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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Was really detailed & informative. I liked the format, & the focus. Occasionally fell into just a chronological recitation of dates & events that can plague history books, but not too much.
I liked the organization, Eastern, British Isles, Ireland, Continent, Atlantic, Internal. That provided good context
I liked the organization, Eastern, British Isles, Ireland, Continent, Atlantic, Internal. That provided good context
informative
medium-paced
2.5 stars, so I rounded up.
There were sections that kept my attention and were quite interesting, but as a whole, the book dragged and it became difficult to motivate myself to finish it.
There were sections that kept my attention and were quite interesting, but as a whole, the book dragged and it became difficult to motivate myself to finish it.
informative
slow-paced
I knew very little about Viking history and I found this book at a time when I was eager to read about it. Haywood's book is informative and comprehensive. Using primary sources and denoting when certain sources may be unreliable, it tells the histories of Viking activity in every location they travelled. But it doesn't just tell about what the Vikings were up to, it examines the existing cultures and peoples the Vikings raided and/or explored. It's goal is to tell about the Vikings' impact on these peoples, how the Vikings themselves shaped European development through unprecedented warfare and Paganism vs Christian narratives.
Besides this, Haywood then also tells about Europe's impact on Scandinavia and the eventual fall of Viking activity in favor of centralized European MOs. My favorite chapter had to be about the Vikings in the North Atlantic (Iceland, Greenland, North America).
Though informative, I often found the chapters to be dense to the point of distraction, only because of the volume of foreign language names and placenames and the hectic tales of so many people/kings. The book is equipped with maps of the various regions and lists of all the kings of each region, as well as an overall timeline.
Besides this, Haywood then also tells about Europe's impact on Scandinavia and the eventual fall of Viking activity in favor of centralized European MOs. My favorite chapter had to be about the Vikings in the North Atlantic (Iceland, Greenland, North America).
Though informative, I often found the chapters to be dense to the point of distraction, only because of the volume of foreign language names and placenames and the hectic tales of so many people/kings. The book is equipped with maps of the various regions and lists of all the kings of each region, as well as an overall timeline.
Interesting in approach - broke the history down geographically as well as via time periods.
Quite dry and factual enumeration of the Viking raids and expansion in various parts of Europe, from the end of the 8th century until (mostly) the middle of the 11th century . The perspective is mainly that of the areas that suffered from the raids and what they did or did not do about it. So the biggest shortcoming of this book is that we do not gain any insight into the causes of the Viking expansion, unless that it was all about “honor and booty”. Of course it was, but as a historical explanation that seems hardly sufficient, especially since we are talking about a period of more than 2 centuries of almost unending 'terror'.
An interesting aspect though is the focus is on the ambiguous attitude of Western kings with regard to the Vikings: they often used them to get their own feudal lords into trouble, so that they would not affect their (royal) authority; in the end they only enforced the power of these local lords. The sketch of the gradual 'assimilation' of the Vikings, both in the areas they occupied, and in their home countries, is also quite remarkable. In short: a book that gives a limited number of answers about a very turbulent period in history.
An interesting aspect though is the focus is on the ambiguous attitude of Western kings with regard to the Vikings: they often used them to get their own feudal lords into trouble, so that they would not affect their (royal) authority; in the end they only enforced the power of these local lords. The sketch of the gradual 'assimilation' of the Vikings, both in the areas they occupied, and in their home countries, is also quite remarkable. In short: a book that gives a limited number of answers about a very turbulent period in history.
It’s a good read.
At first I didn’t particularly like the format of this text as each chapter focuses on a certain region of the globe and the Vikings dealings within each region. It grew on me however, and appreciated it by the second half of the text.
Haywood does a good job describing the events of the Viking world and found the text to be good but not great.
3.5/5
Happy reading, everybody!
At first I didn’t particularly like the format of this text as each chapter focuses on a certain region of the globe and the Vikings dealings within each region. It grew on me however, and appreciated it by the second half of the text.
Haywood does a good job describing the events of the Viking world and found the text to be good but not great.
3.5/5
Happy reading, everybody!
Entertaining, fast paced, comprehensive account of the Viking age. Everything is so epicly shakespearean, there are so many names that come and go, so much brutality and backstabbing, sudden and unexpected deaths from royalty that changed whole countries and their foreign relationships out of nowhere. In the larger parameters of history nothing has changed, really. But at least we have junk food and videogames.
Started out strong, but devolved into the standard recitation of king-on-king violence and successsions