A Brief History of the Vikings: The Last Pagans or the First Modern Europeans?

by Jonathan Clements

Between the eighth and eleventh centuries, the Vikings surged from their Scandinavian homeland to trade, raid and invade along the coasts of Europe. Their influence and expeditions extended from Newfoundland to Baghdad, their battles were as far-flung as Africa and the Arctic. But were they great seafarers or desperate outcasts, noble heathens or oafish pirates, the last pagans or the first of the modern Europeans? This concise study puts medieval chronicles, Norse sagas and Muslim accounts alongside more recent research into ritual magic, genetic profiling and climatology. It includes biographical sketches of some of the most famous Vikings, from Erik Bloodaxe to Saint Olaf, and King Canute to Leif the Lucky. It explains why the Danish king Harald Bluetooth lent his name to a twenty-first century wireless technology; which future saint laughed as she buried foreign ambassadors alive; why so many Icelandic settlers had Irish names; and how the last Viking colony was destroyed by English raiders. Extending beyond the traditional 'Viking age' of most books, A Brief History of the Vikings places sudden Scandinavian population movement in a wider historical context. their swift expansion and its supposed halt. Supposed because, ultimately, the Vikings didn't disappear: they turned into us.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Historical, Medieval History, Medieval, Ancient History, Audiobook

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Jonathan Clements is an author, translator, biographer and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Marco Polo, Mao Zedong, Koxinga and Qin Shihuangdi. He also writes for NEO magazine and is the co-author of encyclopedias of anime and Japanese television dramas.

Reviews

[zed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Up to the usual standards of the A Brief History series. I think I have not read about the Vikings since I was in high school back in the mid 1970's so it was very good to have this primer to bring back the memories. Recommended to those with an interest in the short story of the more familiar names but are not keen on the intricacies or too much depth.

Good footnotes and a strong bibliography.

[WarpDrive · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, readable, solid and surprisingly informative and academically diligent book. A very pleasant introductory treatment of the Viking Age.
This book does not get a 5-star rating as the author occasionally presents an Anti-Scandinavian cultural bias, for example when implicitly representing the Norse mythology as inferior or derivative.
Still, a recommended, surprisingly good-quality read.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Efectivamente, breve, y además sencillo.-

Género. Ensayo.

Lo que nos cuenta. Retrato de los vikingos, su concepto, sus mitos e historia.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[mina]

I’m not a fan of documentaries, ten minutes in and I get sleepy and my thoughts start to wander, and this was so much like a documentary to me, more so because I listened to the audio book. This topic interests me, but I found that I had to have some knowledge of history to understand what/where was going on, however I’m lacking that. I know it’s a non-fiction historical book, but it felt very dry where I was slapped with facts left and right without the time to get myself together and actually register what I heard/read.

[Julian Worker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an informative book about the Vikings, one I'll keep for reference as there's a detailed index, family trees, and lists of kings in various parts of Scandinavia.

The 'Viking Age' is generally considered to run from the sack of Lindisfarne Monastery in 793 to the death of Harald Hardraada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. The book overlaps these two dates slightly for the sake of continuity but most of the detail covered comes between these two dates.

The title of the book is 'A Brief History of The Vikings' so I suppose I can excuse the author from not mentioning the Battle of Brunanburh in 934 where the forces of Olaf Guthfrithson, the Viking King of Dublin, and his allies were destroyed by Athelstan. Neither is the sacking of Iona mentioned in any great detail, as the story there is The Book of Kells was only evacuated to Dublin a few days before the Vikings arrived in 806, having previously visited in 795 and 802.

What this book does mention and explain is the amount of territory that the Vikings covered and how there was almost always a civil war to be quelled or joined in with in most of their territories. Their sailing feats in covering the vicious North Atlantic swells and currents are admirable and they must have had a great method of navigation but no one is sure what it was they used. Reaching the coast of North America five hundred years before Columbus is no mean feat.

