Chronicles of the Barbarians: Firsthand Accounts of Pillage and Conquest, from the Ancient World to the Fall of Constantinople

Novelist and anthologist McCullough brings together firsthand accounts of barbarian invaders from Herodotus (d. 424 B.C.E.) to the fall of Constantinople (1553) for general readers. Common fears color these accounts, which stretch across a millennium and a half and span two continents. Scythians, Huns, Vandals, Mongols, Turks - all were seen through the same lenses of fear, ignorance, and bias.The Irish were lazy, the Vandals treacherous, the Tartars relentless in vengeance. The Vikings "everyday wash their faces and heads in the dirtiest and filthiest fashion possible: a girl servant brings a great basin of water to her master; he washes his hands and his face and his hair; then he blows his nose and spits into the basin. When he has finished, the servant carries the basin to the next person. Each blows his nose, spits, and washes face and hair in it." History buffs will enjoy this attractive and lively anthology.