‘World of the Vikings’ by Richard Hall

The World of the Vikings
By Richard Hall

Paperback (7.4” X 9.6”), 240 Pages, History/Mythology
Printed on High Quality Bright White Acid Free Paper

Thames & Hudson Publishers 2007 (This edition 2012)

Cover $24.95

Here is the complete story of the Vikings from their origins in Scandinavia during the early first millennium AD, through the incredible period of raiding, trading, and settling known as the Viking Age, to the last surviving Viking settlements in fifteenth-century Greenland. Following in the footsteps of Viking merchants, raiders, and emigrants, we track their journeys from the first documented raid on the island monastery of Lindisfarne in 739 to the semi-mythical travels of individuals such as Eirik the Red and the expansive kingdoms of Viking leaders. The book explores Viking life and culture in detail: their appearances, warfare, targets, crafts, and weapons, as well as their stunning pattern-welded swords and helmets. Drawing on the latest discoveries and augmenting textual evidence with archaeological detail, this is a vivid picture of the Vikings at home and abroad in an era that laid many of the foundations of the modern world. 330 illustrations, 141 in color

‘This densely packed, highly informative compilation provides a thorough overview of what is currently known about the Vikings, from both historical sources and archaeological research. Hall, the Director of Archaeology at the York Archaeological Trust, has extensive excavation experience, and uses that experience to discuss, among other sites, the Viking city of Jorvik (beneath present-day York, U.K.). He also delves into broader Viking research, providing, for instance, a comparative chronology charting the history of archaeological investigations into Viking areas of Scandinavia, Europe, Russia, the British Isles, Iceland, Greenland and North America. This chart, located in the book’s early pages, proves to be an indispensible reading guide, anchoring events in the broader history of the Viking Age. Illustrations include photos of artifacts, monuments and sites; both broad-scale and fine-scale maps; and diagrams illustrating details of Viking artistic style. A thorough index and guide to further reading make this volume a fine reference, though it could have used an equally thorough glossary. Exceptionally small print allows Hall to pack in a trove of information; while readers may have to reach for magnifying specs, the effort is fully repaid by this remarkably well-done survey of the Viking Age.’ –Publisher’s Weekly

About the Author-
Richard Hall, widely regarded as one of the world’s authorities on the Viking Age, was Director of Archaeology at York Archaeological Trust, England.