Magic, sorcery and witchcraft are among the most common themes of the great medieval Icelandic sagas and poems, the problematic yet vital sources that provide our primary textual evidence for the Viking Age that they claim to describe. Yet despite the consistency of this picture, surprisingly little archaeological or historical research has been done to explore what this may really have meant to the men and women of the time. This book examines the evidence for Old Norse sorcery, looking at its meaning and function, practice and practitioners, and the complicated constructions of gender and sexual identity with which these were underpinned. Combining strong elements of eroticism and aggression, sorcery appears as a fundamental domain of women's power, linking them with the gods, the dead and the future. Their battle spells and combat rituals complement the men's physical acts of fighting, in a supernatural empowerment of the Viking way of life. What emerges is a fundamentally new...
About the Author: Neil Price is Distinguished Professor of Archaeology at the University of Uppsala,Sweden,and formerly held the Sixth Century Chair in Archaeology at Aberdeen.A leading specialist in the Viking Age and the pre-Christian religions of the North,with additional interests in the historical archaeology of the Asia-Pacific region,his researches have taken him to more than 40 countries.From 2016-2025,Neil is directing a major Swedish Research Council project on The Viking Phenomenon,leading an international team to explore the origins of this critical period in world history.
Description:
Magic, sorcery and witchcraft are among the most common themes of the great medieval Icelandic sagas and poems, the problematic yet vital sources that provide our primary textual evidence for the Viking Age that they claim to describe. Yet despite the consistency of this picture, surprisingly little archaeological or historical research has been done to explore what this may really have meant to the men and women of the time. This book examines the evidence for Old Norse sorcery, looking at its meaning and function, practice and practitioners, and the complicated constructions of gender and sexual identity with which these were underpinned. Combining strong elements of eroticism and aggression, sorcery appears as a fundamental domain of women's power, linking them with the gods, the dead and the future. Their battle spells and combat rituals complement the men's physical acts of fighting, in a supernatural empowerment of the Viking way of life. What emerges is a fundamentally new... About the Author: Neil Price is Distinguished Professor of Archaeology at the University of Uppsala,Sweden,and formerly held the Sixth Century Chair in Archaeology at Aberdeen.A leading specialist in the Viking Age and the pre-Christian religions of the North,with additional interests in the historical archaeology of the Asia-Pacific region,his researches have taken him to more than 40 countries.From 2016-2025,Neil is directing a major Swedish Research Council project on The Viking Phenomenon,leading an international team to explore the origins of this critical period in world history.