Viking
- 287 pages
- 11 hours of reading
"Viking" is the result of collaboration between archaeologists and specialists in Viking history from various countries. Topics covered include: * A seafaring people - how the Vikings became skilled shipbuilders, navigators, and sailors * Settlements in Scandinavia - where the Vikings lived in their Nordic homelands * The causes of Viking raids - the quest for wealth and new land * The major trading centers - Birka, Kaupang, Gotland, and Hedeby, gateways for foreign goods * Fortified camps - the Danish kings preparing attacks on England * Westward across the Atlantic - the Vikings exploring, trading, plundering, and conquering land from Scotland to America * Southward to the Mediterranean and eastward to Asia - the Vikings bringing war, trade, and new leaders to ancient kingdoms * Viking beliefs and life - old gods and new, social classes, customs, and moral concepts * The power of words - magical runes, heroic sagas, and love poems * Daily life - handicrafts and trades, clothing, and tools for war and peace * The Viking ship - the development from its predecessors to its heyday