This concise and balanced history traces the 300-year saga of the pirates and warlords who poured out of Scandinavia between the eighth and eleventh centuries, terrorizing, conquering, and ultimately settling vast stretches of Europe. Martin Arnold provides a lively and accessible account of this early medieval period that became known as the Viking Age. Drawing on rich literary and archaeological source material, he first focuses on Viking culture, religious beliefs, and battle tactics and weaponry. He then ranges over the four main theaters of Viking activity-the British Isles, Western Europe, the Slavic regions, and the North Atlantic. Arnold vividly illustrates the two faces of the Vikings: on the one hand, savage, greedy, and implacable; on the other, adventurous, innovative, and artistic.

Martin Arnold has taught at numerous colleges and universities, including Guilford College, where he served as a Visiting Assistant Professor. He earned an MA from New Mexico State University and an MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has served as the poetry editor of The Greensboro Review, and as an assistant poetry editor for storysouth and Puerto del Sol. His work has been published in many fine journals including Crazyhorse, the Carolina Review, Denver Quarterly, and Best New Poets 2012. His first chapbook, A Million Distant Glittering Catastrophes, won the 2009-2010 Pavement Saw Chapbook Award. Earthquake Owner's Manual won the 2013 Unicorn Press First Book Award. He currently teaches at V. Sue Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Chapter 1 Introduction: The Death of Ivar the Boneless and Viking Age History Part 2 Part 1: Viking Culture Chapter 3 1: From Odin to Christ Chapter 4 2: The Warrior's Way Part 5 Part 2: The Viking Age Chapter 6 3: The Conquest of England Chapter 7 4: The Ravaging of Western Europe Chapter 8 5: The Founding of Russia Chapter 9 6: Settlements across the Atlantic: Iceland, Greenland, and North America