Say the name Viking and images leap to mind. But who really were the Vikings and what was the Viking Age? Viking is a term used by modern scholars to refer to the nordic-speaking peoples from southern Scandinavia who raided Europe and the British Isles roughly between A.D. 793-1066. They would have identified themselves as Danes, Svear, Goths, Norwegians, etc. There never really was a single "Viking" culture; only a loose assortment of shared ideas, economies, religious beliefs, and especially a common Germanic language known today as Old Norse. In that sense Viking culture was simply only one stage in the development of modern Scandinavian culture.

By drawing on various sources, a rather complete picture of the Vikings emerges. Vikings were far more than the warriors of popular stereotype; they were also skilled craftsman, poets, politicians, and loyal family members who were proud and conscious of their social status.