A fascinating history of the rise and fall of the Vikings. Full of background material and surrounding events that frame the Viking era. Immensely readable and complete.

Although this book is subtitled "From Odin to Christ" and is ostensibly a book about the 'Christianizing' of Scandinavia, the truth is that this is a really phenomenal, brief history of the 'Vikings.' I put a quote around 'Vikings' because, as the Whittocks explain, 'Viking' is something you <em>did</em> (you went viking) and <em>not</em> something you were.

The research here is tremendous and although the presentation feels somewhat brief, there's a strong sense that the information behind the presentation is accurate.

Although I have long been interested in Scandinavian history, this book reveals some very interesting information - so much so that I can't say what it all is without repeating so much of the book. Suffice it to say that I was not aware that we knew so much about which groups of Norsemen (those from Denmark, Norway, or Sweden [or at least what is now referred to as these areas]) invaded which areas. I was not aware that the Norsemen vikinged so far east and southeast - I thought they worked primarily in Great Britain, Iceland, and points west.

I knew I was in for an educational treat early on when the Whittock's write:
<blockquote>There is also another factor that may have prompted the start of Viking raids. The late-eighth-century Danish attacks on the Frankish Empire and the British Isles coincided with changes occurring in the far off Middle Eastern Islamic Caliphate from the 740s onwards, as the Umayyad dynasty lost out to the new Abbasid dynasty and the centre of political power shifted from Damascus to Baghdad. These distant political and economic changes disrupted the flow of silver to Scandinavia. For some time Islamic merchants and their middle men had brought silver to northern Europe to trade it for the products of the north: slaves, furs, amber. However, the violently shifting politics within the Caliphate were followed by its fragmentation and a decline in central authority. As a result of this, in the late ninth century the Caliphate lost control of the silver mines in what is now Tajikistan. This precipitated a crisis in Scandinavia. Scandinavian economies began to falter as trade with the Islamic world declined. It was now harder for (suddenly silver poor) Scandinavian elites to engage in traditional gift-giving which cemented social bonds. Raiding offered an alternative method of obtaining both precious metals and slaves.</blockquote>
And while I was certainly aware that there were a good many Viking raids on Ireland I absolutely loved that there was a poem written in the upper margin of a manuscript in a monastery of St Gall (written c. 845-850):
<blockquote>Bitter is the wind tonight
It tosses the ocean's white hair
Tonight I fear not the fierce warriors of Norway
Coursing on the Irish sea.</blockquote>
The book does address the adoption of Christianity by the Scandinavians and we get just as thorough a documented history of the rolling conversion from paganism to Christianity as we did the rest of the book. From noting that "women in the Icelandic context seem to have played an important role in the conversion" to recognizing that "A new deity was not the issue: it was the exclusivity of Christianity that was the challenge" this book covers a lot of ground and unlike the history books of my school days, this is presented extremely well. The almost conversational writing style makes this very easy to read.

My only down-side to my Kindle ARC is that the footnotes are not hot-linked so I couldn't read the notes or check the resource while reading this. For that reason, this is my holiday wish list because I am confident I will want to refer to this book again and again.

Looking for a good book? <em>The Vikings</em> by Martyn Whittock &amp; Hannah Whittock is a well-written, well-researched book that will appeal to lovers of history, Christianity, Scandinavian culture, Norse mythology, and anyone who just enjoys a good non-fiction read.
<h6>note: quotes are from an advanced reading copy and may not accurately reflect the published edition</h6>
<h6>I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.</h6>

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

<strong>Rating: 3.5 out of 5</strong>

<i>The Vikings: From Odin to</i><em> Christ</em> contains a great wealth of information about how Vikings were converted and transitioned to Christianity from their religion. In order to give full context of how this happened, the authors detail how and where these people settled, the politics involved, and what archaeological evidence we have for their conversions.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It has a lot of information that most other histories of Vikings don't really touch on; focusing specifically on the religion conversion helps to give this book a sole focus, which was great. I do think this book would be a lot easier to read in print, because there is a reference for which famous Vikings are which, so when they're mentioned in a chapter, it would be easy to look at and understand where the information fits into the larger whole; this was rather difficult to manage in the e-book.

