Summary of Arthur Herman's The Viking Heart

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of Arthur Herman's The Viking Heart in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: Scandinavia has always been a world apart. For millennia Norwegians, Danes, Finns, and Swedes lived a remote and rugged existence among the fjords and peaks of the land of the midnight sun. But when they finally left their homeland in search of opportunity, these wanderers—including the most famous, the Vikings—would reshape Europe and beyond. Their ingenuity, daring, resiliency, and loyalty to family and community would propel them to the gates of Rome, the steppes of Russia, the courts of Constantinople, and the castles of England and Ireland. But nowhere would they leave a deeper mark than across the Atlantic, where the Vikings’ legacy would become the American Dream.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Dec 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781669344070

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

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Insights on Arthur Herman's The Viking Heart

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Attacks by what the Anglo-Saxons called Northmen, meaning Scandinavians, began in 793 and would last for two centuries. They first attacked the monastery of Lindisfarne on the British island of Lindisfarne, then the double monastery of Monkwearmouth and Jarrow near the town of Newcastle, and finally the Scottish island of Iona.

#2

The Vikings were a nomadic people that came from Scandinavia and eventually occupied most of Europe. They were known for their pillaging raids, and by 878 had occupied half of England.

#3

The Northmen, or Vikings, were a group of Viking raiders who came from the lands now known as Scandinavia. They were famous for their great voyages and discoveries, and their impact on the modern world.

#4

The climate in Scandinavia is generally cold and snowy, but the people are warm and welcoming.

#5

The geography of Scandinavia was shaped by the last great Ice Age, which forced the Scandinavians to move inland. Around 8000 BCE, a massive earthquake pushed a 200-mile stretch of mountains into the ocean, creating a tsunami that flooded the land bridge connecting what would become the British Isles to the mainland.

#6

The water surrounding the Vikings shaped them the most. In fact, the word Viking means person from the Vik, which refers to the sea in Norse.

#7

The Vikings were a group of nomadic warriors that traveled around Europe and Asia spreading Scandinavian culture and religion. They also played an important part in the spread of Christianity.

#8

The Teutones, or Teutons, were a tribe of Germanic warriors who invaded Rome in the first century BCE. They were followed by many other Germanic tribes, some of which would later become the Franks.

#9

The German tribes were known for their bravery and loyalty amongst one another. This would be a major part of the Viking culture as well.

#10

The Germanic tribes that overran the Roman Empire in the fourth century were the Goths, Vandals, Burgundians, Gepids, Lombards, Franks, Alamans, Thuringians, and Frisians. After a series of conflicts with the Huns, the Burgundians headed for the mountain slopes of today’s Savoy and Switzerland.

#11

The Franks were a Germanic tribe that migrated to Europe in the aftermath of the Hunnish invasion. They would go on to become the primary ruling class in medieval Europe, and eventually create the Holy Roman Empire.

#12

Charlemagne spent his reign strengthening the frontiers of his empire, both south and west, against the Basques, Moors, and Saracens. But the first great Scandinavian hero, King Godfred of the Danes, was just emerging to threaten Charlemagne’s empire.

#13

The Vikings were a seafaring people, and their ships were used for