A History of the Vikings

by T.D. Kendrick

This enthralling, well-documented, and vivid account chronicles the activities of those bold sea raiders of the North who terrorized Europe from the eighth to the eleventh centuries. A dramatic narrative takes readers from the White Sea in the Arctic to Africa’s Moroccan coast, from Viking operations in Russia, England, and Ireland, to daring exploits in Iceland, Greenland, and America.
Written by a former curator of the British Museum’s Department of Medieval Antiquities, the volume is one of the first complete accounts of the Nordic raiders. Amply illustrated and written with freshness and vigor, this perennially appealing story of conquest will be valuable to scholars and students of Nordic history.
“A titanic subject and in [the author’s] hands, it becomes absorbing drama.” — Bookman.
“Undoubtedly the best and most comprehensive study … it would be hard to name a work in any tongue which could rival its treatment of the subject.” — Times [London] Literary Supplement.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Historical

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Sir Thomas Downing Kendrick KCB, British archaeologist and art historian.

Reviews

[Madeline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I plucked this from the bargain pile at Barnes and Noble, on the rationale that I know very little about the Vikings and want to learn more. And also because I've been watching the History Channel's Vikings and please, guys, someone tell me they are watching it too because it's so great and I will be super sad if it doesn't last longer than two seasons.

Anyway, Kendrick's book was first published in 1930, which means the language of the book is very scholarly and dry, and he uses words like "whither" and fun sentences like this one: "With his father, because they were implicated in a murder-suit, he had left his homeland in the Jaeder in Norway and fared to Iceland where he had settled and married; but here too ill-luck had attended him, and in 981 or 982 a stormy and quarrelsome sojourn ended in his being outlawed."

The book is divided into two main sections: first, Kendrick gives us an overview of the Viking homelands and a brief history of each; and then he gives us a history of the Viking presence abroad, diving chapters by country, starting with Russia and ending with America. There are several major players who make appearances in multiple chapters, such as Ragnar Lodbrok (known to Vikings viewers as the supremely bangable Ragnar Lothbrok), King Halfdan, Svien Forkbeard, and my personal choice for best-named Viking, Eric Bloodaxe. None of the historical personages really emerges as a fully-fleshed human being, and Kendrick's dry, disinterested prose renders them pretty much interchangeable.

Another big issue: once Kendrick is done giving us a brief history of the Viking lands, he moves on to the countries they invaded and we never see the Vikings in their homelands again. There's absolutely no information about the day-to-day stuff of Viking life - nothing about their social structure, very little about their political systems (and the only detail he goes into on this topic is when he's discussing Viking politics in places like England or Iceland), laws, legends, customs...nothing. Aside from a section on the conversion of the Vikings to Christianity, there's not even any information about religion. In fact, a better title for this book would have been A History of the Vikings Abroad, because that's what Kendrick is chiefly concerned with.

The book is informative, sure, but would be better as supplemental reading, once you've gotten a chance to familiarize yourself with the Vikings and their world. I'll keep an eye out for that book.

[BTD · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for pop history, this isn't it. However if you want insights from a real scholar on an interesting subject, this is a good read.

[J Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quite interesting and extremely informative, but the writing is terribly dry and convoluted. In addition, the events described are segregated by geography, so the timeline is often convoluted and difficult to understand. If you have an interest in the history of Viking activity, this will be enjoyable, but is is definitely not going to appeal to those looking for an entertaining story.

[Lillian Carl]

A scholarly tome originally published in 1930, which goes into much greater detail than my grasshopper-like mind can handle. But Kendrick is roughly of Tolkien's generation and has a similar facility with prose---beautifully constructed compound sentences, for example---that has me reading along for the sound of the language almost more than for the content.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started out strongly but then it seemed to disintegrate. I couldn't follow it anymore and Kendrick seemed to keep jumping from topic to topic. A page on something and then a new header and another page on something else. Maybe I'll return to it one day--maybe it gets stronger when he gets moves beyond that period to a time when more is known.

[Colin Darby · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Vikings" is a fatally flawed book. Leaving aside its dated information, it fails on several other levels.