There was no escaping the vicious Viking sense of humour in terms of naming people such as Olaf the Stout, Magnus Barelegs, Einar Paunch-shaker, Eystein the Noisy, and Aud the Deep-Minded.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

If one is looking for a quick-hit history of the Vikings, this is the book for them. Clements does a good job condensing the age of Viking exploration, conquest, and settlement into a fast-paced book. Viking influence existed before the sacking of monasteries in Ireland and continued beyond the Battle of Hastings in 1066. A battle, ironically, that saw two Viking armies square off against one another to claim the throne of England.

The author makes a not so subtle point that being a Viking is the equivalent of being a modern day war-lord, pillager, thief, or pirate. The romantical notion of going a-viking is in severe contrast the actual brutal acts perpetrated by the young men who followed this lifestyle. However, the Vikings, culturally and religiously speaking, had a profound influence over much of northern Europe as they spread, colonized, and even converted to Christianity. Viking descendants could be found in almost every major ruling house of northern Europe, including Russia, and even spent time in Byzantium, creating the famous Varangian Guard. They even visited North America before Columbus and, although Clements fails to mention it, there is a story about Columbus being privy to the find of a "foreign" body that washed up in England that proved to him that inhabitable land existed far to the west of Europe.

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking to delve into Viking history. It is a good starting point for anyone interested in where the Vikings truly came from, who they were, what they believed, and where they went. The book is an ideal starting point for deeper readings such as Jones' History of the Vikings and, of course, the many Viking sagas that have come down to us today.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a suprisingly pleasant read and although it says Brief History on the front it doesn't feel like it. Each chapter gives enough details, dates, key characters, key locations etc that you are left satisfied not disappointed when it's time to move onto the next one. I am paritcularly impressed by the second to final chapter he's devoted to a key character not discussed in other history books I've read, Harald Hardrada. It allows you to follow him from his childhood through his years abroad gathering glory and treasure until he finally claims the throne of Norway and is lured to England with the death of Edward the Confessor. The other goods things are it of course looks at the Norse myths and gods and the influence on the Vikings, the Vikings impact on an international scale from the various countries they raided, fought in or discovered and settled. Whether this is a passing interest or a research project, you can not fail to learn a lot and have a developed understanding after reading this if you are interested in the vikings culture and history and people in any way at all.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent book but that has some flaws too it denying it a four star score.

First of all I have to point out that the book was well written and is fairly accessible for a non academic or even for those who normally don't read these kinds of book while not dumbing it down or over dramatizing. The work is an excellent overview and is definitely a good starting point to further research the various events and persons of interest mentioned in the book. So why only three stars? Two reasons, one a strange omission of the saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and two the at times openly biased position of the author.

On the first criticism, the omission of Ragnar Lothbrok has become even more troubling now with the popularity of the history channel series Vikings. However my problem with the absence of Ragnar Lothbrok is more fundamental than a missed publicity stunt, (I know the book is older making it a moot point anyways). Clements makes a great point of his methodology; using the old saga's of the vikings era and to reevaluate them for their historical worth. Interesting approach, but why no Ragnar? His saga is linked to known historical persons, events and places all of them discussed in detail in this publication. The raiding of the first English monastery, the foundation of Hedebey as a site of power and Ragnar supposedly fathered the leaders of the great heathen army and the vikings who entered the Mediterranean the first time. Combined with the presence of many symbols of morality and role models in the sage would have made it an excellent addition to this book. But no not a single word on Ragnar.

One could argue that the tale of Ragnar is so distorted and blends so deep with myth that it would be impossible to distinguish what is true and what is not. That would be a valid argumenthad Clements not spent so much energy on discussing the norse mythology; suggesting that the many species (dwarves, giants, elves) are but old references of conquered peoples with the aesir and Vanir the ancestors of the norse culture. Clearly if one starts to use the tales of wars between Thor and the Jotun Giants as potential proof of culture clashes in the mist of ancient history, then the tale of Ragnar should be a valid source as well. I did like the idea though, a comparison can be made with the legendary Chinese dynasties cited in classic Chinese history and ideology that intermix with Godlike beings or African culture/communities foundation stories involving mythical heroes slaying demons and mastering the elements for his descendants to use.

