In this extensively revised third edition of The Viking Age: A Reader, Somerville and McDonald successfully bring the Vikings and their world to life for twenty-first-century students and instructors. The diversity of the Viking era is revealed through the remarkable range and variety of sources presented as well as the geographical and chronological coverage of the readings.

The third edition has been reorganized into fifteen chapters. Many sources have been added, including material on gender and warrior women, and a completely new final chapter traces the continuing cultural influence of the Vikings to the present day. The use of visual material has been expanded, and updated maps illustrate historical developments throughout the Viking Age. The English translations of Norse texts, many of them new to this collection, are straightforward and easily accessible, while chapter introductions contextualize the readings.

This book, the first in our Companions to Medieval Studies series, is a brief introduction to the history, culture, and religion of the Viking Age and provides an essential foundation for study of the period.

The companion begins by defining the Viking Age and explores topics such as Viking society and religion. Viking biographies provide students with information on important figures in Viking lore such as Harald Bluetooth, Eirik the Red, Leif Eiriksson, and Gudrid Thorbjarnardaughter, a female Viking traveler. A compelling chapter entitled How Do We Know About the Vikings? and a case study on the wandering monks of St. Philibert introduce students to the process of historical inquiry. The book concludes with a discussion of the impact of the Vikings and their legacy.

Pedagogical resources include a detailed chronology, study questions, a glossary, 4 maps, and 14 images. Text boxes provide information on outsider perceptions of the Vikings, a detailed account of a Viking raid, and a description of a chieftain's dwelling in Arctic Norway. This study also benefits from a multi-disciplinary approach including insights and evidence from such diverse disciplines as archaeology, philology, religion, linguistics, and genetics.

The fourth edition of The Viking Age provides an extensive deep dive into the world of the Vikings, spanning from the eighth and ninth centuries to the present, while also featuring key scholarly interpretations from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Building on the structure and content of previous editions, nearly every chapter has been reworked and expanded, with the addition of an entirely new chapter on commerce and trade. This edition broadens the range of materials while preserving the innovations of earlier editions and advancing them in new directions.

In The Viking Age, readers are submerged in a comprehensive exploration of the Viking era, covering essential topics such as the role of women in Viking society, the significance of slavery in the Viking economy, commerce and trade, the use of Arabic sources, Viking religion, fertility gods, guardian spirits, the exploits of the Norse kings of Man and the Isles, the importance of Scandinavian and maritime law, the enduring legacy of the Vikings, and more. This extensively revised edition ultimately brings the Vikings and their world to life for twenty-first-century students and instructors.