Product Description

One of the "Culural Atlas" series, this is an illustrated history of the Viking Age - Europe's dominant culture for over 300 years from the late 8th century. Centred on Denmark, Norway and Sweden, but reaching westward across the Atlantic, eastward to the Black Sea and southward to the Mediterranean, the Viking Age dominated Europe and was symbolized by networks of sea crossings and river routes, military campaigns and cultural development. The first part of the atlas examines the physical background of the Scandinavian homelands and traces the history of human settlement before the Vikings. Part Two covers the Vikings in Scandinavia, dealing with society and organization, rulers and kings, warfare, daily life of farmers, craftsmen and traders, religion, literature and much more. Next, contributors discuss the Vikings overseas, in the Western World, the Celtic World, the North Atlantic, Russia and the East. This section includes major features on The Danelaw, Repton Winter Camp, York, Jarlshof, The Isle of Man, St Patrick's Isle and Dublin. Lastly, the atlas covers the conversion of the Vikings to Christianity and the foundation of the nation-states of Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #692914 in Books
• Published on: 1994-10-13
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Customer Reviews

A great resource for the big picture
I love this book. It has lots of maps and illustrations. Best of all it covers the entire gamut of the Viking universe. It is a wonderful resource for getting your head around the big picture of the Viking age. I have researched Viking Age history for years now and this is one of the BEST books I have ever found.

A good introduction to the Vikings but a poor atlas
This book is a good example of the current tendency to describe a book as an 'atlas' whether or not it actually has any maps in it. In 240 pages, this has just 30 maps!In reality this is a well illustrated and expertly (not to say academically) written introduction to Viking history - if this is what you want, it is a good buy. If its an atlas of the Viking age you want, there are better, and cheaper, products on the market.

maybe we should move away from the coast?
the horrendously bloodthirsty and technologically brilliant vikings lives are explained in this book brilliantly, easy to understand yet very detailed and a very good starting point for further study i would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in these bearded seafaring warriors, the world they inhabited, and the tremendously difficult existence they were faced with