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Vikings - Fear and FaithCaptivatingVIKINGS - FEAR AND FAITH This unusual book combines thorough historical detail and analysis with a look at the development of Christianity during the period of the Viking raids on Britain. History is presented to us in a dramatic and dynamic way, making the book hard to put down! The author carries the reader along and makes him feel that he is on a journey of exploration through the Viking times. Together, we piece together an impression of the mindset of Anglo-Saxons through a detective-like study of manuscripts of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and other contemporary texts, particularly as they relate to their understanding of the world around them. The author seeks to assess the impact of Christianity upon these people, as dramatic and violent changes broke in upon their world through the unexpected Viking attacks and subsequent upheavals and conflicts. We are taken from the earliest attacks, which left Britain in a fragile and vulnerable state, to the time, three centuries on, when King Alfred came to the throne, bringing a new emphasis on learning, the Scriptures, and the unification of the Anglo-Saxon world. Events are interpreted with the help of many different chroniclers and poets of the day and it is fascinating to trace the impact of various battles, and of the many monarchs who came and went, upon the emerging theology at the turn of the first millennium. Contrary to anticipation, I found this book amazingly stimulating and captivating. Whilst not a heavily theological book, the reader would be required to have, at the very least, an interest in history and the ability to concentrate solidly, in order to absorb the numerous names, places and battles referred to. This is worth the effort, since the book furnishes us with a very satisfying discovery of what life must have been like, stirring the imagination and enlightening the mind. Kathy Childress, Tottenham, London© Evangelicals Now - September 2002 |