation with particular emphasis on religious conversion was quite smart. This allowed for an examination of most of the various Viking cultures that had expanded throughout Western Europe. Detailed looks were given to Normandy, Ireland, the English Danelaw, Iceland, as well as the formation of the individual states of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Also appreciated were specific examinations of often overlooked Viking societies such as Kieven Rus, the Orkneys, and the Isle of Man. The reader is able to come away with both the broad picture of Viking culture and assimilation as well as the nuances and differences between each area of Viking conversion. As an example, the Viking settling of Normandy led to an extremely quick assimilation into French culture and conversion to Christianity while the the Norse Kingdom of the Isles allowed for a syncretic blend of Christian, Gaelic, and Norse culture for a much more extended period of time. Lastly, this book does a great job at demonstrating that a conversion to Christianity did not necessarily and immediately change a society's Viking culture and that many famous events of the Viking Age were committed by Christian Vikings. A notable example would be the Danish conquest of England by King Cnut and his father Sweyn Forkbeard.
Overall, while this book had a few odd aspects relating to the writing, the thrust of the book is a well done piece of history of looking at the Vikings through the lens of cultural assimilation and is tremendous in its breadth and detail.
4 out 5 stars.

[Andrew “The Weirdling” Glos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martyn and Hannah Whittock have given history buffs a real gift in their book “The Vikings: From Odin to Christ”. Their book is a necessary corrective on the popular imagination regarding Vikings.

Vikings are stuck in the popular imagination as pagan raiders in horned helmets, sacking and looting, raping and drinking. One of the main thrusts of the Whittock’s book is to remind us that the perception of the first waves of Viking raiders by the rest of Europe applies to only a small period of their history and a small segment of their culture. Vikings were conquerors and nation builders. They were heirs of a vibrant cultural dynamic which deeply influenced nearly all European cultures, changing them irrevocably. Furthermore, even as they were changing the cultures they came into contact with, the Vikings were themselves being changed in profound ways. Perhaps the most important change was in their religious mythos, from Norse paganism to Christianity.

This history is first rate. Their case is well made from the start. Today, the average person knows almost nothing about the people we call Vikings. What’s more, most of what we do know is very unhelpful and misleading.

The writing is accessible for most lay readers with a rudimentary grasp of European history. Simultaneously, it provides in-depth charts, indexes, and reading suggestions for those who want to dive deeper into this story.

I’m convinced most readers will be blown away by this amazing saga of the Norse culture and the incredible transformation it underwent from the eighth century on. I could not put this book down.

[Susan Snodgrass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone has this image of Vikings as villagers and rapists of everyone they came in contact with. But the Vikings were more, many converting to Christianity. This book details that conversion. Well written and easy to read, it is a great addition to any library.

My thanks to the publisher for a copy via Net Galley. The opinion stated here is entirely my own.

[Tami · Rating 3 out of 5]

For many of us, the story of the Vikings is quite fascinating. Most often, they are portrayed as pagans who travelled the waterways raiding villages with savage brutality.
While this was often the truth, there is a bit more to them than that and this book dispels some of the myths surrounding the Vikings.

With a focus on the Vikings path to Christianity, readers follow the Vikings from the earliest records and evidence, both from archeological sites and written records. While the book does read more like a text book and is tedious at times, it was interesting to learn how the Vikings began to evolve from pagans to Christians. Contrary to popular belief, Vikings turned to Christianity much earlier than we are led to belief from myths, stories and popular television.

I found the book to be very informative, but there were many names and details to remember. I recommend this to history lovers and Viking enthusiasts who don’t mind textbook style reading.

My thanks to NetGalley and Lion Hudson Limited for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fascination with the Vikings has interested people for ages. The fact that they were so quickly converted to the christian culture leaving a majority of theirs behind, The authors did a wonderful job of tracing the vikings through the ages and provide the information in a concise and informative way. The research was abundant and will done. The book was written in a way that anyone can follow the path of the vikings. They presented more than one side to a theory. This is a very good book and would be a good one for anyone that is researching the history of the Viking era.

