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A review by booksnbeards
The Northmen's Fury: A History of the Viking World by Philip Parker
4.0
I've always been fascinated by the Vikings, as I'm sure a lot of people are. They were such an interesting society, with unique beliefs and myths that still capture the imagination of people 800~ years after they in a mainstream sense, faded into history.
Parker's book is the most thorough exploration of their history that I've yet read, and I very much enjoyed it. Beginning with their origins and the infamous 'first' Viking raid at the monastery of Lindisfarne, Northmen's Fury breaks down the first hundred years of the Viking Age, their raids and eventual settlement in Normandy, England and Ireland.
From there there is a chapter each going in depth into the Norse settlement of the Faroes and Iceland, the ill-fated colony of Greenland (something I've always been interested in), the failed attempted settlement of North America and Newfoundland, and the Viking usurpation of the fledgling Russian societies and settlements of Novgorod and Kiev.
This was the strongest part of the book - deep-dives into specific subjects are my jam, and the Norse settlement of Greenland and North America are subjects I've always been hugely keen to learn more about - however, they cause the general layout of the book to stumble a little bit, which I'll talk about further down.
After this, Northmen's Fury explores the transition of Scandinavia and Britain from disparate, feuding factions into defined countries and monarchies, and the arrival of Christianity and its effects on Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Finally, it goes into the transformation of the Vikings in the British Isles and France into the Normans, those in eastern Europe into the homologous Rus, and the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and the Battle of Hastings - which are generally accepted as the end of 'Vikings' as a raiding force of warriors.
My main issue with the book is that the first couple of chapters chronologically explore the Viking world as a whole, as do the last few chapters - in the middle, you have those 'deep-dives' that I mentioned above, which go into detail on the various colonies and settlements of the Norse, which follow the chronology of these settlements start-to-end. This makes everything a little bit messy and confusing, as you'll read about people during these deep dives who then die or accomplish something, etc., and then later in the book they'll be re-introduced as part of the larger narrative.
Not a huge complaint, and other than that I very much enjoyed Northmen's Fury - it can be a bit dry, but certainly the best and most extensive exploration of Viking history that I've read. Highly recommend to anybody with an interest in the subject.
Parker's book is the most thorough exploration of their history that I've yet read, and I very much enjoyed it. Beginning with their origins and the infamous 'first' Viking raid at the monastery of Lindisfarne, Northmen's Fury breaks down the first hundred years of the Viking Age, their raids and eventual settlement in Normandy, England and Ireland.
From there there is a chapter each going in depth into the Norse settlement of the Faroes and Iceland, the ill-fated colony of Greenland (something I've always been interested in), the failed attempted settlement of North America and Newfoundland, and the Viking usurpation of the fledgling Russian societies and settlements of Novgorod and Kiev.
This was the strongest part of the book - deep-dives into specific subjects are my jam, and the Norse settlement of Greenland and North America are subjects I've always been hugely keen to learn more about - however, they cause the general layout of the book to stumble a little bit, which I'll talk about further down.
After this, Northmen's Fury explores the transition of Scandinavia and Britain from disparate, feuding factions into defined countries and monarchies, and the arrival of Christianity and its effects on Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Finally, it goes into the transformation of the Vikings in the British Isles and France into the Normans, those in eastern Europe into the homologous Rus, and the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and the Battle of Hastings - which are generally accepted as the end of 'Vikings' as a raiding force of warriors.
My main issue with the book is that the first couple of chapters chronologically explore the Viking world as a whole, as do the last few chapters - in the middle, you have those 'deep-dives' that I mentioned above, which go into detail on the various colonies and settlements of the Norse, which follow the chronology of these settlements start-to-end. This makes everything a little bit messy and confusing, as you'll read about people during these deep dives who then die or accomplish something, etc., and then later in the book they'll be re-introduced as part of the larger narrative.
Not a huge complaint, and other than that I very much enjoyed Northmen's Fury - it can be a bit dry, but certainly the best and most extensive exploration of Viking history that I've read. Highly recommend to anybody with an interest in the subject.