…and they laid all waste with dreadful havoc, trod with unhallowed feet the holy places, dug up the altars, and carried off all the treasures of the holy church. Some of the brethren they killed; some they carried off in chains; many they cast out, naked and loaded with insults; some they drowned in the sea. —Simeon of Durham, A History of the Community of Durham Beginning in 789 CE, the Vikings raided monasteries, sacked settlements and invaded the Atlantic coast of Europe and the British Isles. They looted and enslaved their enemies, terrorizing all whom they encountered. But that is only part of their story. Sailing their famous longboats, they discovered Iceland and North America, colonised Greenland, founded Dublin, and also sailed up the River Seine and besieged Paris. They settled from Newfoundland to Russia, conquered eastern England, and fought battles from Ireland to the Caspian Sea. They traded walruses with Inuits, brought Russian furs to Western Europe and took European slaves to Constantinople. Their graves contain Arab silver, Byzantine silks and Frankish weapons and artefacts. Illustrated with more than 200 maps, photographs and artworks, The Viking Warrior examines these fearsome warriors through their origins, social structure, raiding culture, weapons, trading networks and settlements.
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