The Viking Isles

The Viking Isles PDF Author: Paul Murton
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd
ISBN: 1788852281
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 431

Book Description
Paul Murton has long had a love of the Viking north – the island groups of Orkney and Shetland and the old counties of Caithness and Sutherland – which, for centuries, were part of the Nordic world as depicted in the great classic the Orkneyinga Saga. Today this fascinating Scandanavian legacy can be found everywhere – in physical remains, place-names, local traditions and folklore, and much else besides. This is a personal account of Paul's travels in the Viking north. Full of observation, history, anecdote and encounters with those who live there, it also serves as a practical guide to the many places of interest. From a sing-along with the Shanty Yell Boys to fishing off Muckle Flugga, from sword dancing with the men of Papa Stour to a Norwegian pub crawl in Lerwick, Paul paints a vivid picture of these lands and their people, and explores their extraordinary rich heritage.

The Viking Isles

The Viking Isles PDF Author: Paul Murton
Publisher: Birlinn
ISBN: 1788852281
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 419

Book Description
The BBC travel personality explores the Nordic legacy of these remote Scottish islands: “Engagingly written and superbly illustrated.” —Undiscovered Scotland Paul Murton has long had a love of the Viking north—the island groups of Orkney and Shetland and the old counties of Caithness and Sutherland—which, for centuries, were part of the Nordic world as depicted in the great classic known as the Orkneyinga Saga. Today this fascinating Scandinavian legacy can be found everywhere—in physical remains, place names, local traditions and folklore, and much else. This is a personal account of Paul Murton’s travels in the Viking north. Full of observation, history, anecdote, and encounters with those who live there, it also serves as a practical guide to the many places of interest. From a sing-along with the Shanty Yell Boys to fishing off Muckle Flugga, from sword dancing with the men of Papa Stour to a Norwegian pub crawl in Lerwick, this book paints a vivid picture of these lands and their people, and explores their extraordinary rich heritage.

The Isles

The Isles PDF Author: Norman Davies
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 0330475703
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1156

Book Description
The bestselling and controversial new history of the 'British Isles', including Ireland from the author of Europe: A History. Emphasizing our long-standing European connections and positing a possible break-up of the United Kingdom, this is agenda-setting work is destined to become a classic. 'If ever a history book were a tract for the times, it is The Isles: A History ... a masterwork.' Roy Porter, The Times 'Davies is among the few living professional historians who write English with vitality, sparkle, economy and humour. The pages fly by, not only because the pace is well judged but also because the surprises keep coming.' Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Sunday Times 'A book which really will change the way we think about our past . marvellously rich and stimulating' Noel Malcolm, Evening Standard 'A historiographical milestone.' Niall Ferguson, Sunday Times 'The full shocking force of this book can only be appreciated by reading it.' Andrew Marr, Observer 'It is too soon to tell if [Norman Davies] will become the Macaulay or Trevelyan of our day: that depends on the reading public. He has certainly made a good try. This is narrative history on the grand scale - compulsively readable, intellectually challenging and emotionally exhilirating.' David Marquand, Literary Review

Lord of the Isles

Lord of the Isles PDF Author: Nigel Tranter
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1444766988
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 451

Book Description
By the power of his sword arm, his dragon fleet and his sheer personality, Somerled Norse Slayer carved an enduring name for himself in Scottish legend. Inheriting his father's shattered thanedom in Argyll in the twelfth century, he enlarged it by courage, initiative, military shrewdness and diplomacy. For decades his navy held the balance of power in the northern seas, and it was he who cleared the Vikings out of the Hebrides. Set against the romantically celebrated West Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland, the story of the conquests and courage of this hero king is a living tribute to a renowned legend. A thrilling story of the Scottish Isles in the 12th century by Nigel Tranter, master of Scottish historical fiction.By the power of his sword arm, his dragon fleet and his sheer personality, Somerled Norse Slayer carved an enduring name for himself in Scottish legend. Inheriting his father's shattered thanedom in Argyll in the twelfth century, he enlarged it by courage, initiative, military shrewdness and diplomacy. For decades his navy held the balance of power in the northern seas, and it was he who cleared the Vikings out of the Hebrides. Set against the romantically celebrated West Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland, the story of the conquests and courage of this hero king is a living tribute to a renowned legend. A thrilling story of the Scottish Isles in the 12th century by Nigel Tranter, master of Scottish historical fiction.

From the Vikings to the Normans

From the Vikings to the Normans PDF Author: Wendy Davies
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 9780198700517
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Book Description
This readable and authoritative volume covers the history of the Britain and Ireland between 800 and 1100 A.D. Seven chapters contributed by a team of experts cover key of this period, such as the Vikings, monarchies and other political structures, relationships between lords and labourers, developments in trade and urbanization, the christianization of society, the functions and dissemination of writing and scholarship, and relationships between Britain, Ireland and the Mediterranean civilizations to the south. To create a fully-rounded overview of the period, Wendy Davies, the volume's editor, has provided an Introduction giving a geographical context to the chapter narratives and discussing the available source material, and a Conclusion which pulls together the themes and currents running through the individual chapters.

The Vikings in Islay

The Vikings in Islay PDF Author: Alan Macniven
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd
ISBN: 1788853695
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 519

Book Description
The Hebridean island of Islay is well-known for its whisky, its wildlife and its association with the MacDonald Lords of the Isles. There would seem to be little reason to dwell on its fate at the hands of marauding Northmen during the Viking Age. Despite a pivotal location on the 'sea road' from Norway to Ireland, there are no convincing records of the Vikings ever having been there. In recent years, historians have been keen to marginalise the island's Viking experience, choosing instead to focus on the enduring stability of native Celtic culture, and tracing the island's modern Gaelic traditions back in an unbroken chain to the dawn of the Christian era. However, the foundations of this presumption are flawed. With no written accounts to go by, the real story of Islay's Viking Age has to be read from another type of source material - the silent witness of the names of local places. The Vikings in Islay presents a systematic review of around 240 of the island's farm and nature names. The conclusions drawn turn traditional assumptions on their head. The romance of Islay's names, it seems, masks a harrowing tale of invasion, apartheid and ethnic cleansing.

Blood of the Isles

Blood of the Isles PDF Author: Bryan Sykes
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1446438805
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 386

Book Description
Bryan Sykes, the world's first genetic archaeologist, takes us on a journey around the family tree of Britain and Ireland, to reveal how our tribal history still colours the country today. In 54BC Julius Caesar launched the first Roman invasion of Britain. His was the first detailed account of the Celtic tribes that inhabited the Isles. But where had they come from and how long had they been there? When the Romans eventually left five hundred years later, they were succeeded by invasions of Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans. Did these successive invasions obliterate the genetic legacy of the Celts, or have very little effect? After two decades tracing the genetic origins of peoples from all over the world, Bryan Sykes has now turned the spotlight on his own back yard. In a major research programme, the first of its kind, he set out to test the DNA of over 10,000 volunteers from across Britain and Ireland with the specific aim of answering this very question: what is our modern genetic make-up and what does it tell us of our tribal past? Are the modern people of the Isles a delicious genetic cocktail? Or did the invaders keep mostly to themselves forming separate genetic layers within the Isles? As his findings came in, Bryan Sykes discovered that the genetic evidence revealed often very different stories to the conventional accounts coming from history and archaeology. Blood of the Isles reveals the nature of our genetic make-up as never before and what this says about our attitudes to ourselves, each other, and to our past. It is a gripping story that will fascinate and surprise with its conclusions.
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