I also wish there some sort of narrative focus or better organization, because the information was sometimes difficult to follow. As a reference book, this is great, but if you're wanting to sit down with some reading about Vikings, it might be a struggle, since a lot of the times, this book lists out dry facts rather than having a cohesive narrative that would help the reader follow along. However, it contains a lot of reference material and I appreciated just how many citations were included, since I felt secure in trusting the material.

Definitely recommend for this interested in religious or Viking history!

“History is written by victors” we are told but although this makes logical sense it doesn’t always ring true. What if the victors were illiterate at the time of many of their conquests? Whilst they were enjoying the spoils of war the vanquished were penning tales of bloodshed and sacrilege. Even though The Vikings eventually converted to Christianity, became bone fide rulers of vast territories, and transformed the family trees of European nobility we still tend to think of them as they were portrayed in those early monastic manuscripts. So perhaps a better understanding of posterity is that “history is but a fable agreed upon”

This book is one of several recent attempts by historians to rehabilitate The Vikings’ image. Although I thought I knew a fair bit about our Scandinavian forebears it was enlightening to have it all laid out so concisely. The way that this book is organised makes it clear just how important The Vikings were and how they shaped the world we now live in. We love to talk about The Romans but should we be asking ‘What did The Vikings do for us?’

Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I do enjoyed this story,if you like learning about the Vikings this is the one to read.. Loved the story line,so we'll researched and written. You learn so much of why they did what they do a introduction to them learning about God and not all the rituals they performed,worshipping Idols. The adventures,if not for the Vikings,it would have been longer to discover lands.

Much more my style! I love history and always wondered about how the Vikings integrated in to a society. Though I doubt very much I have any Viking stock in my dna, I am descendant of places Vikings pillaging and plundering and then settling! I was curious as to how this all came about so peacefully in the end and this book tells the tale! I really didn't do my homework in this area of history and am very glad Martyn and Hannah Whittock did! Yes, it is somewhat of a dry read if you aren't into history in general, or Vikings in particular. But for those of us who enjoy Vikings and history, this is a real joy to read; loads of facts and explanations for why Vikings ended up as they did. Great read.

A must for anyone intrigued by either Christianity or Viking history, as a buff of both, I had high hopes for this book and I was not disappointed.

The background detail provided prior to the body of work increased my understanding prior to jumping right in.

It is important to remember that this is non-fiction so at points it will not be entertaining, just informative.

Martyn & Hannah Whitlock have delivered a quality book on the history of Vikings ignored by popular media channels.

A fascinating read. This renewed a childhood obsession with viking history, but now with sophisticated understanding. This book is written with a great balance between scholarly insight and keeping the lay read interested.

I remember a long-ago archaeology class that did not devote much time to the Vikings much to my dismay, because I thought that topic was fascinating. Fair disclosure, the book has clearly been inspired by the popularity of a cable TV fictional drama called The Vikings. I was hoping for a more in-depth, historic, and scientific treatise on the Vikings and their expansion, and their adoption of Christianity. But the book, while covering the entirety of this span of Viking history, is very shallow and just provides a brief history of the culture. The authors clearly knew the sheer number of named Vikings would be confusing to the average reader, so they included a timeline at the beginning that outlines activities and actors; a map; and a list of key people. What they didn't provide were illustrations, and this is particularly pertinent to the entire middle of the book, where lengthy discussions of Viking art and its embrace of Christian elements, and vice versa, are described, and presumably well-known artifacts referenced repeatedly. But without a few photos, this reader was left dissatisfied with the entire material culture discussion. A bit dry and best only for a brief intro to Viking history. Anyone with a real desire to delve into Viking history should look for more academic publications.

