66 - [HISTORY - VIKINGS] - DEPPING, Georges-Bernard

[HISTORY - VIKINGS] - DEPPING, Georges-Bernard History of the Maritime Expeditions of the Normans and Their Settlement in France in the Tenth Century Paris, Ponthieu [and] Sautelet & Co., 1826, 2 volumes In-8°. Brown half-calf with small corners. Smooth spine decorated with a series of gilt fillets. Author’s and title labels in red morocco leather and volume number label in pale black morocco leather. Blue-gray edges. Normal wear and tear. First edition of this pioneering and seminal work on European medieval history. Awarded a prize by the Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, this work by the German-born scholar Georges-Bernard Depping (1784–1853) constitutes the first major modern synthesis on the Viking phenomenon. Drawing on a meticulous analysis of Frankish chronicles and Norse sagas, the author scientifically traces the Scandinavian raids, the maritime tactics of the Normans, the ravages wrought in the West, up to the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte and the founding of the Duchy of Normandy under Rollo. References: Quérard, *La France littéraire*, II, 489. Provenance: Prince de Gavre (handwritten ownership note on the flyleaf); from the library of Philippe Kervyn de Volkaersbeke (no bookplate)