Author: Neil S. Price
Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited
ISBN: 9781842172605
Category : Archaeology and religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Magic, sorcery and witchcraft are among the most common themes of the great medieval Icelandic sagas and poems, the problematic yet vital sources that provide our primary textual evidence for the Viking Age that they claim to describe. Yet despite the consistency of this picture, surprisingly little archaeological or historical research has been done to explore what this may really have meant to the men and women of the time. This book examines the evidence for Old Norse sorcery, looking at its meaning and function, practice and practitioners, and the complicated constructions of gender and sexual identity with which these were underpinned. Combining strong elements of eroticism and aggression, sorcery appears as a fundamental domain of women's power, linking them with the gods, the dead and the future. Their battle spells and combat rituals complement the men's physical acts of fighting, in a supernatural empowerment of the Viking way of life. What emerges is a fundamentally new image of the world in which the Vikings understood themselves to move, in which magic and its implications permeated every aspect of a society permanently geared for war. In this fully revised and expanded second edition, Neil Price takes us with him on a tour through the sights and sounds of this undiscovered country, meeting its human and otherworldly inhabitants, including the Sámi with whom the Norse partly shared this mental landscape. On the way we explore Viking notions of the mind and soul, the fluidity of the boundaries that they drew between humans and animals, and the immense variety of their spiritual beliefs. We find magic in the Vikings' bedrooms and on their battlefields, and we meet the sorcerers themselves through their remarkable burials and the tools of their trade. Combining archaeology, history and literary scholarship with extensive studies of Germanic and circumpolar religion, this multi-award-winning book shows us the Vikings as we have never seen them before.
The Viking Way
Author: Neil S. Price
Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited
ISBN: 9781842172605
Category : Archaeology and religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Magic, sorcery and witchcraft are among the most common themes of the great medieval Icelandic sagas and poems, the problematic yet vital sources that provide our primary textual evidence for the Viking Age that they claim to describe. Yet despite the consistency of this picture, surprisingly little archaeological or historical research has been done to explore what this may really have meant to the men and women of the time. This book examines the evidence for Old Norse sorcery, looking at its meaning and function, practice and practitioners, and the complicated constructions of gender and sexual identity with which these were underpinned. Combining strong elements of eroticism and aggression, sorcery appears as a fundamental domain of women's power, linking them with the gods, the dead and the future. Their battle spells and combat rituals complement the men's physical acts of fighting, in a supernatural empowerment of the Viking way of life. What emerges is a fundamentally new image of the world in which the Vikings understood themselves to move, in which magic and its implications permeated every aspect of a society permanently geared for war. In this fully revised and expanded second edition, Neil Price takes us with him on a tour through the sights and sounds of this undiscovered country, meeting its human and otherworldly inhabitants, including the Sámi with whom the Norse partly shared this mental landscape. On the way we explore Viking notions of the mind and soul, the fluidity of the boundaries that they drew between humans and animals, and the immense variety of their spiritual beliefs. We find magic in the Vikings' bedrooms and on their battlefields, and we meet the sorcerers themselves through their remarkable burials and the tools of their trade. Combining archaeology, history and literary scholarship with extensive studies of Germanic and circumpolar religion, this multi-award-winning book shows us the Vikings as we have never seen them before.
Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited
ISBN: 9781842172605
Category : Archaeology and religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Magic, sorcery and witchcraft are among the most common themes of the great medieval Icelandic sagas and poems, the problematic yet vital sources that provide our primary textual evidence for the Viking Age that they claim to describe. Yet despite the consistency of this picture, surprisingly little archaeological or historical research has been done to explore what this may really have meant to the men and women of the time. This book examines the evidence for Old Norse sorcery, looking at its meaning and function, practice and practitioners, and the complicated constructions of gender and sexual identity with which these were underpinned. Combining strong elements of eroticism and aggression, sorcery appears as a fundamental domain of women's power, linking them with the gods, the dead and the future. Their battle spells and combat rituals complement the men's physical acts of fighting, in a supernatural empowerment of the Viking way of life. What emerges is a fundamentally new image of the world in which the Vikings understood themselves to move, in which magic and its implications permeated every aspect of a society permanently geared for war. In this fully revised and expanded second edition, Neil Price takes us with him on a tour through the sights and sounds of this undiscovered country, meeting its human and otherworldly inhabitants, including the Sámi with whom the Norse partly shared this mental landscape. On the way we explore Viking notions of the mind and soul, the fluidity of the boundaries that they drew between humans and animals, and the immense variety of their spiritual beliefs. We find magic in the Vikings' bedrooms and on their battlefields, and we meet the sorcerers themselves through their remarkable burials and the tools of their trade. Combining archaeology, history and literary scholarship with extensive studies of Germanic and circumpolar religion, this multi-award-winning book shows us the Vikings as we have never seen them before.
River Kings
Author: Cat Jarman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643138707
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
Follow an epic story of the Viking Age that traces the historical trail of an ancient piece of jewelry found in a Viking grave in England to its origins thousands of miles east in India. An acclaimed bioarchaeologist, Catrine Jarman has used cutting-edge forensic techniques to spark her investigation into the history of the Vikings who came to rest in British soil. By examining teeth that are now over one thousand years old, she can determine childhood diet—and thereby where a person was likely born. With radiocarbon dating, she can ascertain a death-date down to the range of a few years. And her research offers enlightening new visions of the roles of women and children in Viking culture. Three years ago, a Carnelian bead came into her temporary possession. River Kings sees her trace the path of this ancient piece of jewelry back to eighth-century Baghdad and India, discovering along the way that the Vikings’ route was far more varied than we might think—that with them came people from the Middle East, not just Scandinavia, and that the reason for this unexpected integration between the Eastern and Western worlds may well have been a slave trade running through the Silk Road, all the way to Britain. Told as a riveting history of the Vikings and the methods we use to understand them, this is a major reassessment of the fierce, often-mythologized voyagers of the North—and of the global medieval world as we know it.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643138707
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
Follow an epic story of the Viking Age that traces the historical trail of an ancient piece of jewelry found in a Viking grave in England to its origins thousands of miles east in India. An acclaimed bioarchaeologist, Catrine Jarman has used cutting-edge forensic techniques to spark her investigation into the history of the Vikings who came to rest in British soil. By examining teeth that are now over one thousand years old, she can determine childhood diet—and thereby where a person was likely born. With radiocarbon dating, she can ascertain a death-date down to the range of a few years. And her research offers enlightening new visions of the roles of women and children in Viking culture. Three years ago, a Carnelian bead came into her temporary possession. River Kings sees her trace the path of this ancient piece of jewelry back to eighth-century Baghdad and India, discovering along the way that the Vikings’ route was far more varied than we might think—that with them came people from the Middle East, not just Scandinavia, and that the reason for this unexpected integration between the Eastern and Western worlds may well have been a slave trade running through the Silk Road, all the way to Britain. Told as a riveting history of the Vikings and the methods we use to understand them, this is a major reassessment of the fierce, often-mythologized voyagers of the North—and of the global medieval world as we know it.
A Viking Voyage
Author: W. Hodding Carter
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345420047
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 321
Book Description
Fascinated since childhood with Leif Eriksson’s triumphant sailing voyage a thousand years ago from Greenland to North America, Hodding Carter could not shake his admittedly crazy idea of reenacting Eriksson’s epic journey in a precise replica of the precarious Viking cargo ship known as a knarr. This extraordinary book is the account of how he pulled it off. By turns thrilling and slapstick, sublime and outrageous, A Viking Voyage is an unforgettable adventure story that will take you to the heart of some of the most magnificent, unspoiled territory on earth, and even deeper, to the heart of a journey like no other. A celebration of the people and places Carter visits and a treasure-trove of fascinating Viking lore, here is an unforgettable story of friendship and teamwork–and the thrill of accomplishing a goal that once seemed impossible.
