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Abstract
Between the 8th and 11th centuries, the Vikings surged from their Scandinavian homelands to trade, raid and invade
along the coasts of Europe. Their reach stretched from Newfoundland (Canada) to Baghdad (Syria); their battles
were as far-flung as Africa and the Arctic. Were they great seafarers or desperate farmers, noble heathens or oafish
pirates: the last pagans or the first of the modern Europeans, being the ancestors of their admirable modern
descendants? This book puts medieval chronicles, Norse sagas and Muslim accounts alongside more recent
research into ritual magic, genetic profiling and climatology. It includes biographical sketches of some of the most
famous Vikings, from Erik Bloodaxe to Saint Olaf, King Canute to Leif the Lucky. It explains why so many Icelandic
settlers had Irish names; how the Norsemen took over Normandy (and then conquered England); and how the last
Viking colony was destroyed by English raiders.

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1
1
VIKINGS:"a"Review-
Essay"on"
“ABRIEF HISTORY
OF THE VIKINGS":
The Last Pagans or The
First Modern Europeans.
©"H."J."Spencer""[04
Nov.2021]""<6,000"w
ords;"9"pages>.""
ABSTRACT""
Between the 8th and 11th
centuries, the Vikings surged
from their Scandinavian
homelands to trade, raid and
invade along the coasts of
Europe. Their reach stretched
from Newfoundland (Canada)
to Baghdad (Syria);
their battles were as far-flung as
Africa and the Arctic. Were
they great seafarers or desperate
farmers, noble
heathens or oafish pirates: the
last pagans or the first of the
modern Europeans, being the
ancestors of their
admirable modern descendants?
This book puts medieval
chronicles, Norse sagas and
Muslim accounts alongside
more recent research into
ritual magic, genetic profiling
and climatology. It includes
biographical sketches of some
of the most famous
Vikings, from Erik Bloodaxe
to Saint Olaf, King Canute to
Leif the Lucky. It explains
why so many
Icelandic settlers had Irish
names; how the Norsemen
took over Normandy (and
then conquered England);
and how the last Viking colony
was destroyed by English
raiders.
AUTHOR"BIOGRAPH
Y""
Dr. Jonathan Clements (born in
London, UK ; 1971) is an
author, translator, biographer
and scriptwriter.
His non-fiction works include
biographies of Confucius,
Marco Polo, Mao Zedong,
Admiral Togo, Khubilai
Khan, Koxinga, Qin Shihuangdi
and a brief history of the
Samurai. He also writes for
NEO magazine and is
the co-author of
encyclopedias of anime and
Japanese television dramas.
He was a Visiting Professor at
Xi’an Jiaotong University,
China from 2013-19. His
book Anime: A History
(British Film Institute)
received a 2014 CHOICE
recommendation as one of
the year’s outstanding
academic titles, and was
nominated for the Society of
Animation Studies’ McLaren-
Lambart Award for best
scholarly book. He has
presented several seasons of
the TV series Route
Awakening (National
Geographic), an investigation
of
Chinese culture and history.
He has written 17 other books
on many topics, including:
(2005) Confucius: A
Biography.
(2006) Mao Zedong: A
Biography.
(2007) Wu: the Chinese
Empress who schemed her way
to becoming a Living God.
(2009) Mannerheim: President,
Soldier, Spy.
(2009) Darwin's Notebooks:
the Life, Times and Discoveries
of Charles Darwin.
(2010) Brief History of the
Samurai: the Way of Japan's
Elite Warriors.
(2010) Brief History of
Khubilai Khan
(2012) The Art of War: (A
New Translation of Sun Tzu's
Masterpiece).
Plus, several books in the Dr.
Who series.
REVIEWER'S"WEBSI
TE"""
All of the reviewer's prior
essays and other reviews
(referenced herein) may be
found, freely available at:
https://
jamescook.academia.edu/
HerbSpencer
INTRODUCTION""
1."THE"EARLY"D
AYS"
1.1"ROMANS"EXIT"B
RITAIN"""
The Romans had occupied
much of England for over
400 years since Julius Caesar
first came in 55 BC,
followed 98 years later by
Claudius. They came for the
mineral wealth that was
extensive in many parts of
the country. The well-
organized Roman army soon
conquered Britain that was
divided into many, small
tribal groups. In 120 AD,
Hadrian began building his
famous wall across northern
England, as a barrier
against the wild Picts, in
Scotland. This wall was manned
by 40,000 legionaires, who
created several Roman
towns along it length. The
Roman army also built major
forts across the country that
evolved into Roman
cities, like Colchester, Chester
and York: all reporting to the
administrative capital in
London via a major
road network. Around 300 BC,
the Romans started building a
string of forts along the coast
of southern
Britain to control piracy from
Scandinavian raiders.
Eventually, peace was
established across Britain that
was divided into 4 regions
(South-East, South-West,
Midlands and the North).
Scandinavia was one of the last
places in Europe to be settled as
the Ice Age lingered longer
there. The harsh
winters toughened these
hungry farmers, so population
overspill southwards was a
common response. The
first to migrate were those
with the least to lose - the
young men (deprived of land,
wives and wealth)
coalesced into gangs seeking
new opportunities. Between the
8th and 11th centuries, about
200,000 people
left Scandinavia (modern
Norway, Sweden and Denmark)
to settle elsewhere.
In the 5th century, there
were growing barbarian
attacks against Rome so that
most legions were being
withdrawn from Britain. This
led to increasing pressure
from the Saxons (Jutes) from
Jutland and the
continent. These were hearing
of the collapse of Roman
defenses from their relatives
in the German
auxiliaries that had been
hired by Rome to defend
Britain in the 1st and 2nd
centuries. There is a long
tradition that many pagan
Saxons were invited by the
Romanized Briton, Vortigern to
assist in fighting the
Picts and Irish. The new arrivals
saw their opportunity and
rebelled, plunging the country
into a set of wars
that eventually led to the Saxon
occupation of Lowland Britain
by 600. About this time, many
Britons fled to
western France (Brittany),
Cornwall and possibly Ireland.
The last major Saxon battle
happened in 577, near
Gloucester that led to the
capture of Bath, Cirencester
and Gloucester and the
triumph of the West Saxons
(across Wessex). Meanwhile,
on the east Coast saw the arrival
of the East Saxons (of Essex)
and the Angles
of East Anglia (a little further
North).
Clements begins his book
with the withdrawal of two
Roman legions (XX and II) to
the Rhineland and
attacks from Scandinavians
bypassing the deserted East
Coast forts. Meanwhile, the
northern shore of the
European mainland was
attacked by a confederation
of many tribes, now
combined as the Franks. The
Franks had been pushed out of
their homeland by the fiercer
Angles and Saxons, themselves
pressured by the
even fiercer Jutes to the north
in Denmark. The centuries
after the fall of the Roman
Empire saw a rise in
temperatures all over the
world (known as the 'Little
Climatic Optimum') when
Europe was roughly one
degree centigrade warmer than
today. This helped grain crops
and larger harvests that helped
the population
of Scandinavia increase to
levels that required
resettlements. Sea levels also
rose a little that caused more
flooding throughout the
homelands of many north
European tribes. All in all, an
early example of climatic
changes pushing political
changes. The eastern part of
Britannia, new home to the
Anglo-Saxon settlers,
came to be known as Angle-
Land, or England. Like their
Saxon precursors, they only
sailed a little way:
across the North Sea or from
Norway to the Shetlands. They
knew who they were robbing:
because they or
their associates had been there
trading earlier