| ||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £2.00
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £2.00, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Product Description
Review
"the truest picture yet of the Vikings and their age."--Publishing News
Product Description
Were the Vikings, as contemporary description had it, a 'valiant, wrathful, foreign, purely pagan people' who swept in from the sea to plunder and slaughter? Or in the words of a Manx folksong 'ware-wolves keen in hungry quest', who lived and died by the sea and the sword. Or were they unusually successful merchants, extortionists, and pioneer explorers? This book, by leading international scholars, considers the latest research and presents a compelling picture of the Vikings and their age. Excavations as far apart as Dublin and Newfoundland, York and Kiev, provide fascinating archaeological evidence, expertly interpreted in this extensively illustrated book.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
The peoples these Scandinavians encountered gave them a variety of names: Franks normally called them Northmen or Danes, while for the English they were generally Danes or heathens. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The peoples these Scandinavians encountered gave them a variety of names: Franks normally called them Northmen or Danes, while for the English they were generally Danes or heathens. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Don't be put off by the title - this is no mere picture book. It contains a series of essays on many aspects of Viking history, complemented by excellent illustrations and photographs, including both art from the period and pictures of Viking artefacts. The essays are written clearly and concisely, exploring topics such as Viking religion, shipbuilding and settlement in England, and make fascinating reading.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is articulate, well written and researched, broken up by helpful and relevant illustrations, but not dominated by cartoons or patronising recreations. The essays are all written by different, accredited experts and therefore they provide a wide range of opinions and expertise on the many different aspects of modern research and discussion. Of the top of my head I remember the Vikings in England (Danelaw), France and the creation of Normandy as well as different aspects of Viking culture and settlement. The chapter on the Rus and the Vikings in the east was particularly interesting (the even reached Kiev!?). Having said this, the book pre-dates much of the work of Dawn Hadley who draws and expands on much of the themes the book introduces. DEFINITELY worth a read, whether you are casually interested or researching for a project (as I was). Great starting point, but only scratches the surface of much of the recent research and discovery.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
57 of 63 people found the following review helpful
A comprehensive, intelligent history of the Vikings
6 April 1999
Format:Hardcover
This is one of the best books on the Vikings I've ever read (and I've read dozens!). With numerous contributors from many universtities, each chapter is written with detailed authority and offers a fresh perspective. The chonology at the back of the book is a bonus feature. My only criticism is that, depspite chapters on exploration to the west (what I consider to be the most important legacy of the Vikings), Sawyer still tends to let the British perspective of victimization by the Vikings dominate the book.
55 of 65 people found the following review helpful
Fair
7 Jun 2003
Format:Paperback
This book falls below what I would expect from Oxford (at least the traditional Oxford of yester-year). The pictures are nice as well as a lot of the text. The main problem with this book is the chapter "The Vikings in History and Ledgend." The author of this essay insinuates that those who take pride in their Viking heritage are Nazis. This chapter is full of inappropriate partisan politics and hurts this book. It reads like propoganda straight out of a typical ADL hate tract.
One reader has obviously fallen for this line (see below).
There are far-better books on the Vikings out there. Go for Gwen Jones for a more balanced account.
One reader has obviously fallen for this line (see below).
There are far-better books on the Vikings out there. Go for Gwen Jones for a more balanced account.
46 of 62 people found the following review helpful
Christian propaganda about the Vikings endures to this day.
29 Sep 2004
Format:Paperback
'The Nazis adopted Viking imagary therefore the Vikings must be Nazis' - was the person who came up with that howler having a blonde moment at the time?
Apart from that gem, the Vikings:
- Interests' lay more in establishing trade routes rather than looting and pillaging cities.
- Had an intricate and surprisingly sophisticated civilization for their time.
- Were heathens (non-Christians) in a period of time in which the rest of Europe was largely Christianized. This was to change over time; some by peaceful adoption of the new religion, others by torture. Still, much of the negative history of the Norsemen was written by Christian scholars...
- Were strongly family-oriented, believing that their strength came from their heritage and the blood of their ancestors.
- Used an alphabet (called a "futhark") consisting of only 16 letters (a reduction of their ancestors' earlier alphabet of 24 letters.)
To this day, their influences can be felt in the language, arts, and literature of modern-day American culture.
Or are you more comfortable with the 'murderous barbarians' conclusion. If not, buy another book.
Apart from that gem, the Vikings:
- Interests' lay more in establishing trade routes rather than looting and pillaging cities.
- Had an intricate and surprisingly sophisticated civilization for their time.
- Were heathens (non-Christians) in a period of time in which the rest of Europe was largely Christianized. This was to change over time; some by peaceful adoption of the new religion, others by torture. Still, much of the negative history of the Norsemen was written by Christian scholars...
- Were strongly family-oriented, believing that their strength came from their heritage and the blood of their ancestors.
- Used an alphabet (called a "futhark") consisting of only 16 letters (a reduction of their ancestors' earlier alphabet of 24 letters.)
To this day, their influences can be felt in the language, arts, and literature of modern-day American culture.
Or are you more comfortable with the 'murderous barbarians' conclusion. If not, buy another book.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
