Hastein
Encyclopedia
Hastein was a notable Viking
chieftain of the late 9th century who made several raiding voyages.
, he is often given as a son of Ragnar Lodbrok
. He is first recorded taking part in the Viking attack on the Frankish Empire
, occupying Noirmoutier in 843 and on the Loire
again in 859 for his great raid into the Mediterranean.
, another son of Ragnar Lodbrok
with 62 ships from the Loire
.
At first the raiding did not go well, with Hastein being defeated by the Asturians
and later the Muslims of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba
at Niebla
in 859. Success followed with the sacking of Algeciras
, where the mosque was burned, and then the ravaging of Mazimma in the Idrisid Caliphate on the north coast of Africa, followed by further raids into the Umayyad Caliphate at Orihuela
, the Balearic Islands
and Roussillon
.
Hastein and Björn wintered at Camargue
island on the mouth of the Rhone
before ravaging Narbonne
, Nîmes
and Arles
, then as far north as Valence
, before moving onto Italy. There they attacked the city of Luna
. Believing it to be Rome, Hastein had his men carry him to the gate and tell the guards he was dying and wished to convert to Christianity. Once inside, he was taken to the town's church where he received the sacraments, before jumping from his stretcher and leading his men in a sack of the town. Another account has him wanting to convert before he dies and the following day feigns death. The city then lets 50 robed men come in for his burial all of which had swords under their robes. Hastein then jumps from his coffin and chops off the religious leaders heads on the way to sacking the city. As might be imagined, the veracity of this is much debated. The fleet then possibly raided Byzantine Empire
sites in the eastern Mediterranean.
On the way back to the Loire, he stopped off in North Africa where he bought several African slaves (known to the Vikings as 'blámenn', blue men, possibly West Africa
ns or Touaregs) who he later sold in Ireland. Homeward bound, Hastein and Björn were defeated by a Muslim fleet soon after the Straits of Gibraltar, but still managed to ravage Pamplona
before returning home to the Loire with 20 ships.
army he killed Robert the Strong
at the Battle of Brissarthe
near Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe
. In 867 he went on to ravage Bourges
and a year later attacked Orléans
. Peace lasted until spring 872 when the Viking fleet sailed up the Maine and occupied Angers
, which led to a siege by the Frankish king Charles the Bald
and a peace being agreed in October 873.
Hastein remained in the Loire country until 882, when he was finally expelled by the Charles and then relocated his army north to the Seine. There he stayed until the Franks
besieged Paris and his territory in the Picardy
was threatened. It was at this point he became one of many experienced Vikings to look to England for riches and plunder.
in 892 leading one of two great companies. His army, the smaller of the two, landed in 80 ships and occupied the royal village of Milton
in Kent
, whilst his allies landed at Appledore
with 250 ships. Alfred the Great positioned the West Saxon army between them to keep them from uniting, the result of which was that Hastein agreed terms, including allowing his two sons to be baptised, and left Kent for Essex
. The larger army attempted to reunite with Hastein after raiding Hampshire and Berkshire in the late spring of 893, but was defeated at Farnham
by an army under Prince Edward
, Alfred's son. The survivors eventually reached Hastein's army at Mersea Island
, after a combined West Saxon and Mercian army failed to dislodge them from their fortress at Thorney
.
The result left Hastein in command of a formidable Danish army at his fortified camp (or burh
) at Benfleet
in Essex, where he combined the men and ships from Appledore and Milton. He set out on a raid in Mercia, but whilst the main army was away the garrison was defeated by the bolstered militia of eastern Wessex. The West Saxons captured the fort, along with the ships, booty, women and children. This was a major blow for Hastein, who had lost his wife and sons in the loss of Benfleet. He re-established his combined force at a new fort at Shoebury further north in Essex, and received reinforcements from the Danish Kingdom of East Anglia and the Scandinavian Kingdom of York
. He also had his two sons returned to him since Alfred and Athelred had stood sponsor at their baptism early in 893.
