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RR 2004/404 Historical Dictionary of the Vikings Katherine Holman Scarecrow Press Lanham, MD and Oxford 2003 xx + 383 pp. ISBN 0 8108 4859 7 £55 $72
Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras, No. 11
Keywords Scandinavia, History, History of civilization
Review DOI 10.1108/09504120410559898
Historical Dictionary of the Vikings is part of the Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras series. (Other reference works in this series include: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesoamerica, Pre-Colonial Africa, Byzantium, Medieval Russia, the Napoleonic Era; the Ottoman Empire; the Mongol World Empire, Mesopotamia and Ancient and Medieval Nubia.) Historical Dictionary of the Vikings charts the sudden surge of activity on the part of the Scandinavian people that took place between the years 800-1100 (p.15). Dictionary entries focus on leaders, warriors and kings, battles, sieges, discoveries and conquests that resulted from the expeditions Vikings made in their ships. These are the most visible and obvious characteristics of the Viking Age but events that took place domestically within Scandinavia are not ignored. Entries also include historical figures who were not Scandinavians but who had considerable interaction with them, for example, King Alfred the Great (p....