Everyday Life in the Viking Age

Description

Drawings by Eva Wilson. Too often the Vikings are typed as seafaring marauders who built fine ships, looted Christian settlements, and recorded their barbaric adventures in epic poetry. But this picture, inspired by the hostile pens of monk- chroniclers in England and Ireland, is far from complete. The Vikings were a civilised race, who flourished on land as well as sea, as is shown by the settlements excavated at Jarlshof, Oseberg and Gokstad. By relating these and other archaeological discoveries to the wealth of early Scandinavian and Icelandic literature that survives, Jacqueline Simpson has produced an authentic and vivid picture of everyday life in Viking times. In separate chapters she covers the expansion of the Vikings; their life on the land; ships and sea expeditions; the trade of the merchants; weapons and warriors; families and social life; games, arts and poetry; religion and funerary rites. These themes are explored from the eighth to the mid-eleventh centuries, with emphasis on the great Viking Age, when Swedes, Gotlanders, Norwegians or Danes had embraced Normandy and England, and travelled as far as Greenland and perhaps America. The variety and excitement of Viking life is reflected in the book's illustrations — over 100 photographs and drawings specially prepared from a wide range of original sources. Acknowledgment 8 The Illustrations 9 1 Ruffians or Heroes? 11 2 The Expansion of the Vikings 22 3 Life on the Land 47 4 Ships and Seafaring 74 5 The Merchants 96 6 Weapons and Warriors 120 7 The Family and Society 138 8 Games, Arts and Poetry 160 9 Religious Practices and Funerary Rites 176 Suggestions for Further Reading 201 Index 203