Next, Hastein launched his men on a savage retaliatory raid along the Thames valley
then up the River Severn
. It was pursued all the way by Aethelred of Mercia
and a combined Mercian and West Saxon army, reinforced by a contingent of warriors from the Welsh kingdoms. Eventually the Viking army was trapped on the island of Buttingham on the Severn near Welshpool
, but they fought their way out several weeks later, and lost many men, and returned to the fortress at Shoebury. In late summer 893, Hastein's men struck out again. First they wisely moved all their booty, women and ships in East Anglia, and after being reinforced marched to Chester
to occupy the ruined Roman fortress. The refortified fortress should have made an excellent base for raiding northern Mercia, but the Mercians took the drastic Scorched earth
measure of destroying all crops and livestock in the surrounding countryside to starve the Danes out.
In the autumn the besieged army left Chester, marched down to the south of Wales and devastated the Welsh kingdoms of Brycheiniog
, Gwent and Glywysing until the summer of 894. They return via Northumbria
, the Danish held midlands of the Five Burghs
, and East Anglia
to return to the fort at Mersea Island. In the autumn of 894, the army towed their ships up the Thames to a new fort on the River Lea. In the summer of 895 Alfred arrived with the West Saxon army, and obstructed the course of the Lea with a fort either side of the river. The Danes abandoned their camp, returned their woman to East Anglia and made another great march across the Midlands to a site on the Severn (where Bridgnorth
now stands), followed all the way by hostile forces. There they stayed until the spring of 896 when the army finally dispersed into East Anglia, Northumbria and the Seine
.
He is identified with the Jarl Hasting who held the Channel Islands
for a while.
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
chieftain of the late 9th century who made several raiding voyages.
Early life
Little is known of Hastein's early life, described as a Dane in the Anglo-Saxon ChronicleAnglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
, he is often given as a son of Ragnar Lodbrok
Ragnar Lodbrok
Ragnar Lodbrok was a Norse legendary hero from the Viking Age who was thoroughly reshaped in Old Norse poetry and legendary sagas.-Life as recorded in the sagas:...
. He is first recorded taking part in the Viking attack on the Frankish Empire
Frankish Empire
Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...
, occupying Noirmoutier in 843 and on the Loire
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
again in 859 for his great raid into the Mediterranean.
Spain and the Mediterranean
One of the most famous Viking raids was Hastein's voyage to the Mediterranean (859-862AD), having set out with Björn IronsideBjörn Ironside
Björn Ironside was a semi-legendary king of Sweden who would have lived sometime in the 9th century. Björn Ironside is said to have been the first ruler of a new dynasty...
, another son of Ragnar Lodbrok
Ragnar Lodbrok
Ragnar Lodbrok was a Norse legendary hero from the Viking Age who was thoroughly reshaped in Old Norse poetry and legendary sagas.-Life as recorded in the sagas:...
with 62 ships from the Loire
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
.
At first the raiding did not go well, with Hastein being defeated by the Asturians
Kingdom of Asturias
The Kingdom of Asturias was a Kingdom in the Iberian peninsula founded in 718 by Visigothic nobles under the leadership of Pelagius of Asturias. It was the first Christian political entity established following the collapse of the Visigothic kingdom after Islamic conquest of Hispania...
and later the Muslims of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and part of North Africa, from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous...
at Niebla
Niebla, Spain
Niebla is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 4,200 inhabitants. A 2-km town wall surrounds the perimeter of the town.-External links:...
in 859. Success followed with the sacking of Algeciras
Algeciras
Algeciras is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar . Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and in the world in three categories: container,...
, where the mosque was burned, and then the ravaging of Mazimma in the Idrisid Caliphate on the north coast of Africa, followed by further raids into the Umayyad Caliphate at Orihuela
Orihuela
Orihuela is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 32,472 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006...
, the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
and Roussillon
Roussillon
Roussillon is one of the historical counties of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...
.
Hastein and Björn wintered at Camargue
Camargue
The Camargue is the region located south of Arles, France, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône River delta. The eastern arm is called the Grand Rhône; the western one is the Petit Rhône....
island on the mouth of the Rhone
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
before ravaging Narbonne
Narbonne
Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
and Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
, then as far north as Valence
Valence, Drôme
Valence is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Drôme department, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, south of Lyon on the railway to Marseilles.Its inhabitants are called Valentinois...
, before moving onto Italy. There they attacked the city of Luna
Luna (Etruria)
Luna was an ancient city of Etruria, Italy, 4~ miles southeast of modern Sarzana. It was the frontier town of Etruria, on the left bank of the river Macra , the boundary in imperial times between Etruria and Liguria...
