1. There is no reference to 'Vikings' in any early English lterature. They were referred to as Danes or 'heathens'. The reference appeared much later.

2. There is no evidence at all for any Viking brutality except in battle. On the contrary they were respected by their 'anglo saxon' cousins.

3. There is considerable evidence of trading and farming however. In the Jorvik excavations in York, no 'viking' weapons at all were found.

4. The Iclanders founded the worlds earliest parliament (the "Alting") ... not a very bloodthirsty advert is it?> ;O)   Interestingly, the parliament of the Isle of Man (a small English dependency in the Irish Sea) is called 'Tynewald' (Tingwald).

5. The Sagas were first written down in the 13th century (correct me if I am wrong Skarpi!) so are themselves unreliable evidence. A bloody good yarn though!

FM