DK Eyewitness Books - Viking

17

KILLING THE KING

King Edmund was king of East

Anglia in England in 869.

This 12th-century

manuscript shows him

being beaten by Vikings.

Then they tied him to a

tree and shot him full of

arrows. Edmund still

refused to give up his belief

in Christ, so they cut off his head.

The Vikings later settled in East Anglia

under their leader King Guthrum.

Interlace

designs, typical of

Dublin Viking art

IRISH CROOK

Raids on Ireland began

in 795. By the 820s, the

Vikings had worked their

way around the entire

island. The town of

Dublin became a thriving

Viking trading center

with links to many other

countries. This wooden

animal head comes from

a crook or walking stick.

It was made in Dublin,

but it is decorated in the

Viking Ringerike style.

It dates from early in

the 11th century.

SCOTCHED

This imaginary scene depicts the Viking

invasion of Scotland. Many of the

raiders were Norwegians who came

via the Shetland and Orkney Islands.

From these resting places, the many

Hebridean islands, the Isle of Man,

and Ireland were all within easy reach. Small pieces of red enamel

Whole casket

is shaped like

a house

Hollow box of yew wood

covered in plates of tin

and copper mixed wit h

ot her metals

DEATH OF THE ARCHBISHOP
In 1012, Archbishop Alphege of
Canterbury was seized by Vikings
who were raiding the English
countryside. They were angry
because the English King Ethelred
had not paid them quickly enough.
Alphege refused to be ransomed.
The Vikings, who were drunk, pelted
him with bones and cattle skulls. He
was finally killed with a battle ax.

RANVAIK’S SHRINE

This shrine, or casket, was made

in Scotland or Ireland in the 8th

century. It held holy Christian

relics. It was probably taken to

Norway as loot. There the new

owner inscribed a message in

runes (pp. 58–59) on the bottom:

“Ranvaik owns this casket.”