. Believing it to be Rome, Hastein had his men carry him to the gate and tell the guards he was dying and wished to convert to Christianity. Once inside, he was taken to the town's church where he received the sacraments, before jumping from his stretcher and leading his men in a sack of the town. Another account has him wanting to convert before he dies and the following day feigns death. The city then lets 50 robed men come in for his burial all of which had swords under their robes. Hastein then jumps from his coffin and chops off the religious leaders heads on the way to sacking the city. As might be imagined, the veracity of this is much debated. The fleet then possibly raided Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
sites in the eastern Mediterranean.
On the way back to the Loire, he stopped off in North Africa where he bought several African slaves (known to the Vikings as 'blámenn', blue men, possibly West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
ns or Touaregs) who he later sold in Ireland. Homeward bound, Hastein and Björn were defeated by a Muslim fleet soon after the Straits of Gibraltar, but still managed to ravage Pamplona
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
before returning home to the Loire with 20 ships.
The Loire and the Seine
Settled back in Brittany, Hastein allied himself with Salomon, King of Brittany against the Franks in 866, and as part of a Viking-BretonBreton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
army he killed Robert the Strong
Robert the Strong
Robert IV the Strong , also known as Rutpert, was Margrave in Neustria. His family is named after him and called Robertians. He was first nominated by Charles the Bald missus dominicus in 853. Robert was the father of the kings Odo and Robert I of France. Robert was the great-grandfather of Hugh...
at the Battle of Brissarthe
Battle of Brissarthe
The Battle of Brissarthe was fought on 2 July 866), between the Franks and a joint Breton-Viking army near Brissarthe, Neustria. It was marked by the death of Robert the Strong, the Neustrian margrave, and Ranulf I, the duke of Aquitaine....
near Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe
Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe
Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department of western France. It is approx. 175 miles from Paris. It had a population of 2,656 according to 2006 statistics...
. In 867 he went on to ravage Bourges
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
and a year later attacked Orléans
Orléans
-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
. Peace lasted until spring 872 when the Viking fleet sailed up the Maine and occupied Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
, which led to a siege by the Frankish king Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
and a peace being agreed in October 873.
Hastein remained in the Loire country until 882, when he was finally expelled by the Charles and then relocated his army north to the Seine. There he stayed until the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
besieged Paris and his territory in the Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
was threatened. It was at this point he became one of many experienced Vikings to look to England for riches and plunder.
Hastein's Army in England
Hastein first crossed to England from BoulogneBoulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
in 892 leading one of two great companies. His army, the smaller of the two, landed in 80 ships and occupied the royal village of Milton
Milton Regis
Milton Regis is a village in the district of Swale in Kent, England. It has a population of about 5,100. Today it is a suburb of Sittingbourne although this has not always been the case. Milton Regis has a much older and richer history...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, whilst his allies landed at Appledore
Appledore, Kent
Appledore is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village centre is 12 miles south-west of Ashford town, and on the northern edge of the Romney Marsh The northerly part of this village is Appledore Heath....
with 250 ships. Alfred the Great positioned the West Saxon army between them to keep them from uniting, the result of which was that Hastein agreed terms, including allowing his two sons to be baptised, and left Kent for Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. The larger army attempted to reunite with Hastein after raiding Hampshire and Berkshire in the late spring of 893, but was defeated at Farnham
Farnham
Farnham is a town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. The town is situated some 42 miles southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire...
by an army under Prince Edward
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
, Alfred's son. The survivors eventually reached Hastein's army at Mersea Island
Mersea Island
Mersea Island is the most easterly inhabited island in the United Kingdom, located marginally off the coast of Essex, England, to the southeast of Colchester. It is situated in the estuary area of the Blackwater and Colne rivers and has an area of around...
, after a combined West Saxon and Mercian army failed to dislodge them from their fortress at Thorney
Thorney
Thorney is the name of more than one place. It is also used as a common nickname for people with the surname Thorne.It often means "Thorn eyot", or Isle of Thorns; the isle might be in a fen or river, or the sea.In the United Kingdom:...
.
The result left Hastein in command of a formidable Danish army at his fortified camp (or burh
Burh
A Burh is an Old English name for a fortified town or other defended site, sometimes centred upon a hill fort though always intended as a place of permanent settlement, its origin was in military defence; "it represented only a stage, though a vitally important one, in the evolution of the...
