Vikings in the South - Couverture souple

Ann, Christys

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1474213758 ISBN 13 : 9781474213752

Editeur : Bloomsbury Academic, 2015

A propos du livre

Revue de presse :

Ann Christys's concise and well-written book fills a real need; she has read carefully all relevant sources, in Arabic, Old Norse and Latin, concerning possible Viking visits to the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula in the ninth and tenth centuries, stripped away many romanticized details that have attached to the accounts over the years, and come up with a sober assessment: that there were indeed occasional such attacks, but the shock and fear which the Vikings generated in coastal areas of the Iberian Peninsula were lasting, and greater than the actual threat.
Roger Wright, Professor of Spanish, University of Liverpool, UK

Ann Christys has made what might at first seem a small contribution to Viking history recognisable as not just significant but, in its field, definitive. Her knowledge of Arabic as well as Latin (and relevant modern languages) gives her work the edge on previous discussions of Vikings in the South. In methodological terms, her sifting-out of the grist in ninth-century sources adds something new to Viking historiography, while her critical analysis of later myths and their contexts is exemplary, illuminating, and enjoyable.
Jinty Nelson, Professor Emeritus, King's College London, UK

The Vikings in Iberia are remarkably elusive our picture of them shaped by genres as diverse as Ptolemaic geography, Scandinavian saga and crusading narrative, affected by the recurring need of foils for heroes saintly or secular. Dr Christys uses her formidable linguistic range and scholarly judgment to track them. On the way we lose Viking cheese, but gain Viking mice! The overall result is a major addition to our knowledge not only of Vikings, but of early medieval Iberia, and especially of Iberian historiography, both Christian and Muslim.
Pauline Stafford, Professor Emerita, University of Liverpool, UK

This is the first study of the Vikings in Iberia to be based on modern methodological principles and a profound knowledge of Muslim historiography. It puts this field of study on an entirely new footing and amounts to a true spring cleaning.
Niels Lund, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

This account of Scandinavian activity in Iberia and around the Mediterranean from the ninth to the eleventh centuries is based mainly on a thorough and very welcome analysis of the problems posed by medieval Muslim and Christian texts. It will be an invaluable guide to future students of the Vikings. --Peter Sawyer, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, University of Leeds, UK, and editor of The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings (2001)

Présentation de l'éditeur :

In the ninth century, Vikings carried out raids on the Christian north and Muslim south of the Iberian peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal), going on to attack North Africa, southern Francia and Italy and perhaps sailing as far as Byzantium. A century later, Vikings killed a bishop of Santiago de Compostela and harried the coasts of al-Andalus. Most of the raids after this date were small in scale, but several heroes of the Old Norse sagas were said to have raided in the peninsula.

These Vikings have been only a footnote to the history of the Viking Age. Many stories about their activities survive only in elaborate versions written centuries after the event, and in Arabic. This book reconsiders the Arabic material as part of a dossier that also includes Latin chronicles and charters as well as archaeological and place-name evidence. Arabic authors and their Latin contemporaries remembered Vikings in Iberia in surprisingly similar ways. How they did so sheds light on contemporary responses to Vikings throughout the medieval world. coasts of al-Andalus. Most of the raids after this date were small in scale, but several heroes of the Old Norse sagas were said to have raided in the peninsula. These Vikings have been only a footnote to the history of the Viking Age. Many stories about their activities survive only in elaborate versions written centuries after the event, and in Arabic. This book reconsiders the Arabic material as part of a dossier that also includes Latin chronicles and charters as well as archaeological and place-name evidence. Arabic authors and their Latin contemporaries remembered Vikings in Iberia in surprisingly similar ways. How they did so sheds light on contemporary responses to Vikings throughout the medieval world.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Bloomsbury Academic
• Date d'édition: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1474213758
• ISBN 13: 9781474213752
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 152