OUR BOOKS

HEIRS OF THE VIKINGS

HISTORY AND IDENTITY IN NORMANDY AND ENGLAND, C.950-C.1015

Cross, K. 2018.

Examination of texts concerning the vikings reveals much about their origin myth and legend.
Viking settlers and their descendants inhabited both England and Normandy in the tenth century, but narratives discussing their origins diverged significantly. This comparative study explores the depictions of Scandinavia and the events of the Viking Age in genealogies, origin myths, hagiographies, and charters from the two regions. Analysis of this literary evidence reveals the strategic use of Scandinavian identity by Norman and Anglo-Saxon elites. Countering interpretations which see claims of Viking identity as expressions of contact with Scandinavia, the comparison demonstrates the local, political significance of these claims. In doing so, the book reveals the earliest origins of familiar legends which at once demonize and romanticize the Vikings - and which have their roots in both Anglo-Saxon and Norman traditions.

POCKET MUSEUM: VIKINGS.

Ashby, S.P. & Leonard, A.M. 2018

Pocket Museum: Vikings brings together 200 of the most remarkable artifacts that are held in museum collections around the world. Although the popular image of the Vikings is one of wild, violent raiders, the objects in this book reveal a more complex society composed of pioneering explorers and master metalworkers who established a far-reaching trade network.

A VIKING WAY OF LIFE. COMBS AND COMMUNITIES IN BRITAIN AND SCANDINAVIA, C. AD 800-1100.

Ashby, S.P. 2014

The Viking Age was a world very different to our own: a world of violence and magic, swords and slaves. However, there was of course a much more ordinary, everyday side to life. People made things and traded them; they tended crops and livestock; they cooked and looked after their homes; they drank, gambled and went to market. Much has been written about key historical events in the Viking period, but it is time to take a closer look at the day-to-day activities of ordinary people. This book is about life in the Viking Age, explored through one of its most important and recognisable artefacts - the hair comb. While objects such as swords and battleaxes may be more familiar to us, these tell us little about daily life in the Viking Age. The comb is different; it was a familiar object in Norse society, while simultaneously holding great symbolic power. The Viking Age comb still holds a fascination today, not merely for its technical sophistication or aesthetic appeal, but for what it can tell us about the people who made and traded combs, and those who lived and died with them. The comb repeatedly intersects with quotidian existence and provides an invaluable window into a distant society and culture.