The Viking: From Odin to Christ gives great insight regarding the shift from pagan beliefs to Christian dogma.
I enjoyed the section about Norse mythology as well as their traditional stories. There is a section in between that and looking at the transition between pagan` and Christian theology that I was interested in and felt like I was reading a textbook. The manuscript picked up as Martyn Whittock described the combination of religious icons as well as how each section of the area morphed in their beliefs. I was most interested in the facts about the first Christian in North America as well as the British rule of a Christian Viking King.
If you are interested in the Viking and their religion, then this gives a lot of insight. But this does read like most history books and is not for everyone.

I visited far northern Norway in 1996. Norway brings to mind Vikings. The coast, fjords, architecture, and the language drips with the thought of Vikings. Many people are enamored with the view of Vikings. I am not one of those people. The subtitle of this book is what interested me. How did the Norse people go from being raiders to Christian in a relatively short period? Martyn Whittock and Whittock tell the story of these people well.

Reading a history textbook does not sound enjoyable. Most times it is not fun. The tale of the Vikings becoming a Christian people is interesting. Whittock and Whittock performed yeoman's work in research. Their presentation goes beyond a research book. There are few, if any, stories of individual Norse people but it is easy to view these people and the change their world must have gone.

This book is an easy read for someone with interest in Viking history. I believe this book would make an excellent addition to an academic course in any medieval history of Europe also.

We can easily imagine Vikings raiding towns and profaning the Christian cult places they find on their path. But we cannot usually picture as vividly how these warriors were converted to Christianity, how they passed from heathens to saved souls.

I have to confess that despite my love for the man that came from the North, I had a hard time trying to understanding how they passed “so quickly” from the pillagers to followers of God.
In this book Martyn and Hannah Whittock show the process of the Viking conversion in a clear language and in a way as accessible for a scholar reader or a casual one.

I especially enjoyed how the book divided his treatment of conversion for each area of viking influence, giving us a little background in the history before pulling us to the crucial points and evidences that the warriors of the north were leaving their pagan traditions behind. This, plus the glossary of names and the notes, made for a book enjoyable to read and a history easy to follow even if one doesn’t know beforehand too much about Viking history and legend.

Other than the clever division of chapters and accessible language, I have to notice that I was happy to find out that there was no inclination to paint pagans as bad and Christians as good. It was simply presented the facts and we were left alone to take our conclusions on this point.

To finish, the bibliography and the text itself guide us to good texts that are rather good paths for the next reads about our favourite raiders.

All in all, “Vikings, from Odin to Christ” is a solid book, informative, clear to all that want to read it and a crucial read for everyone that want to know more about the man that once bowed to the Allfather.

reference, Norse, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture

What an excellent resource! Ok, so I am hardly unbiased: Pop was born in Norway in 1907, and most of our family are history geeks. That's all well and good, but the important stuff here is the extensive documentation including timeline, maps, and glossary a reader can use for further study and the thesis itself ties everything together in a clearly understandable cohesive manner. Myths about the Norsemen are exposed (horned helmets, purely pagan reasons behind looting of churches rather than simple acquisitory greed), and a greater understanding of why men were truly looking for green pastures.
History geeks will wriggle happily over this book, but I honestly don't know how others will receive it.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Lion Hudson courtesy of NetGalley and am delighted!

The Vikings from Odin to Christ by Martyn and Hannah Whittock was received direct from the publisher. I have been interested in the Vikings my whole life. I took a stronger interest in them after I visited Iceland. The main aim of these authors is to explore what happened to the Vikings after they converted to Christianity. Yes! I had never heard of this either. Also, the term Vikings refers to Danes, Norwegians and Swedes, at least in the context of this book. The Viking Age was about 800 - 1100 AD. While the book explores Vikings and Christianity, do not think anyone wanting a history lesson about “real” Vikings would go wrong with this book. This book is recommended for those simply interested in Vikings, like I was, those who want the history of Vikings for whatever reason, or those needing or wanting Viking information for any reason. Please grab this book and keep it on your shelf.

