Viking pirates and Christian princes
Subtitle: dynasty, religion, and empire in the North Atlantic
By: Benjamin Hudson.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2005
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 278
Subjects: Vikings -- Ireland -- Dublin; Vikings -- North Atlantic Region; Vikings -- Scotland -- Hebrides; Vikings -- Isle of Man; North Atlantic Region -- Church history; North Atlantic Region -- History; Hebrides (Scotland) -- History; Ireland -- Kings and rulers; Dublin (Ireland) -- History; Isle of Man -- History
Description: "In popular imagination, the Vikings are remembered as fierce warrior seamen who campaigned through Western Europe, terrorizing British, Frankish, and Irish societies. Yet is it possible that the great Viking armies left more in their wake than carnage and destruction? The stories of two families - the Olafssons, who transformed a pirate camp in Ireland into the Kingdom of Dublin, and the Haraldssons, whose rule encompassed the Hebrides, Galloway, and the Isle of Man - suggest that the Vikings did indeed leave behind a much greater legacy." "Challenging traditional views of the Vikings' culture, Benjamin Hudson shows the role that these two great dynasties played in the Second Viking Age. The rise and transformation of the Olafssons and Haraldssons from the tenth to the twelfth centuries highlights a period and people important for understanding the political, religious, and cultural development of Europe in the High Middle Ages."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-266) and index.