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345420047
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 321
Book Description
Fascinated since childhood with Leif Eriksson’s triumphant sailing voyage a thousand years ago from Greenland to North America, Hodding Carter could not shake his admittedly crazy idea of reenacting Eriksson’s epic journey in a precise replica of the precarious Viking cargo ship known as a knarr. This extraordinary book is the account of how he pulled it off. By turns thrilling and slapstick, sublime and outrageous, A Viking Voyage is an unforgettable adventure story that will take you to the heart of some of the most magnificent, unspoiled territory on earth, and even deeper, to the heart of a journey like no other. A celebration of the people and places Carter visits and a treasure-trove of fascinating Viking lore, here is an unforgettable story of friendship and teamwork–and the thrill of accomplishing a goal that once seemed impossible.
A Viking Way of Life
Author: Steven P. Ashby
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
ISBN: 1445620588
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 259
Book Description
An engaging look at life in the Viking Age.
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
ISBN: 1445620588
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 259
Book Description
An engaging look at life in the Viking Age.
Children of Ash and Elm
Author: Neil Price
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465096999
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 629
Book Description
The definitive history of the Vikings -- from arts and culture to politics and cosmology -- by a distinguished archaeologist with decades of expertise The Viking Age -- from 750 to 1050 -- saw an unprecedented expansion of the Scandinavian peoples into the wider world. As traders and raiders, explorers and colonists, they ranged from eastern North America to the Asian steppe. But for centuries, the Vikings have been seen through the eyes of others, distorted to suit the tastes of medieval clerics and Elizabethan playwrights, Victorian imperialists, Nazis, and more. None of these appropriations capture the real Vikings, or the richness and sophistication of their culture. Based on the latest archaeological and textual evidence, Children of Ash and Elm tells the story of the Vikings on their own terms: their politics, their cosmology and religion, their material world. Known today for a stereotype of maritime violence, the Vikings exported new ideas, technologies, beliefs, and practices to the lands they discovered and the peoples they encountered, and in the process were themselves changed. From Eirík Bloodaxe, who fought his way to a kingdom, to Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir, the most traveled woman in the world, Children of Ash and Elm is the definitive history of the Vikings and their time.
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465096999
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 629
Book Description
The definitive history of the Vikings -- from arts and culture to politics and cosmology -- by a distinguished archaeologist with decades of expertise The Viking Age -- from 750 to 1050 -- saw an unprecedented expansion of the Scandinavian peoples into the wider world. As traders and raiders, explorers and colonists, they ranged from eastern North America to the Asian steppe. But for centuries, the Vikings have been seen through the eyes of others, distorted to suit the tastes of medieval clerics and Elizabethan playwrights, Victorian imperialists, Nazis, and more. None of these appropriations capture the real Vikings, or the richness and sophistication of their culture. Based on the latest archaeological and textual evidence, Children of Ash and Elm tells the story of the Vikings on their own terms: their politics, their cosmology and religion, their material world. Known today for a stereotype of maritime violence, the Vikings exported new ideas, technologies, beliefs, and practices to the lands they discovered and the peoples they encountered, and in the process were themselves changed. From Eirík Bloodaxe, who fought his way to a kingdom, to Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir, the most traveled woman in the world, Children of Ash and Elm is the definitive history of the Vikings and their time.
