The Vikings (Penguin history) [Paperback]

Else Roesdahl (Author), Susan Margeson (Translator), Kirsten Williams (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0140125612 | ISBN-13: 978-0140125610 | Publication Date: August 1, 1992

This introductory survey of the Vikings looks at their history, society and archaeology.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A survey of Viking civilization, originally published in Denmark (1987), concentrating on the period c.750-c.1050. One chapter covers sources, and about one-third of the book deals with Viking expansion into Russia, Normandy, the British Isles, Iceland, Greenland, etc. (Only a few pages touch upon activities in North America.) Most of the book surveys the geography, people, society, religion, art, etc., of the Vikings' Scandinavian homelands, stressing the complexity of their civilization. The Vikings is a sober, factual, accurate, though somewhat pedestrian account accessible to laypersons and reflecting recent scholarship. Public or academic libraries needing an up-to-date (post-1980) survey should acquire it. Roesdahl is the author of Viking Age Denmark (State Mutual Bk., 1982)-- J.F. Husband, Framingham State Coll., Mass.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Danish

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (August 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140125612
• ISBN-13: 978-0140125610
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,620,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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133 of 135 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Readable yet scholarly; great as reference or leisurely read, April 7, 1999

By 

Susan Zuckerman - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vikings: Revised Edition (Paperback)

I loved the first edition of this book, and this revised edition is even better, incorporating much new archaeological evidence. As a historical fiction writer, currectly writing a novel about the Vikings, books like this are invaluable to me. This is my #1 reference book. Not only does it contain a tremendous amount of information, Roesdahl has organized it exceptionally well, such that it is always easy to find exactly what I'm looking for. As a read-through book, I also found it captivating and not in the least bit dry. Replete with maps, diagrams and photos, it is an invaluable learning tool for anyone interested in this time in history. One of the aspects I particularly appreciate is that Roesdahl has a Scandinavian perspective, viewing the Vikings as a legitimate Norse civilization, with a vibrant, artistic, agricultural and exploratory culture, more than as pagan invaders of the rest of civilized Europe. Yes, there were some ruthless invaders amongst them, but many writers are too focused on that aspect. The book starts with a look at the sources of information we have about the Vikings, the written sources, place names and archaeological evidence. Knowing the sources on which our knowledge is based is extremely important, so we won't be so readily hoodwinked into believing faulty interpretations. Roesdahl then looks in excellent detail at Scandinavian geography, people, language, history, religion, art, etc. A wonderful feel for the times and culture is gained. The next focus is Norse expansion, their conquests and settlements in Britain, Russia and the Baltics, and west to Iceland, Greenland and North America. Finally, she concludes with the lasting significance of these Norse peoples and the so-called Viking Age. I would highly recommend this book to anyone seriously interested in Viking history.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Decent overview of the Viking era, February 16, 2006

By 

Tim F. Martin (Madison, AL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Vikings: Revised Edition (Paperback)

_The Vikings_ by Else Roesdahl was a fairly thorough if sometimes a little dry account of the Viking Age, a time that lasted about 300 years, from just before AD 800 until well into the 11th century. The Vikings were a tremendously influential people, playing a decisive role in many areas of Europe; their mark is still seen today in numerous loan-words in the English language; many place-names in Normandy and the British Isles; in Ireland, where they founded the island's major towns; and in Iceland and the Faeroe Islands, where they settled.

Roesdahl took great pains to show that the classic image of the Vikings as raiders, pirates, and plunderers was one-sided, a one-dimensional view that comes to us today from contemporary clerics in Western Europe (who may have been reacting more than anything to the pagan religion of the Vikings) and in tales that were elaborated on by medieval story tellers and historians, including among the Scandinavians themselves, such as with the Icelandic saga writers. Indeed in mainland Europe at least the author felt that the impact of the Viking raids have been exaggerated, and it generally made little difference if a community was plundered by the Vikings or by some other local faction. The Vikings were also farmers, merchants, poets, artists, authors, artisans, engineers, explorers (the first Europeans to discover Iceland, Greenland, and North America), and settlers as well as warlords and mercenaries (the latter notably in Ireland and in the Byzantine Empire).

