For future reference
Oct. 10th, 2005 09:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stellar_muddleInfo from the Norsefolk2 list (yahoogroups)(part 1):
To: Norsefolk_2@yahoogroups.com
From: "C.L. Ward" <gunnora@vikinganswerlady.com>
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005 12:20:22 -0500
Subject: [Norsefolk_2] Persona Development Part 2 - The Big Bibliography
This bibliography is by no means a complete or exhaustive listing of the
sources available on the Viking Age peoples. I have mostly limited this list
to books in English. The vast body of research in the field of Scandinavian
studies exists in German, Swedish, and Icelandic, and is inacessible to
those who do not possess fluency in those languages. However, this listing
should more than serve to whet the scholastic appetite of those interested
in medieval and Viking Scandinavia.
Culture
----------
* Almgren, Bertil, et. al. The Viking. New York: Crescent. 1975.
[This is often referred to as "the ugly Viking book" due to its line
drawings depicting some of the ugliest, most wrinkled Vikings you'll ever
see. Do not let this dissuade you, however, for this book also contains the
best illustrations of Viking tools, daily life, and warfare that you'll ever
see as well. Note, however, that the pictures of Norse costume are not very
good at all.]
* Brogger, A.W. and Haakon Shetelig. The Viking Ships: Their Ancestry and
Evolution. Oslo: Dreyers Forlag. 1951. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0906191408/thevikinganswerl
* Byock, Jesse. Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas and Power. Berkeley:
University of California Press. 1988. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520069544/thevikinganswerl
[A discussion of Icelandic social structure, acquisition/loss of wealth and
power, and the complex interrelationships of Icelandic politics and law. An
excellent source, which really helps make the sagas more understandable.]
* Conquergood, Dwight. "Boasting in Anglo-Saxon England: Performance and the
Heroic Ethos." Literature in Performance. 1 (1991): 24-35.
[Essential to the persona of any Germanic warrior is the ability to boast.
Until Christianity was adopted, with its ideas about pride being a sin, it
was considered not just acceptable, but even desirable to advertise one's
abilities and make known what heroic deeds one would soon attempt. This
article discusses the form of the boast, and gives excellent examples from
period literature.]
* Ellis-Davidson, Hilda Roderick. "Insults and Riddles in the Edda Poems."
Edda: A Collection of Essays. eds. Robert J. Glendinning and Haraldur
Bessason. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. 1983. 25-46. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0887551173/thevikinganswerl
[An excellent article that can help you add real Viking character to your
persona conversations.]
* Fitzhugh, William W. and Elisabeth I. Ward, eds. Vikings: The North
Atlantic Saga. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. 2000.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1560989955/thevikinganswerl
* Foote, Peter and David M. Wilson. The Viking Achievement. London:
Sidgewick and Jackson. 1970. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0283979267/thevikinganswerl
[An authoritative and readable work on the culture of the Vikings, drawn
from the best historical and archaeological source materials.]
* Hastrup, Kirsten. Culture and History in Medieval Iceland: An
Anthropological Analysis of Structure and Change. Oxford: Clarendon. 1985.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198232500/thevikinganswerl
[This is a fantastic source for personna development, as it really covers
the Viking world-view in depth, discussing conceptions of time, space, kin
groups, social/political structure, and the social vs the wild.]
* Mauss, Marcel. The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic
Societies. New York: W.W. Norton. 1967. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393306984/thevikinganswerl
[Includes a chapter on "Pledge and Gift in Germanic Societies" - a very
useful look at the Viking/Germanic customs of hospitality and generosity.]
* Pulsiano, Phillip et al., eds. Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia.
Garland Reference Library of the Humanities 934. New York & London: Garland.
1993. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0824047877/thevikinganswerl
[A wonderful source of all types of information about Scandinavia of the
Vikings and Middle Ages. Each encyclopedia entry is a short article written
by scholars in that particular area of Norse life, history and culture. An
outstanding source.]
* Roesdahl, Else. The Vikings. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1987. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140252827/thevikinganswerl
[Written by a Danish archaeologist, traces the activities of the Vikings in
Europe and assesses the significance of those traces. Also provides
excellent discussion of the sources and their relative merits.]
* Roesdahl, Else, and Wilson, David M., eds. From Viking to Crusader: The
Scandinavians and Europe 800-1200. New York: Rizzoli International
Publications, Inc., 1992. ISBN 0-8478-1625-7.
* Simpson, Jacqueline. Everyday Life in the Viking Age. New York: Dorset.
1967. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/088029146X/thevikinganswerl
[A very readable work on the culture of the Vikings, provided with many nice
line-drawn illustrations. Provides a good general introduction to life in
the Viking Age. Lacks footnotes and consistent identification of its
sources.]
* Williams, Mary Wilhelmine. Social Scandinavia in the Viking Age. 1920. New
York: Kraus Reprint Co. 1971.
