Well, obviously the vikings didn't besiege Paris just because they wanted to visit the museums, but they also traded quite a lot, something which is often overl

Well, obviously the vikings didn't besiege Paris just because they wanted to visit the museums, but they also traded quite a lot, something which is often overlooked. They also made up the Varangian Guard, the reputedly incorruptible bodyguard of the Eastern Roman emperors. There is also little doubt that the Christian sovereigns of this time period (and later) were not shy about the occasional gruesome slaughter against defenseless civilians, so I'd say the point made in the article about their brutality being a feature of the times is pretty accurate. I can recommend Northlanders [1], by Brian Wood of DMZ fame, on this topic. Fairly well-researched and with good characterization. 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northlanders http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northlanders