The Viking leader who carried off these treasures had a weakness for beautiful things. Rather than melting down all the plunder into bullion, this Viking lord set aside several pieces for his ...

A Viking fleet nears home with slaves and other plunder in this imagined scene aboard an actual vessel—the ninth-century Gokstad ship. Sailors perched on movable storage chests while rowing.

The Vikings are often portrayed as illiterate, uncultured barbarians who evinced more interest in plunder than in poetry. In fact, the Vikings left behind a great number of documents in stone ...