The Vikings by Oliver, Neil, 1967- instant download

The Vikings by Oliver, Neil, 1967- instant download

xx, 284 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : 24 cm, The Vikings famously took no prisoners, relished cruel retribution, and prided themselves on their bloodthirsty skill as warriors. But their prowess in battle is only a small part of their story, which stretches from their Scandinavian origins to America in the West and as far as Baghdad in the East. As the Vikings did not write their own history, we have to discover it for ourselves. That discovery tells an extraordinary story of a people who, from the brink of destruction, reached a quarter of the way around the globe and built an empire that lasted nearly 200 years. Drawing on the latest discoveries, the author goes on the trail of the real Vikings. Where did they emerge from? How did they really live? And just what drove them to embark on such extraordinary voyages of discovery over 1,000 years ago?, Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-271) and index, By rock and ice -- Stone, bronze, and iron -- The wider world -- Pagans from the North -- Swedish Vikings in the East -- The endless stream of Vikings -- The Great Heathen Army -- A rising tide -- Cnut the Great -- Principal Viking characters