Lars Brownworth - The Sea Wolves: A History of the Vikings

THE SEA WOLVES

A History of the Vikings

LARS BROWNWORTH

The Sea-Wolves: A History of the Vikings

First published in the United Kingdom in 2014 by Crux Publishing Ltd.

ISBN: 978-1-909979-11-6

Copyright Lars Brownworth, 2014

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About the Author

Lars Brownworth is an author, speaker, broadcaster, and teacher based in Maryland, USA. He has written for the Wall Street Journal and been profiled in the New York Times, who likened him to some of historys great popularizers. His books include Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire that Rescued Western Civilization, and The Normans: From Raiders to Kings.

For more information about Lars, please visit:

www.larsbrownworth.com

For Thomas, just beginning his own adventures

A Whos Who of the Viking World

lla(mid 9th century) King of Northumbria who according to legend executed Ragnar Lothbrok. He was killed in 867 by Ivar the Boneless and the Great Heathen Army, supposedly as revenge for Ragnars death.

Athelred the Unready(c. 968 - 1016) King of England during the last great wave of Viking attacks.

Aethelwulf(c. 795 - 858) King of Wessex and father of Alfred the Great.

Athelstan(c. 894 - 939) First Anglo-Saxon monarch accepted as King of the English.

Alcuin of York(c. 735 - 804) English scholar who was one of the leading intellectuals of Charlemagnes court.

Alfred the Great(c. 849 - 899) King of Wessex who defeated the Great Heathen Army. Laid the foundations of the medieval kingdom of England.

Aud the Deep Minded(c. 834 - 900) Norwegian wife of the king of Dublin, Olaf the White, later settled in Iceland.

Basil the Bulgar-Slayer(958 - 1025) Byzantine Emperor who founded the Varangian Guard.

Bjarni Herjlfsson(10th century) Norwegian explorer who first sighted mainland America.

Bjorn Ironside(9th century) Son of Ragnar Lothbrok; In 860 he led a semi-legendary raid into the Mediterranean with his brother Hastein.

Brian Bruma(c. 941 - 1014) High King of Ireland who tried to unite the island under his rule. Killed at the battle of Clontarf.

Brodir of Man(11th century) Danish Viking mercenary who according to legend killed Brian Bruma at the battle of Clontarf.

Cnut the Great(c. 985 - 1035) Viking king of England, Denmark, and parts of Norway. He was the son of Svein Forkbeard and conquered England from Athelred the Unready and his son Edmund Ironside.

Columba(c. 521 - 597) Irish missionary credited with spreading Christianity in Scotland. The monastery he founded on the island of Iona in western Scotland became an early Viking target.

Cuthbert(c. 634 - 687) Patron saint of northern England, his remains were kept at the monastery of Lindisfarne, target of the first major Viking raid.

Charlemagne(c. 747 - 814) Frankish king and first monarch of the reborn Western Roman Empire.

Charles the Bald(823 - 877) Frankish emperor, son of Louis the Pious. He confronted Ragnar at the first siege of Paris and bribed him to leave.

Charles the Fat(839 - 888) Frankish emperor, great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was the last member of Charlemagnes dynasty to rule over a united empire. He relieved a siege of Paris in 886 by bribing the Vikings to leave.

Charles the Simple(879 - 929) Frankish king, cousin of Charles the Fat. He attempted to stop Viking raids by allowing them to settle in Normandy.

Edmund Ironside(c. 989 - 1016) King of England and son of Athelred the Unready. He agreed to divide England with the Viking king Cnut.

Erik Bloodaxe(c. 885 - c. 955) Viking king of Norway and York, son of Harald Fairhair.

Erik the Red(c. 950 - c. 1003) Norwegian Viking who colonized Greenland. Father of Leif Erikson and Freydis.

Freydis(10th century) Daughter of Erik the Red; early colonizer of Vinland.

Garthar(9th century) Swedish merchant who was the first Viking to deliberately sail to Iceland. He spent a single winter on the island.

Godfred(late 8th century) Danish Viking warlord responsible for constructing the first sections of the Danevirke.

Godwin(c. 1001 - 1053) Earl of Wessex, powerful advisor to Edward the Confessor and father of Tostig and Harold Godwinson.

Gorm the Old(d. 958) First Viking king of Denmark, father of Harald Bluetooth.

Guthrum(d. 890) Leader of the Great Heathen Army during its invasion of Wessex.

Hkon the Good(c. 920 - 961) Third king of Norway, youngest son of Harald Fairhair and brother of Erik Bloodaxe.

Halfdan(d. 877) Son of Ragnar Lothbrok and one of the leaders of the Great Heathen Army. Briefly controlled London 871-2.

Harald Bluetooth(c. 935 - 986) Viking king of Denmark and parts of Norway; Son of Gorm the Old, responsible for the Christian conversion of Denmark.

Harald Fairhair(c. 850 - 932) First king of Norway, father of Erik Bloodaxe and Hkon the Good.

Harald Greycloak(d. 970) Son of Erik Bloodaxe, king of Norway. Assassinated by Harald Bluetooth.

Harald Hrdrada(c. 1015 - 1066) King of Norway and half-brother of Saint Olaf. Served in the Varangian Guard, conquered Norway, and died at the battle of Stamford Bridge.

Harald Klak(c. 785 - c. 852) Danish Viking warlord that the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious attempted to use to Christianize Denmark.

Harold Godwinson(c. 1022 - 1066) Last Anglo-Saxon king of England. Killed at the Battle of Hastings by William the Conqueror.

Hastein(9th century) Possibly a son of Ragnar Lothbrok. Led a semi-legendary raid into the Mediterranean with his brother Bjorn Ironside.

Helgi(d. 912) Swedish Viking who succeeded Rurik and moved the Rus capital from Novgorod to Kiev. Also known by the Slavic name Oleg.

Horik(d. 854) Son of the Danish warlord Godfred, exiled Ragnar Lothbrok after the latters raid on Paris.

Inglfur Arnarson(9th century) First permanent settler of Iceland. Settled and named Reykjavk.