INTRODUCTION

THE COMING OF THE NORSEMEN

And they came to the Church of Lindisfarne, laid everything waste with grievous plundering, trampled the holy places with polluted steps, dug up the altars and seized all the treasures of the holy church. They killed some of the brothers, took some away with them in fetters, many they drove out, naked and loaded with insults, some they drowned in the sea.

—The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

JUNE 8, AD 793. THE ISLAND OF LINDISFARNE. A peaceful little place just off the northeast coast of England, bright with green pastures and surrounded on all sides by the rolling waves of the North Sea. At the Monastery of Saint Cuthbert, a few dozen Catholic monks dutifully tended to their chores or offered prayers in the breathtaking chapel.

Then from the east appeared an unusual sight. At the very edge of vision were two strange-looking ships approaching from a direction from which ships didn’t typically approach. Quietly, quickly, these small, fast-moving vessels made their way toward the island, each powered by a single red-and-white sail and sixty oars.

By the time the citizens could make out the black, ornately carved dragon heads glaring menacingly from the prows and see the glistening muscles of the heavily armored men rowing toward them, it was already too late.

The terrifying sea-raiders struck so fast that many of the monks didn’t have time to hide their valuables. With blood-curdling battle cries, a swarm of humongous bearded warriors tore through the island, slaughtering and burning and throwing people out windows as monks and pilgrims ran for their lives. Those who weren’t killed were captured, bound in ropes, and dragged back to the ships as captives, never to be heard from again.

The ravagers made straight for the chapel, completely unaware of its religious importance. They took gold crosses, silver cups and candlesticks, and ivory chests. They tore jeweled covers from Bibles, pried gems from walls, ripped priceless silk tapestries, and torched buildings.

They departed just as quickly as they’d arrived, leaving behind a smoldering wake of burning cinders and charred rubble. None of the ruined survivors knew anything about where the mysterious men had come from, what they wanted, or where they were headed. Those monks unlucky enough to witness the anarchy believed it was a scourge sent by God to punish humanity for its sins.

For the next three hundred years, these fearsome raiders would plague the lands of Europe. They’d be known by many different titles—the Norse, the Ashmen, the Northmen, and the Danes—but one name in particular has stood throughout time:

The Vikings.