Description
Book SynopsisThe Viking Age (c. 750-1050 AD) is conventionally seen as a tumultuous time when hordes of fierce warriors from Scandinavia wreaked havoc across the European continent and when Norse merchants travelled to distant corners of the world in pursuit of slaves, silver, and exotic commodities. Until relatively recently, archaeologists and textual scholars had the tendency to weave a largely male-dominated image of this pivotal period in world history, dismissing or substantially downplaying women's roles in Norse society. Today, however, there is ample evidence to suggest that many of the most spectacular achievements of Viking Age Scandinavians - for instance in craftsmanship, exploration, cross-cultural trade, warfare and other spheres of life - would not have been possible without the active involvement of women. Extant textual sources as well as the perpetually expanding corpus of archaeological evidence thus demonstrate unequivocally that both within the walls of the household and in the wider public arena women’s voices were heard, respected and followed.
This pioneering and beautifully illustrated monograph provides an in-depth exploration of women's associations with the martial sphere of life in the Viking Age. The multifarious motivations and circumstances that led women to engage in armed conflict or other activities whereby weapons served as potent symbols of prestige and empowerment are illuminated and interpreted through an interdisciplinary approach to medieval literature and archaeological evidence from Scandinavia and the wider Viking world. Additional cross-cultural excursions into the lives and legends of female warriors in other past and present cultural milieus - from the Asiatic steppes to the savannas of Africa and European battlefields – lead to a nuanced understanding of the idea of the armed woman and its embodiments in Norse literature, myth and archaeological reality.
Trade ReviewGardeła has provided a most welcome, cross-disciplinary survey of very diverse source materials. There is still much to discuss of this fascinating subject and this volume opens future avenues of research. * Medieval Archaeology *
[It] provides a comprehensive catalogue of findings and an up-to-date view of the research, permitting a better understanding of the question of the warrior woman. However, as the author recalls, only 1% of female 'Vikings' burials found today include weapons ... This book provides an excellent documentary basis for understanding this problem. * BIBLIOTHÈQUE *
Obligatory reading for anyone who wants to approach gender studies in the Viking Age for the first time. * Archeologia Medievale *
Table of ContentsList of figures List of tables Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: the methodological and theoretical framework Entering the Viking world … of the dead Funerary diversity Cremation graves Inhumation graves Lost identities and elusive grave goods Warriors and warrior ideals Sex and gender in the Viking Age Amazons of the North: the scope of the book 2. Historiography Researching women in the Viking Age Warrior women in Old Norse studies and Viking archaeology 3. Women and weapons in medieval textual sources Armed women in
Gesta Danorum Armed women in Old Norse Literature Women and weapons in the
Íslendingasögur Freydís Eiríksdóttir Þórdís Súrsdóttir Auðr and Þuriðr Þórhildr Vaðlækkja Not only axes and swords: understanding women’s weapons Women and weapons in the
fornaldarsögur Hervör Bjarmarsdóttir Þornbjörg Eiríksdóttir Other armed women in the
fornaldarsögur Armed women in Old Norse mythology
Valkyrjur,
disir,
fylgjur Skaði Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr Female Giantesses as grinders of war and bearers of arms Armed women of the Viking Age in non-Scandinavian medieval sources Æthelflæd of Mercia Women and war in the account of John Skylitzes Women with weapons in medieval literature: more than literary embellishments 4. Women and weapons in Viking archaeology: the burial evidence Female graves with weapons Swedish female graves with weapons Norwegian female graves with weapons Danish female graves with weapons 5. Interpreting the arsenal of armed women Women and axes in the Viking Age Axes in the Viking Age Axes in Viking Age funerary contexts Miniature axes Interpreting axes in Viking Age female graves Women and axes in textual sources and folklore Women and axes in the Viking Age: conclusions Women and swords in the Viking Age Swords in the Viking Age Swords in Viking Age funerary contexts Women and weaving swords Women and swords in iconography Miniature swords Interpreting swords in Viking Age female graves Women and swords in Old Norse sources Women and swords in the Viking Age: conclusions Women and spears in the Viking Age Spears in the Viking Age Spears in Viking Age funerary contexts Women and spears in iconography Miniature spears Interpreting spears in Viking Age female graves Women and spears in Old Norse sources Women and spears in the Viking Age: conclusions Women and shields in the Viking Age Shields in the Viking Age Shields in Viking Age funerary contexts Women and shields in iconography Miniature shields Interpreting shields in Viking Age female graves Women and shields in Old Norse sources Women and shields in the Viking Age: conclusions Women, bows and arrows in the Viking Age Bows and arrows in the Viking Age Bows and arrows in Viking Age funerary contexts Interpreting bows and arrows in Viking Age female graves Women, bows and arrows in Old Norse sources Women, bows and arrows in the Viking Age: conclusions Women, riding equipment and horses in the Viking Age Riding equipment in the Viking Age Riding equipment and horses in Viking Age funerary contexts Interpreting riding equipment and horses in Viking Age female graves Women and horses in Old Norse sources Women, horses and riding equipment in the Viking Age: conclusions 6. Women and weapons in Viking Age iconography The so-called ‘valkyrie brooches’: distribution and materiality (Re)interpreting the so-called ‘valkyrie brooches’ Freyja and a warrior woman? Sigurðr and Brynhildr/Sigrdrífa Other iconographic representations of armed females in Viking Age Scandinavia and England 7. Women with weapons: a cross-cultural phenomenon Warrior women in prehistoric times Female cross-dressers in early modern Europe The Amazons of Dahomey Women in the First and Second World Wars Emerging patterns and conclusions 8. Amazons of the North? Women and weapons in the Viking world Women and weapons in Viking archaeology Women and weapons in medieval texts The way of the warrior: past and present
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