In this book we have attempted to outline the history of the art of the Vkings - a people who were considered by their contemporaries to be barbarians. Our history touches but one facet of a rich culture which affected the whole of north-western Europe and, whether the Vikings are interpreted as barbarians or civilizers, the art which they left behind them has an originality and a stature second to none in Europe of the period from 800 - 1100.