A meticulous, in-depth work covering the 9th-11th centuries and all things Viking. Knowledge of this period once relied on the contemporary records by churchmen who wealth was a target for pagan plunder. The author has drawn on these and alternative sources and provides analysis of archeological evidence, numismatics and place names. There are chapters on ships, treasure hoards, the Danish colonisation of England, Viking towns and trade. With this approach, the feared invaders emerge as less numerous and not quite as fearsome than originally supposed. Illustrated with black and white photographs.