Kristin A. Seaver - The Last Vikings [2010][A]

Book Description
Release date: June 15, 2010 | ISBN-10: 1845118693 | ISBN-13: 978-1845118693
Late in the tenth century, the Norse Vikings embarked on a voyage of no return. Leaving Iceland first for Greenland, from there they sailed onwards to North America, setting foot on its shores five hundred years before Columbus’s first journeys of discovery. But by about AD 1500 their settlements were abandoned and the Norse Greenlanders and their explorations of the New World receded into the realms of myth. What happened between these momentous events? How did the Vikings really live -- and die -- and why have so many myths and legends grown up around this mysterious people of the sea?
Drawing on her deep knowledge of the culture and history of the region as well as the most up-to-date evidence from archaeology, medieval history and the evocative Sagas, Seaver weaves together a compelling and authoritative history. Alongside their spectacular achievements and discoveries, she also vividly evokes the last Vikings’ daily lives and explains why their apparent departure from Greenland in 1500 was not quite such a dramatic schism in the historical record as is often assumed. This compelling history of a people living at the fringes of the known world offers an illuminating entree into the world of the Norse Greenlanders which will captivate all who have ever wondered about the fate of the Vikings and will stand as the definitive work for years to come.

Reviews
"A fascinating investigation into one of the most elusive mysteries of the far North. Kirsten Seaver brings to life a wonderful cast of Saga heroes, the Norse at their most outlandish and compelling." -- Joanna Kavenna, author of The Ice Museum

"The author has created a highly successful synthesis from historical references, folklore, and archaeological reports to present a coherent account of a European people over a period of some five centuries, a feat of research all the more remarkable for the total absence of any document written by a Greenlander of Norse decent" -- Alan G. Macpherson, International Journal of Maritime History

"…a book that makes the fascinating reality considerably more interesting than the fictional stories that have arisen about Norse activities in Greenland and America...manages to hold the reader’s attention until the very last page" -- Kirsten Wolf, Arctic

About the Author
Kirsten A. Seaver is an independent historian who has taught at the University of Stanford. She has also worked as a novelist and a translator and her work has been published extensively in both English and Norwegian. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, London, her previous publications include Maps, Myths, and Men: The Story of the Vinland Map and The Frozen Echo.