More troubling for me however was his at times blatant bias. I get that he was writing a counterpoint to the earlier Victorian age saga readers who were enthralled by a sense of adventure and all those contemporary viking lovers (the viking craze is particularly prominent in the metal scene with bands as Amon Amarth) yet this does not make up for some of the bizarre statements. For instance when discussing Anglo Saxon politics, he praises strong kings uniting the country, collecting taxes and subduing local lords. While when discussing the early attempts at unifying Norway he calls the taxes extortions made by third world dictator like types who hired skalds and poets to tell nice stories about themselves. The thing is, Clements is probably not that far off, but this near obsessive anti viking rhetoric was misplaced. Is there truly a qualitative difference between a Saxon king slaying a political rival and a would be viking king burning down the homes of those who oppose him? Clements seems to think so and I believe it is due his personal preference for claims for ruling made by those raised to become rulers, while the viking would be king is a powerhungry thug out for what belongs to someone else. It is telling that the later viking dynasties are treated as the saxon kings, as people with valid reasons to gain power.

True these viking lords did commit horrible acts and were murders and rapist but his theory that these were nothing more than scandinacvia's gutter trash is baffling. The problem I believe is that the author clearly was inspired by the saga's he uses as source material, raids made by later scandinavian kings and would be rulers are portrayed in these historical sources as clear political moves with an economic bonus. While the early raids were portrayed as heroic cunning actions with no overt political agenda (even if there was one). Clemens presents these raids as those made by men with silly gang like nicknames ( Ivar Horse-hung and Halli the sarcastic being my favorites), who are dismissed as thugs being thugs. Clements misses a point, if these raids, conducted before the advent of the big political family feuds, were indeed raids orchestrated by the lowest in the social ladder of Scandinavia how could they afford to do so? Ships, weapons, supplies all of this cost money and or resources, how did these supposed medieval age equivalent of soccer hooligans get that if not due to some form of sponsorship by local elites? Clearly several of those considered the plunder and prestige of raiding to be crucial to their power just as much as later kings would on a larger scale? Perhaps it were the democratic assemblies of farmers and freemen that might have fostered dangerous expeditions to gain influence and meritocratic based leadership credit. it certainly encouraged the Trondheim rebellious regional attitude according to Clements. I wholeheartedly disagree with his description of the viking warband " as an outlet for a community's bad seeds"; as part of a society generational cycle. A description that feels as a moral judgement not a historical analysis of the social function of the warband in medieval Scandinavia and one that does not acknowledge the various research on warrior societies in the world and their role in their respective societies.


His bias also extends to his view on religion, the norse mythology is presented as inferior, only of interest to those who glorify and justify raiding and killing for irrational barbaric motives, while Christianity is presented as a logical choice for any settled civilized farming society. The proof of which (besides mass conversions for political reasons and or force used against pagans) seems to be that the cross won the war of religion in the viking world presenting it as an inevitable conclusion. He goes well into detail of how the region of Trondheim Norway resisted conversion but he presents it as part of a regional stubbornness to resist outside interference rather than seriously discussing why some people fought to remain pagan from a religious point of view. contradictionally he makes a point in how conversion often did little to change the frequent raiding and pillaging only who and why there was pillaging (the pagans for loot and christian vikings for politcal gains, presenting the latter as rational in contradiction to the first). He does rightly point out the influence of Christianity on those who wrote the saga's of the old gods after conversion to Christianity and how wrong it is to believe we do have an accurate view on what the viking of the 9th century believed. But his view is so one sided. Could it not be that Viking myths of the devious Loki and shining Balder influence north european tales of the angel of light and beauty Lucifer falling from grace and being transformed into the king of fire and deception Satan? I don't know but for Clements such a idea would be ludicrous, clearly Christianity was the superior force here.

Overall I liked the book, it made me reconsider my own assumptions (I did indeed believe that vikings came out of nowhere to plunder England, instead of being a continuation of earlier contacts between scandinavia and north west europe) and it is a solid starting point for anyone who wants a comprehensible overview of this particular part of European and global history, the conclusion raises a strong case for acknowledging the role of climate change on societies and cross cultural contacts. The flaws, which I attribute to the authors bias towards a classical civilization over barbarism mentality, however do bring the book down, which is a shame but despite these the book does remain a strong work of research if one remains skeptic and reads between the lines. It a debate inspiring book and that is worth something.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this after reading and enjoying The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson. (My review.) Both the The Long Ships and this book draw upon the same Norse (primarily Icelandic) sources. However, the one is an 80-year old work of historical fiction, and the other is a modern, popular history supported by more recent archeology, genomics and scholarly study.