[A comprehensive work on the culture of the Vikings, however much of the
data is drawn from the sagas, as this work was written at a time when
historians assumed that the sagas were in fact accurate sources of
historical information. Excellent as an overview of Viking practices and
customs, so long as the reader keeps in mind the fact that all information
should be cross-verified with another source, such as The Viking
Achievement, above.]
* Wilson, David M., ed. The Northern World. New York: Harry N. Abrams. 1980.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0810913658/thevikinganswerl
[A collection of essays by various scholars, covering Scandinavian
mythology, the continental Germanic tribes, the Anglo-Saxons in England, the
Celts, the Scandinavians at home, Viking raids, the Northern Slavs, and
Romanticism and Revival in the modern day.]
History and Archaeology
-----------------------
* Bronstead, Johannes. The Vikings. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1960.
[Written by a noted art historian and archaeologist, discusses the history
and archaeology of the Vikings.]
* Farrell, R.T., ed. The Vikings. London: Philmore. 1982.
[A collection of scholarly articles, ranging from history, art history and
archaeology to literature to the Vikings in North America. Pretty dry
reading. ]
* Gelsinger, Bruce E. Icelandic Enterprise: Commerce and Economy in the
Middle Ages. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. 1981. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0872494055/thevikinganswerl
[A thorough discussion of Iceland's economy, resources, trade and trading
partners. Covers many related topics, such as ships and navigation, as well.
Excellent source.]
* Graham-Campbell, James. The Viking World. New York: Ticknor & Fields.
1980. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0899190057/thevikinganswerl
[A study of the history and archaeology of the Vikings by a noted specialist
in Celtic and Viking archaeology. Contains wonderful photographs of
artifacts, plus copious diagrams and illustrations.]
* Hall, Richard. The Viking Dig: the Excavations at York. London: The Bodley
Head. 1984. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0370308212/thevikinganswerl
[The chronicle of the archaeological excavation of the Viking remains at
York. Provides insight into the process of discovering and reconstructing
the history and culture of the Vikings.]
* Jones, Gwyn. A History of the Vikings. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
1968. To order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/019285139X/thevikinganswerl
[A very readable history of the Scandinavian peoples.]
* La Fay, Howard. The Vikings. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society.
1972.
[Much like an extended National Geographic magazine article, this book
focuses not only on the history of the Vikings, but also on their modern day
descendants. Particularly notable for its many photographs of the landscapes
of Scandinavia.]
* Lewis, Archibald R. The Northern Seas: Shipping and Commerce in Northern
Europe, A.D. 300-1100. New York: Octagon Books. 1958, repr. 1978.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374949794/thevikinganswerl
* Magnusson, Magnus. Viking Expansion Westwards. London: The Bodley Head.
1973. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0809835290/thevikinganswerl
[Explores the Viking colonization of England, Scotland, Man, Ireland, the
Faroes, Iceland, Greenland and Vinland. Includes discussion of the reasons
for this outward migration of Scandinavian peoples.]
* Magnusson, Magnus. Vikings! New York: E. P. Dutton. 1980. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0370302729/thevikinganswerl
[An overview/introduction to Viking history, meant as a companion to
Magnusson's PBS-TV series of the same name. Very worth while.]
* Sawyer, P. H. Kings and Vikings: Scandinavia and Europe, A.D. 700-1100.
New York: Methuen. 1982. Reprint, 1993. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0415045908/thevikinganswerl
[Discusses the Viking expansion westwards, including raids and piracy
affecting Western Europe, with an assessment of the consequences, good and
bad, that this activity had on both the Vikings and their victims.]
* Sorenson, Preben M. The Unmanly Man: Concepts of Sexual Defamation in
Early Northern Society. trans. Joan Turville-Petre. The Viking Collection,
Studies in Northern Civilization 1. Odense University Press. 1983.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/8774924362/thevikinganswerl
* Wernick, Robert. The Vikings. Time Life Seafarers Series 7. Alexandria,
Virgina: Time-Life Books. 1979. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0809427087/thevikinganswerl
* Wilson, David M. The Vikings and their Origins. London: Thames and Hudson.
1970. Rev edition, 1989. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500275424/thevikinganswerl
[Written by the Director of the British Museum, this book is mainly a work
of archaeology. There is some discussion of history, but the best and
greatest part of this book are its photographs and color plates showing some
of the most beautiful of the extant Viking
artifacts. ]
Viking Ships and Shipbuilding
-----------------------------
* Brogger, A.W., and Shetelig, Haakon. The Viking Ships: Their Ancestry and
Evolution, trans. Katherine John. 1951; Reprint New York: Twayne Publishers,
Inc., 1971. Out-of-print, to have Amazon.com do a book search for it (this
is where I got my copy) go to:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0900966602/thevikinganswerl
* Christensen, Arne. "Boats and Boatbuilding in Western Norway and the
Islands." in: The Northern and Western Isles in the Viking World: Survival,
Continuity and Change. eds. Alexander Fenton and Hermann Palsson. Edinburgh:
John Donald. 1984. pp. 85-95. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0859761010/thevikinganswerl
* Olsen, Olaf. Five Viking Ships. 1978.
