The stories from Norse mythology linger in our culture today. Four days of our week are named after members of the Norse pantheon (Tyr, Woden (Odin), Thor, and Frigg). Wagner’s Ring Cycle has kept one version of one of the great Norse stories alive in the minds of music lovers. Fans of modern fantasy will find many echoes of the Norse tales as well. Something in these old and puzzling stories still has the power to move and unsettle us and to inspire new acts of creation. This audiobook will give you a brief introduction to some of the best-known myths.

As the name suggests, the legendary sagas are works of fiction. It is in these sagas that we meet all manners of fantastic creatures, hear of the exploits of heroes and villains, and occasionally see the gods peek in to steer events or punish evildoers. The sagas of Icelanders, by contrast, are largely historical works that tell the stories of the families who left continental Scandinavian lands to settle Iceland beginning in the late ninth century. 

Ragnar Lothbrok was a legendary warrior who left a legacy among the Vikings like none other. Today's popular TV show may have popularized Ragnar's story, but the real facts are not very well known. Discover the truth behind this Viking warrior and the rich history of the Vikings.

The Vikings maintain their grip on our imagination, but their image is too often distorted by medieval and modern myth. It is true that they pillaged, looted, and enslaved. But they also settled peacefully and developed a vast trading network. They traveled far from their homelands in swift and sturdy ships, not only to raid, but also to explore. Despite their fearsome reputation, the Vikings didn’t wear horned helmets, and even the infamous berserkers were far from invincible.

A formidable figure with flaming red hair, a wild beard, and a temper to match is a fitting description of Erik the Red. He was courageous on the battlefield, an accomplished seafarer, indomitable warrior, and unstoppable adventurer. In short, Erik the Red was everything we imagine a Viking to be. Explore the captivating life of Erik the Red.

Harald Sigurdsson burst into history as a teenaged youth in a Viking battle from which he escaped with little more than his life and a thirst for vengeance. But from these humble origins, he became one of Norway’s most legendary kings. The Last Viking is a fast-moving narrative account of the life of King Harald Hardrada, as he journeyed across the medieval world, from the frozen wastelands of the North to the glittering towers of Byzantium and the passions of the Holy Land, until his warrior death on the battlefield in England.

Angels have been a critical part of humanity for as long as we can imagine. Often depicted as benevolent beings, they have been at the center of many religious texts, especially in Abrahamic religions, Christianity especially.

Who would have thought that from its humble beginnings as a small group of followers of a Jewish man called Jesus that Christianity would become, less than 2,000 years later, the most widespread religion on Earth? Christianity’s birth and development is a vast, complex story filled with setbacks and contradictions but also with triumphs.

Millions love the hit television show Vikings - but how many fans know that its main character, Ragnar, is based on an actual Viking king whose ambitious and terrifying exploits have been legend since the ninth century? The Legend of Ragnar Lothbrok presents fascinating new translations of ninth, 12th, and 13th-century writings - including sagas, poems, and historical accounts - that describe, in vivid detail, the adventures of Ragnar, his sons, and his formidable wives.

Though the world came to know of the Norse and their legends through Roman interaction at about the time of Christ, most of what we came to know were handed-down from folk tales gathered by native writers like Snorri Sturluson (c. 1179 - 1241). This was from a time when the Norse had already been converted to Christianity.

Today, Russia is the biggest and one of the most populous countries in the world. From the early, primitive state-like formations in the 9th century, all the way to the creation of the first true tsardom of Russia in 1547, the history of medieval Russia is one filled with constant struggles for power, personal rivalries between various princes, bloody wars, and a search for identity.

This audiobook includes tales of gods and goddesses, both major and minor, as well as kings and heroes, both historical and mythical. One such king is the hero of what many scholars believe to be the first written epic: Gilgamesh. In addition to creating connections between the human world and the divine, Sumerian myths explain how the world came to be in the first place. These myths establish the cosmic order, which places the greater gods, or Annunaki, at the top of the hierarchy, with the lesser gods, or Igigi, below them.

Five hundred years before Columbus, a Viking woman named Gudrid sailed off the edge of the known world. She landed in the New World and lived there for three years, giving birth to a baby before sailing home. Or so the Icelandic sagas say.

It is true that the Vikings were, without a doubt, brutal men living in a brutal age. They did use their skills as warriors to relentlessly attack Europe and the British Isles to increase their wealth and territory, but that is not all the Vikings were, and their contribution to world history is far more than warmongering. In this captivating history audiobook, you'll not only learn about heroic warriors in battle but you'll also discover the remarkable achievements made by the Vikings.

If you want to discover the captivating history of the Celts, then keep reading...while Celtic culture has stayed alive in Ireland, its roots run much deeper, and they extend much farther than the small island nation off the coast of modern-day Great Britain. The story of the Celts is one of a rapid rise to prominence followed by a slow decline due to the influence of the Romans. But even so, Celtic culture has remained strong in Europe and has been able to persist to this day.