The book has a 2005 copyright. It does not include recent archeological and genomic studies performed in Scandinavia. In addition, at about 250-pages it is as promised--Brief.

Writing was good. Although for a popular work, it should have been edited for more common word usage. For example, the first use of sobriquet may send some readers to the dictionary and break their concentration.

The book is successful in mentioning all the names and dates for early and mid-European medieval history with emphasis on the Scandinavian region and population. Western European sources are more frequently quoted than Eastern European. Sequence is generally chronological with geographical sub-sections. There are some outlying ancient and medieval anthropological sections. Frankly, I found these to be more interesting than the military and diplomatic history related narration.

What I thought the book did best was relate that the Viking-era was really a population migration from a relatively marginally habitable territory in response to climate change and population growth. Viking influence on western Europe through the North Sea is covered to a larger and deeper extent than their effect on Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean through the Baltic. In particular, I like the handling of the Iceland and Greenland colonizations.

There is a brief discussion of the northern Scandinavian indigenous people the
Sámi and the eastern Scandinavian Finns. The supernatural abilities the Swedes, Danes and Norwegians attributed to the ethnically different Finns is amusing.

The technology of Viking sea faring and shipwrights was well handled. However, the organization, arms, armor and tactics of war bands that made groups of Vikings an elite, fighting force is glossed over. I think a historical discussion of methods of Viking warfare would have been interesting to consumers of the popular Viking myths.

The Gorm the Old lived fifty and eight years, and begat Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson was less exceptional. The narration goes deeper than it should on details in places that belie the title. The persons of note, the genealogies, key dates and conflicts tended to blur together with the passage of time. If it wasn't for the interesting sobriquets I might not have been able to keep them separate.

Readers interested in Viking Popular Fiction will appreciate this book. The historical underpinning of modern Viking stories comes from a very slim body of surviving literature from the period. These documents are well covered in the book. I recognized the re-writing of these old Norse tales in popular fiction and media, besides the above mentioned The Long Ships. For example, fans of the TV series Vikings (2013– ) will easily recognize characters and events. The popular Floki character 'discovering' Iceland in season 5 with the help of ravens is a part of Icelandic lore.

This is a light-weight and brief popular history introducing the historical Vikings. Its oriented toward folks looking for more than what can be found in fiction and media. I liked the anthropological analysis. Although, the narration is a tad uneven for its audience. It should have been further homogenized in terms of narration and content than it was. However, in length and in content I think this is a worthy read for folks seeking a survey book.

Readers with a more scholarly or targeted interest in Viking culture should look elsewhere. For example, Ohthere's Voyages: A Late 9th-Century Account of Voyages Along the Coasts of Norway and Denmark and Its Cultural Context. Readers interested in Viking colonization and climate change should see (for non-fiction) Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Also, in fiction: The Greenlanders.

[Anne Michaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

A buckload of details makes this historical recount of vikings one of the most interesting non-fiction read.

[Wei · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not at all brief, too much details to leave a deep impression or to provide a good introduction to Vikings history.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a subject I wanted to know more about, but I found the book's organization and style to be difficult. It seemed to jump around in time and geography - except when it didn't - and though the author tried to make it clear which Harald or Olaf (etc) he was talking about, it was still hard to follow. There are maps, family trees, and lists of kings in the back - those helped a bit. Still, I don't feel as if I have a clear understanding of the time or the people. Also, the book suffers from poor editing. I noticed several mistakes in grammar (verb agreement, especially) and misused words (prosperity for posterity in one instance).

[Tamar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great introduction to the Vikings. I enjoyed this book very much, it tries to get as close to the facts as possible, although sometimes it's hard to distinguish actual historical events from sagas and legends.

