Hardcover In Very Good Condition Feared across Europe, the Vikings arrived in their longships and launched lightning raids on coastal towns, churches and monasteries. It also shows that there was much more to the Vikings than fighting - they were great explorers, who went to America 400 years before Columbus, and founded settlements from Greenland to England. They were also skilled craftspeople, with a rich story-telling culture featuring hero-sagas, myths and stories of gods and goddesses that people still enjoy today.