Eric Bloodaxe the Viking - by John Sadler (Hardcover)

About the Book

Eric Bloodaxe embodies the savagery of Norse legend, a life of struggle and murderous violence. This, the first biography, explores the legend and the reality.

Book Synopsis

Eric Bloodaxe (or Brother-Slayer) might well claim to be the last of the Vikings, his career a real-life episode of Game of Thrones, his life a true Norse saga, the realities teased out by the author from sparse chronicle sources and enigmatic, often contradictory sagas. The whole picture nevertheless encapsulates the very tenor and essence of the Viking Age. Saga sources tell us that by the age of twelve Eric was already a fearsome warrior, leading murderous raids against the Balts and Scots, building his reputation and harvesting resources to pay his hird. He would be needing both if he was to rule. In a bloody civil war with several of his half-brothers, he defeated and killed them to rule Norway, but his personal dominion became increasingly oppressive and despotic.

Forced into exile in Orkney, he became an overlord there and a pirate. As ruler of Northumbria, he would die at the battle of Stainmore in 954 at the incredible age of sixty-nine. In retelling the story of Eric Bloodaxe, John Sadler analyses the rise of the House of Wessex, the Norse kingdom of Jorvik, Athelstan and the battle of Brunanburh.

Review Quotes

'Both the narrative and discussion are interesting and accessible, and the use of adverbial phraseology is one of the ways this book differs from a more academic style and aids its readability. That does not however mean it isn't well researched, it is, and the detailed notes are all there for those wishing for more detail and sources.'--Chartered Institute for Archaeologists, Summer 2025

'Eric Bloodaxe could well claim to be the last of the Vikings, as well as one of the most violent. John Sadler provides a new non-fiction account of the life of this notorious despot.'--Military History Matters Magazine, April/ May 2025

About the Author

John Sadler has had a lifelong interest in military history. He now combines writing with lecturing in History at Newcastle University and working as a battlefield tour guide, living history interpreter, and heritage consultant. He has travelled extensively in Scandinavia and is thus familiar with all of the principal sites and saga/literary sources and is an acknowledged expert on the Viking art of war. He is the author of more than 40 books.