[Discusses the Roskilde ship finds.]
* Petersen, Ole Crumlin, ed. Sailing into the Past: Proceedings of the
International Seminar on Replicas of Ancient and Medieval Vessels, Roskilde
1984. Roskilde: Viking Ship Museum. 1986. (I found this one in the
University of Texas at Austin Perry Casteneda Library -- you can probably
get it through Interlibrary Loan).
* Simek, Rudolf. "Old Norse Ship Names and Ship Terms". Northern Studies 13
(1979), pp. 26-36.
* Sjovold, Thorleif. The Viking Ships in Oslo. Oslo: Universitetets
Oldsaksamling. 1985.
* Wernick, Robert. The Vikings. Time Life Seafarers Series 7. Alexandria,
Virgina: Time-Life Books. 1979. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0809427087/thevikinganswerl
Warfare and Warrior Culture
---------------------------
* Cherniss, Michael D. Ingeld and Christ: Heroic Concepts and Values in Old
English Christian Poetry. The Hague: Mouton. 1972. Available from
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9027923353/thevikinganswerl
[This one is invaluable for understanding the heroic ethos and worldview of
both the Saxons and the Vikings. Cherniss uses the first part of the book to
look at the aspects of behavior that were honored and idealized in the
Germanic heroic poetry and legend, focussing on the institution of the
king's warband, its ethics and structure.]
* Ellis-Davidson, Hilda R. The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England: Its Archaeology
and Literature. Oxford: Clarendon. 1962. Reprint: Boydell & Brewer, 1998.
Available from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0851157165/thevikinganswerl
[This book is an invaluable exploration of the significance of the sword as
symbol and weapon in the Anglo-Saxon world, using archaeological and
literary evidence. The first part of the book, a careful study of the
disposition of swords found in peat bogs, in graves, lakes and rivers,
yields information on religious and social practices. The second is
concerned with literary sources, especially Beowulf. Ellis-Davidson
frequently discusses Viking evidence as well in the process of examining the
Anglo-Saxon ideas of the sword. Very good book and well worth reading.]
* Evans, Stephen S. Lords of Battle: Image and Reality of the Comitatus in
Dark-Age Britain. Woodbridge: Boydell. 1997. Available from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0851156622/thevikinganswerl
[This small book is an interesting look at warbands in early Britain. Most
of the evidence refelects Anglo-Saxon warbands, but Welsh warrior culture is
also examined where possible. Of course quite a bit of evidence comes from
literary sources, particularly the heroic poetry, but where possible
archaeology is consulted as well. In examining northern European warbands in
general, Evans ends up talking quite a bit about the Scandinavian evidence.]
* Griffith, Paddy. The Viking Art of War. Greenhill Press. 1995. To order
used from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1853672084/thevikinganswerl
[Griffith's "Art of War" is just about the only book that's been published
purporting to deal with Viking military organization and tactics, but
Griffith is clearly unfamiliar with the Vikings, their culture, and the
source material. The information covered in this book is extremely shallowly
presented, and all seems to be taken from secondary sources at best. In some
places (notably the information on ships) the text is shockingly incorrect.
Poor editing rounds out the debacle. Don't waste your money, unless you're
just getting it to round out your collection or as an example of "what not
to do" in terms of writing about the Viking Age.]
* Harrison, Mark. Viking Hersir: 793-1066 A.D. Osprey Warrior Series 3.
London: Osprey Publishing. 1993. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1855323184/thevikinganswerl
[Like all OSprey books, this is most valuable for the illustrations.
Harrison focuses on the local chieftain or hersir, the local warleaders of
the Viking countries. The overall military organization of the Viking Age
people, and some info on training and tactics is included, etc.]
* Haywood, John. The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings. London:
Penguin Books/Viking, 1995. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140513280/thevikinganswerl
[This little book focuses on a military view of the Vikings. As the "Atlas"
in the title suggests, this book includes some excellent maps. By itself,
this book doesn't go into extensive detauil, rather being devoted to little
short pithy bits of information, but it's an excellent companion book to
Gwyn Jones' "History of the Vikings".]
* Heath, Ian. The Vikings. Osprey Elite Series 3. London: Osprey Publishing.
1985. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0850455650/thevikinganswerl
[Again, as an Osprey book, the focus is on the illustrations. Looks at
Viking ships and shipbuilding, Vikings in Britain and Russia, with some
information on tactics, armor and weapons.]
