Children of Ash and Elm - Neil Price

Children of Ash and Elm

By Neil Price

  • Release Date: 2020-08-25
  • Genre: European History
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 56 Ratings

Description

The definitive history of the Vikings -- from arts and culture to politics and cosmology -- by a distinguished archaeologist with decades of expertise
The Viking Age -- from 750 to 1050 -- saw an unprecedented expansion of the Scandinavian peoples into the wider world. As traders and raiders, explorers and colonists, they ranged from eastern North America to the Asian steppe. But for centuries, the Vikings have been seen through the eyes of others, distorted to suit the tastes of medieval clerics and Elizabethan playwrights, Victorian imperialists, Nazis, and more. None of these appropriations capture the real Vikings, or the richness and sophistication of their culture.
Based on the latest archaeological and textual evidence, Children of Ash and Elm tells the story of the Vikings on their own terms: their politics, their cosmology and religion, their material world. Known today for a stereotype of maritime violence, the Vikings exported new ideas, technologies, beliefs, and practices to the lands they discovered and the peoples they encountered, and in the process were themselves changed. From Eirík Bloodaxe, who fought his way to a kingdom, to Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir, the most traveled woman in the world, Children of Ash and Elm is the definitive history of the Vikings and their time.

Reviews

  • Good, informed read

    5
    By TriMoose
    Very compelling book that explores the realities of the Viking experience. Does not shy away from positive and negative aspects to show a complete picture. Good read.
  • Excellent

    5
    By LoreVivian
    Took a class in medieval literature in Mexico City. Read Beowulf and was fascinated with viking history. Wonderful book and easy read from the best teacher. Thanks Mr. Price.