The Vikings

By: Kenneth W. Harl, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Kenneth W. Harl

As raiders and explorers, the Vikings played a decisive role in the formation of Latin Christendom, and particularly of western Europe.

Now, in a series of 36 vivid lectures by an honored teacher and classical scholar, you have the opportunity to understand this remarkable race as never before, studying the Vikings not only as warriors, but in all of the other roles in which they were equally extraordinary - merchants, artists, kings, raiders, seafarers, shipbuilders, and creators of a remarkable literature of myths and sagas. Professor Harl draws insights from an astonishing array of sources: The Russian Primary Chronicle (a Slavic text from medieval Kiev), 13th-century Icelandic poems and sagas, Byzantine accounts, Arab geographies, annals of Irish monks who faced Viking raids, Roman reports, and scores of other firsthand contemporary documents.

Among the topics you'll explore are the profound influence of the Norse gods and heroes on Viking culture and the Vikings' extraordinary accomplishments as explorers and settlers in Iceland, Greenland, and Vinland. And with the help of archaeological findings, you'll learn to analyze Viking ship burials, rune stones and runic inscriptions, Viking wood carving, jewelry, sculpture, and metalwork. By the end of the series, you'll have a new understanding of what it meant to be a Viking and a richer appreciation of this remarkable race - a people who truly defined the history of Europe, and whose brave, adventurous, and creative spirit still survives today.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2005 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2005 The Great Courses

Good but a bit dry

Obviously this is a series of lectures, so the format is rather dry and well lecture like. The information however is amazing and shows the depth of viking culture and influence on history. I made connections to all sorts of things in other historical periods and realized their roots.

Well-Organized Course

Dr. Harl did an excellent job thoroughly explaining Norse history. It was easy to understand, yet complete and logical. I highly recommend this course to those of you who live Norse history and legends.

Amazing

So I've seen other reviews say he butchers some of the Norse words and names. I can't speak to that because I just don't know. The material was great for someone like me that loves history. I will say that the last 2 or 3 hours was hard to follow because I don't know the region (at all). So it's hard to follow bizarre sounding names along with locations I have no map to look at. I might even go so far as to say I only followed a good deal of the book with ease because of watching the TV show Vikings on History Channel. I can put a face to a name even though the TV show is only a rough conglomeration of the characters from real life people. This was a great start to the material and I would say the best followup would be the book 'The Children of Ash and Elm' which I listened to immediately after this Great Courses lecture series.

Wonderful

This is an excellent series of lectures given by a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic professor! I totally enjoyed this program and I recommend it highly!!

A great education on the Vikings

If you enjoy The Great Courses audiobook and history this is a good one. I had never appreciated the impact that the Norse cultures had and the breadth of their impact.

Informative

The only negative is the Professors poor pronunciation of Danish words and towns as well as that of other Scandinavian languages. Otherwise very informative and highly recomendable course.

Best Course from Harl

If you could sum up The Vikings in three words, what would they be?

This is my favorite course from Professor Harl. It is the 8th one I've listened to and while I struggled with most of the previous ones and did not take to his teaching style, this is a very solid course.

It has good historical narrative on the peoples of Scandinavia (Norway, Denmark, and Sweden) from Apx. 8000 BC to Aprx. 1400 AD focusing on the Vikings age of 790 AD to 1100 AD which centered on their raids and attacks against Europe as well as the formations of the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden:

o Attacks on the Frankish kingdom in the 9th century (Danes)
o Attacks on the kingdoms of England in the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries (Danes)
o Attacks on the Celtic West (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man) in the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries (primarily Norwegians)
o Settlement of Iceland (9th century by Norwegians)
o Settlement of Greenland (10th century by Norwegians)
o Discovery of Vinland (Newfoundland) in the early 11th century by Norwegians
o The forays of the Russ (from Sweden) into eastern Europe including founding a state in current day Russia and their conflicts and alliances with the Byzantine Empire (9th century)
o Unification of Norway (end of the 9th century)
o Unification of Denmark (10th century)
o Emergence of Sweden (11th century)



In the past I'd typically characterized Professor Harl's teaching style as throwing out as many facts as you can in 30 minutes rapid-fire style, hopping all over the map and across various ruling families while doing so. Relating info vs. teaching. There's still a bit of that in this course. It is sometimes hard to follow the various dynastic family members, marriages, relationships, and conflicts due to him covering a lot of ground in a short period of time. However, I did find myself enjoying these lectures much more than past courses. While the professor still makes it "hard work" to listen to his lectures (no multi-tasking or listening in the background or you will get lost very quick or miss key points!) I actually found these to be easier to listen to than previous courses. And that sensation of "can't wait to listen to the next lecture and the one after that" returned. And it wasn't because I just wanted to get through the course.

Another somewhat negative: when the professor discusses the fall of one empire and the rise of another (for example Norwegians in Ireland who are essentially toppled by the Irish kings in 980) often times he doesn’t explain why this occurred or the primary reasons for the circumstances changing. Just a statement of fact and then moves on.

But all in all I am happy I purchased this course. If you have any interest at all in the early kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway and how the Viking warriors of the early Middle Ages impacted the rest of Europe including the formations of states such as France, England, Ireland, and Russia then I definitely recommend this course. it fills a gap in The Great Courses' offerings nicely. Now if we can only get a course on Scandinavia post the Vikings age....

Explorers, warriors, poets, savages...VIKINGS!

Loved learning more about my northern ancestors. Much deeper thinkers than I initially thought. Wished there was more source material but hey, can't blame Pro Ken.
Great listen folks.

Great listening

Very informative, easy to listen to really enjoyed it. I would recommend it if you have an interest in the vikings

Very different and entertaining

This audiobook is essentially 36 separate individual lectures by the same individual on the history of the Vikings spanning several centuries. At first the very conversationalist and informal style put me off a little bit but the more I listened the more I started to enjoy it. Because it doesn’t read like a history book, it’s some guy telling you about the Vikings and his vast knowledge over a couple of beers. I have always wanted to know more about the Vikings, and I would highly recommend this for anybody who was looking for something fun to listen to, but they will also learn quite a bit from.