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The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction 1st Edition

by Julian D. Richards (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 109 ratings
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The Viking reputation is one of bloodthirsty seafaring warriors, repeatedly plundering the British Isles and the North Atlantic throughout the early Middle Ages. Yet Vikings were also traders, settlers, and farmers, with a complex artistic and linguistic culture, whose expansion overseas led them to cross the Atlantic for the first time in European history. Highlighting the latest archaeological evidence, Julian Richards reveals the whole Viking world: their history, their culture, and their legacy of overseas expansion for trade, colonization, and plunder. Viking identity is explored through what we have learned about their towns, art, shipbuilding, and religious rituals. Here the Viking story is brought up to the present, from the tales of adventure found in medieval Icelandic sagas, to their exploitation as a symbol of nationalism in the nineteenth century by Wagner, and later by Hitler and the Nazi party. The author also highlights their impact and influence on the history and people of Northern Europe. Vikings, a fascinating new look at a people and culture that have been reinvented throughout history, will take readers closer to discovering who they really were.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0192806076
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0192806079
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    November 3, 2005
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6.88 x 0.41 x 4.42 inches
  8. Print length
    176 pages
  9. See all details
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Book Description

A fascinating new look at the full spectrum of Viking culture reveals a more nuanced picture of this seafaring people

About the Author

Julian Richards is Professor of Archaology at the University of York, and co-director of the Centre for Medieval Studies. He specialises in the archaeology of Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age England, and has directed several excavations of Viking settlements, including the only Viking cremation cemetery in the British Isles. Previous publications include Viking Age England (Tempus, 2000).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (November 3, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0192806076
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0192806079
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.88 x 0.41 x 4.42 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 109 ratings

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  1. Julian Richards

    Julian Richards

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    Julian Richards is Professor of Archaeology at the University of York, where he specialises in early medieval archaeology and computer applications in archaeology. In 1985 he co-authored the first textbook in archaeological computing for Cambridge University Press, and has subsequently written numerous papers and edited a number of books on the applications of information technology in archaeology.

    In his early medieval research Julian specializes in Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age England, especially mortuary behavior and settlement evolution. He has directed excavations of Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Scandinavian settlements at Cottam, Cowlam, Burdale, and Wharram Percy. He has also excavated the only Viking cremation cemetery in the British Isles at Heath Wood, Ingleby. He undertook one of the first research projects to make use of metal-detected evidence to investigate the Viking and Anglo-Saxon Landscape and Economy of England, and he is currently collaborating with Professor Dawn Hadley to investigate the Viking Great Army of the late 9th century and their winter camp at Torksey (Lincs), with an extended project, Tents to Towns, on the broader impact of the Viking Great Army.

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  2. J. D. Richards

    J. D. Richards

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
109 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kumiko Beck
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read!
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2024
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Overall, a good read. The author provides a rather deep dive in Scandinavia and the Vikings. I enjoyed it and recommend to others.
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David T
4.0 out of 5 stars Dispelling Misperceptions
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2013
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A common misperception held by individuals today is that the Vikings were a group of bloodthirsty, village plundering warriors who wreaked havoc amongst the civilizations of the British Isles and the North Atlantic throughout the Middle Ages. In his book The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction, Julian D. Richards, a professor of archaeology at the University of New York, provides an in depth look at the true Viking world by introducing the reader to a Viking history, society, and culture based upon the latest archaeological discoveries. Through these archaeological finds he attempts to alter this misperception that is held throughout most of the modern world.

Professor Julian D. Richards begins his introduction into the Viking legacy by comparing the Vikings of the past with the Viking ancestors who currently inhabit the British Isles. He then carries the reader on a journey through the early Scandinavian kingdoms, the religious transition from Paganism to Christianity, the daily lives of the average Viking, the trials of seafaring and overseas expansion, the survival and reinvention of a Viking identity and culture, and finally backs to his original thesis, which focuses on a determination to change the world perception of the Vikings by introducing a network of traders, farmers, and settlers with a complex artistic and linguistic culture.

