Vikings at War
Kim Hjardar, Vegard Vike
Vikings at War presents a sumptuous depiction of how the Vikings
waged war; their weapons technology, offensive and defensive
warfare, military traditions and tactics, their fortifications,
ships and command structure. It also portrays the Viking raids and
conquest campaigns that brought the Vikings to virtually every
corner of Europe and even to America. Viking ships landed on almost
every shore in the Western world during the 350 years that followed
the introduction of the sail into the region, from the 9th to the
11th century. Viking ravages united the Spanish kingdoms and
stopped Charlemagne and the Franks' advance in Europe. Wherever
Viking ships roamed, enormous suffering followed in their wake, but
the encounter between cultures changed both European and Nordic
societies.
Employing unorthodox and unpredictable strategies, which were hard
for more organized forces to respond to, the most crucial element
of the Viking's success was their basic strategy of evading the
enemy by arriving by sea, then attacking quickly and with great
force before withdrawing quickly. The warrior class dominated in a
militarized society. Honour was everything, and breaking promises
and ruining one's posthumous reputation was considered worse than
death itself. If a man offended another man's honour, the only way
out was blood revenge.
Never before have the Viking art of war, weapons and the history of
their conquests been presented together in such detail. With over
380 colour illustrations including beautiful reconstruction
drawings, maps, cross-section drawings of ships, line-drawings of
fortifications, battle plan reconstructions and photos of surviving
artefacts including weapons and jewellery.
Paperback, 400 Seiten, über 380 farbige Abbildungen,
Rekonstruktionszeichnungen uvm., Format 21,6 x 3,2 x 25,4 cm
Best.-Nr.: CE002
