Book

The Long Ships

by Frans G. Bengtsson · first published 1941

The Long Ships or Red Orm (original Swedish: Röde Orm, "Red Serpent = Snake/Dragon", lit. 'Worm the Red') is an adventure novel by the Swedish writer Frans Gunnar Bengtsson. The narrative is set in the late 10th century and follows the adventures of the Viking Röde Orm - called "Red" for his hair and his temper, a native of Scania. The book portrays the political situation of Europe in the later Viking Age, Andalusia under Almansur, Denmark under Harald Bluetooth, followed by the struggle between Eric the Victorious and Sven Forkbeard, Ireland under Brian Boru, England under Ethelred the Unready, and the Battle of Maldon, and then the Byzantine Empire and its Varangian Guard, Kievan Rus and its neighbors the Patzinaks—all before the backdrop of the gradual Christianization of Scandinavia, contrasting the pragmatic Norse pagan outlook with the exclusiveness of Islam and Christianity. The novel is divided into two parts, published in 1941 and 1945, with two books each.

Summary: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0