Inside History Collection

In this series, you are taken back to the dramatic events, who have shaped world history for better or for worse. From the construction of the first cathedrals in Europe of the plague to the landing in Normandy in 1944. From the crusaders' bloody marches towards Jerusalem to the daring pilots who gave man air under his wings. Along the way, you will be enlightened in an entertaining way as to why the events took shape as they did. This series has the dramatic narrative as its focal point. You not only get an overview of history's most significant events, but also captivating human destinies, spectacular feats, and history's greatest heroes and villains brought to life.

Welcome

THE FIRST VIKINGS • Sources describing Scandinavia in the eighth century are almost non-existent, yet historians are slowly beginning to chart life in the northern barren regions. The research has brought them closer to answering the big question: how did the Viking Age begin?

HOW DID THE VIKINGS LIVE? • Everyday life for a Viking was largely unknown for a long time, because written sources are few and artefacts scant. Nevertheless, historians have recently pieced together a picture of Viking settlement life, which may have included winemaking and the struggle to harvest enough rye.

TOWARDS UNKNOWN WORLDS • The Vikings travelled far and wide, from north (Greenland) to south (North African coast), and from east (Russia) to west (North America). But the questions of how far, why and how remain unanswered. The truth is sought in Russian chronicles, walrus tusks and strange finds in Newfoundland.

SECRETS OF THE BATTLEFIELD • For over 200 years, the Vikings spread terror among their neighbours, who watched powerlessly as the brutal Norsemen raided villages and monasteries. Behind the Vikings’ victories lay years of combat training, sly warcraft and a willingness to sacrifice their lives to meet Odin in Valhalla.

WHERE DID NORSE MYTHS COME FROM? • Odin came from Germany, Valhalla was invented by the fireside and Hel was borrowed from Christianity. Then a Greek multi-headed dog was thrown into Norse mythology. The world of Viking gods looks like a mix of other religions, but how Norse paganism emerged remains a mystery.

WHO BUILT THE RING FORTRESSES? • King Harald Bluetooth’s fortresses were a feat of engineering that required the kingdom’s best mathematical minds, thousands of workers and timber in unimaginable quantities. A few years after construction, however, the strongholds stood empty – leaving archaeologists with countless questions.

WHO WAS THE LAST VIKING? • With trade, raids and conquests came new ideas and a new faith – Christianity. The belief in one god resonated with kings and chieftains, and slowly the Viking era drew to a close. Exactly how and when no one knows, but by the twelfth century, Scandinavia had become a Christian region.

Sources

Inside History Collection