Table of Contents

Foreword by Dr Christopher Breward, National Museums Scotland / Foreword by Thomas Moradpour, The Glenmorangie Company / Introduction by Martin Goldberg, National Museums Scotland / Ch. 1 Naming nations / Ch. 2 an imperial age / Ch. 3 Worlds of the dead / Ch. 4 Age of raids / Ch. 5 The serpent and the thorn / Ch. 6 A silver age / Ch. 7 An animated world / Ch. 8 An experimental age // Envoi / Bibliography / Index / Acknowledgements

About the Author

Adrián Maldonado is Glenmorangie Research Fellow at National Museums Scotland.

Reviews

' ... Maldonado has created an engaging and essential read for anyone with an interest in Vikings and the early development of Scotland.' Antiquity ' … Written in an accessible style that is nonetheless full of interesting detail and thought-provoking theories and ideas, this is a stunning book for anyone interested in the early medieval period and the Viking age in these islands.' Archaeology Ireland
' … I can think of no other work ion this period that can match the excellence of the 280 photographs and images, nor the skill with which they were selected and worked into the analysis across the book's 256 pages.' Current Archaeology ' … Crucible of Nations succeeds in what was surely its primary aim, to assert the complexity of an oft-overlooked period, its significance in the formation of Scotland as a nation, and the potential for material objects to illuminate an understanding of this time.' Peregrinations ' … The book is marvellous in terms of visual beauty itself but also in terms of Maldonado's lucid and imaginative approach. A talented communicator, his insight is that of a scholar of early medieval archaeology and material culture, but one well versed in some of the most up-to-date literature produced by text-oriented historians.' Early Medieval Europe