ABSTRACT
The peoples of what is now Scandinavia, in the period c.750–1050 CE, are better known as the Vikings – a term that brings as much confusion as clarity. This introduction looks back on centuries of historical distortion and politicised misappropriation, peeling back layers of disinformation to consider them afresh. With a perspective that embraces all levels of society, in the vast and varied world through which they moved, we are poised to begin a comprehensive survey of the period and its people.