) at Benfleet
Benfleet
South Benfleet is a town in the Castle Point district of Essex, 30 miles east of London. The Benfleet post town includes South Benfleet, Thundersley and Hadleigh. The Battle of Benfleet took place here between the Vikings and Saxons in 894....
in Essex, where he combined the men and ships from Appledore and Milton. He set out on a raid in Mercia, but whilst the main army was away the garrison was defeated by the bolstered militia of eastern Wessex. The West Saxons captured the fort, along with the ships, booty, women and children. This was a major blow for Hastein, who had lost his wife and sons in the loss of Benfleet. He re-established his combined force at a new fort at Shoebury further north in Essex, and received reinforcements from the Danish Kingdom of East Anglia and the Scandinavian Kingdom of York
Jórvík
Scandinavian York is a term, like the terms Kingdom of Jórvík or Kingdom of York, used by historians for the kingdom of Northumbria in the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was dominated by Norse warrior-kings; in particular, it is used to refer to the city controlled by...
. He also had his two sons returned to him since Alfred and Athelred had stood sponsor at their baptism early in 893.
Next, Hastein launched his men on a savage retaliatory raid along the Thames valley
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...
then up the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
. It was pursued all the way by Aethelred of Mercia
Aethelred of Mercia
Æthelred was King of Mercia from 675 until 704. He was the son of Penda of Mercia and came to the throne in 675, when his brother, Wulfhere of Mercia, died. Within a year of his accession he invaded Kent, where his armies destroyed the city of Rochester...
and a combined Mercian and West Saxon army, reinforced by a contingent of warriors from the Welsh kingdoms. Eventually the Viking army was trapped on the island of Buttingham on the Severn near Welshpool
Welshpool
Welshpool is a town in Powys, Wales, or ancient county Montgomeryshire, from the Wales-England border. The town is low-lying on the River Severn; the Welsh language name Y Trallwng literally meaning 'the marshy or sinking land'...
, but they fought their way out several weeks later, and lost many men, and returned to the fortress at Shoebury. In late summer 893, Hastein's men struck out again. First they wisely moved all their booty, women and ships in East Anglia, and after being reinforced marched to Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
to occupy the ruined Roman fortress. The refortified fortress should have made an excellent base for raiding northern Mercia, but the Mercians took the drastic Scorched earth
Scorched earth
A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...
measure of destroying all crops and livestock in the surrounding countryside to starve the Danes out.
In the autumn the besieged army left Chester, marched down to the south of Wales and devastated the Welsh kingdoms of Brycheiniog
Brycheiniog
Brycheiniog was a small independent petty kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the powerful south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans between 1088 and 1095, though it...
, Gwent and Glywysing until the summer of 894. They return via Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
, the Danish held midlands of the Five Burghs
Five Burghs
The Five Boroughs or The Five Boroughs of the Danelaw were the five main towns of Danish Mercia . These were Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham and Stamford...
, and East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
to return to the fort at Mersea Island. In the autumn of 894, the army towed their ships up the Thames to a new fort on the River Lea. In the summer of 895 Alfred arrived with the West Saxon army, and obstructed the course of the Lea with a fort either side of the river. The Danes abandoned their camp, returned their woman to East Anglia and made another great march across the Midlands to a site on the Severn (where Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England, along the Severn Valley. It is split into Low Town and High Town, named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left...
now stands), followed all the way by hostile forces. There they stayed until the spring of 896 when the army finally dispersed into East Anglia, Northumbria and the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
.
Legacy
Hastein disappeared from history in around 896, by then an old man having already been described as "the lusty and terrifying old warrior of the Loire and the Somme", when he arrived in England several years earlier. He was one of the most notorious and successful Vikings of all times, having raided dozens of cities across many kingdoms in Europe and North Africa.He is identified with the Jarl Hasting who held the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
for a while.
Further reading
- The Vikings by Magnus MagnussonMagnus MagnussonMagnus Magnusson KBE was a television presenter, journalist, translator and writer. He was born in Iceland but lived in Scotland for almost all of his life, although he never took British citizenship...
, (December 1, 2003) Tempus Publishing Ltd ISBN 0-7524-2699-0 - History of the Bailiwick of GuernseyGuernseyGuernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
by James Marr (July 16, 1982) Phillimore & Co Ltd ISBN 0-85033-459-4