THE VIKING

by BAKER, Alan

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John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2004 CONDITION: NEW 2004 John Wiley hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. "Funeral of a Viking" painting cover art. CONTENT: One moment they were a mere speck on the sea; the next, a murderous force slashing its way into unprotected monasteries and villages; routing proud armies; and pillaging villages and kidnapping innocents. For three centuries, the Vikings rained terror on Europe. As fearsome as these warriors were, however, there was far more to Viking life and culture than battle. Yes, the Vikings were indeed "savage and bloodthirsty conquerors, pillagers and pirates," but they also had a "gentler side," according to this engaging overview of their history and culture. Historian Baker (The Knight and The Gladiator) draws on archaeological studies, numismatics, Norse sagas and shell-shocked medieval chroniclers to give a balanced assessment of the Vikings. He details their weapons and armor, appreciates their fast, sturdy longboats, salutes their fierce fighting style (as epitomized by the berserkers, Vikings whose "rational minds had been obliterated by an animalistic lust for blood" induced, perhaps, by alcohol and hallucinogenic mushrooms), and surveys the "relentless rain of terror and death" they visited on a Europe that dubbed them "the revenge of Satan." But marauding, he contends, was just a sideline (often commuted to extortion payments) to more constructive pursuits like farming, trading and craftsmanship. The Vikings also had an intriguing culture, most evocatively displayed in a long chapter on their distinctive mythology, full of legends about the brutish Thor, the wily Loki, the unreliable Odin and their rather promiscuous goddess consorts. And Baker recounts the great Viking voyages of exploration and colonization to Iceland, Greenland and North America. Still, to set against the Vikings’ mitigating achievements, there was the marauding, not to mention their bizarre funeral customs, which could involve a disturbing fusion of ritual sex and human sacrifice. At the end of Baker’s book, as the Vikings settle down and are Christianized, readers may breathe a sigh of relief to see this colorful civilization pass into history. Questions welcome/scan on request.. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. NEW BOOK/New (Brodart). Illus. by B&W Decorations. 216 Pages. History: Scandinavia.