Describes the history, culture, and exploits of the Vikings and discusses their impact on the civilization of the British Isles and Europe in the eight and ninth centuries.

The publication of this book has presented an opportunity to study the exchange of ideas that took place in Viking Age Ireland in greater depth. Particular emphasis has been laid on the influences and resultant changes brought about by the meeting of the two cultures.

Fact..The Vikings reached America five hundred years before Christopher Columbus.
Fact..The average life expectancy of a Viking was around 50 years. Being born was the most dangerous part.
So what was it like? Did they go to school? How did they keep warm? Did they go on vacation? Find out these facts and much more in First Facts About the Vikings.

 

The history of the Vikings is bloody and eventful, and Viking warriors capture the popular imagination to this day.
Viking raids reached from Norway to North Africa, they established the dukedom of Normandy, provided the Byzantine Emperor's bodyguard and landed on the shores of America 500 years before Columbus.

Viking marauders in their longships burst through the defences of ninth-century Europe, striking terror into the hearts of peasants and rulers alike for two centuries.
But the Vikings were more than just marine warriors and this atlas shows their development as traders and craftsmen, explorers, settlers and mercenaries.