Updated to reflect recent archaeological discoveries and overflowing with color illustrations, this book is the definitive introduction to the art of the Viking Age. The Viking Age in Europe lasted from the time of the first major Viking expeditions in 800 CE to the widespread adoption of Christianity in Scandinavia some 300 years later. During that time, Viking art and culture spread across continental Europe and into the world beyond. Written by a leading authority on the subject, this book introduces readers to the intricate objects and beautiful art styles that developed during the Viking Age. Beginning with an introduction to the geographical and historical background of Viking culture, author James Graham-Campbell chronicles the six main styles of Viking art, examining how they emerged and interacted with one another, as well as how the religious shift from paganism to Christianity impacted Viking art and its legacy. More than 200 high-quality illustrations depict everything from delicate metalwork, elaborate wood carvings, ornate weapons, and fine jewelry to grand ships, the Gotland picture stones, and archaeological traces left by the Vikings around the Western world. Now revised and updated with recent archaeological discoveries, Viking Art is a perfect guide—including a timeline and maps—for all those interested in the arts of this vibrant and fascinating culture.

Part of their strategic problem was the scarcity and even unreliability of their shipping. They had an essentially coastal rather than oceanic navy, and their manpower was limited. For most of the high Viking era they could field only one 'Great Army' at a time, and had to be content with relatively minor raiding operations elsewhere. Nevertheless, the appearance of even few highly-motivated Vikings in an area without good coastal defence could often spread.

This guide covers all the stylistic periods of Viking Age art, breaking down each style to its basic components in an easy to understand and straightforward manner. Through illustrations, timelines, maps and short descriptions of the historical contexts, you'll quickly acquire a good grasp of the anatomy of Viking Age art.

An illustrated guide to Viking warfare from strategy and weapons to culture and tradition: “a very excellent introduction to the Viking age as a whole” (Justin Pollard, historical consultant for the Amazon television series Vikings). From the time when sailing was first introduced to Scandinavia, Vikings reached virtually every corner of Europe and even America with their raids and conquests. Wherever Viking ships roamed, enormous suffering followed in their wake, but the encounters between cultures also brought immense change to both European and Nordic societies. In Vikings at War, historian Kim Hjardar presents a comprehensive overview of Viking weapons technology, military traditions and tactics, offensive and defensive strategies, fortifications, ships, and command structure. The most crucial element of the Viking’s success was their strategy of arriving by sea, attacking with great force, and withdrawing quickly. In their militarized society, honor was everything, and ruining one’s posthumous reputation was considered worse than death itself. Vikings at War features more than 380 color illustrations, including beautiful reconstruction drawings, maps, cross-section drawings of ships, line-drawings of fortifications, battle plan reconstructions, and photos of surviving artifacts, including weapons and jewelry. Winner of Norway’s Saga Prize, Vikings at War is now available in English with this new translation. “A magnificent piece of work [that] I’d recommend to anyone with an interest in the Viking period.” —Justin Pollard, historical consultant for the Amazon television series Vikings

A definitive guide to Viking art by a world expert on the subject This new survey covers all the intricate and beautiful art styles of the so-called “Viking Age.” It ranges in time from the first major Viking expeditions overseas around AD 800 to the establishment of Christianity in Scandinavia some three hundred years later. An opening chapter gives the historical and geographic background. Thematic chapters then describe and discuss the six main Viking art styles, showing how they emerged from and interacted with one another. Delicate metalwork is contrasted with elaborate wood carvings and the famous Gotland “picture stones,” and we move up in scale from the Oseberg ship to decorated weapons and fine jewels. The book’s conclusion looks at the art in relation to Viking mythology and sagas as well as its legacy in later times.

Caribbean Art presents and discusses the diverse, fascinating and highly accomplished work of Caribbean artists, whether indigenous or from the diaspora, popular or high culture, rural or urban based, politically radical or religious. This expanded edition has a new preface, and has been updated to reflect on recent challenges to the ideological premises and institutions of conventional art-historical practice and their connections to histories of colonialism, Eurocentricity and race. Two new chapters focus on public monuments linked to the history of the Caribbean, and the intersections between art and tourism, raising important questions about cultural representation. Featuring the work of internationally recognized artists such as Sonia Boyce, Christopher Cozier, Wifredo Lam, Ana Mendieta, Ebony G. Patterson, Hervé Télémaque, and more than 100 others working across a variety of media, this new edition makes an important contribution to the understanding of Caribbean art and its context, in ways that invite and encourage further explorations on the subject.

In the late nineteenth century, the first discoveries of prehistoric painting were greeted with incredulity. How could there have been such deft and skillful artists in the world over 30,000 years ago? Noted art historian Nigel Spivey begins with this puzzle to explore the record of humanity's artistic endeavors, and their impact on our own development. How Art Made the World , in conjunction with the PBS miniseries, reveals how artists from the earliest caveman to the most studied Renaissance master have grappled with the same questions in their work: What is a man? Why must we die? Is there a God? With the help of vivid color illustrations of some of the world's most moving and enduring works of art, Spivey shows how that art has been used as a means of mass persuasion, essential to the creation of hierarchical societies, and finally, the extent to which art has served as a mode of terror management in the face of our inevitable death. Packed with new insights into ancient wonders and fascinating stories from all around the globe, How Art Made the World is a compelling account of how humans made art and how art makes us human.

Late Saxon and Viking Art (1949) is a lavishly-illustrated examination of the art of the Saxon era – the carvings, sculpture, illustrations, drawings and paintings that emerged from the Anglo-Saxon and Viking cultures.