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.
İçerik tablosu
Contents
Map viii
Timeline of Key Events x
Key People xviii
Glossary xxv
Introduction 1
Chapter 1: The Pagan Vikings 8
Chapter 2: Storm from the North 23
Chapter 3: The Viking Conversion in England 39
Chapter 4: The Cross and the Hammer: Christians and Pagans 54
in the North of England
Chapter 5: The Other Island… 69
Chapter 6: The Duchy of the Northmen 83
Chapter 7: The Christian Vikings of Denmark 95
Chapter 8: The Christian Vikings of Norway 111
Chapter 9: The Christian Vikings of Sweden 126
Chapter 10: Vikings in the East: Christian Vikings 140
in Russia and the Byzantine Empire
Chapter 11: Christian Vikings of the North Atlantic 159
Chapter 12: The First American Christians 175
Chapter 13: A Christian Viking King of England 189
Chapter 14: Christian Jarls of the Northern and Western Isles 203
A Final Thought: The Viking World in 1150 218
About the authors 222
Notes 223
Bibliography 248
Index 251
Yazar hakkında
Hannah Whittock has an MPhil from Cambridge in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic studies. She has co-written three books on Viking and Anglo-Saxon history and has written journal articles on Anglo-Saxon frontiers and coinage produced during the Viking Wars. She reads Old English and Old Norse. She co-wrote The Vikings with Martyn Whittock.