Product Description

While Scandinavia's 'Viking Age' is one of the most studied aspects of early medieval history, much less has been published about the centuries that followed. Yet the armies of Sweden, Norway and Denmark offer fascinating differences from the rest of medieval Western Europe, both in their organisation and their war gear - due partly to their remoteness, climate and terrain, but partly to their long freedom from the feudal system of other kingdoms. This book explains the special nature of Scandinavian armies, shaped by the relative weakness of kings and aristocrats, and the contrasts between the separate nations of the North.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1041816 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08
• Released on: 2003-08-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 48 pages

From the Publisher
Packed with specially commissioned artwork, maps and diagrams, the Men-at-Arms series is an unrivalled illustrated reference on the history, organisation, uniforms and equipment of the world's military forces, past and present.

About the Author
David Lindholm MA, was born in 1970. He was educated at the University of Lund in Sweden. He has made a special study of medieval weaponry and warfare both from the scientific perspective, and from the practical point of view. David Lindholm continues his researches in these fields; he also runs educational courses and seminars, both in private and at museums and in university departments. DAVID NICOLLE, born in 1944, worked in the BBC Arabic service before gaining an MA from the School of Oriental Studies and a PhD from Edinburgh University.

Customer Reviews

Post-Viking Warriors
A fine book about a subject that has not received enough attention. Both text and plates deal with Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish armies, as well as those of the Kingdom of the Isles, the Saami, and the Norse settlers in Greenland and Iceland. A wonderful book with Angus McBride's usual excellence.

A book of limited value
As the nordic (since Finland and Iceland are included in the book, the title is misleading) medieval military scene after the viking age is a subject on which few authors have cared to comment, one could have hoped for a more thought-through book from Nicolle and Lindholm. Sadly, this is not the case.

Factual errors abound and the authors happily ignores a great deal of both written and pictorial evidence to support their theories, particulary about the backwardness of Sweden and Norway in military terms. As the "guide to further reading" is populated almost solely by outdated literature, one suspects little effort has been made to provide an up-to-date picture.

One of the authors also manages to bring out an old hobby horse-theme; the interesting idea that Viking age one-edged swords were inspired by eastern fashion is presented - despite the fact that one-edged swords have been around in the north since the early iron ages. While many medieval developments may have arisen from eastern contacts, this idea seems like mere speculation. This is merely one of several glaring errors in this below-standards book.

One can also wonder why the book has the timespan 1100 to 1300 attached to it. By ending the book around 1300 the author cuts an artificial barrier into a period of great activity in scandinavia, both political and military - the period of the mid-nordic realm of the swedish duke Erik, in which the three scandinavian kingdoms clash both on the battlefield, dynastically and politically.

On the illustrations, McBride shows himself as a capable but rather creative illustrator - the strange stockiness of his figures, plus the abundance of fur coats with the fur turned out, make them seem a bit more like movie barbarians than medieval northerners. The clothing on civilians, and quite a few of the warriors, in all plates of the book seem to be inspired more by the popular image of viking age clothing than the plethora of scandinavian evidence available - the altar frontal collections of the Historical Museum in Bergen alone could have provided him with much inspiration. Unfortunately, McBride chose to resort to imagination instead.

One can only hope that other english-speaking scholars try to do a more thorough job when, or rather if, a similar and hopefully more valuable volume on the military aspect of medieval nordic culture appears.

A long overdue title
If you have curiosity about any aspect of military history, Osprey books are the most ideal place to start! Osprey books not only provide the reader with a good, sound, lavishly illustrated summary of the ancient warriors (or whatever military entity that is the topic), but you can browse through the bibliography in the back for more detailed books. These books always feature interesting "color plates", imaginitive illustations which give you a postcard interpretation of the subject, as they may have appeared in their time.

As one who enjoys Medieval Studies in general, but more specifically the martial aspects of the era, I must say that it seems that most of the literature available on the Middle-Ages seems to focus primarily on British, French, and Celtic regions of Europe. Now, these are interesting studies, but I have had difficulty finding Medieval-books on other regions of Europe, and that is where my curiosity lies. My heritage is predominantly Scandinavian, and its about time this particular title was published!

This book covers military aspects of early Scandinavia, approximately from the end of the Viking era, to the height of the Medieval period. Imagine Europe a thousand years ago, when much of the region still featured virgin wilderness, especially the further north and/or east one travelled.

In this time, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark were developing into nations, just as other kingdoms of Europe were. Iceland would remain largely as an independant island, until eventually coming under Norwegian or Danish influence. Finland was for quite some time considered to be a frontier area of Sweden, althouogh the Finns were a distinct people from the Swedish colonizers. The Norse language developed into the modern Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian languages, resulting in people with a common heritage, but just different enough to have distinct national pride and identity.

Like the rest of Europe, Scandinavia and the adjacent Baltic regions were the setting of many dramatic international rivalries, anti-pagan crusades, wars, battles, and conflicts of all scales, right up until the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century. Denmark, Sweden, and German states, (and sometimes Russia and Poland), were often the primary rivals for power over the Baltic Sea. Norway would lose its status as a separate nation in the Middle-ages, but the people did not lose their Norwegian identity. Norway did not regain that status until 1905! What an epic!