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Overview
Sets out to investigate the idea of ‘the armed woman’ in the Viking Age through a comprehensive and cross-cultural approach and weaves a nuanced picture of women’s lives in the Viking world.The Viking Age (c. AD 750–1050) is conventionally portrayed as a tumultuous time when hordes of fierce warriors from Scandinavia wreaked havoc across the European continent and when Norse merchants traveled to distant corners of the world in pursuit of slaves, silver and exotic commodities. Until fairly recently, Norse society during this pivotal period in world history has been characterized as male-dominated, with women’s roles dismissed or substantially downplayed.There is, however, ample textual and archaeological evidence to suggest that many of the most spectacular achievements of Viking Age Scandinavians – in craftsmanship, exploration, cross-cultural trade, warfare and other spheres of life – would not have been possible without the active involvement of women, and that both within the walls of the household and in the wider public arena women’s voices were heard, respected and followed.Lavishly illustrated, this pioneering book explores the stories of the female warrior and women’s links with the martial sphere of life in the Viking Age, using literature and archaeological evidence from Scandinavia and the wider Viking world to examine the motivations and circumstances that led women to engage in armed conflict.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781636240688 |
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Publisher: | Casemate Publishers |
Publication date: | 09/09/2021 |
Pages: | 216 |
Sales rank: | 439,502 |
Product dimensions: | 8.30(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.70(d) |
About the Author
Leszek Gardeła is a researcher at the National Museum of Denmark. He completed his PhD in archaeology at the University of Aberdeen in 2012 and has since participated in numerous research projects in Germany, Iceland, the Isle of Man, Norway and Poland. He has published extensively on Viking Age beliefs, ritual practices, warfare, identity and cultural interactions.
Table of Contents
List of figuresList of tablesAcknowledgements1. Introduction: the methodological and theoretical frameworkEntering the Viking world…of the deadFunerary diversityCremation gravesInhumation gravesLost identities and elusive grave goodsWarriors and warrior idealsSex and gender in the Viking AgeAmazons of the North: the scope of the book2. HistoriographyResearching women in the Viking AgeWarrior women in Old Norse studies and Viking archaeology3. Women and weapons in medieval textual sourcesArmed women in Gesta DanorumArmed women in Old Norse LiteratureWomen and weapons in the ÍslendingasögurFreydís EiríksdóttirÞórdís SúrsdóttirAuðr and ÞuriðrÞórhildr VaðlækkjaNot only axes and swords: understanding women’s weaponsWomen and weapons in the fornaldarsögurHervör BjarmarsdóttirÞornbjörg EiríksdóttirOther armed women in the fornaldarsögurArmed women in Old Norse mythologyValkyrjur, disir, fylgjurSkaðiÞorgerðr HölgabrúðrFemale Giantesses as grinders of war and bearers of armsArmed women of the Viking Age in non-Scandinavian medieval sourcesÆthelflæd of MerciaWomen and war in the account of John SkylitzesWomen with weapons in medieval literature: more than literary embellishments4. Women and weapons in Viking archaeology: the burial evidenceFemale graves with weaponsSwedish female graves with weaponsNorwegian female graves with weaponsDanish female graves with weapons5. Interpreting the arsenal of armed womenWomen and axes in the Viking AgeAxes in the Viking AgeAxes in Viking Age funerary contextsMiniature axesInterpreting axes in Viking Age female gravesWomen and axes in textual sources and folkloreWomen and axes in the Viking Age: conclusionsWomen and swords in the Viking AgeSwords in the Viking AgeSwords in Viking Age funerary contextsWomen and weaving swordsWomen and swords in iconographyMiniature swordsInterpreting swords in Viking Age female gravesWomen and swords in Old Norse sourcesWomen and swords in the Viking Age: conclusionsWomen and spears in the Viking AgeSpears in the Viking AgeSpears in Viking Age funerary contextsWomen and spears in iconographyMiniature spearsInterpreting spears in Viking Age female gravesWomen and spears in Old Norse sourcesWomen and spears in the Viking Age: conclusionsWomen and shields in the Viking AgeShields in the Viking AgeShields in Viking Age funerary contextsWomen and shields in iconographyMiniature shieldsInterpreting shields in Viking Age female gravesWomen and shields in Old Norse sourcesWomen and shields in the Viking Age: conclusionsWomen, bows and arrows in the Viking AgeBows and arrows in the Viking AgeBows and arrows in Viking Age funerary contextsInterpreting bows and arrows in Viking Age female gravesWomen, bows and arrows in Old Norse sourcesWomen, bows and arrows in the Viking Age: conclusionsWomen, riding equipment and horses in the Viking AgeRiding equipment in the Viking AgeRiding equipment and horses in Viking Age funerary contextsInterpreting riding equipment and horses in Viking Age female gravesWomen and horses in Old Norse sourcesWomen, horses and riding equipment in the Viking Age: conclusions6. Women and weapons in Viking Age iconographyThe so-called ‘valkyrie brooches’: distribution and materiality(Re)interpreting the so-called ‘valkyrie brooches’Freyja and a warrior woman?Sigurðr and Brynhildr/SigrdrífaOther iconographic representations of armed females in Viking Age Scandinavia and England7. Women with weapons: a cross-cultural phenomenonWarrior women in prehistoric timesFemale cross-dressers in early modern EuropeThe Amazons of DahomeyWomen in the First and Second World WarsEmerging patterns and conclusions8. Amazons of the North? Women and weapons in the Viking worldWomen and weapons in Viking archaeologyWomen and weapons in medieval textsThe way of the warrior: past and presentAppendixReferencesFrom the B&N Reads Blog
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