Professor Julian D. Richards does provide some key factual evidence to support his claims on the existence of a network of traders, farmers, and settlers within the Viking communities. He provides archaeological evidence of dozens of settlements that display a growing concentration of power from the seventh century onward. His analysis of the city Hedeby, which is today known as "heath settlement," at the foot of the Jutland peninsula, displays aspects of this more sophisticated lifestyle with evidence that between four hundred and one thousand individuals living in this tenth century town were directly involved in trade, import craft industries, iron working with Swedish ore, the dressing of lava querns from the Mayen era, bronze jewelry production, antler, bone, leather and wood-working, and the manufacture of glass and amber beads. The evidence of so many trades coexisting within a single dwelling accompanied by the fact that the town began minting its own coinage from the early 9th century displays a new aspect of the Viking world that existed in the early Middle Ages (Richards 2005). Perhaps the most intriguing and supporting evidence provided by the author is the fact that the Vikings were so technologically advanced that they were able to expand overseas; becoming the first Europeans to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

When reading The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction, it is important to remember the professional background of the author. Professor Julian D. Richards is the director of the Archaeological Data Service and Co-Director of the ejournal Internet Archaeologically. He has devoted much of his career to the application of information technology in archaeology with a primary emphasis on Anglo-Saxon and Viking archaeology. Because of his extensive background in Viking archaeology, Professor Richards uses documentary, artifactual, archaeological, and linguistic evidence to open up new interdisciplinary dialogue on Viking studies. While a background in archaeology is not necessary in understanding the core process of the book, some knowledge of archaeology and the way it ties into cultures and society would prove useful in helping the reader form further analysis on the information provided by the author.

Because The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction serves as part of the Very Short Introductions series, Professor Richards is forced to include a lot of information into very few pages, which causes him to be extremely brief in his presentation of topics. This brief style of writing requires Professor Richards to rely on hard archaeological facts when providing evidence for his claims. At the same time, this brief style does not allow Professor Richards an opportunity to further explain the exact relationship that these archaeological findings share with the information being presented. Professor Richard's inclusion of archaeological evidence discovered at gravesites across Viking territories from the early Middle Ages to the late Middle Ages provides the most accurate evidence to support his central thesis, which is attempting to establish a new perception of a Viking society that has been largely regarded and portrayed as strictly barbaric in many books preceding Professor Richard's short introduction.

Compared to other books written by the same author, Professor Julian D. Richards, The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction appears to be lacking the same degree of passion and knowledge on the subject of Anglo-Saxon and Viking history and archaeology. While other books by the same author go into accurate detail about society and culture while focusing on more specific segments of the Middle Ages, such as his work entitled Cultures in Contact: Scandinavian Settlement in England in the 9/10th Centuries, The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction is more focused on providing the basics of a society and culture spread out across the entirety of the Viking existence. To include so much information into a book entitled "very short" seem counterintuitive to the main goal of the author, which is to shed light on the true society that dwelled beneath the rugged outer barbarian-like shell presented by the Vikings. Despite this counter intuitiveness, the author does effectively provide the reader with enough information to successfully form conclusions on the life and times of the Viking people.