Viking. Coincidentally, on the very day I started reading a NetGalley ARC (advance reader copy) of this history of the Vikings, I happened across our 28-yr-old son's Halloween costume from last year: THOR! (He'd left it here during his transition from Chicago to Manhattan.) Minutes later, I happened across a Steemit post on "Dark Souls" by @scienceviking. Call it synchronicity, or a message from the gods, but Viking forces are outpacing signs of the Zodiac in my life. (Not that I worry if Mars is rising and the house of whoever is declining. I can't even remember the terminology, much less claim to believe in it.)

So, I'm predisposed to love anything affirmative I read about Vikings, and this book gives us a kinder, gentler Viking than the stereotypes we're used to.

So much information, and not just about the Christianizing of the Viking. I love how "the word Viking is something you did rather than what you were," and to go out viking or to be "a Viking" did not carry the negative connotation it later came to bear.

The book is cool for wanting "to correct the over-emphasis in popular culture on the Odin-worshipping warriors of film and fiction."

Like any well-written, informative, exhaustively researched history book, this one is long and packed with line after line of quotable and noteworthy quotes.

Because I'm reading a NetGalley ARC, I can't utilize the handy Kindle-Share feature, which saves me a lot of typing vs a quick copy-paste when I want to cite excerpts from the text. And all that typing takes time.

Eventually, I swear, I'll get around to posting great lines from this great history. Trust Carol: this is no dry, dull history. Even the etymology and linguistic evolution of the word "viking" is fun to read. E.g., those known as Vikings put a positive spin on a dreaded people, saying, perhaps, "I am an adventurer," rather than "My employment is smash and grab... and worse." (Images of Haggar the Horrible, a long-lasting cartoon, spring to mind.)

It takes tremendous passion, dedication, time, concentration, and hard work to write a book of this scope and depth. I am in awe!

The Vikings have an image of rough warriors intent on rape and pillage and wearing helmets with horns on them. However the truth is far more complicated. Yes, the Vikings were marauders who looked for wealth in the form of goods or slaves but they were not the heathens portrayed. here a consideration is taken of the spread of the Viking peoples and also the spread of Christianity amongst them. the Vikings were huge contributors to Western civilisation as we know it. This book is written in a very readable style and never labours its points.

Most people think of the Vikings as a raping and pillaging lot, intent on conquering their world as it was known to them. However, many Vikings were converted to Christianity and spread the gospel. This one is very readable and well written. A must for a history buff.

My thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book via Net Galley.

For me, this was a highly informative journey into the transformation of the "pagan" Viking into the acceptable "christian" that is well annotated and referenced, and makes use of the voices of the Vikings themselves, through their sagas, to provide context. The authors explore the conversion of the Viking peoples and how and why this religious transformation took place. What is interesting is the differing views on what constituted conversion, where the roots of conversion eminated from, and the how each conversion event was unique.

The authors make clever use of their chapters to sort out and compartmentalise the history of the conversion of each group or nation, making it more accessible to the reader. We take a look at who were the Vikings of the pre-christian world, and compare that with our modern perception of them. We look at how different forms of Christianity were the driving forces behind the conversions - German, Irish, British and Greek missionaries each had their sphere of influence and success.

This is truly a remarkable journey of the Christianisation of the Scandinavian world that really kicked off in the late 9th century and lasted for a period of three hundred years.

For full review: http://melisendeslibrary.blogspot.com/2018/08/review-vikings-from-odin-to-christ-by.html

If I could hug the authors, I would hug them breathless. What an incredible book! As a Norwegian family, we are (i.e. ridiculously over-the-top and proud of it) not shy about our Viking heritage. Which means that I tend to devour any and every book that has the Vikings as it's subject. Martyn and Hannah Whittock did such an amazing job with this book. Their attention to detail and historical accuracy is wonderful, and their writing is superb. I could not be more thrilled with this book. My only wish is that I had MORE from these authors!

A progression of Vikings religious beliefs in different countries, some chapters are country specific. a good resource if doing a project on or similar to the topic. not all over the place country wise to go chronically, it is good it sticks to talking about the country/ continent side to it.