early raids, 148–9, 151–2
end of Viking supremacy, 162
settlement of, 155–9, 161–3
slave trade, 158–61
trade, 162
Viking burials, 156
wealth, 162
iron, 42–4
Iron Age, 42–5, 48–54, 62
boats, 52–3
human sacrifice, 48–52
raiding, 52–3
settlements, 44–5
Shetland Islands, 183
transition to, 44
weapons, 52–3
Islam, 72–5, 80
Italy, 148
Ivarr the Boneless, 162, 172, 176, 197, 225
Iversen, Kaare, 165
Izborsk, 130
James III, King of Scots, 189
Jarlshof, 182–5
Jarrow, 8, 84, 115, 117
Jelling, 234
monuments, 226–9, 234, 242
rune stones, 228–9
Jensen, Troels Bo, 232–3
Jerusalem, 73–4
John of Islay, 190–1
John XII, Pope, 231
John XIX, Pope, 248
Jomsvikings, the, 245–6
Jorvik, Scandinavian kings of, 178–9
Justinian, Emperor, 72, 159
Jutes, 78
Kanhave Canal, 225
Kaul, Flemming, 34
Kelly, Eamonn ‘Ned’, 152–5
Kenneth MacAlpin, 193–4
Kent, 168
Kiev, 130, 133, 136, 139, 224
Kivik, 36–7
knarr, 103–4
Knytlinga saga, 250
Kongemose culture, 21
Kristiansen, Kristian, 37
Lake Ladoga, 120
Lambay Island, 148
Landnámabók, the, 201, 202
language, 81, 179, 181
L’Anse aux Meadows, 217–18
Largs, Battle of, 191
Last Great Maximum Refugia, 14
Latvia, 119
Leif Eriksson, 4, 216–18, 219–20
Lek, River, 146
Leo III, Pope, 77
Lerwick, 6–7, 181
Liber de Mensura Orbis Terrae (Dicuil), 199
Liber Vitae, the, 249–50
Liffey, River, 152, 155
Limerick, 155, 162
Limfjord, 16–17
Lincoln, 178
Lindisfarne, 7–8, 62, 84–5, 97, 111–15, 117, 168, 196
Lindisfarne Gospels, 112–13
Lindow Man, 51
Linearbandkeramik culture, 23
Ljungkvist, John, 86
Loire estuary raid, 115–16
London, 246
long ports, 155
long ships, 21, 34–7, 83–4, 99–100
longhouses, 44–5, 45–8, 68–9, 184
Longphort-Rothlaibh, 154
Lord of the Isles, 189–91
Lothar II, King of the Franks, 154
Louis the Pious, 145
Louvain, 154
Luna, 147
Lundeborg, 86
lurs, 33–4
Maas, John, 152–5
Máel Sechnaill, King of Tara, 156
Maes Howe, 5, 189
Maglemosian, the, 22
Magnus of Orkney, Earl, 190
Mälaren, Lake, 141
Malcolm III, King of Scots, 190
Maldon, Battle of, 240, 241
Marius, Gaius, 57
Markland, 216
mass burial, Dorset, 3
Mediterranean Sea, 53–4, 62
Mercia, 168, 172–7, 194, 196
Merovingian dynasty, 75
Mesolithic, the, 10–11, 14–23
Michael III, Emperor, 134
Midgard, 203
migration, Mesolithic, 15–16, 17
Mildenhall hoard, 78
Milfield, 114
Modern Gutnish, 81
motivation, 119–20, 170–1
Muawiyyah, Caliph, 74, 75
Muhammad, the Prophet, 72–3, 74
Mycenae, 37
Naddodd, 200–1, 202
Naismith, Rory, 240–1
Napoleonic Wars, 7
narwhals, 215
National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, 31–3, 51
National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, 159–60
navigational techniques, 102–3, 118
Neflaug, 123–4
Nestor’s Chronicle, 224
Neva River, 120
Newfoundland, 216–18
Noirmoutier, Island of, 147
Nonnebakken, 235
Normans, the, 148, 251–2
North America, 216–18
North Sea, 149, 164–6
Northern Isles, settlement of, 181–9
Northmen, xvii, 116
Northumbria, 111–12, 114, 168, 196, 197
Eirik Bloodaxe in, 237
foundation of kingdom, 79
