Vikings in the South

One of the great strengths of this book is that, from start to finish, all of the written sources - whether in Arabic, Latin, Old Norse or Romance - are treated with the utmost degree of caution ... Ann Christys treads a cautious path and we should all be grateful to her for having, with infinite patience and considerable skill, built such a secure and durable bridge to the various fields of operations of those Viking sun-seekers. * Early Medieval Europe * Christys has a profound knowledge of both Arabic and Latin sources on the Viking voyages to the south ... She discusses every work of any importance, evaluates them critically and shows that only few are indeed reliable ... This book is invaluable for every student and researcher of Viking Age history. * Nordicum-Mediterraneum * The contribution of this volume is more than filling in a 'blank' spot in the wider modern histories of Vikings ... The books offers approaches to understanding how Islamic and Christian writers thought about themselves and their attackers and in particular the historiographic analysis is a thorough scrutiny of themes, differences and sources for the history of Vikings in the south. * Cerae * [A]n important work that fills a gap in English-language scholarship ... Christys is to be commended for opening up this ... material for further study. * Al-Masaq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean * Ann Christys's concise and well-written book fills a real need; she has read carefully all relevant sources, in Arabic, Old Norse and Latin, concerning possible Viking visits to the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula in the ninth and tenth centuries, stripped away many romanticized details that have attached to the accounts over the years, and come up with a sober assessment: that there were indeed occasional such attacks, but the shock and fear which the Vikings generated in coastal areas of the Iberian Peninsula were lasting, and greater than the actual threat. -- Roger Wright, Professor of Spanish, University of Liverpool, UK Ann Christys has made what might at first seem a small contribution to Viking history recognisable as not just significant but, in its field, definitive. Her knowledge of Arabic as well as Latin (and relevant modern languages) gives her work the edge on previous discussions of Vikings in the South. In methodological terms, her sifting-out of the grist in ninth-century sources adds something new to Viking historiography, while her critical analysis of later myths and their contexts is exemplary, illuminating, and enjoyable. -- Jinty Nelson, Professor Emeritus, King's College London, UK The Vikings in Iberia are remarkably elusive - our picture of them shaped by genres as diverse as Ptolemaic geography, Scandinavian saga and crusading narrative, affected by the recurring need of foils for heroes - saintly or secular. Dr Christys uses her formidable linguistic range and scholarly judgment to track them. On the way we lose Viking cheese, but gain Viking mice! The overall result is a major addition to our knowledge not only of Vikings, but of early medieval Iberia, and especially of Iberian historiography, both Christian and Muslim. -- Pauline Stafford, Professor Emerita, University of Liverpool, UK This is the first study of the Vikings in Iberia to be based on modern methodological principles and a profound knowledge of Muslim historiography. It puts this field of study on an entirely new footing and amounts to a true spring cleaning. -- Niels Lund, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, University of Copenhagen, Denmark This account of Scandinavian activity in Iberia and around the Mediterranean from the ninth to the eleventh centuries is based mainly on a thorough and very welcome analysis of the problems posed by medieval Muslim and Christian texts. It will be an invaluable guide to future students of the Vikings. -- Peter Sawyer, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, University of Leeds, UK, and editor of The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings (2001)