Professor Julian D. Richard's The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction is an overall affective text for providing information to individuals who have no previous knowledge of the Vikings and are seeking a basic understanding of who the Vikings were and where they came from. For the individual who is seeking a presentation of Viking history through archaeological evidence accompanied by in depth explanation and analysis of the evidence provided, The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction will simply leave them intrigued but in search of more information. The information provided in the text will take the reader closer to discovering whom the Vikings really were, but will not bring them to any conclusions on the matter. The text serves its purpose in that it dispels the misperceptions that the Vikings were a civilization of bloodthirsty, village plundering warriors who wreaked havoc amongst the civilizations of the British Isles and the North Atlantic throughout the Middle Ages and leaves the reader with a better knowledge of the traders, settlers, and farmers that used their complex artistic and linguistic culture to expand their society.
11 people found this helpful
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Terri
5.0 out of 5 stars These books are great for finding other papers and books on the topic.
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2016
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Short and sweet topic coverage. Reading this book will give you an overview to the topic.
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Kajunmoss
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2020
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Concise. Not simple nor too in-depth.
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CDamon
1.0 out of 5 stars Get out your magnifying glass
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2013
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I first bought the kindle version, but returned it because the maps were too small to read. I then ordered the print edition and it was too small to read - the whole thing, not just the maps. I did not return the book, but I have not read it so cannot comment on the contents.
2 people found this helpful
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Kevin Saitta
2.0 out of 5 stars Keep looking.
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2013
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Save your money and search for a better book as this is not well written and boring! The the print is also tiny. I should have listened to the reviews.
2 people found this helpful
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Ghetto Wolf
4.0 out of 5 stars Summary Review
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2008
I think this book does a very good job with a very difficult task. The writer's purpose is to present the up-to-date evidence in a very brief manner, and succeeds admirably. The archaeological finds themselves tell us much about Viking life: there were swords, axes, animal sacrifices, sacred trees, shamanic instruments, chieftains halls, women held places of prominence. The list could go on. I especially liked the section on religion, which was probably one of the better pieces on Viking religion I have yet read. My only complaint is the insinuation that people reviving the religion of the Vikings are Neo-Nazis. If you are looking for a very short intro to the Vikings, then this is a good place to start.
18 people found this helpful
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Jeff Dahl
1.0 out of 5 stars The sample chapter is worthless
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2020
The kindle sample chapter of this book contains only a list of other titles in the series. Totally worthless. Will not buy without an actual sample.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Dorysmummy
5.0 out of 5 stars Spot on :)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 28, 2017
Verified Purchase
Perfect gift for my husband. He had watched all of the 'Vikings' TV series and had asked for a 'book about Vikings'. Very difficult task to please a discerning and intelligent man who isn't a particularly keen reader, but this book is just right. I've liked others in the series and this one doesn't disappoint. Academic and thorough but simultaneously accessible and entertaining - spot on!!
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CMCBF
5.0 out of 5 stars Vikings without horned helmets
Reviewed in Brazil on November 17, 2015
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This brief introduction has two great merits . First, it gathers archaeological and historical evidence to address the birth of a Viking culture, and demonstrates how this culture was crystallized by the contrast with the various people with whom the Norse had contact - with whom they traded and ultimately mingled . The second merit is the sensible approach of how the "reinvention" of the Vikings has been used for many different purposes , from Romanticism to the Scandinavian nationalism and Nazi self- justification. For those who prefer to know Vikings in flesh and blood , and without horned helmets , this is an outstanding introduction.
One person found this helpful
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Nicholas S Wass
2.0 out of 5 stars Not an interesting read.
Reviewed in Germany on March 20, 2021
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This was not, for me, an interesting read. It may appeal to academics but for the layman, it has far too many studies of archaeological digs and discussion about interpreting these. Halfway through the book and I still had no idea who the Vikings really were and how they lived, where they travelled, what they ate, what made them happy and where they went to in the end.
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Peter C.
5.0 out of 5 stars This whole series of books is excellent for getting the grips with the essentials of the ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2016
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As the book title says SHORT. This whole series of books is excellent for getting the grips with the essentials of the chosen topic and so orientate the reader for further reading and research. Easy and quick to read.
One person found this helpful
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Eric le rouge
4.0 out of 5 stars Does what meant to be..
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2012
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This "short introduction series" is perfect to discover various subjects. The viking one is a well balanced, short and informative introduction to the subject. Although I have read a couple of books on the subject, I still learned some stuff reading this little book.
The first parts are succeeding in explaining the pre-raid era society organisation, customs, etc.
5 people found this helpful
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