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A History of the Vikings
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 909
EAN: 9780192801340
Edition: 2
ISBN: 0192801341
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 552
Publication Date: July 19, 2001
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Editorial Review:
"An utterly splendid book, quite the most brilliantly written, balanced, and explanative general work on the Vikings ever to appear in English or in any language."-- Scandinavian Studies
The subject of this book is the Viking realms, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, their civilization and culture, and their many sided achievements at home and abroad.
A highly readable narrative follows the development of these Northern peoples--the Nordmenn--from their origins and the legendary pre-history to the military triumphs of Canute and the defeat of Harald Hardradi at Stamford Bridge in 1066, which symbolically ended the Viking age.
The book recounts the Vikings' exploits in war, trade, and colonization: the assault on Western Christendom; the trading and military ventures to the Slav and Muslim worlds and to Byzantium; and the western voyages of discovery and settlement to Greenland, Iceland, and America.
Numerous photographs, maps, and drawings contribute to Gwyn Jones's rounded portrait of Viking civilization and vividly evoke the importance in their culture of religion, art, and seafaring.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Let's go a viking!!
How should one describe the Vikings? Adventurous? Savage? Intrepid? Viking history lasted under three hundred years, but, as this book demonstrates, their legacy is still felt to this day. While it can be a bit too academic at times, this book is the Bible of viking history. It covers their origin, culture, language, religion and even shipbuilding. It shows the Vikings were much more than brutal pirates. They were merchants, traders and perhaps most importantly, daring sailors.
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Rating:  - If you REALLY want to know
This is a good book. Much larger and more detailed than I thought on purchasing it but, most pleased with it!
Rating: - Incredibly Informative, but a Real Challenge
Unless you're an extremely knowledgeable expert on Viking history, you can't ask for much more than this opus from Gwyn Jones if you're at all interested in the subject. Jones presents a nearly overwhelming amount of detail on the far-flung history of the Vikings, from tribal origins in Scandinavia to their voyages of conquest and trade as far afield as Constantinople and Newfoundland. When historical information is scant or doubtful, Jones fleshes out the book with rewarding studies on Viking culture, ... Read More
Rating: - The Saga Continues
The Vikings settled Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland and possibly also Russia; they were the first to discover America; they settled towns across England, Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man; they founded Normandy in France; later the self-same Normans (Norsemen) were to conquer England, where their descendants still occupy the throne. A magnificent and ingenius people they were. This book is a nice, crisp primer on who the Vikings were and how they lived. It also serves to dispel myths: the Vikings ... Read More
Rating: - Magnificent
For me, Gwyn Jones's 'History of the Vikings' is, quite simply, far and away the best single-volume work on this subject in the English language. It first appeared back in 1968 (I first read it in the early 1970s), but has been repeatedly updated in the light of new scholarship and, unlike many works of that vintage, still reads as freshly as when it was first published.
The scope is comprehensive. He starts the story with the earliest references to Scandinavia in Greek and Roman literature (the Scandinavians ... Read More
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