Viking art, in all its sophistication, presents a striking contrast with the stereotype of the rude and restless barbarian. Viking craftsmen excelled in woodworking, metalworking and weapons making with abstracted animal forms. Many Viking weapons and ships bore elaborate patterns of interlocking anthropomorphic figures. Runic texts and complementary scenes were frequently inscribed on stone. The Viking love of riddling phrases and schemes of rhyme yielded a rich poetic tradition and tales of my