Details
The 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.
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.
Table of Contents
List of figures
List of tables
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction: the methodological and theoretical framework
Entering 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 book
2. Historiography
Researching women in the Viking AgeWarrior women in Old Norse studies and Viking archaeology
3. Women and weapons in medieval textual sources
Armed 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 embellishments
4. Women and weapons in Viking archaeology: the burial evidence
Female graves with weaponsSwedish female graves with weaponsNorwegian female graves with weaponsDanish female graves with weapons
5. Interpreting the arsenal of armed women
Women 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: 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/SigrdrífaOther iconographic representations of armed females in Viking Age Scandinavia and England
7. Women with weapons: a cross-cultural phenomenon
Warrior women in prehistoric timesFemale cross-dressers in early modern EuropeThe Amazons of DahomeyWomen in the First and Second World WarsEmerging patterns and conclusions
8. Amazons of the North? Women and weapons in the Viking world
Women and weapons in Viking archaeologyWomen and weapons in medieval textsThe way of the warrior: past and present
Appendix
References
Reviews & Quotes
"…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