[Carol Kean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Viking. Coincidentally, on the very day I started reading a NetGalley ARC (advance reader copy) of this history of the Vikings, I happened across our 28-yr-old son's Halloween costume from the previou year: THOR! (He'd left it here during his transition from Chicago to Manhattan.) Minutes later, I happened across a Steemit post on "Dark Souls" by @scienceviking. Call it synchronicity, or a message from the gods, but Viking forces are still at work in our world. I swear. Their conversion to Christianity was only for show, some say, and in secret, they never stopped practicing their devotion to the gods of Valhalla, but this is a fantastic book, in any case. Rich in history, rich with names that will be familiar to fan of the Viking TV shows (I've seen only one so far and must find Season Six asap).

I'm predisposed to love anything affirmative I read about Vikings, and this book gives us a kinder, gentler Viking than the stereotypes we're used to.

So much information, and not just about the Christianizing of the Viking. I love how "the word Viking is something you did rather than what you were," and to go out viking or to be "a Viking" did not carry the negative connotation it later came to bear.

The book is cool for wanting "to correct the over-emphasis in popular culture on the Odin-worshipping warriors of film and fiction."

Like any well-written, informative, exhaustively researched history book, this one is long and packed with line after line of quotable and noteworthy quotes.

Because I'm reading a NetGalley ARC, I can't utilize the handy Kindle-Share feature that allows a quick copy-paste when I want to cite excerpts from the text. (Typing excerpts from the text, one keystroke at a time, takes too long for me.)

Eventually, I swear, I'll get around to posting great lines from this great history. Trust Carol: this is no dry, dull history. Even the etymology and linguistic evolution of the word "viking" is fun to read. E.g., those known as Vikings put a positive spin on a dreaded people, saying, perhaps, "I am an adventurer," rather than "My employment is smash and grab... and worse." (Images of Haggar the Horrible, a long-lasting cartoon, spring to mind.)

It takes tremendous passion, dedication, time, concentration, and hard work to write a book of this scope and depth. I am in awe!

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 5.0 of 5

Although this book is subtitled "From Odin to Christ" and is ostensibly a book about the 'Christianizing' of Scandinavia, the truth is that this is a really phenomenal, brief history of the 'Vikings.' I put a quote around 'Vikings' because, as the Whittocks explain, 'Viking' is something you did (you went viking) and not something you were.

The research here is tremendous and although the presentation feels somewhat brief, there's a strong sense that the information behind the presentation is accurate.

Although I have long been interested in Scandinavian history, this book reveals some very interesting information - so much so that I can't say what it all is without repeating so much of the book. Suffice it to say that I was not aware that we knew so much about which groups of Norsemen (those from Denmark, Norway, or Sweden [or at least what is now referred to as these areas]) invaded which areas. I was not aware that the Norsemen vikinged so far east and southeast - I thought they worked primarily in Great Britain, Iceland, and points west.

I knew I was in for an educational treat early on when the Whittock's write:

There is also another factor that may have prompted the start of Viking raids. The late-eighth-century Danish attacks on the Frankish Empire and the British Isles coincided with changes occurring in the far off Middle Eastern Islamic Caliphate from the 740s onwards, as the Umayyad dynasty lost out to the new Abbasid dynasty and the centre of political power shifted from Damascus to Baghdad. These distant political and economic changes disrupted the flow of silver to Scandinavia. For some time Islamic merchants and their middle men had brought silver to northern Europe to trade it for the products of the north: slaves, furs, amber. However, the violently shifting politics within the Caliphate were followed by its fragmentation and a decline in central authority. As a result of this, in the late ninth century the Caliphate lost control of the silver mines in what is now Tajikistan. This precipitated a crisis in Scandinavia. Scandinavian economies began to falter as trade with the Islamic world declined. It was now harder for (suddenly silver poor) Scandinavian elites to engage in traditional gift-giving which cemented social bonds. Raiding offered an alternative method of obtaining both precious metals and slaves.