* Peirce, Ian G. Swords of the Viking Age: Catalogue of Examples. Boydell &
Brewer. 2002. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0851159141/thevikinganswerl
[This book provides an oviewrview of the swords made and used in northern
Europe during the Viking Age ca. 850's-1050's. About 60 representative
examples of the various sword-types are presented here, many not shown in
other works. Where possible, a full-length photograph and photographs of
details have been included for each example, with the illustrations and
descriptions of most of the swords covering two facing pages. This book also
includes a brief illustrated overview of blade types and construction,
pattern-welding, inscriptions and handle forms and their classification
under Jan Petersen's classification system.]
* Petersen, Jan. De Norske Vikingesverd: En typologisk-kronologisk studie
over vikingetidens vaaben (The Norwegian Viking Swords: A typological and
chronological examination of Viking Age weapons). Kristiana/Oslo:
Videnskaps-Selskapets Skrifter 2, Hist. Filos. Klasse. 1919. English
translation by Kristin Noer, 1998. http://www.vikingsword.com/petersen/
[This book is still probably the most exhaustive study of Viking Age swords.
In spite of its age (1919) it is still the primary work used by Scandinavian
archaeologists, and happily is partially available online in English
translation. The swords are considered based mostly on the shape and
decoration of the pommels, hilts and handles, while other aspects, such as
length, balance and weight of the blade, are touched upon lightly or not at
all. There is some very brief treatment of axe heads, spear heads and shield
bosses from the same period.]
* Pulsiano, Phillip et al., eds. Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia.
Garland Reference Library of the Humanities 934. New York & London: Garland.
1993. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0824047877/thevikinganswerl
See these articles:
Bagge, Sverre. "Hir?." p. 284.
Barfod, Jorgen H. P. "Warfare." pp. 717-718.
Lindkvist, Thomas. "Feudal Influences and Tendencies." pp. 187-188.
Literature
----------
Aids to Locating and Understanding Viking Literature
----------------------------------------------------
* Byock, Jesse. Feud in the Icelandic Saga. Berkeley: University of
California Press. 1982. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520082591/thevikinganswerl
[Byock carefully explains the system and patterns of feuds in the sagas. One
Icelandic scholar has explained the sagas as stories of "farmers at
fisticuffs", which Byock proves to be more than apt. Really aids in
understanding the sagas.]
* Cleasby, Richard and Gu?brandr Vigfusson. An Icelandic-English Dictionary.
2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon. 1957. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198631030/thevikinganswerl Scanned
version online at:
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~kurisuto/germanic/oi_cleasbyvigfusson_about.html
[The Old Icelandic equivalent of the Webster's Unabridged, this is the best
dictionary of Old Icelandic/Old Norse.]
* Fry, Donald K. Norse Sagas Translated into English: A Bibliography. New
York: AMS Press. 1980. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0404180167/thevikinganswerl
[An indispensible guide to the student of Viking Scandinavia who cannot read
Old Norse. Fry lists all translations of each saga that has been translated
into English, and comments on the translation in some instances. ]
* Gordon, Eric V. An Introduction to Old Norse. 2nd. ed. Oxford: Clarendon.
1986. To order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198111843/thevikinganswerl
[Listed for the bold at heart who wish to learn to read the sagas in the
original. Gordon gives a short discussion of the prose and poetry of the
North, a short grammar, and selections from Old Norse literature, arranged
in order of difficulty. Also includes a glossary of words used in the
readings.]
* Zoega, Geir T. A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic. Oxford: Clarendon.
1910. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198631081/thevikinganswerl Scanned
and OCR'd version online at http://www.northvegr.org/zoega/index002.php
[For the bold at heart, but also for those who want to know what a precise
term means. This particular dictionary does not include an
English-into-Icelandic section, so it is of limited use only in constructing
names, etc. The Cleasby-Vigfusson dictionary of Old Icelandic is the "next
step up" and one may have to locate a library that has it in order to do
more than simple translations as afforded by Zoega's dictionary.]
Literature, Laws and Chronicles in Translation
----------------------------------------------
* Dennis, Andrew, Peter Foote and Richard Perkins, trans. Laws of Early
Iceland: Gragas. Vol. I. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. 1980.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0887551157/thevikinganswerl
[Until this translation was made available, the only was to get any idea of
Icelandic law was by gleaning short, individual passages quoted in various
works. This volume contains the Christian Laws, Assembly Procedures,
Treatment of Homicide, Weregild Ring List, the Lawspeaker's Section and the
Law Council Section. Very useful, contains notes and explanations as well as
an excellent translation.]
* Dennis, Andrew, Peter Foote and Richard Perkins, trans. Laws of Early
Iceland: Gragas. Vol. II. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. August
2000. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0887551580/thevikinganswerl
[Volume II includes Truce and Peace Speeches, Inheritance, Incapable
Person's Section, Betrothal and General Family Law, Land-claims, General
Commercial Law, Stolen Goods and Theft, Duties of Communes, and
Miscellaneous Provisions regarding poetry, biting dogs, bulls and tame
bears, value of silver, prices, relations with Norway, legal procedure etc.]
