The Real Valkyrie: The Hidden History of Viking Warrior Women

by Nancy Marie Brown Narrated by Lu Banks

Overview

In the tradition of Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra, Brown lays to rest the hoary myth that Viking society was ruled by men and celebrates the dramatic lives of female Viking warriors.



In 2017, DNA tests revealed to the collective shock of many scholars that a Viking warrior in a high-status grave in Birka, Sweden was actually a woman. The Real Valkyrie weaves together archaeology, history, and literature to imagine her life and times, showing that Viking women had more power and agency than historians have imagined.



Nancy Marie Brown uses science to link the Birka warrior, whom she names Hervor, to Viking trading towns and to their great trade route east to Byzantium and beyond. She imagines her life intersecting with larger-than-life but real women, including Queen Gunnhild Mother-of-Kings, the Viking leader known as The Red Girl, and Queen Olga of Kyiv. Hervor's short, dramatic life shows that much of what we have taken as truth about women in the Viking Age is based not on data, but on nineteenth-century Victorian biases. Rather than holding the household keys, Viking women in history, law, saga, poetry, and myth carry weapons. These women brag, "As heroes we were widely known-with keen spears we cut blood from bone." In this compelling narrative, Brown brings the world of those valkyries and shield-maids to vivid life.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"If you're intrigued by the cultural practices depicted in The Northman — from women's weaving of intricate tapestries to funerals featuring bloody sacrifice — you'll relish the details in this book. Brown also speculates, based on archaeological finds, that some women had more power in Viking society than The Northman suggests." —Seven Days (Vermont)

"The royal warriors aren't what you think they are... a kingly read" —Marco Eagle

"Combines archaeology, history, and literature... So cool" —Book Riot

"Compelling... Brown brings the world of these Valkyries and shield-maidens to vivid life." —Naperville Magazine

"Stirring... passionate...undoubtedly entertaining... A fine lesson in Old Norse culture and history." —Kirkus Review

"One of the most complete books about the Viking world" —Reutir

"This truly enjoyable and very well researched book is a must-read for anyone interested in Viking Age history and the history of women." —Michèle Hayeur Smith, Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University

"Brown introduces us to a broader version of the Viking world, and to many powerful Viking women who have been previously dismissed as fiction. The end result is a complex, important, and delightful addition to women's history." —Pamela D. Toler, author of Women Warriors: An Unexpected History

"An engaging read.. a much needed alternative retelling. The focus on the stories which are so often ignored makes it refreshing and thought provoking." —Marianne Moen, author of The Gendered Landscape: A Discussion on Gender, Status and Power In the Norwegian Viking Age Landscape

"If you want books that are very readable, those by Nancy Marie Brown are highly recommended.” —Medievalists.net

"Engrossing... Brown engages the reader fully with her story-telling and with her unique point of view. She explores things others have not, to my knowledge, explored." —William Short, manager, Hurstwic, author of Viking Weapons and Combat Techniques

"This amazing book offers nothing less than a paradigm shift... Carefully researched and beautifully written, this journey into the distant past has a lot to offer for current discussions of gender bending, the instability of scholarly “facts”, the dynamics of misogyny, and the legacy of slavery." —Gísli Pálsson, Professor Emeritus, University of Iceland, author of The Man Who Stole Himself

"Magnificent. It captured me from the very first page. Brown manages to take the limited but startling information that one of richest graves of any Viking warrior ever discovered was that of a woman and paints a stunning tapestry of what life must have been like for a bold, brave woman in medieval times. Drawing upon her deep knowledge of Viking history, she creates an unforgettable character...I loved this book!" —Pat Shipman, author of The Invaders

Kirkus Reviews

2021-06-29
A stirring reexamination of Viking history through the story of “one warrior woman” of the time.

According to this passionate and well-researched account, Viking men who murdered, looted, burned, and ravaged across Europe were often accompanied by equally murderous women who have been written out of history. Brown, who spends her summers in Iceland, begins with a Viking-age grave in Sweden that was opened in 1878. Aside from the skeleton, it also contained weapons and “the bones of two horses, a stallion and a mare.” Archaeologists labeled it a male warrior’s grave until 2017, when DNA tests proved that the bones were female. Was this an outlier? Scholars had long divided Viking culture along gender lines: Men fought and traded; women cooked, cleaned, and raised the children. A primary symbol for the woman was the key, carried in her belt, while the sword symbolized the man. Brown points out that no evidence supports these beliefs. Keys rarely turn up in female Viking graves. Histories describing the iconic Viking housewife first appeared in the 1860s, representing values from the Victorian age when upper-class women stayed home. Viking-age sagas, on the other hand, teem with warriors of both sexes. Scholars who claim that male heroes were inspired by actual events and dismiss females as fantasy get no support from their sources. With this background, Brown names her Viking Hervor and depicts her upbringing and life as a female warrior, with digressions to describe other warriors as well as female rulers, chieftains, and traders for whom historical evidence exists. The author also offers a heavy dose of Viking mythology and its pugnacious gods. While some readers may squirm at the steady stream of battles, murder, treachery, bloodshed, dragons, and magic, the Norse people loved to hear the tales, and they are undoubtedly entertaining. Giving archaeology and history equal time with folklore, Brown makes a convincing case that Viking women played a prominent public role.

A fine lesson in Old Norse culture and history.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176459760
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	11/30/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,105,427

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