The Last Viking

The True Story of King Harald Hardrada

The Last Viking cover

Description

'The Last Viking is a masterful and pulse-pounding narrative that transports the reader into the middle of the action.' Carl Gnam, Military Heritage

Harald Sigurdsson burst into history as a teenaged youth in a Viking battle from which he escaped with little more than his life and a thirst for vengeance. But from these humble origins, he became one of Norway's most legendary kings. The Last Viking is a fast-moving narrative account of the life of King Harald Hardrada, as he journeyed across the medieval world, from the frozen wastelands of the North to the glittering towers of Byzantium and the passions of the Holy Land, until his warrior death on the battlefield in England.

Combining Norse sagas, Byzantine accounts, Anglo-Saxon chronicles, and even King Harald's own verse and prose into a single, compelling story, Don Hollway vividly depicts the violence and spectacle of the late Viking era and delves into the dramatic events that brought an end to almost three centuries of Norse conquest and expansion.

Table of Contents

Maps
List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part One
I. Seven Feet of English Ground
II. Eye of God
III. Exile
IV. Kievan Rus
V. Miklagard

Part Two
VI. Varangian
VII. Command
VIII. Holy Land
IX. Sicily
X. Uprising
XI. The Burner of Bulgars
XII. Reign of Terror
XIII. Revolution
XIV. Blinding
XV. Power
XVI. Lover
XVII. Downfall
XVIII. War
XIX. Escape from Byzantium

Part Three
XX. Prince of the Rus
XXI. Denmark
XXII. Treachery
XXIII. Kings of the North
XXIV. Thunderbolt of the North
XXV. Dragon Ships
XXVI. Hard Ruler
XXVII. The Battle of the Nisa
XXVIII. Sweden
XXIX. England

Part Four
XXX. Stamford Bridge

Epilogue: The Last Viking
A Note on Sources
Bibliography
Index

Product details

Published Sep 02 2021
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Extent 368
ISBN 9781472846532
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 8pp plate section in colour
Series General Military
Short code GNM
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Don Hollway

Don Hollway is an author, illustrator, and histori…

Resources

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