Not just good at sword fighting! Stunning new book of Viking art reveals battling Scandinavians had a sensitive side

Most of the Vikings' creative urges went into ships and jewellery design

They also created religious works such as the Överhogdal tapestries

Other works include brooches showing Norse gods and ship carvings

Creative side revealed in new book, Viking: The Norse Warrior's Manual

From the 793 attack on Lindisfarne monastery that left the surrounding sea red with blood to the pirate raids so vicious Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred the Unready was forced to pay a yearly tribute to keep them away, the mention of the word Viking was once enough to strike terror into the stoutest of English hearts.

But the battling Danes, Swedes and Norwegians weren't just ferocious bearskin-clad warriors. As a new book, Viking: The Norse Warrior's Manual, reveals, the Scandinavian raiders also had a surprisingly creative side.

Along with huge caches of elaborately worked swords and jewellery, the period also yielded stunning tapestries, pottery and carving - including some that was executed not by the men, but by women.

Terrifying sight: A period drawing depicting a shipload of Viking warriors heading out to sea in a longship

Stunning: A beautifully made silver brooch depicting Odin (left) and a carved animal head unearthed in Norway



Among the most stunning are the Överhogdal tapestries, a collection of intricately detailed works that depict a mixture of Christian and Norse gods, all of which appear to be moving towards a vast ash tree thought to be Yggdrasil - believed to hold nine worlds in its branches in Norse mythology.

The works, which are thought to date from between 800 and 1100, were created using wool, a textile common in the Viking world, and dyed using plants found in the surrounding Swedish countryside.

But while the tapestries prove that the Vikings had a sensitive side of sorts, most of the creative efforts of the period went into producing one of two things: elaborate boats and status-enhancing jewellery.

And it was the elaborate longships that were the first part of Viking craft to appear in the UK, when they appeared off the Northumberland coast in 793.



Life meets art: This scene from the Överhogdal tapestries depicts one of the Viking's famous longships

Worship: Among the scenes included in the stunning Överhogdal tapestries is this one which shows Yggdrasil

Elaborate: Treasure, including brooches and bracelets from a large hoard discovered in 1868 at Gnjozdovo

THE BEARSKIN-CLAD WARRIORS THAT MENACED BRITAIN

Fiery portents, a dragon seen streaking across the Northumbrian sky and whirlwinds lashing the coast could mean only one thing to the fearful Anglo-Saxons watching the heavens in 793 - doom was imminent. And doom duly came in the shape of the Vikings, who between 793 and 1066 were a hazardous part of life for the Anglo-Saxons. Beginning with the Lindisfarne attack, their power and influence grew until by 849, the year King Alfred the Great was born, they held much of the north and east. Although he managed to halt their advance, raids didn't cease until after the Norman Conquest. And while the Vikings may be gone from British shores, their influence does live on in the English language. Beserk, which means murderous rage, comes from the Anglo-Saxon 'beserker' or clad in bear-skin - an early term used to describe the Vikings.

Although the sight of an elegant Viking ship on the horizon usually meant a grisly end for the unlucky Anglo-Saxon watcher onshore, the ships also carried carvings created by some of the finest craftsmen of the age.

Carved wooden prows were a key part of the adornment lavished on Viking ships, and many featured animals.

One of the most stunning examples of the former to be found in author John Haywood's book, is the animal headed post which once adorned a Viking ship.

The work, which was found in the Oseberg Ship burial on a farm near Tønsberg in the Norwegian Vestfold region, is a stylised wooden carving of a dog, its mouth open in a ferocious growl, and its neck beautifully decorated with scroll-work.

But while adorning ships was an important strand of Viking art, personal adornment proved just as satisfying for Viking craftsmen.

Among the incredible examples of Viking jewels to appear in the book, is an elaborate silver brooch, now tucked away in a Stockholm archive, depicting Odin, the king of the Norse gods.

There's also a hoard of silver and gold treasure, discovered near St Petersburg in Russia, that includes striking examples of elaborately detailed brooches depicting everything from country life to the bloody raids that so terrified their Anglo-Saxon neighbours.

VIKING: The Norse Warrior’s Manual by John Haywood costs £12.95 and is published by Thames & Hudson

Workplace: Most Viking art was created in the cosy confines of homes such as this one in Fyrkat in Denmark

Spectacular: As the Oseburg Ship, found in a burial mound in Norway, reveals, art and war went together



Intricate: This silver gilt pot, discovered near Harrogate, displays the Viking aptitude for design