The Rhine, a major European thouroughfare even in the Middle Ages, provided the Vikings with a convenient inroad into the heart of power and wealth ofthe Carolingian empire.
This volume unites articles on many topics related to the relationship between the Vikings and the Rhineland:
on ships and shipping as well as Charlemagne’s maritime defence, historical background information on the socio-economical situation of the Rhineland at the time,
but also archeological data on the Viking hoards recently found in the Netherlands and the spectacular remains of a Viking attack on the imperial manor at Zutphen in Holland.
In addition to the chapters on the different types of sources and the magical vocabulary, intoductory chapters on the development of runes, a bibliography and several indices intend to make this volume an aid for the non-esoteric approach to the study of runes in a magico-religious context.