And while I was certainly aware that there were a good many Viking raids on Ireland I absolutely loved that there was a poem written in the upper margin of a manuscript in a monastery of St Gall (written c. 845-850):

Bitter is the wind tonight
It tosses the ocean's white hair
Tonight I fear not the fierce warriors of Norway
Coursing on the Irish sea.

The book does address the adoption of Christianity by the Scandinavians and we get just as thorough a documented history of the rolling conversion from paganism to Christianity as we did the rest of the book. From noting that "women in the Icelandic context seem to have played an important role in the conversion" to recognizing that "A new deity was not the issue: it was the exclusivity of Christianity that was the challenge" this book covers a lot of ground and unlike the history books of my school days, this is presented extremely well. The almost conversational writing style makes this very easy to read.

My only down-side to my Kindle ARC is that the footnotes are not hot-linked so I couldn't read the notes or check the resource while reading this. For that reason, this is my holiday wish list because I am confident I will want to refer to this book again and again.

Looking for a good book? The Vikings by Martyn Whittock & Hannah Whittock is a well-written, well-researched book that will appeal to lovers of history, Christianity, Scandinavian culture, Norse mythology, and anyone who just enjoys a good non-fiction read.
note: quotes are from an advanced reading copy and may not accurately reflect the published edition
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

You would think that a book on history and Christianity would appeal to me. Add in the fact that I used to live near York, formerly known by the Viking name of Jorvik, and this should be a book I find fascinating. My introduction to the Vikings was through the Jorvik Viking Museum in York, a museum that seemed impressive 30 years ago and even more so when I last visited in 2014. Despite those visits, I wasn’t sure how much I knew about the Vikings before starting this book. It turns out I knew quite a bit but had forgotten it over the years!

The Vikings: From Odin to Christ spans over 500 years of global history. It’s a lot to cover in one book. It starts with a timeline, the names of key people, and a list of terms including Gaelic and Scandinavian words. This is a useful document, particularly when it comes to names. There is more than one person named Olaf in Viking history, and more than one Harald and Sigurd as well. Chapters are divided by region. For example, one chapter is The Christian Vikings of Denmark, while another is Christian Vikings of the North Atlantic. The father and daughter writing duo also try to keep things in chronological order, so the final chapters circle back around to the British Isles and the decline of Viking power and culture.

This was a difficult book to get through. It took me well over a week. Because of the amount to cram in, it isn’t as detailed as I’d hoped. There are no illustrations or photographs, a loss when it comes to the discussion of Viking art and runes. I ended up searching elsewhere for visuals and consequently was often sidetracked. I went on similar searches for information about a couple of places mentioned, including Uppsala in Sweden and Kirkwall in the Orkneys. Because the book focuses on those Norsemen who traveled, it looks only slightly at the inhabitants of the places they visited and conquered. We don’t get much of an idea of how life changed for the ordinary person. I feel each chapter could’ve been a complete book in itself.

It’s also a fairly dry read, reminding me of a textbook. Despite that, there were some interesting stories of individuals such as Cnut, who gets a chapter to himself, and repeat appearances by men such as Harald Finehair and Olaf Tryggvason. I would’ve loved to see in-depth chapters focusing solely on the history of men such as these. I was also reminded that William of Normandy, the Conqueror, was descended from Vikings.

Overall, with the chapters and index, this is more of a reference book rather than one to read straight through. It’s good for showing how some Vikings converted to Christianity due to faith while others did it as a matter of practicality. It’s good to counter the image of pagan warriors in popular media. It’s a good introduction to various Viking personalities. Just don’t go expecting great visuals because you won’t find them.

Disclaimer: I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not required to write a review, and the words above are my own.

[Jamie Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are familiar with the image of Vikings as portrayed in modern movies and culture, this book will paint a completely different and more historically accurate picture. It traces the progression of Christianity through the geographical areas that we consider to be Viking territory. Viking, as the authors point out, is a term that more accurately describes an action than a people, even though we tend to see it as the latter these days.