The Viking Way
Author: Malcolm Buckley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 138
Book Description
'A must for all who have loved and lost their best friend and loyal companion' The Viking Way is a challenging long distance footpath in the UK, and runs 147 miles from The Humber Bridge to Oakham in the County of Rutland. My pilgrimage along this amazing footpath in June 2019, spanned 12 consecutive days. The purpose of the walk was to assist in my 'coming to terms' with the loss of my Chocolate Labrador 'Denver' in June 2018. During the nine months following Denver's passing, I nearly left this life 3 times...by choice, the devastation his loss created took me down into the deepest, darkest depths of despair. The level of grief I experienced in losing Denver was absolute, and beyond anything I'd ever known. Carrying Denver's collar in my backpack, here is the record of the outer physical challenges I encountered on the trail, and to an equal degree the deeper inner battle of the journey through my complicated, unresolved grief. An emotional roller coaster that takes the reader into the depths of complicated grief, and yet the love, joy and happiness our dogs bring into our lives shines through.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 138
Book Description
'A must for all who have loved and lost their best friend and loyal companion' The Viking Way is a challenging long distance footpath in the UK, and runs 147 miles from The Humber Bridge to Oakham in the County of Rutland. My pilgrimage along this amazing footpath in June 2019, spanned 12 consecutive days. The purpose of the walk was to assist in my 'coming to terms' with the loss of my Chocolate Labrador 'Denver' in June 2018. During the nine months following Denver's passing, I nearly left this life 3 times...by choice, the devastation his loss created took me down into the deepest, darkest depths of despair. The level of grief I experienced in losing Denver was absolute, and beyond anything I'd ever known. Carrying Denver's collar in my backpack, here is the record of the outer physical challenges I encountered on the trail, and to an equal degree the deeper inner battle of the journey through my complicated, unresolved grief. An emotional roller coaster that takes the reader into the depths of complicated grief, and yet the love, joy and happiness our dogs bring into our lives shines through.
Dark Viking
Author: Sandra Hill
Publisher: Sandra Hill Books
ISBN: 1941528805
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 285
Book Description
Rita, a former stunt woman, can’t believe she signed up to be a female Navy SEAL. She needed the signup money to pay her mother’s medical bills. Steven, a fierce Viking warrior, is depressed over the “death” of his brother Thorfinn. Yep, even Vikings get the blues. Rita can’t believe she’s been tossed back in time to the tenth century wearing a head-to-toe wetsuit and flippers with her face cammied up. Steven can’t believe the gods have sent him a fish woman to ease his woes. Not a beautiful mermaid, but an ugly-as-death fish. How dare the brute put her in a cage! How dare the wench teach his people line dancing! Love and laughter guaranteed in this trip down Memory Lane...uh Fjord.
Publisher: Sandra Hill Books
ISBN: 1941528805
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 285
Book Description
Rita, a former stunt woman, can’t believe she signed up to be a female Navy SEAL. She needed the signup money to pay her mother’s medical bills. Steven, a fierce Viking warrior, is depressed over the “death” of his brother Thorfinn. Yep, even Vikings get the blues. Rita can’t believe she’s been tossed back in time to the tenth century wearing a head-to-toe wetsuit and flippers with her face cammied up. Steven can’t believe the gods have sent him a fish woman to ease his woes. Not a beautiful mermaid, but an ugly-as-death fish. How dare the brute put her in a cage! How dare the wench teach his people line dancing! Love and laughter guaranteed in this trip down Memory Lane...uh Fjord.
