{"product_id":"the-greatest-viking-the-life-of-olav-haraldsson-9781780277950","title":"The Greatest Viking: The Life of Olav Haraldsson","description":"A ruthless Viking warrior who named his most prized battle weapon after the Norse goddess of death, Olav Haraldsson and his mercenaries wrought terror and destruction from the Baltic to Galicia in the early eleventh century. Thousands were put to the sword, enslaved or ransomed. In England, Canterbury was sacked, its archbishop murdered and London Bridge pulled down. The loot amassed from years of plunder helped Olav win the throne of Norway, and a century after his death he was proclaimed 'Eternal King' and has been a national hero there ever since.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDespite his bloodthirsty beginnings, Olav converted to Christianity and, in a personal vendetta against the old Norse gods, made Norway Christian too, thereby changing irrevocably the Viking world he was born into. Told with reference to Norse sagas, early chronicles and the work of modern scholars, Desmond Seward paints an intensely vivid and colourful portrait of the life and times of arguably the greatest Viking of them all.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Birlinn\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/01\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781780277950\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/11\/2022 pg. 1\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Desmond Seward","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42531070345397,"sku":"9781780277950","price":25.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_78bcd9c7-abdf-4504-a093-c7ba0fdb1ada.jpg?v=1669735942","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-greatest-viking-the-life-of-olav-haraldsson-9781780277950","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}