The book is nicely divided into chapters that show how the Christian transformation of Viking territory was not one simple movement. It was particular to each region, based a lot on the area’s history and the social context. The authors present both analysis and excerpts from old sagas. I appreciated that they included a very detailed list of names, definitions, and notes that I would recommend you bookmark so you can turn back to it as you follow the complex histories of these lands. I also appreciated that the authors took a neutral stance on paganism versus Christianity. The book is a nonprejudiced, non-demonizing, balanced look at how the societies changed with the coming of Christianity.

If you have any interest whatsoever in Viking history, you will find this book about their Christian age to be a fascinating and in-depth one.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

“History is written by victors” we are told but although this makes logical sense it doesn’t always ring true. What if the victors were illiterate at the time of many of their conquests? Whilst they were enjoying the spoils of war the vanquished were penning tales of bloodshed and sacrilege. Even though The Vikings eventually converted to Christianity, became bone fide rulers of vast territories, and transformed the family trees of European nobility we still tend to think of them as they were portrayed in those early monastic manuscripts. So perhaps a better understanding of posterity is that “history is but a fable agreed upon”

This book is one of several recent attempts by historians to rehabilitate The Vikings’ image. Although I thought I knew a fair bit about our Scandinavian forebears it was enlightening to have it all laid out so concisely. The way that this book is organised makes it clear just how important The Vikings were and how they shaped the world we now live in. We love to talk about The Romans but should we be asking ‘What did The Vikings do for us?’

Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Jeni]

I love History and greatly enjoy the chance to learn something new or expand on my learning. Well the extent of my Vikings knowledge is gained from TV; The Vikings and The Last KIngdom. This book really filled in gaps and taught me even more.
Now, the first few pages are dates and names. I'm hopeless at both these things, so they didn't stick, but were interesting to read. And thanks to the aforementioned TV shows I found I actually knew some of the people mentioned.
And then we're off. From the first raid all the way through the Northman's journeys through Europe and through religion. I was fascinating not only to learn, but to hear were preconceive notions have come from. No horned helmets, but a few winged ones.
Overall the book was fascinating and conversational. The author has a comfortable and relaxed tone that makes the information easier to digest
Grab this book for bedside read and finish each day by curling up with a new bit of info about how Northman.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lion Hudson Ltd. for the opportunity to read and review this title.

[Darcysmom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Lion Hudson for free in exchange for an honest review.
The Vikings: From Odin to Christ is a thorough study of the growth and eventual dominance of Christianity in Viking society. I loved the organization of the book - the authors provided the reader with a grounding in Pagan/pre-Christian Viking beliefs and then methodically moved through time and place. The focus on the sweep of Christianity through each Viking country was helpful in showing that Viking is an umbrella term for a disparate group of people and countries.
As I made my way through the book, I found myself returning multiple times to the timeline and list of important people - this information kept me on track, even if it was several days between reading sessions.
The tone of the book is like a textbook, which can make long reading sessions challenging. I found that I got the most out of the book by reading it in bursts of 15 or 20 minutes. The information in the book is valuable and I will refer back to it in the future.

[Audrey Stars in Her Eye · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Viking: From Odin to Christ gives great insight regarding the shift from pagan beliefs to Christian dogma.
I enjoyed the section about Norse mythology as well as their traditional stories. There is a section in between that and looking at the transition between pagan` and Christian theology that I was interested in and felt like I was reading a textbook. The manuscript picked up as Martyn Whittock described the combination of religious icons as well as how each section of the area morphed in their beliefs. I was most interested in the facts about the first Christian in North America as well as the British rule of a Christian Viking King.
If you are interested in the Viking and their religion, then this gives a lot of insight. But this does read like most history books and is not for everyone.

I received an ARC through NetGalley; all opinions are my own.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much more my style! I love history and always wondered about how the Vikings integrated in to a society. Though I doubt very much I have any Viking stock in my dna, I am descendant of places Vikings pillaging and plundering and then settling! I was curious as to how this all came about so peacefully in the end and this book tells the tale! I really didn't do my homework in this area of history and am very glad Martyn and Hannah Whittock did! Yes, it is somewhat of a dry read if you aren't into history in general, or Vikings in particular. But for those of us who enjoy Vikings and history, this is a real joy to read; loads of facts and explanations for why Vikings ended up as they did. Great read.
I received a Kindle ARC in exchange for a fair review from Netgalley.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I met Martyn at uni, Vikings were terrible people who Kenneth Clarke could stand by a long ship and shake his head saying, "Civilisation:I don't think so". Since then, largely through JRR Tolkein and Bernard Cornwall, sagas and Norsemen have become fashionable.