Great Heathen Army in, 169–70, 176–7
Norway
conditions, 167, 202
Mesolithic colonisation of, 11
Mesolithic landscape, 18
Olaf Tryggvasson siezes, 242–3
origin of name, 117–18
royal elites, 96
unification of, 237
Norwegian Vikings, 131–2, 145–6, 165, 166–8, 180, 192, 202
return to British shores, 240
settlement of Northern Isles, 181–9
settlement of the Hebrides, 189–91
Nøstvet culture, 22
Novgorod, 129–30, 136, 139
Oder River, 120
Odin, 89, 91, 174, 203, 210–11
Olaf Guthfrisson, 195, 197
Olaf Sigtryggsson, 162, 196–7
Olaf the White, 162, 172, 197
Olaf Tryggvasson, 219–20, 240–3
Öland, 18
Oldcroghan Man, 51
Oleg of Kiev, Prince, 136
Olesen, Martin, 42–3
Olof Eriksson, 242–3
Ongendus, King of Denmark, 96, 226
Oram, Richard, 57–8, 59–60
Orkney Islands, 5, 118, 149–50, 165–6, 180–1, 182, 185, 186–7, 189
Orkneyinga saga, 5, 149, 182, 189, 190
O’Rourke, P.J., 151
Osberht, King of Northumbria, 170
Oseberg Ship, the, 104–5
Oslo, Viking Ship Museum, 104–5
Oswald, King of Northumbria, 111
Othere’s Mound, 93
Ottar, 12, 63
Otto I, the Great, King of Germany, 230–1, 248
Oxford
Ashmolean Museum, 171–2, 239
St Fridewide’s Church, 245
paganism, 72, 234
Paris, raid on, 146–7
Patrick, St, 150
Paulinus, 111
Pedersen, Frederik, 57–8, 59–60
Pevsner, Nikolaus, 173
Phoenicians, 53
Photios, Patriarch, 134–5
Picts, 77, 78, 79, 182, 183, 186–8, 192–4
Pisa, 148
place names, 4–5, 179, 186–7, 199
Plakun, 122, 136
poetry, xvii, 190, 209–11
Poland, 119
Poppo (priest), 230
Procopius of Caesarea, History of the Wars, 13–14
Ragnar Lodbrok, 225
Ragnarok, 210
raids and raiding, range, 146–9
ransom, 160, 245–6
Rathlin Island, 8, 115, 148–9
rauks, 82
Ravning Edge bridge, 234–5
Repton, 172–7, 197
Repton mass burial, 175–6
Repton Warrior, the, 174–5
Res Gestae Saxonicae Sive Annalium Libri Tres (Widukind), 229–30
Reykjavik, 201, 202
Rhine, the, 59, 146, 148, 154–5
Ribble Valley, 239
Ribe cemetery, 231–3
rickets, 185–6
ritual bloodletting, 91
rock ar
t, 25–6, 82–4, 97
Roesdahl, Else, 64
Rognvald, 189
Rollo, 161
Roman Army, Scandinavian recruits, 60
Romans, the, 12–13, 56–62, 65–9, 71–2
Rome, 54, 248–9
Roscommon, sack of, 149
Roskilde, 246
Roskilde boats, 100
Rothlaibh/Rodolf, 154–5
Rouen, 146
royal fortresses, 235–6
royal palaces, 87
runes, 5, 63, 123
Rus, the, 125–33, 236
Byzantine trade treaty, 136–7
contact with Byzantine Empire, 132–3, 135
conversion to Christianity, 223–4
funerary rites, 126–9
origin of name, 129
origins of, 120–5
raids on Constantinople, 134–7
territory, 138–40
Rusiyyah, the, 109–11, 125–30
Russia, 120–5, 130
Russian Primary Chronicle, The, 129–30, 136, 139
Saami, the, 11–14, 242
Saga of Eirik the Red, 216
Saga of the Greenlanders, 216
sagas, xvii, 64, 119–20, 180, 182
Sahlberg, Anders, 36
St Brice’s Day Massacre, 243–5
St Cuthbert, Church of, Lindisfarne, 7–8
St Fridewide’s Church, Oxford, 245
St John’s College, Oxford, 244
St Ninian’s Isle babies, 185–6
St Petersburg
Church of Our Saviour of the Spilled Blood, 140–1
Hermitage, 122–4, 140