* Fell, Christine, trans. Egil's Saga. London: J.M. Dent & Sons. 1975. To
order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0460872656/thevikinganswerl
[The story of the most memorable character in Viking literature, the
farmer/rune-magician/warrior/skald, Egil Skallagrimsson. Fell's translation
is superior to the Penguin edition listed below, but is not as generally
available. Contains outstandingly excellent notes, and particularly accurate
translations of Egil's poetry, with explanation of the kennings.]
* Hollander, Lee M., trans. The Sagas of Kormak and the Sworn Brothers.
Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. 1949.
* Hollander, Lee M., trans. The Poetic Edda. Austin: University of Texas
Press. 1962. To order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0292764995/thevikinganswerl
[A good introduction to the Elder or Poetic Edda. The translation sometimes
suffers in its accuracy due to Hollander's successful effort to maintain the
poetic qualities of the original. The Poetic Edda is the basis for much of
our surviving knowledge of Norse myth and legend.]
* Hollander, Lee M. trans. The Skalds: A Selection of their Poems with
Introduction and Notes. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 1945.
[Translation of a selection of the surviving skaldic poetry with discussions
of style and language, as well as some bibliographical data on the various
poets.]
* Johnston, George, trans. Faereyinga Saga (The Faroe Islanders' Saga).
Canada. Oberon Press. 1975. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0887501362/thevikinganswerl
* Johnston, George, trans. Gisla saga Surssonar (The Saga of Gisli).
Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 1959. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802062199/thevikinganswerl
* Jones, Gwyn, trans. The Norse Atlantic Saga. 2cnd ed. New York: Oxford
University Press. 1986. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0192851608/thevikinganswerl
[Contains a history of the Norse colonization and exploration of Greenland
and Vinland, with translations of The Book of the Icelanders (Islendigabok),
The Book of Settlements (Landnamabok), The Greenlanders' Saga
(Groenlendingasaga), the Saga of Eirik the Red (Eiriks saga rauda),
Karlsefni's Voyage to Vinland (from Hauksbok), and the Story of Einar
Sokkason (Groenlindingathattur).]
* Jones, Gwyn, trans. The Vatnsdaler's Saga. New York: Princeton University
Press. 1944.
[The story of the men of Waterdale. Written by a Christian ca. 1270, this
saga is much concerned with witchcraft and magic, and with the old pagan
religion. Very entertaining reading.]
* Laing, Samuel, trans. The Olaf Sagas. London: Dent. 1930.
* Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, trans. Laxdaela Saga.
Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1969.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140442189/thevikinganswerl
[Like all the Penguin editions of the sagas currently in print, this
translation is rendered by two outstanding experts in the field of Old Norse
literature. Contains useful introduction, notes, glossary of names, and
genealogies.]
* Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, trans. Njal's Saga. Harmondsworth:
Penguin. 1960. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140441034/thevikinganswerl
[The Saga of Burnt Njal has long been considered to be the greatest work of
Icelandic literature, and with good justification, one of the greatest
literary works in the world.]
* Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, trans. The Vinland Sagas: The Norse
Discovery of America. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1965. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140441549/thevikinganswerl
[Contains Groenlindingasaga and Eiriks saga rauda: the stories of Eirik the
Red and his son, Leif the Lucky. ]
* McGrew, Julia H. and R. George Thomas, trans. Sturlunga Saga. 2 vols. New
York: Twayne. 1970 and 1974. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805733647/thevikinganswerl
[Sturlunga Saga is a collection of tales written during the decade
immediately following the events described in its pages, making this the
only saga which is a reliable source for historical information. Useful for
insights into Icelandic culture and history in the early Christian period. ]
* Morris, William and Eirikr Magnusson, trans. The Story of the Volsungs and
Niblungs. 1870; Totowa, NJ: Cooper Square. 1980. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0815405189/thevikinganswerl
[A reprint of a Victorian translation. There are more current translations
of Volsungasaga available.]
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Landnamabok: The Book of
Settlements. University of Manitoba Icelandic Studies 1. Manitoba:
University of Manitoba Press. 1972. ISBN: 0835773426
* Palsson, Hermann, trans. The Confederates and Hen-Thorir. (Bandamanna Saga
and Hansa-?oris Saga). Edinburgh: Southside. 1975. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0900025182/thevikinganswerl
* Palsson, Hermann, trans. Hrafnkel's Saga and Other Icelandic Stories. New
York: Penguin. 1983. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140442383/thevikinganswerl
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Landnamabok: The Book of
Settlements. Univ. of Manitoba press. 1972.
[Thought to have been written by Ari the Wise, chronicles the Settlement of
Iceland and early Icelandic history.]
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Egil's Saga. Harmondsworth:
Penguin. 1976. To order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140443215/thevikinganswerl
[The story of the most memorable character in Viking literature, the
farmer/rune-magician/warrior/skald, Egil Skallagrimsson.]
