8世紀後半から11世紀前半にかけて、西ヨーロッパ沿岸部を侵寇したスカンディナヴィアの武装船団、バイキング。その残忍で獰猛なイメージとは裏腹に、考古学的な見地からは交易、漁業、農業などを本来の生業としていたという実像も浮かび上がってきています。本書は、その成り立ちや当時の社会情勢、文化などを検証し、彼らが略奪を繰り返すようになった背景を探ります。
    

• A fascinating new look at Vikings and the Viking Age, revealing how the identity of these people and their culture has been repeatedly reinvented throughout history, obscuring who the Vikings really were.
• Examines how Vikings lived - their religious rituals, their towns, their trade, seafaring, colonization and plundering. The author also highlights their impact and influence on the history and people of Northern Europe.
• The story of the Vikings is brought up to date, by looking at their re-invention from the Icelandic Sagas to 19th century nationalist movements, Wagner, and Nazism.
• Combines the latest archaeological and historical evidence with tales of Viking heroes, such as Erik Bloodaxe and Harold Bluetooth.

 
The Viking reputation is 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, society and culture, and their expansion overseas for trade, colonization, and plunder. We also look at the Viking identity, through their artistic expression, rune stones, their ships, and their religion. The Viking story is also brought up to date, by examining their legacy from the medieval Icelandic sagas to 19th Century nationalism, Wagner, and the Nazis.