Vikings at War
Author: Kim Hjardar
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1612004547
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
An illustrated guide to Viking warfare from strategy and weapons to culture and tradition: “a very excellent introduction to the Viking age as a whole” (Justin Pollard, historical consultant for the Amazon television series Vikings). From the time when sailing was first introduced to Scandinavia, Vikings reached virtually every corner of Europe and even America with their raids and conquests. Wherever Viking ships roamed, enormous suffering followed in their wake, but the encounters between cultures also brought immense change to both European and Nordic societies. In Vikings at War, historian Kim Hjardar presents a comprehensive overview of Viking weapons technology, military traditions and tactics, offensive and defensive strategies, fortifications, ships, and command structure. The most crucial element of the Viking’s success was their strategy of arriving by sea, attacking with great force, and withdrawing quickly. In their militarized society, honor was everything, and ruining one’s posthumous reputation was considered worse than death itself. Vikings at War features more than 380 color illustrations, including beautiful reconstruction drawings, maps, cross-section drawings of ships, line-drawings of fortifications, battle plan reconstructions, and photos of surviving artifacts, including weapons and jewelry. Winner of Norway’s Saga Prize, Vikings at War is now available in English with this new translation. “A magnificent piece of work [that] I’d recommend to anyone with an interest in the Viking period.” —Justin Pollard, historical consultant for the Amazon television series Vikings
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1612004547
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
An illustrated guide to Viking warfare from strategy and weapons to culture and tradition: “a very excellent introduction to the Viking age as a whole” (Justin Pollard, historical consultant for the Amazon television series Vikings). From the time when sailing was first introduced to Scandinavia, Vikings reached virtually every corner of Europe and even America with their raids and conquests. Wherever Viking ships roamed, enormous suffering followed in their wake, but the encounters between cultures also brought immense change to both European and Nordic societies. In Vikings at War, historian Kim Hjardar presents a comprehensive overview of Viking weapons technology, military traditions and tactics, offensive and defensive strategies, fortifications, ships, and command structure. The most crucial element of the Viking’s success was their strategy of arriving by sea, attacking with great force, and withdrawing quickly. In their militarized society, honor was everything, and ruining one’s posthumous reputation was considered worse than death itself. Vikings at War features more than 380 color illustrations, including beautiful reconstruction drawings, maps, cross-section drawings of ships, line-drawings of fortifications, battle plan reconstructions, and photos of surviving artifacts, including weapons and jewelry. Winner of Norway’s Saga Prize, Vikings at War is now available in English with this new translation. “A magnificent piece of work [that] I’d recommend to anyone with an interest in the Viking period.” —Justin Pollard, historical consultant for the Amazon television series Vikings
Northmen
Author: John Haywood
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1250106141
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
An authoritative volume that places the Vikings in their wider geographical and historical context.
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1250106141
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
An authoritative volume that places the Vikings in their wider geographical and historical context.
The Viking Spirit
Author: Daniel McCoy
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781533393036
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 318
Book Description
The Viking Spirit is an introduction to Norse mythology like no other. As you'd expect from Daniel McCoy, the creator of the enduringly popular website Norse Mythology for Smart People (Norse-Mythology.org), it's written to scholarly standards, but in a simple, clear, and entertaining style that's easy to understand and a pleasure to read. It includes gripping retellings of no less than 34 epic Norse myths - more than any other book in the field - while also providing an equally comprehensive overview of the fascinating Viking religion of which Norse mythology was a part. You'll learn about the Vikings' gods and goddesses, their concept of fate, their views on the afterlife, their moral code, how they thought the universe was structured, how they practiced their religion, the role that magic played in their lives, and much more. With its inclusion of the latest groundbreaking research in the field, The Viking Spirit is the ultimate introduction to the timeless splendor of Norse mythology and religion for the 21st Century.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781533393036
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 318
Book Description
The Viking Spirit is an introduction to Norse mythology like no other. As you'd expect from Daniel McCoy, the creator of the enduringly popular website Norse Mythology for Smart People (Norse-Mythology.org), it's written to scholarly standards, but in a simple, clear, and entertaining style that's easy to understand and a pleasure to read. It includes gripping retellings of no less than 34 epic Norse myths - more than any other book in the field - while also providing an equally comprehensive overview of the fascinating Viking religion of which Norse mythology was a part. You'll learn about the Vikings' gods and goddesses, their concept of fate, their views on the afterlife, their moral code, how they thought the universe was structured, how they practiced their religion, the role that magic played in their lives, and much more. With its inclusion of the latest groundbreaking research in the field, The Viking Spirit is the ultimate introduction to the timeless splendor of Norse mythology and religion for the 21st Century.