Vikings. History and civilization. Buay R.

Suddenly pouring into the vastness of Europe in the VIII century, the Vikings with fire and sword entered their name into world history. It would seem that we all know about these fierce warriors and brave sailors - in any school textbook, you can easily find all the necessary information: dates, main routes of movement, the history of battles and invasions. But the history of the Vikings is still fraught with many unsolved puzzles. There were questions about which historians, politicians and readers still argue about, including the notorious “dispute about the Varangians”. Indeed, how and why were the Vikings were able, bursting within Europe, not meeting special resistance, to be in it for centuries, giving up the foundations of powerful states, such as the empire of Charles the Great? How did they manage to resist and settle in Normandy, Sicily, Iceland? Did they stand at the origins of Russian statehood or not? Were they a trading engine of their time or vice versa, slowed it down? Did they open America?

relying on the latest archaeological data and the original interpretation of sources, a recognized expert on Scandinavian history, Professor Sorbonne Boaiie created not just a book - he wrote a real encyclopedia. In each chapter, a separate side of the history of the Vikings is thoroughly considered: their everyday way, life, relations between men and women, law and judicial meetings, weapons, ships, campaigns and military strategy, laws of military brotherhood, trade and economics, beliefs and myths, contacts from neighboring peoples and states, the life of the Vikings in the traditional Scandinavian community and beyond. From most encyclopedias, the presented book is distinguished by only one, but a significant circumstance: the Boaiie is a magnificent storyteller who knows how to give material brightly and exciting. The true decoration of the book is colorful and carefully written portraits of key characters of that time: Harald Grand Holy, Olav Tryggvason, a whip of the Great. Vladimir St. and Yaroslav the Wise.