The Viking Age: A Reader, First Edition (Readings In Medieval Civilizations And Cultures)

The Viking Age: A Reader, First Edition (Readings in Medieval Civilizations and Cultures)

ReviewThe Viking Age is a most enjoyable and informative volume for dipping into. (The Medieval Review)Somerville and McDonald should be congratulated for having compiled a most useful reader, one that is extraordinarily broad and as complete as one might wish for a thorough introduction to the Viking Age. It should be welcomed by instructors, students, and the general reader. (Journal of English and Germanic Philology)The diversity of the Viking world is illuminated in more than 100 readings contained in this primary source reader. The Norse translations, many of them new, are straightforward and easily accessible for students. The introductions contextualize the readings while allowing the sources to speak for themselves. All unfamiliar terms are explained unobtrusively in the body of the text. Thirteen black-and-white illustrations and one map provide visual context.ReviewThe 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)About the AuthorAngus A. Somerville is Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Brock University.R. Andrew McDonald is Professor in the Department of History at Brock University.