[Yair Zumaeta Acero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Antes de emprender mi épica odisea con destino a la última Thule de hielo y fuego impetuoso, decidí refrescar mis conocimientos sobre la historia de esa tierra escandinava forjada entre fuego que declina, fiordos majestuosos, drakares que surcaron los límites de los mares y vikingos pendencieros, ansiosos de explorar los confines del universo y recabar en el acto, el mayor botín posible.

Como destinado a ser, “Breve Historia de los Vikingos” del biógrafo, traductor y escritor británico Jonathan Clements, apareció en el escaparate de una librería del Centro en el momento oportuno. La palabra “Breve” describe exactamente a este libro, que en un poco más de 320 páginas, condensa la historia Escandinava entre los siglos VI y XI en lo que se conoció como “la edad vikinga”, y que nos lleva por sus periplos, asaltos, dinastías, alianzas, batallas y especialmente viajes y descubrimientos desde los fiordos noruegos hasta los límites del mundo conocido: Vinland (Canadá), Miklagard (Constantinopla) y Serkland (Iran, Irak, Siria).

Con una visión más global de la historia vikinga, narrando los hechos y personajes de los acontecimientos más importantes del periodo, esta breve crónica se caracteriza claramente por el aspecto macro de la historia política y militar, sin mayores detalles sobre temas económicos, culturales o sociales. El autor hace un esfuerzo enorme por presentar un relato fidedigno de la historia vikinga, sin embargo, la constante de cuestionar la fiabilidad de las fuentes estudiadas, dará a entender al lector que es poco el material con el que se cuenta para su estudio profundo (lo que no es cierto). Eso sí, los capítulos dedicados al reino danés en Inglaterra (Danelaw); los viajes vikingos a Islandia, Groenlandia y el descubrimiento de América (Vinland); y la descripción de la épica vida de Harald III “El Despiadado” Haardrade, resultan supremamente interesantes y entretenidos.

Un abrebocas para el lector desprevenido o interesado en el tema, que lo guiaran hacia libros más certeros, completos y detallados como “Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga” de William W. Fitzhugh o el imbatible y grandioso “A History of the Vikings” de Gwyn Jones. O en su defecto, el leedor curioso terminará arribando a las distantes y místicas Sagas de Egil Skallagrimsson, Njál, la de los Volsungos, la Saga del Rey Harald o el Heimskringla: or, The Lives of the Norse Kings (Crónica de los Reyes de Noruega) del inmortal Snorri Sturluson… la historia vikinga de Escandinavia siempre dará al lector una enorme satisfacción, tal como lo describiera el formidable Borges en su poema “A Islandia”
“ (…) te he soñado largamente
Desde aquella mañana en que mi padre
Le dio al niño que he sido y que no ha muerto
Una versión de la Völsunga Saga
Que ahora está descifrando mi penumbra
Con la ayuda del lento diccionario.”

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting. I found I didn't get too lost in the names but found them fascinating. There were helpful family trees too. I thought he was brilliant at describing Norse myths.

[Ivan Bachynskyi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Солянка з ліпших книг зібрана автором дурником і/або русофілом. Якщо вас цікавить мітологія, прочитайте ліпше Едди, історію Скандинавії візьміть у Хаймскріґлі, історію Русі в українських авторів (а не в кацапів як автор цієї книги)

[Adrian Stumpp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clements' history has enough interesting details about the vikings to save it from a lower rating. However, Clements never misses an opportunity to denounce the vikings as moral monsters. He reminds the reader on nearly every page that while vikings might be fun to read about, you wouldn't want to meet one. He basically says "Here are all the wonderful things the vikings added to western culture, but they killed a lot of people, so the world would have been much better off without them." This makes me wonder why someone would spend years of their life researching a subject and writing a book about it for no greater purpose than to morally castigate it.

[Ian McKinley]

A bit dated but still a good overview. I enjoyed reading more about Harald Hardrada (who some call the Last Viking) and the machinations of the Scandinavians (Rus) who became the rules in (Rus)sia. I can't really see the point in the sub-title; it didn't really delve into the notion that the Vikings were the last pagans or the first modern Europeans. Still, that didn't distract from the account.

