Viking Age
During the second half of the 18th century the Icelandic Sagas were still used as important historical sources, but the Viking Age was regarded as a barbaric and uncivilized period in the history of the Nordic countries. Until recently, what was known about the history of the Viking Age was based on the Icelandic Sagas, the history of the Danes written by Saxo Grammaticus, the Russian Primary Chronicle and the War of the Irish with the Foreigners. Few scholars still accept these texts as reliable sources; historians nowadays rely more on archaeology and numismatics, which have helped people understand the period.