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The Viking Age: A Reader, First Edition (Readings in Medieval Civilizations and Cultures) - Hardcover
Drawing on a wide range of original primary sources, and tracing the astonishing development of the Viking age from the first foreign raids to the rise and fall of Viking empires, this comprehensive reader is essential to an understanding of Viking history.
The diversity of the Viking world is mirrored by the range and variety of the primary documents chosen for inclusion. Chroniclers record European horror in the face of the Viking onslaught. An Arab diplomat gives a gripping account of an encounter with Norsemen in Russia. Great warriors and kings of the period are heralded in Skaldic poetry. With unusual power, saga literature narrates the lives of Norse women and men at home and abroad.
The reader includes new translations of all of the Norse material. Brief introductions contextualize the translations and all unfamiliar terms are explained in the body of the text, making this an extremely readable and user-friendly introduction to the Viking age.
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About the Author:
Angus A. Somerville is Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Brock University.
Review:
The most comprehensive reader to have been published so far, The Viking Age: A Reader is a most welcome contribution for students of the Viking period. The editors are to be commended for the extensive presentation of insular and continental sources. This reader will be on the bookcases of students and more advanced scholars working on the Vikings. (Stefan Brink, University of Aberdeen)
Both the student seeking an introduction to the source materials and the scholar who wants accurate translations with helpful introductions will find The Viking Age: A Reader to be an essential addition to their library. The editors give equal attention to historical and literary texts while the topical division of materials is useful to those seeking specific information on culture, belief, and technology. Especially welcome are the selections dealing with themes outside the usual range of Viking studies such as Atlantic history. Mythological heroes and humble soldiers all have a voice in these selections from writings by and about the Vikings. (Benjamin Hudson, Pennsylvania State University)
In The Viking Age: A Reader, Somerville and McDonald weave a tapestry from contemporary and nearly contemporary documents representing the Vikings, warts and all. This well-structured book admirably introduces us to those early Scandinavians as pirates, raiders, farmers, merchants, homebodies, explorers, invaders, colonists or settlers, enemies, mercenaries, and allies to various Europeans. We see the Vikings at home and abroad as they saw themselves and as a wide variety of others saw them. Brief introductions to the documents translated here give the reader a clear idea of the reliability and limitations of those sources. The Viking Age gives its reader a very good trip though the Viking world. (George Clark, Professor Emeritus, Queen's University)
Both the student seeking an introduction to the source materials and the scholar who wants accurate translations with helpful introductions will find The Viking Age: A Reader to be an essential addition to their library. The editors give equal attention to historical and literary texts while the topical division of materials is useful to those seeking specific information on culture, belief, and technology. Especially welcome are the selections dealing with themes outside the usual range of Viking studies such as Atlantic history. Mythological heroes and humble soldiers all have a voice in these selections from writings by and about the Vikings. (Benjamin Hudson, Pennsylvania State University)
In The Viking Age: A Reader, Somerville and McDonald weave a tapestry from contemporary and nearly contemporary documents representing the Vikings, warts and all. This well-structured book admirably introduces us to those early Scandinavians as pirates, raiders, farmers, merchants, homebodies, explorers, invaders, colonists or settlers, enemies, mercenaries, and allies to various Europeans. We see the Vikings at home and abroad as they saw themselves and as a wide variety of others saw them. Brief introductions to the documents translated here give the reader a clear idea of the reliability and limitations of those sources. The Viking Age gives its reader a very good trip though the Viking world. (George Clark, Professor Emeritus, Queen's University)
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- PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press, Higher Education Division
- Publication date2010
- ISBN 10 1442601477
- ISBN 13 9781442601475
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages512
- Rating
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