Saxons, 66–7, 78, 166
Scandinavia, experience of the Ice Age, 9–11
Scheldt, River, 148
Schleswig, 145–6
Scone, 194
Scotland
Aethelstan’s invasion of, 195
conversion to Christianity, 151
foundation of kingdom, 192–4
Gaels colonisation of, 79
kingdoms of, 168
Scottish identity, 181
Viking settlement, 188–9
Scott, Sir Walter, 182–3
Scyflings, 93
Scythians, 41
Sea Stallion, the, 100–2
sea unicorns, 215
Second World War, 140, 165–6, 200
Seine, River, 146, 148
Senchus fer nAlban, 79
Senones, the, 56
settlements
Bronze Age, 29
Iron Age, 44–5
layout, 141–2
Roman period, 68–9
Shetland Bus, the, 165, 179
Shetland Islands, 6–7, 118, 149, 165–6, 179–81, 181–8, 189
ship settings, 35–6, 81–2, 234
ships and boats, 2–3
Bronze Age, 26, 34–7
currachs, 198–9
decoration, 101–2, 104
development of, 97–9
dragon ships, 97, 99–100, 100
the Gokstad Ship, 105
influence of design, 105–6
Iron Age, 52–3
the keel, 98–9
knarr, 103–4
the mast, 99
the Oseberg Ship, 104–5
portage, 124–5
propulsion, 98, 99, 100
reconstruction, 100–2
sails, 99
steer-board, 99
shoes, 123
Sicga, 114
Sihtric, 194–5
Silius Aulus Caecina Largus, Gaius, 61–2
silk, 109, 136, 144, 162
silver
Arabic, 130–1, 144, 167, 236
Cuerdale hoard, 239
Danegeld, 240–1, 241–2, 243
Sjæelland, 20–1, 235
Skateholm, 20
Skoglund, Peter, 35–6
skraelingar, 217
Skreen, battle of, 156
Skrydstrup Woman, 31
Skuldelev, 100
Skye, 8, 115
slaves, 126–9, 152, 158–61
Slavs, 132
sledges, 104–5
Snæbjörn Galti, 212–13, 213
Snorri Sturlson, 86, 209–11, 242–3
Somerled, 190
sources, xvi–xviii, 63–4
South Orkney, xix–xx
Southern Ocean, xix–xx
Stainmore, battle of, 237
Stamford Bridge, Battle of, 251
Staraya Ladoga, 120–4, 136, 139, 140
status, 1–2
Stirling, 5–6
Stockholm Museum, 143–5
Stone Age hunters, 9–11
Stone of Scone, 194
Storebælt (Great Belt) Bridge, 56
Storegga Slide, the, 10
surströmming, 208
Sussex, 168
Sutton Hoo ship burial, 78
Svear, the, 86, 96
Svein Asleifsson, 149
Svein Forkbeard, 101–2, 235, 240, 241, 242, 246
Sweden
kings, 96
Mesolithic, 11, 17–18
origin of name, 86
Swedish nationalism, 88
Swedish Vikings, 166, see also Rus, the
and Arabic silver, 130–1
contact with Byzantine Empire, 132–3
funerary rites, 126–9
Gotland, 126
range, 141
remains, 140–5
in Russia, 120–5
swords, 48, 174–5
Symeon of Durham, 96–7, 169–70
Synod of Whitby, 112
Tacitus, 12–13, 48–9, 58–9, 86, 195
Tait, Ian, 184–5
Tamdrup, 230
1066, 251–2
Teutoburg Forest, Battle of, 57–9
Teutones, the, 57
Thanet, 169
Theodosius I, the Great, Emperor, 71
Theodosius II, Emperor, 71
Thor, 90–1, 175, 203, 210
Thorfinn Karlsfeni, 217
Thorgeirr, 231
Thorkell the Tall, 245–6, 247
Thyre, Queen, 222–3, 226, 228–9
Tiberius, Emperor, 57
Tollund Man, 49–50, 51, 51–2
Tostig, 251–2
trade
Bronze Age, 41
Byzantine treaty, 136–7
trade–contd
centres of, 120
Ireland, 162
pre-Viking era, 94–5
Roman, 60, 67–9
slave, 158–61
travels
first waves of, 118–19
range, 85, 124, 132, 141, 146, 188
Trelleborg, 235
Trelleborgs, the, 235–6
tribute, 117, 131