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Gautrek's Saga and Other
Medieval Tales. New York: New York University Press. 1968. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/034009396X/thevikinganswerl
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Eyrbyggja Saga. Buffalo:
University of Toronto Press. 1973. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140445307/thevikinganswerl
[Eyrbyggja saga contains the most supernatural/mythological elements of any
existing saga. This makes it a fun saga to read: there are ghoulies and
ghosties and long-leggedy beasties aplenty.]
* Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, trans. Orkneyinga Saga: The History
of the Earls of Orkney. New York: Penguin. 1978. Reprint 1985. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140443835/thevikinganswerl
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Seven Viking Romances.
Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1985. Reprint 1986. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140444742/thevikinganswerl
[A collection of fourteenth-century stories of heroic adventure set in the
legendary world of the Viking Age, composed for the purpose of
entertainment, and patterned after tales from classical myth, French
Romance. etc.]
* Scach, Paul and Lee M. Hollander, trans. Eyrbyggja Saga (The Ere-Dweller's
Saga). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. 1959, reprint 1977.
* Sturluson, Snorri. Heimskringla: Or the Lives of the Norse Kings. 1932;
New York: Dover. 1990. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486263665/thevikinganswerl
[Snorri's history of the Norwegian kings, beginning with the Odin, ancestor
of Norwegian kings in Ynglingasaga through the rule of Magnus Erlingson,
ending in 1184.]
* Sturluson, Snorri. Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway. Lee M.
Hollander, trans. Austin: University of Texas Press. 1964. Paperback 1991.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0292730616/thevikinganswerl
* Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda. trans. Anthony Faulkes. Everyman
Paperback Classics. To order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0460876163/thevikinganswerl
[A survey of early northern mythology intended as a guide for poets, written
by the thirteenth-century chieftain and scholar, Snorri Sturluson. Includes
a great wealth of small details about mythic beliefs.]
* Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda. trans. Jean I. Young. Berkeley:
University of California Press. 1954. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520012321/thevikinganswerl
[A survey of early northern mythology intended as a guide for poets, written
by the thirteenth-century chieftain and scholar, Snorri Sturluson. This
translation does not contain the greater part of Snorri's text, which was
devoted to the skaldic meters. See the translation by Anthony Faulkes
(above) for the complete work.]
Old Norse Names
---------------
sources available online for documenting and researching Old Norse names:
HOW TO FORM AN OLD NORSE NAME
"Names and Name-Giving in the Viking Age" Class Presentation
HTML format of a PowerPoint presentation developed for a class given at
Ansteorra's July 2004 King's College
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONNamesClass.htm
"Names and Name-Giving in the Viking Age" PowerPoint Class Presentation
PowerPoint presentation developed for a class given at Ansteorra's July 2004
King's College (Zipped PPT format, Zip file 776KB, PPT file when unzipped
1265KB)
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONNamesClass.zip
Aryanhwy merch Catmael's A Simple Guide to Creating Old Norse Names
An overview of Viking names, based primarily on Geirr Bassi Haraldsson's The
Old Norse Name.
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/sg-viking.html
It's good to note that Geirr Bassi (and the sources here derived from Geirr
Bassi) don't give dates, and do in fact include names that are post-Viking
Age. The only way to get dates for most of these is to go to a print-only
source such as E.H. Lind.
The Viking Answer Lady's Old Norse Names
Overview article on how Old Norse names are formed. You can also write me at
or
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONNames.htm
PERSONAL NAMES
Aryanhwy merch Catmael's Viking Names found in the Landnamabok Based on
Geirr Bassi Haraldsson's "The Old Norse Name".
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/landnamabok.html
Nordiskt runnamnslexikon (In Swedish)
A dictionary of Old Norse names from runic inscriptions.
http://www.sofi.se/images/runor/pdf/lexikon.pdf
Most of these names come from eastern Scandinavia and are therefore most
appropriate for people with personas from Sweden or Denmark, but there are
some west Scandinavian names from Norway, the British Isles, etc. as well,
also some placenames.
Nordiskt runnamnslexikon (rough English translation)
A huge zipped PDF. You will need a utility to unzip the file -- for example,
the shareware tool WinZip (http://www.winzip.com) -- and you will need a
copy of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, available at
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/FTP_Files/NordisktRunnamnslexicon.zip
The Viking Answer Lady's Old Norse Men's Names and their Meanings
Gives names collected from several references, with etymologies when
scholarly evidence for name element meanings is available. Each entry
references the original sources from which the data was taken, which should
allow people to backtrack to the good source material.
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONMensNames.htm
The Viking Answer Lady's Old Norse Women's Names and their Meanings
Gives names collected from several references, with etymologies when
scholarly evidence for name element meanings is available. Each entry
references the original sources from which the data was taken, which should
allow people to backtrack to the good source material.
