It is Constantinople 1035: Thorgils has become a member of the Varangian lifeguard & witnesses the glories of the richest city on earth but also the murderous ways of the imperial family. Under the leadership of warrior chief Harald Sigurdsson he is set up as the unwitting bait in a deadly ambush to destroy Arab pirates harassing the Byzantine shipping lanes in the Mediterranean. When Harald eventually ascends the throne of Norway his liegeman Thorgils is despatched on a secret mission to Duke William of Normandy with a plan to coordinate the twin invasions of Engl&. On 20 September 1066 Haralds fleet of three hundred ships sails up the Ouse confident of success but a prophetic dream warns Thorgils that Duke William has duped his allies & the Norsemen are heading for disaster at Stamford Bridge. Thorgils embarks upon a race against time to reach & warn his liege lord before the battle begins. But will Odinns devout follower really be able to anticipate what fate has decreed & save the heritage of his Viking ancestors? ...

The distillation of a lifetimes study of Viking art by a leading authority this new account covers all the intricate & beautiful art styles of the so-called Viking Age. It ranges in time from the first major Viking expeditions overseas around ad 800 to the general establishment of Christianity in Scandinavia some 300 years later. An opening chapter gives the historical & geographical background. Thematic chapters then describe & discuss the six main Viking art styles showing how they emerged from & interacted with one another. Delicate metalwork is contrasted with elaborate wood-carvings & the famous Gotland picture-stones while we move in scale from the Oseberg ship to decorated weapons & fine jewelry. The books conclusion looks at the art in relation to pagan Viking mythology the Conversion period & the Norse sagas as well as at its legacy in later times. With striking illustrations of all the different aspects of Viking art & detailed maps this will become the definitive guide for all those interested in this vibrant art form & in Norse history. ...

A best-selling study of the Vikings' genius for war explodes myths & reveals the facts behind their fearsome reputation... This groundbreaking study of the Vikings establishes the facts behind their rise to prominence & cuts away the myths about their military & seafaring skills reputation & exploits. The author applies modern military thinking to the Viking art of war & examines their tactics seamanship mobility strategy & how they exploited victories & dealt with defeats. In this book we learn how the ferocious northern warriors established colonies in hostile territory & defeated a diverse array of enemies including the Anglo-Saxons the Franks the Volga Bulgars & the wild tribes of Ireland during three centuries of military adventure. Paddy Griffith was a senior lecturer in war studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for 16 years. He is the author of numerous articles & books on the history of warfare including Battle Tactics of the Western Front 1916-18 & The Art of War of Revolutionary France 1789-1802. REVIEWS.. .a detailed survey of the Viking raids covering strategic mobility causes of Viking expansion & army details...numerous entertaining historical anecdotes." The Herald April/ May 2010" ...

Sigurd the Viking from the tenth century is still stuck in the twentieth century. He lives with his friends the Ellis family in a seaside hotel & constantly causes chaos. When Tim & Zoe Ellis take him to school with them a series of seriously funny disasters results. ...

It's 1008 AD & after being injured in a raid that goes horribly wrong Tor Scaldbane is devastated at losing his chance to be a legendary warrior. But then he remembers the sagas of his ancesors; glorious bloody battles ancient heroes powerful gods.. .and realizes that all might not be lost after all... ...

Step inside a Viking town & discover for yourself what it was like to live & work in this bustling centre of long-distance trade. Admire the well-built houses before joining the towns defenders as they fight off an attack by rivals from across the sea. This is a superbly-illustrated look at the daily lives of different types of Vikings. Astounding architectural acheivements are explained & explored with full-colour cutaway illustrations. Pinpoint enlargements focus on the day to day lives of the people looking at how they ate dressed entertained themselves & sometimes fought. Illustrations of artifacts & paintings from the era help to support the main text by providing proof which explains how we know what we know. Informative captions maps a complete glossary & an index make these titles ideal educational texts. Each one features a sturdy flexi-bound cover with gold foiling. ...

Filling a gap in the literature for an academically oriented volume on the Viking period this unique book is a one-stop authoritative introduction to all the latest research in the field. Bringing together todays leading scholars both established seniors & younger cutting-edge academics Stefan Brink & Neil Price have constructed the first single work to gather innovative research from a spectrum of disciplines (including archaeology history philology comparative religion numismatics & cultural geography) to create the most comprehensive Viking Age book of its kind ever attempted. Consisting of longer articles providing overviews of important themes supported by shorter papers focusing on material of particular interest this comprehensive volume covers such wide-ranging topics as social institutions spatial issues the Viking Age economy warfare beliefs language voyages & links with medieval & Christian Europe. This original work specifically oriented towards a university audience & the educated public will have a self-evident place as an undergraduate course book & will be a standard work of reference for all those in the field. ...

The fifth instalment in this popular & highly successful series Viking" follows on from Legionary Gladiator Knight & Samurai your guide to the Norse world of the tenth century ad. Discover everything you will need to become a successful Viking warrior: how to join a war band; what to look for in a good leader; how to behave at a feast; what weapons & armour to choose; how to fight in a shield wall; where to go raiding; how to plunder a monastery & ransom a monk; how to navigate at sea; & what to expect if you die gloriously in battle. Modern reconstructions & ancient artefacts including 16 pages of brilliant colour images will immerse the reader visually in the Viking world. The humorous text peppered with"es from sagas & chronicles will take you on an engrossing journey from joining a raiding party to how to die gloriously." ...

Far from being just wild barbaric axe-wielding pirates the Vikings created complex social institutions oversaw the coming of Christianity to Scandinavia & made a major impact on European history through trade travel & far-flung consolidation. This encyclopedic study brings together the latest research on Viking art burial customs class divisions jewellery kingship poetry & family life. The result is a rich & compelling picture of an extraordinary civilisation. ...

The Vikings famously took no prisoners relished cruel retribution & prided themselves on their bloody-thirsty skills as warriors. But their prowess in battle is only a small part of their story which stretches from their Scandinavian origins to America in the west & as far as Baghdad in the east. As the Vikings did not write their history we have to discover it for ourselves & that discovery as Neil Oliver reveals tells an extraordinary story of a people who from the brink of destruction reached a quarter of the way around the globe & built an empire that lasted nearly two hundred years. Drawing on the latest discoveries that have only recently come to light Neil Oliver goes on the trail of the real Vikings. Where did they emerge from? How did they really live? & just what drove them to embark on such extraordinary voyages of discovery over 1000 years ago? VIKINGS will explore many of these questions for the first time in an epic story of one of the world's great empires of conquest. ...