The Vikings
Facts and Fictions
Published on 25. January 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
200 pages
979-8-7651-2014-9 (ISBN)
Description
This book explores 11 popular misconceptions about the Vikings. Each chapter looks at a particular misconception, examines how it became popular, discusses what we now believe to be the truth, and provides excerpts from primary source documents.
When people think of the Vikings, they often envision marauding barbarians who lived violent lives. While a number of mistaken beliefs about the Vikings have become engrained in popular culture, they are not grounded in historical facts. This book examines popular misconceptions related to the Vikings and the historical truths that contradict the fictions.
The book discusses 11 mistaken notions about the Vikings, with each fiction treated in its own chapter. Topics include whether the Vikings wore horned helmets, whether they were unhygienic, whether they had primitive weapons, whether they drank out of skull cups, and more. Each chapter examines how the misconception proliferated and discusses what we now believe to be the facts contradicting the fictions. Excerpts from primary source documents help readers to understand how the misconceptions came to be throughout history and provide evidence for the historical truths.
When people think of the Vikings, they often envision marauding barbarians who lived violent lives. While a number of mistaken beliefs about the Vikings have become engrained in popular culture, they are not grounded in historical facts. This book examines popular misconceptions related to the Vikings and the historical truths that contradict the fictions.
The book discusses 11 mistaken notions about the Vikings, with each fiction treated in its own chapter. Topics include whether the Vikings wore horned helmets, whether they were unhygienic, whether they had primitive weapons, whether they drank out of skull cups, and more. Each chapter examines how the misconception proliferated and discusses what we now believe to be the facts contradicting the fictions. Excerpts from primary source documents help readers to understand how the misconceptions came to be throughout history and provide evidence for the historical truths.
Reviews / Votes
The Vikings is an excellent work not only for those interested in Viking history but also for those interested in how our view of the past can shift. * Booklist * This well-designed series presents contemporary fictions in a historical context to explain both the origins of the fictions as well as the actual background stories. . .The volume would be an excellent research aid for advanced high school students and undergraduates. * ARBA * A book that just came out - and one that deserves to be on many bookshelves - is The Vikings: Facts and Fictions, by Kirsten Wolf and Tristan Mueller-Vollmer. * Medievalists.net *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Primary & secondary/elementary & high school
Illustrations
4 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 232 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
320 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-7651-2014-9 (9798765120149)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Kirsten Wolf is the Kim Nilsson Professor and the Torger Thompson Chair of Scandinavian Studies in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Tristan Mueller-Vollmer is a doctoral student in Scandinavian Studies in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Tristan Mueller-Vollmer is a doctoral student in Scandinavian Studies in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Content
Preface
Introduction
1. Vikings Were One Nation
2. All Scandinavians Were Vikings
3. Vikings Were Barbarians
4. All Vikings Were Pagan
5. Vikings Were Hated by Their Peers
6. Wives of Vikings Had Equal Rights
7. Vikings Had Primitive Weapons
8. Vikings Were Unhygienic
9. Vikings Wore Horned Helmets
10. Vikings Carved the Blood Eagle
11. Vikings Drank Out of Skull Cups
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
1. Vikings Were One Nation
2. All Scandinavians Were Vikings
3. Vikings Were Barbarians
4. All Vikings Were Pagan
5. Vikings Were Hated by Their Peers
6. Wives of Vikings Had Equal Rights
7. Vikings Had Primitive Weapons
8. Vikings Were Unhygienic
9. Vikings Wore Horned Helmets
10. Vikings Carved the Blood Eagle
11. Vikings Drank Out of Skull Cups
Bibliography
Index