The first half of the book dealt with the culture of the Scandinavians, going into great detail about their dress, jewelry, houses, cooking, food, language, writing, personal names, their use of slaves, the role of women, the role of children, rules of conduct, their politics, land transport, ships, monetary system, fortifications, warfare, religion (both the old faith and their conversion to Christianity), their art, and poetry. I would have liked more information about their ships and I found some of these sections a little tedious at times (basically like reading long lists), but there were a number of interesting things to be gleaned from it. There were many illustrations, photographs, and maps that were helpful in the text and in two inserts; I particularly liked the photos and drawings of Viking art and of their runes.

The second half of the book dealt with the Viking expansion, discussing the reasons for the expansion and their historical role in Normandy, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Ireland, England, the Baltic region, Russia, Byzantium, the Caliphate, and their settlement of Iceland, the Faeroe Islands, Greenland, and North America (for those interested in the Greenland settlement by the way I highly recommend Jared Diamond's _Collapse_ which had excellent, gripping coverage of that, much more thorough than what I found in _The Vikings_).

I found the coverage of Viking hoards intriguing. Many hoards had coins from often quite distant regions, with coins from the Caliphate and Byzantium not uncommon. Hoards were generally not found in areas where it was more common to pay with silver and coins than with goods.

Much as has been found to be the case with classic Greek and Roman statues, many Viking items were painted. Many rune stones have been found with traces of paint on them, the usual colors being black, white and red but other colors were used including blue and green. In addition the Vikings painted shields, furniture, tent poles, and building timbers, often to emphasize decoration that had been carved in low relief.

There was a small discussion of the many loan words from Old Norse, originating from the long Viking presence on English soil (indeed from 1018 to 1042 apart from a period of five years England and Denmark were ruled jointly by one king). Everyday words such as cast, knife, take, window, egg, ill, and die come from Old Norse. Some grammatical elements, such as the plural words they, them, and their also come from the Scandinavians. Some English dialects contained a great many more loan words but they are disappearing along with the dialects.

Scandinavian poetry was often quite demanding and intricate. Scaldic poetry for instance had a complicated form, using the "heroic meter," with the lines linked in alliterating pairs, the first line of each pair with two alliterating syllables, and each line required to have internal rhyme. In addition, skaldic poetry frequently referenced stories of the gods and heroes, often by using riddles or complex and subtle references that only a knowledgeable audience would appreciate. Scaldic poetry is of course well known for the kenning, examples of which include "the sweat of the sword" (blood), "the feeder of the raven" (the warrior), or more complex ones that could only be understood with reference to their mythology.

Much has been made elsewhere about the Viking raids on Irish monasteries and Roesdahl does cover that, though the reader also learns that it wasn't just Vikings that did the raiding. The abbots of several monasteries were often the only national figures in Ireland until well into the 800s, with most of Ireland divided into tiny kingdoms struggling with complex dynastic rules. Owing to the monasteries' important economic and political importance and close ties with many secular rulers, plundering and burning down monasteries was an integral part of Irish warfare; indeed monasteries sometimes fought each other in addition to being plundered by rival kings. Further complicating things, Vikings were often employed as mercenaries in the endless wars in Ireland (the Franks on the mainland of Europe did the same thing, often setting one Viking group against another). Further, some rulers exaggerated the depredations of the Vikings to enhance their own glory (one work portrayed the Viking chieftain Turgesius as a sort of "pagan super-Viking" who among other things tried to convert Ireland to the worship of Thor, the work aiming to glorify the great Irish king Brian Boru).

Not a bad book overall, it was a useful though not especially gripping overview.

46 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last: a comprehensive history of the Vikings!, October 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vikings: Revised Edition (Paperback)

Roesdahl's work has allowed me to see the Vikings as much more than a band of maruading pirates. -Much more than actors who appear in the annals of history to relieve the monotonoy of un-inspired court tomage, the task of reconstructing Viking culture is related in a rich and fascinating adventure. This Roesdahl translation relates how the Vikings, far from being merely a sea-fairing chapter of the "Hells Angels", actually had many customs, artifacts, and lands that can be equated into the european calendar using dendrochronology. With so many "viking values" being adopted by modern man, this work is invaluiable to understand where our world is going, as well as where it has been. I just wish that I could put a copy of it on my web-site!