"A furore Normannorum libera nos, Domine" - with such a prayer in the 7th-11th centuries. many priests of Western Europe appealed to protect them from the Vikings... They appeared off the European coast on their ships under red or striped sails with a frightening head of a snake or dragon on the nose. According to contemporaries, they "ravaged the sinful land of England from one seashore to the next; killed the people and cattle and spared neither women nor children." And Charlemagne once bitterly said: "I foresee how much evil these people will do to my successors and their subjects." The Viking era, which lasted from the 8th to the 11th centuries, is usually considered as a separate era, because, although historically it represents a natural continuation of the legendary centuries, its political results are grandiose. The name of the legendary conquerors - the Vikings, who plowed the seas and made successful raids on the possessions of people who lived near the coast - is on everyone's lips. Many literary and artistic works are associated with them. Centuries later, legends about Vikings are told again and again... The new book by Sergei Zharkov for the first time tells not only about the military art of the Vikings, but also about their lives and gives an answer - where did these warriors come from, who kept all of Europe in fear for three centuries.