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONWomensNames.htm
BYNAMES
Aryanhwy merch Catmael's Viking Bynames found in the Landnamabok
By-names or nick-names can be an element in reconstructing an Old Norse
name. Based on Geirr Bassi Haraldsson's "The Old Norse Name".
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/vikbynames.html
Lindorm Eriksson's The Bynames of the Viking Age Runic Inscriptions
By-names or nick-names can be an element in reconstructing an Old Norse
name.
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/lindorm/runicbynames/
HELPFUL REFERENCES
The Norse Course Guide to Old Norse Pronunciation
From the Yahoo Groups Norse Course beginning lessons in Old Norse at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/norse_course/
http://www.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/articles/pronunc.html
PLACENAMES AND MEDIEVAL SCANDINAVIAN NAMES
Diplomatarium Norvegicum
http://www.dokpro.uio.no/dipl_norv/diplom_field_eng.html
A collection of the texts of approximately 20000 charters and other offical
documents connected to Norway in the period 1050 to 1590.
Rygh, Oluf. _Norske Gaardnavne_ (Norwegian Farm Names)
http://www.dokpro.uio.no/rygh_ng/rygh_form.html
The search page is in English, and farm names are good both as a model for
household names and also in forming locative bynames. It does require some
understanding of ON locatives to form one, but this is where you'd start to
get the base forms (locatives combine a preposition such as (a) or (i) with
a placename in the dative case).
Landnamabok (Sturlubok). (WWW: Netutgafan, 1998)
http://www.snerpa.is/net/snorri/landnama.htm
Survives in five redactions, the earliest two being Sturlubok, composed by
Sturla ?or?arson (d. 1284) and Hauksbok, written by Haukr Erlendsson in
1306-1308. An account of the discovery and settlement of Iceland, deals
with roughly 430 settlers, their families and their descendants, preserving
over 3,500 personal names and almost 1,500 farm names. Many sagas rely upon
Landnamabok as a source for genealogical and biographical information. Note
that this version is modern Icelandic, which is very close to Old Norse but
has some minor spelling differences. This will get you very close to the
right spelling, and you can usually clean that up to a pure Old Norse form
using the Cleasby-Vigfusson dictionary (see above)
Landnamabok (very old English translation)
http://www.northvegr.org/lore/landnamabok/index.php
Index and Glossary of Placenames starts at
http://www.northvegr.org/lore/landnamabok/033.php
The spellings and meanings given in this translation for the placenames are
very often just completely wrong, but it can give a person at least an idea
and get them started. From here, it's easy to go to the Netutgafan website
Icelandic text of Landnamabok and find a better spelling - though note that
even that may need some minor tinkering.
IDEAS FOR VIKING HERALDIC DESIGN
Mistress Thora Sharptooth's "Personal Display for Viking Age Personae: A
Primer for Use in the SCA"http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/display.html
Gunnvor silfraharr. "Heraldry for a Non-Heraldic Culture: Vikings and Coats
of Arms in the SCA". http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/vikheraldry.htm
MORE INFO FOR NAMES FROM RUNIC SOURCES
In Peterson's Nordiskt runnamnslexikon, above, the various runic examples
are each listed with a cryptic alphanumeric code (also called a signum),
i.e., U229, Og12, etc. These are the standard way scholars reference the
various inscriptions.
These codes can be used to get more info about the date and location of a
given name. The letters in the signum give the general location:
An = Angermanland, Sweden
Bo = Bohuslan, Sweden
D = Dalarna, Sweden
Ds = Dalsland, Sweden
G = Gotland, Sweden
Gs = Gastrikland, Sweden
Hr = Harjedalen, Sweden
Hs = Halsingland, Sweden
J = Jamtland, Sweden
La = Lappland, Sweden
Me = Medelpad, Sweden
Na = Narke, Sweden
Og = Ostergotland, Sweden
Ol = Oland, Sweden
Sm = Smaland, Sweden
So = Sodermanland, Sweden
U = Uppland, Sweden
Vg = Vastergotland, Sweden
Vr = Varmland, Sweden
Vs = Vastmanland, Sweden
Sv = other Swedish locations
DR = Denmark
I = Ireland
BR = usually somewhere in the British Isles
N = Norway
For more info on the runic inscriptions, I turn next to Samnordisk
runtextdatabas (http://home.swipnet.se/~w-61277/rundata/1.htm), also called
Rundata. Rundata is a little downloadable and fairly easy to use database
containing the text of all the runic inscriptions currently known. Each
entry gives you the inscription transliteration, the equivalent in OW.Norse
and OE.Norse, and data about where the item was located and some clues to
dating.
