Peter Foote The Viking Achievements Summary

Peter Foote and David Wilson, an archaeologist and professor respectively, wrote The Viking Achievement: A Story of the Society and Culture of Early Medieval Scandinavia to analyze the people and society of the northern region of Europe from the 9th to 13th centuries. They focused on the individual lives of the indigenous Scandinavian people, their roles and jobs in their community, and their trade with and conquest of other territories. Foote and Wilson describe the infamous achievements the Vikings accomplished and how they managed to leave their footprint in European history.

The northern regions of Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden were filled with nomadic people who emphasized the importance of individuality and self-sufficiency. This being said, Scandinavian communities were “based on large family groups” which soon developed to “central monarchies” that played a significant role in how they ran their society (Foote and Wilson 27). The authors emphasized the influence war played on the Vikings and how their economy was based on “agriculture, fishing, and hunting” (65). Once the Vikings inhabited the land they took over, they “quickly became acclimatized to its political structure and with

their adventurous background became competent traders.” (196). The Vikings did not limit their trade to just European countries; they extended to various parts of Russia, Minor Asia, and North Africa. Guilds and political groups were soon established in the communities that “stimulated the general European economy” (196). In addition, slaves were an important part of the financial system the Vikings created but were not heavily relied on like other European cultures.
Before Christianity influenced Scandinavian society, Vikings worshipped many pagan gods such as Thor who was "pre-eminently the god of physical strength." Many Vikings, some of who were atheists, did not accept the Christian religion and did not pay much attention to it.

During the 9th and 10th centuries, Christian missionaries tried to persuade the Vikings to adopt their religion and give up their destructive and barbarian ways but were mostly ignored. From 800 on, the Vikings mostly spoke German but soon split into different languages as more territory was conquered and the initial Viking group was split up. This made communication between different groups particularly difficult as it limited the spread of information thus hindering the spread of religion even

more.
This book was filled not just with text but also with drawings and artwork depicting Viking life. It was refreshing to have a visual aid in addition to just describing the life of Scandinavians. Foote and Wilson were able to give the important facts and details of Viking life without droning on about unimportant and useless information; they were straight to the point and didn’t give excess details. The authors accurately described the characteristics and behaviors of the Vikings and their society making the reader feel like they lived among them. Including social life, woman and family characteristics, and daily life made the book enjoyable and easily readable. The only complaint I had about the book was that the authors did not pay much attention to the individuals or particular leaders of the region but rather spoke on the Viking people as a whole.