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Vikings: Raiders from the North (Lost Civilizations)
Vikings Raiders from the North - Lost Civilizations Author:Time-Life Books (Editors) The peoples of Scandinavia described a unique historical arc. Beginning as farmers, tilling the limited arable land of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, some of them early became adept at overseas trade. Then suddenly about AD 800 many went 'a-Viking'. To go 'a-Viking meant to go forth on expeditions down the fjords and across the seas to ... more »acquire riches and a reputation at home for being a doer of deeds-the two things most important in the life of the Scandinavian male. Many went raiding and looting in the British Isles, in western Europe and even in today's Turkey-before settling down again to cultivate the soil and build towns. The Viking era is generally said to stretch from about AD 800 to 1100. But Scandinavian traders were well known around the shores of the Baltic Sea and in northern Europe as far back as Roman times. Modern archaeologists contend that the pirates who sacked foreign ports knew where they were going because they had been there before, probably on more peaceful commerce, trading and bartering, bring back objects and coins that have been dated long before the first raids. Viking history continues today, living on in the customs, laws placenames and bloodlines of the people in many parts of the globe to which the Norse ventured more than a millennium ago.« less