[Thomas Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read this so I had some context while playing Assassin's Creed Valhalla as I'm not overly familiar with the "Vikings" but am quite familiar with the Anglo-Saxons.
A decent overview of the Northmen, the series of books is overall good for general reading and dipping in and out of for a while.

[Saj · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars. An interesting and well-written account of Viking history. Focus is on Viking travels and war activity, not on everyday life or culture. Some nice humour is included in the writing style. I would have enjoyed some gaps in the text to make it easier to read.

[Nestor · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. A pleasant read with plenty to learn about. It is a historic book so there is a certain amount of tedium to reading it. Despite that, the author does his best to write in an entertaining form and it works for the most part. Fantastic ending and might read it again someday!

[Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A decent overview of the Viking Age.

[Janne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening historical book about Vikings. I highly recommend for anyone who is interested in the topic.

[Cynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides a brief overview of, a reminder of more than a brief education about Vikings. By reading this book, I did find connections I have long wanted to make between the Vikings, Normandy, and William the Conqueror. This book dies contain some worthwhile simplified information: Viking kings of various European countries, simplified family trees, and two useful maps of Viking European world.

[Y · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly does what it sets out to do pretty well, however is sometimes unclear in what it does talk about. The overview of the sources a the beginning of the book and their contextualization throughout are the strongest point of the book and the simplified family trees and map at the back are useful inclusions. I would have liked to see more notes as they are a bit scattershot at times and an organization / ordering of the "for further reading" section to make this book a better starting point on the topic.

[Christopher Struck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring.

[Dimi Balerinas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a light book to go through and easy to read.
It's an easy to read book because it is short on details and focuses on main events, eras and areas.
The book does not miss the chance to mention and analyze events that occurred all over Europe, but it felt like it had a good main focus over 3 parts.
Who the Norse people were and how their culture evolved.
Who the "Vikings" were, what the raiding where about and what their adventured where.
And how Christianity and its political influence came upon the descendants of the Norse people.
The whole read was very enjoyable and it gave me a good view of various parts of European history.
Of course, my first book being "The Northmen's Fury: A History of the Viking World" - a book so detailed and filled with tons of sources to check and research on, "A Brief History of the Vikings: The Last Pagans or the First Modern Europeans?" seemed to me so much lighter to go through. Most of the sources referred were things I had already checked on and some parts served as a means to refresh my memory.
The book also served as an extra means for me to gather information about which Sagas I wanted to study later.
I took notes making sure I wouldn't miss anything important and I kept underlining names, sources and events that I wanted to come back and double check in case I needed to open the book again in need to remember any details in the near future.
I really recommend this book for those looking for history books to read.

[Selaine Henriksen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've started watching "The Vikings" show, now in its third season and wanted to read more. I'm pretty sure this book, published in 2005, is the base for a lot of the facts used in the show. Although, all studies of the Vikings have to rely on only a few sources. I enjoy finding out how the writer for the show has used known facts to tell a fictional story. For example, he's switched the birth order of Ragnorak's sons. In the show, though, the audience has to relate, and like, the characters so I suspect there's been some liberties taken to show they were like us, happy families just trying to survive. I suspect the level of casual brutality and violence, on a daily basis, must have been extreme. As a child you would have to always be prepared for a smack or worse and fighting between children, much less the adults, would have been constant.

It makes me wonder how the Scandinavian countries ended up with the reputations they have now for empathy, social justice, equality, etc. It's like when they converted to Christianity (at the point of a sword) they went, "Phew, that's it, we're done with that violence stuff." and then went in the extreme other direction.

[Dave Harmon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very good. No maps. no mention at all of their activities into france. very little of archeology or what we know about the culture or people were actually like. Next to nothing about why they suddenly went raiding or what happened when they got back home. several grammatical errors that should have been found on proofread. endless confused unimportant details about so-and-so and so-and-so. The subtitle is "the last pagans or first modern europeans?" that question wasnt even adressed at all. He refers to them as "heathens" instead of pagans throughout and did i mention NO MAPS! how do you have a book about vikings without any maps?

[Susan Abernethy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a link to my review of "A Brief History of the Vikings: The Last Pagans or the First Modern Europeans? by Jonathan Clements

http://flhwnotesandreviews.com/2014/0...