Northmen: The Viking Saga AD 793-1241

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Authors: John Haywood

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Northmen: The Viking Saga AD 793-1241

John Haywood

Thomas Dunne Books (2016)

From Finland to Newfoundland and Jelling to Jerusalem, follow in the wake of the Vikings―a transformative story of a people that begins with paganism and ends in Christendom.

In AD 800, the Scandinavians were just barbarians in longships. Though they held sway in the north, their power meant little more than the ability to pillage and plunder, which they did to bolster their status at home. But as these Norse warriors left their strongholds to trade, raid, and settle across wide areas of Europe, Asia, and the North Atlantic, their violent and predatory culture left a unique imprint on medieval history. The twist that no one predicted, however, was a much slower, insidious takeover than any the Vikings would execute, and by a turn of the tide, they themselves became its target. For as they made their mark on Europe, Europe made its mark on them. By the year 1200, what remained of the Vikings’ pagan origins floated beneath the surface and the strong, strange territories of the north had become a part of Latin Christendom.

Northmen
is there to tell the tale, to pay homage to what was lost and celebrate what was won. Focusing on key events, including the sack of Lindisfarne in 793 and the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, medieval history expert John Haywood recounts the saga of the Viking Age, from the creation of the world through to the dwindling years of halfhearted raids and elegiac storytelling in the thirteenth century. He does so with meticulous research, engaging narrative, and sensitivity for his subject, shedding light and blood along the way.

Review

"Fascinating and authoritative." ―
The Westmorland Gazette
(UK)

"Haywood has made this period of history accessible to all." ―
All About History
(UK)

"Looks at the evolution of civilizations in Scandinavia, with a sprinkling of mythology thrown in for good measure ... Haywood aims to give the reader a full picture of the Viking Age." ―
History of War
(UK)

"Haywood's lucid explanations of the cultures of the Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians are vital to understanding the motivations for their movements." ―
Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

DR. JOHN HAYWOOD is a Cambridge-educated expert on the history of Dark Age Europe. He is also the author of
The New Atlas of World History
,
The Penguin Atlas of the Vikings,
and
Great Migrations

To read this book as the author intended – and for a fuller reading experience – turn on ‘original’ or ‘publisher’s font’ in your text display options.

A
note
about
spellings.

For the benefit of non-academic readers, in this book I have used established modern English or Scandinavian spellings for place-names and personal names. However, I have not thought it appropriate to commission anglicisms where none exist already and in these cases Old Norse forms have been used.

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