Authors: Neil Oliver
| 1263 | In retaliation for Scots aggression against Viking rule in the Western Isles, the Viking King Haakon IV unsuccessfully takes on the Scots at the Battle of Largs. This is the last Viking raid on mainland Scotland. |
SECONDARY SOURCES
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Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum: History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen
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Book of Precious Records
, quoted in
National Geographic
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Alcuin of York, quoted in Christensen, C. and Nielsen H. (eds.),
Diplomatarium danicum
, 1. Raekke, Vol. I,
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As always, this book would never have seen the light of day without the talent and kindness of others. Sincere thanks to Bea Hemming, my editor at Weidenfeld & Nicolson for so much care and attention, and to all of her colleagues there – in design, picture research and marketing. My debt to editor Michael Dover grows ever larger, just as my respect deepens. He makes books better. Having worked through three of mine with me, he now spots my self-indulgences from half a mile out. Any that survive in the final version are entirely my own responsibility. The same is true of the contribution of proofreader Linden Lawson, who has worked her painstaking magic here once again.
Vikings
began life as a BBC television project and so I am also indebted to the team that slaved away to give it life. Huge thanks therefore to series producer Cameron Balbirnie, whose commitment to the job in hand is always humbling. Executive producer Eamon Hardy was also a champion of the cause. Directors Jon Eastman, Rosie Schellenberg and Simon Winchcombe led the journeys and adventures, each in their own unique and revealing way. It’s one thing to read about Vikings – quite another to spend time following in their footsteps. Hopefully this book conveys at least some of the wonder and excitement I felt during visits to locations as diverse and unforgettable as Reykjavik, Birka and Istanbul.
When the going gets tough, both on and between locations, it’s so often the humour of the crews that gets everyone else
through. Deep gratitude then to cameramen Patrick Acum, Neville Kidd, Toby Wilkinson, Jamie Cairney and Nik Porter, as well as to soundmen Edward Capes and Mike Williams. Researchers Eirin O Høgetveit, Ivan Lazic (both of whom also showed real potential as sound recordists, incidentally!) and Tom Watkinson were endlessly helpful and their careful work underpins much of what is contained in these pages. The editors who each brought skill and dedication to the job of assembling and finessing the three episodes of the series were Martin Johnson, Matt White and Ben Harrison – so my thanks and appreciation are owed to all.
None of us would have got anywhere or done anything useful without the tireless efforts of production co-ordinators Dominic Bolton, Poppy Corbett and Gezz Mounter – so huge thanks to them too. Love as always to my agents – Eugenie Furniss at Furniss-Lawton and Sophie Laurimore at Factual Management.
But my greatest debt is owed to my wife Trudi, and to our children, Evie, Archie and Teddy. My work takes me away from home more than I would like, and their tolerance of both my absences, and then of my deadline-inspired distraction while I am actually in the house, makes it all possible. I cannot thank them enough.
Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle),
10
,
101
,
111
,
152
Abbasid Caliphate,
144
,
172
–
3
,
178
,
187
Abdülmecid, Sultan,
183
Aberlemno Stone,
105
Abu-Bakr, Caliph,
97
Adam of Bremen,
83
,
119
–
20
,
273
,
303
,
319
Aelfteah, Archbishop of Canterbury,
324
Aella of Northumbria,
225
Aethelbald of Mercia,
229
Aethelred of Northumbria,
111
–
12
Aethelred of Wessex,
234
Aethelred the Unready,
317
,
318
–
19
,
320
,
324
–
5
,
331
Aethelstan (formerly Guthrum),
235
Aethelstan, King of the English,
257
–
9
,
260
,
261
Aethelweard,
259
Alamanni, the,
88
Alcuin of York,
10
,
101
,
111
–
12
,
128
–
9
,
152
,
222
Alfred the Great,
16
,
82
,
226
,
234
–
6
,
257
America
see
North America
Andersen, Søren,
25
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, xix,
10
,
153
,
154
,
155
,
223
,
224
,
227
,
228
,
234
,
236
,
257
–
8
,
259
,
313
,
317
,
319
Anglo-Saxons,
103
,
105
,
156
,
227
,
234
Angus Og,
252
Annales Bertiniani (Annals of St Bertin)
,
195
,
223
Annales Cambriae
,
259
Annals of Fulda
,
204
Annals of the Four Masters
,
204
Ansarve (Sweden),
108
Antoninus Pius, Emperor,
87
Anwend,
234
Ardnamurchan boat burial,
2
–
3
,
250
Arminius,
76
Asgard,
268
Ashingdon (Assandun), Battle of,
325
–
6
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford,
226
,
227
,
315
Assandun (Ashingdon), Battle of,
325
–
6
Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal,
182
Attila the Hun,
94
Augstine of Hippo, St,
103
Baltic Sea,
24
,
79
,
129
,
157
,
159
,
187
,
221
Baltimore, Ireland,
211
Barbary pirates,
211
Barrowman, Rachel,
245
Basil II, Byzantine Emperor,
176
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
,
102
–
3
,
150
Belisarius, Flavius,
17
Beloozero (Russia),
172
Benedict of Nursia, St,
149
Beorhtric of Wessex,
154
Bergman, Ingmar,
108
Betjeman, John,
229