First and worst is that it's intensely focused on the British Isles but claims to be a general overview. The chapters on England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in my copy are ninety pages, of 310 of total text. For comparison, the religious, social, technological, and pre-history background, and the history of Viking-age Scandinavia itself, take about eighty pages. This is because it's a product of time and place - English author in the 1930s; England was the center of the world and British Christian civilization was a priori better than anything else. It has not aged well.

Second is the very inconsistent translation of bynames. We get Sigtrygg Silkbeard, Silk-Beard, and Sigtrygg of the Silken Beard. At the opposite end we get Ketil Flatneb. First, it's Flatnefr, and second, it translates to Flat-Nose. This is partly an artifact of a probably handwritten manuscript, so for instance Thorfinn Karlsefni is occasionally but not consistently Thorfinn Karlsemi. It is partly because Kendrick was not a Norse scholar and it shows, relying instead on other scholars without being expert enough to apply his instinct to the work.

Third is the style of the book itself. Each chapter is better handled as an essay on its given topic. This means there is no consistent through-line and no real beginning or end. Additionally, the author writes in a needlessly dense, badly dated academic prose. One of the worst constructed sentences I've ever read lives in this book - it's self-contradicting, confusing, and a paragraph long, without the intrinsic interest of Faulkner doing the same thing, and in a book written to inform, it's an unforgivable literary sin.

The only reason this book gets two starsis because it is not actively offensive.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this not realizing it was a reprint of an older book. Thorough, albeit dry, chronology of Viking history. A great source for anyone wanting to trace the roots of a civilization and impact on their neighbors.

Not a swashbuckling narrative of the life and culture from an individual daily life perspective.

Overall it is sold d work. This would be useful as a reference source (or to point me to sources) but not one I’d read again for fun.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interested history of a great people. Sometimes reading like picking a rock in an operating tumbler but mostly because of the chaos of the Viking way. Very interesting that the Europeans and Chinese are the argued “finders of America “ yet, the tale of 986 is omitted from our education here in America.

[Dylan Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather bland reading, compartmentalized by region with some insights but mainly dry analysis of Scandy history

[Paul Lunger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published in 1930, T.D. Kendrick's "A History of the Vikings" takes a detailed look at the history of the Norsemen. The book itself s in 2 parts the first gives kind of an overview of the Vikings and their basic history across Scandinavia. The 2nd piece goes very much into detail about each of the lands the Vikings would play a part in the history of across both Europe & North America. The book itself is an enjoyable read although at times it goes into a bit too much detail which is where it gets bogged down. The other thing that bogs the book down is the cross-references throughout the various parts of the history since the histories of what would become Denmark, Norway & Sweden are so intertwined across what they did elsewhere that it's easy to get somewhat confused as to who conquered who & when. Overall though I was pleasantly surprised with this book which gave me a new understanding of the history of the Vikings.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up from the bargain shelf at Barnes and Noble, not realizing it was a re-print from 1930. So obviously it isn't the latest and greatest in research into the Viking era. Also because of the nature of the constant warring of the Vikings, this book can be a little hard to follow as the names are constantly changing and territories are constantly changing hands. Still, it was a decent overview of how the Vikings spread out from Scandinavia across Europe. The sections on Iceland and England were probably the most interesting. All that being said, I'd suggest any reader look for another more recent book if one wants to read about the history of the Vikings.

[Diane · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't get further than about 20 pages.

I think my biggest issue was the author's value judgements of the Vikings. It's fine to have an opinion but a history book should at least give the impression the author has reserved judgement and allow the reader to form her own opinion.

Also use of the words "Christendom" and "thither" just bothered me.

[Naftoli · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information in this book is detailed and eye-opening though it is difficult to read. The author's writing style is as dry as a cracker. I finished a third of the book before I stopped. There are more books in the world than I can possibly read, why slug through such a dry one!?

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. It's definitely a more scholarly read, not light in the least, but it is a great overview of Viking history for those who are curious and invested in the subject. The language takes a little getting used to, but once you adjust it is no problem.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very trying and kind of a boring read. It reads very much like a text book, and it was written in the 1930's which makes you wonder how up to date it is, and how accurate it is. It was somewhat interesting, but I wouldn't recommend reading this for fun.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the Vikings, but this book was a little slow and dry.

[Peter Davis]

a good book.

[Keith Haan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very comprehensive book about the Vikings. It is very detailed and probably includes more that you really want to know. It's very scholarly and reads like a text book.