In 793 AD. e. Norwegian warriors attacked the English island of Lindisfarne and completely devastated it. Wave after wave of Scandinavian "sea wolves" followed prey, land or a glorious death in battle. Much of the British Isles fell to their swords, and the continental capitals of Paris and Aachen were sacked in turn. Turning east, they sailed along the uncharted rivers of Central Europe, captured Kyiv and came to blows with the mighty Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. But there is more to the story of the Vikings than just conquest. They introduced a new form of trial by jury in England, were sophisticated merchants and explorers who settled Iceland, founded Dublin and created a trading network that stretched from Baghdad to the coast of North America. PDF A4 format retains the publisher's design.