Vikings: The Rise and Fall

PBS: Monday 4 September at 8:45pm

Centuries later, their name and reputation still inspire awe, conjuring up images of fierce Norse warriors setting sail in their longboats to plunder and pillage. Yet does the truth measure up to the myths and legends sur- rounding the Vikings?

Calling upon rigorous research through mythical sagas and bioarchaeological finds, with input from an impressive gallery of experts, this series sets out to answer such questions.

From their Scandinavian beginnings, through the attack on a religious community on Lindisfarne in AD 793 that began their age of conquest, the series traces how the Vikings would expand not only into Europe, but as far afield as Constantinople and even the land later known as America before their empire finally receded into history.