We have understood Western civilization to be composed of four major traditions — that of the Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians.
In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin argues that the Viking legacy is just as important for the development of Western civilization.
During the Viking Age (793 – 1066 CE), the Vikings would interact with and influence the regions from which would emerge the nation-states of Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia. These four became world empires. They were also for the past four hundred years the greatest cultures of the Western world.
Jiang Xueqin argues that this was not just a coincidence — the brilliance of the Viking oral tradition had a tremendous impact on these future empires.
