Allan Burnett - The Vikings and All That

The Vikings

For Caitlin and Emma

First published in 2016 by
Birlinn Limited
West Newington House
10 Newington Road
Edinburgh
EH9 1QS

www.bcbooksforkids.co.uk

Text copyright Allan Burnett 2016
Illustrations copyright Scoular Anderson 2016

The moral right of Allan Burnett to be identified as the author
of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored or transmitted in any form without the
express written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978 1 78027 393 8
eISBN: 978 0 85790 904 6

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Designed by James Hutcheson

Page make up by Mark Blackadder

Printed and bound by Grafica Veneta SpA
(www.graficaveneta.com)

Storm clouds gathered overhead as a fleet of mighty ships appeared on the horizon. The vessels surged menacingly towards the shore with their large, square sails bulging in the wind.

At the waters edge, farmers from a local village looked on in terror. Christian monks from the nearby monastery prayed to heaven. Then they all turned and ran for it.

The first ship beached on the shingle with a crash, while lightning flashed in the sky. Hordes of men from the ships leapt into the shallows to chase after the fleeing villagers as the rain pelted down.

One local lad was too slow. He felt the collar of his tunic being grabbed by a muscular hand.

Please dont kill me! squealed the boy as he turned around and dropped to his knees.

Kill you? said the invader, surprised. No, I just want to do business with you.

Eh? said the boy, who was now confused as well as terrified.

We come in peace to trade and make friends, continued the invader. I hate it when people just run away like that.

B-B-But... y-y-youre a Viking! exclaimed the boy. Everyone knows you Vikings plunder and pillage wherever you go!

Dont judge a book by its cover, my lad, said the Viking, who had a bushy, red beard.

The Viking began setting up a stall and laying out some trinkets.

The boy could not believe his eyes and ears. He had always been told that the Vikings were ruthless barbarians who liked nothing better than to go berserk and then tear people limb from limb.

But this lot were not violent Viking raiders they were peaceful Viking traders.

As the rain clouds disappeared and sunlight began to stream down, the boy stumbled along the beach. He found more Viking stalls selling everything from pots of honey to animal furs and statues carved from walrus tusks.

Some of the Vikings had sat down to play board games. Still others were cooking up tasty treats like roast horse-meat and nettle soup.

Slowly, the villagers and holy men began to return. After a while they were all laughing and joking with the newcomers, and the Vikings did a roaring trade.

Just then, the distant blast of a horn could be heard. The outline of new ships appeared on the distant waves. These vessels had dragons carved on their bows and looked a lot more frightening than the last lot.

From the sides of each craft protruded rows of many oars. They were being thrust back and forth in time with loud chanting and drumming.

Right lads, time to make way! commanded the red-bearded Viking.

Suddenly the stalls were packed up and the board games snapped shut. The traders hastened back to their boats and began pushing and heaving them into the water.

Wait! shouted the boy, running into the shallows and pointing at the approaching ships. Whos that?

Oh, theyre Viking raiders, came the breathless reply from Red Beard. Ruthless barbarians who tear people limb from limb. The leader is called Bjorn Bonecrusher.

Why Bonecrusher? asked the boy.

Youll find out soon enough! shouted Red Beard as he leapt back into his boat. Anyway, got to go. Have a nice day!

The boy sheepishly watched the peaceful Vikings hastily sailing away just as the arriving warships bore down on the beach. He turned to the people behind him...

When the raiders hit the shore the outcome was every bit as horrible as you might imagine. These Vikings were indeed vile and violent.

The locals were lashed and the monks were mauled. Bjorn Bonecrusher did a lot of bone-crushing that day.

But dont get too upset. If you are worried about what happened to the boy, dont be. He didnt actually exist in real life. And nor did his attackers.

Well, not exactly.

The dramatic scene you have just read is intended to explain a key Viking fact, which is this: when real Vikings turned up, some came in peace while others came to kill. Although usually not at the same time!

If fascinating and frightening facts float your boat, then youll be pleased to know that the rest of this book is packed with the stuff.

Warning: from here on in, the mayhem is for real.

That means lots of grisly and gruesome details about Viking raiders, their weapons and their favourite methods of making people-flavoured mincemeat.

On the other hand, the pages that follow also have a lot to say about the other kind of Viking the peaceful kind. Thats because there was much more to the Vikings than just raiding and robbery.

By reading on you will discover who the Vikings really were. You will learn about the strange things they ate and the crazy clothes they wore. Youll get to know their loopy languages and their bizarre beliefs. And youll find out where they went, as well as what they got up to when they arrived.

So first things first: lets find out where the Vikings came from and how their story begins...

The Vikings lived about a thousand years ago. Thats roughly from the eighth century through to the twelfth century. These centuries are known as the Viking age.

During that time, the Vikings invaded and conquered many lands. They built an empire of sorts that stretched all the way from North America to Russia.