I would like to learn about Vikings. Where should I start?

by star_puppet

Do you know some good books, websites or articles I can start with? They should describe the basics, because I know very little about this time and place. I guess I am looking for Vikings for Dummies...

I can read English and Dutch. German and French would also be alright, but rather no long books.

Thanks in advance!

cerapus

It's not a broad overview, but a very well-written and engaging book is Bloodtaking and Feudmaking: Feud, Law, and Society in Saga Iceland by W.I. Miller. I'd strongly recommend that.

For an overview, I would strongly recommend The Viking World by James Campbell. It is direct, approachable, and full of pictures that really help give context to the text.

Otherwise, there is an organisation called the Viking Congress, which meets every few years to discuss different themes and ideas in Viking history. Their proceedings are published, and each congress publishing will have about 30-40 short articles discussing the themes of that meeting. If you can get your hands on some of these, the articles are mostly digestible, and wide-ranging in subject matter.

textandtrowel

Anders Winroth's Age of the Vikings (2014) is a good recent introduction. I think it's superseding the well-loved but now quite aged Else Roesdahl's The Vikings (1987). You can find some of my other recommendations on this thread. Let me know if you've got further questions, or if you're interested in something more particular (raiding, trading, religion, colonization, ethnicity, etc.). Happy reading!