Part of that underpinning comes from the academic work that Martyn and his wife have been doing in the old Anglo Saxon capital of Winchester. This is an academic book, not a mission book, and it does what it says on the cover. It explains how becoming Christian changed viking society and how it motivated their descendants.

It also shows how much of that mission was Celtic or Byzantine and how loose the ties to Rome were before the Lutheran days. This is a slow and complex read, but it's worth it.

[Anne Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book that focuses on the conversion of "pagan" Viking society to Christian over the course of a few hundred years. Definitely more of a text book approach to the subject than written for the general history loving audience. I found the writing style annoyingly repetitive, with a tendency to summarize the statements the authors made almost immediately after making them. Not necessarily a book the general history lover will enjoy as a 'fun' read, there is still plenty to be gotten out of "The Vikings". I might recommend reading only one chapter at a time to reduce the repetition of information.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book on the Vikings and their history. There is a lot of information to take in so its taken a while to read, but I've certainly learnt that the way the Vikings have been portrayed in the past isn't wholly accurate and that even the term Viking is a modern invention rather than a word used when they invaded our shores!

Plenty of names and events that I recognise from having watched the TV drama series in the History Channel. My OH likes books on this subject so its certainly something I would consider buying him in the future.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

[Jo-anne Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Vikings have an image of rough warriors intent on rape and pillage and wearing helmets with horns on them. However the truth is far more complicated. Yes, the Vikings were marauders who looked for wealth in the form of goods or slaves but they were not the heathens portrayed. here a consideration is taken of the spread of the Viking peoples and also the spread of Christianity amongst them. the Vikings were huge contributors to Western civilisation as we know it. This book is written in a very readable style and never labours its points.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hoped for more stories and how it changed the culture. Not sure how I expected they'd know that. They represent well what they know. If anything too much info? A bit textbooky.

I came out feeling like I have a good understanding of general Viking expansion and politics and how Christianity broke in and changed them from pagan to generally Christian. The chapters on Kiev, Vineland, Iceland, Normandy and runestones were quite interesting. A good summery of what we know of Christian expansion to the vikings from archeology and documents.

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vikings have often been misportrayed in history. Unfortunately, they were given a bad rap - instead of focusing on who they really were.

This book takes a great look at the real history of the Vikings, and who they were and how they lived. I really enjoyed reading this one. It is full of great facts and information, giving the reader the ins and outs, leaving room for more research in the future.

Check it out!

[Ravenclaw Library Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this book not knowing much about Vikings but was greatly surprised by just how much research the authors did.
This was highly informative and very detailed my only critique was that I had to keep going back to the beginning to look at the maps and list of people.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this ARC all views are my own.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent resource! Ok, so I am hardly unbiased: Pop was born in Norway in 1907, and most of our family are history geeks. That's all well and good, but the important stuff here is the extensive documentation including timeline, maps, and glossary a reader can use for further study and the thesis itself ties everything together in a clearly understandable cohesive manner. Myths about the Norsemen are exposed (horned helmets, purely pagan reasons behind looting of churches rather than simple acquisitory greed), and a greater understanding of why men were truly looking for green pastures.
History geeks will wriggle happily over this book, but I honestly don't know how others will receive it.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Lion Hudson courtesy of NetGalley and am delighted!

[Ojo · Rating 5 out of 5]

¿Cómo pasaron los vikingos de saquear la Europa cristiana a acabar convirtiéndose en cristianos occidentales?

¿Fue de golpe? ¿Poco a poco?

Este libro ofrece algunas respuestas a esas preguntas, a menudo olvidadas, y lo hace de una forma sencilla y con múltiples referencias a otras obras.