Description
Book SynopsisJenny Jochens captures in fascinating detail the lives of women in pagan and early Christian Iceland and Norwaytheir work, sexual behavior, marriage customs, reproductive practices, familial relations, leisure activities, religious practices, and legal constraints and protections. Women in Old Norse Society places particular emphasis on changing sexual mores and the impact of Christianity as imposed by the clergy and Norwegian kings. It also demonstrates the vital role women played in economic production.
Trade ReviewA thoroughly rewarding book.... The section on economics and production of wadmal and shaggy overcoats deserves close attention as the best treatment in English of an important topic hitherto neglected.
* English Historical Review *
Although a number of scholars have begun in recent years to approach Old Norse literature from a feminist perspective, Jenny Jochens has been the only historian in the United States to use gender analysis to study the society represented in that literature.... Jochens brings to bear on the Icelandic material a very broad range of knowledge: not only the Old Norse sources in all their complexity but also the body of scholarship in women's history and feminist theory.... This book can be read with profit by all medievalists and is essential reading for anyone interested in Old Norse society.
* Speculum *
Jenny Jochens has been one of the most prolific scholars working on the perennially interesting theme of the role played by women and scholars in Old Icelandic history and literature. Jochens presents a wealth of fascinating detail, never before collected to this extent... offering a full picture of the lives of medieval Icelandic women.
* Saga-Book *
Jochens's study is a model of interdisciplinary techniques and research; she carefully describes her sources—largely laws and sagas of various types—and their limitations, and then draws from them information, such as the etymology of key words ('wife,' 'husband'), possible only for a linguistic scholar of her caliber.
* Choice *
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction
Chapter One. Gudny Bodvarsdottir and Gudrun Gjukadottir: Nordic-Germanic Continuity
Chapter Two. Marriage
The Pagan-Christian Conflict
Pagan Marriage
Christian Marriage
Two Marriages
Divorce and Widowhood
Chapter Three. Reproduction
Conception: Theory and Knowledge
Heterosexual Lovemaking
Sexual Initiative
Pregnancy and Birth
Paternity
Infanticide
Baptism
Reproduction and Royal Succession
Chapter Four. Leisure
Work before Leisure
Gender
Idleness and Sleep
Sports and Games
Storytelling
Drinking and Word Games
Emotional Distress
Politics
Chapter Five. Work
Gender Division of Labor
Outdoor Work
Indoor Work
Chapter Six. The Economics of Homespun
General Use
Coats
Cloth as Medium of Exchange
Export of Cloth and Coats
Measurements
Foreign Cloth
Conclusion
Appendix: Sources
Sagas of Icelanders
Kings'Sagas
Contemporary Sagas
Laws
Christianity, Historicity, Oral Tradition, and Poststructural Doubt
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index