Trindhoj Man, 31
Turgesius, 160
Tybrind Vig, 18–19
unicorns, 215
Up Helly Aa, 6–7
Valhalla, 203
Valkyries, the, 175
Valsgärde, 92–3
Vandals, 67
Varangian Guards, 138, 251
Varus, Publius Quinctilius, 58–9
Vedbæk Mesolithic cemetery, 20–1
Vejle River, 234
Vendel, 92
Verdun, Treaty of, 147
Viborg, 234
Vicarstown, 152
Victor, Paul-Émile, 213
Vienna, Hofburg Palace Treasury, 248–9
Viking, origin of name, 116
Viking Age
start of, 64–5, 67–71
end of, 252
Viking Claw, 4
Viking Empires (Forte, Oram and Pedersen), 57–8, 59–60
Viking Ship Museum, Oslo, 104–5
Vikings, The (film), 107–8
Vikings, The (TV programme), 45
Vinland, 216–18
Vistula, River, 120, 124
Vita Karoli Magni (Einhard), 76
Vitamin D deficiency, 185–6
Vladimir, King of the Rus, 132–3, 223–4
Volkhov, 121
Volkoff, Vladimir, 108
Vortigern, 78
Waterford, 154, 155, 162
Wayland the Smith, 203
wealth, 93, 110, 130–1, 166–7
weapons, 110
Bronze Age, 38–9
grave goods, 93
Iron Age, 52–3
Roman, 68
swords, 48, 174–5
Wearmouth, 84
Wehlin, Joakim, 35–6, 81–4
Wessex, 168, 177–8
West Mound, Gamla Uppsala, 88, 89, 90
Wexford, 155, 162
wheel-houses, 183
whetstones, 184, 185
Wicklow, 162
Widukind, 229–30
Wiglaf, King of Mercia, 173
William I, the Conqueror, 251–2
Willibrord, Apostle of the Frisians, 225–6
Winchester Cathedral, 249–50
Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 21
women
appearance, 108, 110
dress, 109
the Rus, 136
Woolf, Alex, 117, 149, 167, 193
Yeavering, 114
Yggdrasil, 203
Ynglinga, House of, 86–7, 96
Ynglinga saga, 86, 89, 91
York, 178–9, 194–5, 196, 237
Younger Edda, the, 209–10
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
‘The Tollund Man’ taken from Wintering Out © Seamus Heaney andreprinted by permission of Faber and Faber Ltd
Copyright © 2013 by Neil Oliver
978-1-4804-4806-3
Pegasus Books LLC
80 Broad Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10004
www.pegasusbooks.us
Distributed by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
Pegasus Books is an independent publisher of a diverse catalog of works including history, philosophy, biography and memoir, literary fiction, and noir titles. They strive to reach readers nationwide who share their conviction that good literature is essential to the health of our cultural life.
FIND OUT MORE AT
www.pegasusbooks.us
FOLLOW US:
@pegasus_books and Facebook.com/PegasusBooks
Pegasus Books is one of a select group of
publishing partners of Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
Open Road Integrated Media is a digital publisher and multimedia content company. Open Road creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing its ebooks through a new proprietary online platform, which uses premium video content and social media.
Videos, Archival Documents, and New Releases
Sign up for the Open Road Media newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign up now at
www.openroadmedia.com/newsletters
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.OPENROADMEDIA.COM