This volume deals with one of the most controversial issues in writings about early medieval history: the presence of Scandinavians, known as Rus, and their impact on Eastern Europe during the Viking Age. These studies give for the first time an extensive and detailed picture of the Norse population in the East by using, besides written narratives, a wide range of archaeological sources. The seven chapters survey the background, then depict the first Norse centres and sites of Norse colonists in the north-western Russia; further chapters contain information about the great number of settlements in the Volga region and, finally describe the activities of a group of Rus that resulted in creation of the principality of Kiev. With the help of numerous illustrations the contents of the book clarify many problems and support the conclusion that in the East real Norse societies existed that were an important and natural part of the Scandinavian varld." |