Here is the complete story of the Vikings from their origins in Scandinaviaduring the early first millennium AD, through the incredible period ofraiding, trading, and settling known as the Viking Age, to the last survivingViking settlements in fifteenth-century Greenland.Following in the footsteps of Viking merchants, raiders, and emigrants,we track their journeys from the first documented raid on the islandmonastery of Lindisfarne in 739 to the semi-mythical travels of individualssuch as Eirik the Red and the expansive kingdoms of Viking leaders. Thebook explores Viking life and culture in detail: their appearances, warfare,targets, crafts, and weapons, as well as their stunning pattern-weldedswords and helmets. Drawing on the latest discoveries and augmentingtextual evidence with archaeological detail, this is a vivid picture of theVikings at home and abroad in an era that laid many of the foundationsof the modern world.