For U510, this info tells us:
Period/Datering: V
Stilgruppering: Pr4
The first of these just is indicating "Viking Age" and is not very
informative (a "M" would mean "medieval"). "Stilgruppering" is more
useful - this is the style group to which the stone belongs, and it's from
this that we can get a better dating. The possibilities here are:
RAK: 990-1010 AD
Fp: 1010-1050 AD
Pr1: 1010-1040 AD
Pr2: 1020-1050 AD
Pr3: 1050-a generation forward
Pr4: 1060-1100 AD
Pr5: 1100-1130 AD
For some Danish inscriptions from Jacobsen & Moltke a more precise
sub-period is given. The periods used are:
V Helnas-Gorlev: ca. 800 (or 750-ca. 900)
V for-Jelling: ca. 900
V Jelling: 10th c. and into the 11th c.
V efter-Jelling: ca. 1000 - ca. 1050
V kristen efter-Jelling: 1st half of 11th c.
Archaeology and Literary Interpretation of the Runes
-----------------------------------------------------
* Olsen, Magnus. "Runic Inscriptions in Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle
of Man," In: Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland. Part 6 ed.
Haakon Shetelig. Oslo: 1954. pp. 151-233.
* Wilson, David M. "Manx Memorial Stones of the Viking Period." Saga Book of
the Viking Society for Northern Research 18 (1970-1971) pp. 1-18.
* Wilson, David M. The Viking Age in the Isle of Man - the Archaeological
Evidence. C.C. Rafn Lecture No. 3. Odense. 1974. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/8774920960/thevikinganswerl
* Ellegard, Alvar, "Who were the Eruli?" Scandia 53 (1987) pp 5-34.
[The Erulians or Herulians are thought to be the people who brought the
runes to Scandinavia.]
* Duwel, Klaus. Runenkunde. 2nd ed. Stuttgart: Metzler. 1983.
[A useful bibliographic survey on runic texts.]
* Page, Raymond Ian. Runes: Reading the Past. London: British Museum, 1987.
To order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520061144/thevikinganswerl
[A brief introduction to the runes.]
* Jansson, Sven B. F. Runes in Sweden. trans Peter Foote. Stockholm:
Gidlunds. 1987. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/917844067X/thevikinganswerl
[On runes and runic monuments in Sweden.]
* Soderburg, Sven and Erik Brate, eds. Sveriges runinskrifter: I. Olands
runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes
akademien. 1900-1906.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Brate, Erik, ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: II. Osterhotlands runinskrifter.
Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1911-1918.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Brate, Erik, and Elias Wessen eds. Sveriges runinskrifter: III.
Sodermanlands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och
antivitetes akademien. 1924-1936.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Kinander, Ragnar, ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: IV. Smalands runinskrifter.
Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1935-1961.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Jungner, Hugo and Wlisabeth Svardstrom, eds. Sveriges runinskrifter: V.
Vastergotlands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och
antivitetes akademien. 1940-1971.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Wessen, Elias and Sven B.F. Jansson, eds. Sveriges runinskrifter: VI-IX.
Upplands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och
antivitetes akademien. 1940-1958.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Jansson, Sven B.F., Elias Wessen and Wlisabeth Svardstrom, eds. Sveriges
runinskrifter: XI-XII. Gotlands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets
historie och antivitetes akademien. 1962-1978.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Jansson, Sven B.F., ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: XIII. Vastmanlands
runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes
akademien. 1964.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Jansson, Sven B.F., ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: XIV. Narkes runinskrifter.
Varmlands runeinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och
antivitetes akademien. 1975-1978.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Jansson, Sven B.F., ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: XV. Gastriklands
runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes
akademien. 1981.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Jacobsen, Lis and Erik Moltke. Danmarks runeindskrifter. Copenhagen: Einar
Munksgarrd. 1941-1942.
[The most comprehensive work on Danish runic inscriptions and monuments.]
* Sorheim, Helge. "Ra? Rett Runar. Runeinnskrifter fra More og Romsdal."
Tidsskrift for Sunnmore historielag 1996, pp 9-31.
[A survey and a discussion on runic inscriptions and names found in these
inscriptions, dated from the Roman Iron Age to the Middle Ages, found in
More and Romsdal.]
* Olsen, Magnus and Aslak Liestol, eds. Norges innskrifter med de yngre
runer. Oslo: Norsk Historisk Kjeldeskrift-Institutt, 1941-1990.
[The catalog of Norwegian runic inscriptions and monuments. The work is
still continuing.]
* Sawyer, Birgit. Property and Inheritance in Viking Scandinavia: the Runic
Evidence. Alingsas: Viktoria Bokforlag. 1988.
* Sawyer, Birgit. The Viking-Age Rune Stones: Custom and Commemoration in
Early Medieval Scandinavia. Oxford University Press. December 2000.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198206437/thevikinganswerl
* Stromback, Dag. The Epiphany in Runic Art: the Dynna and Sika Stones.
London: University College London. 1970.
* Runor och runinskrifter. Kungl Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets
Akademien, Konferenser 15. Stockholm: Statens historiska museum. 1980.
[A collection of articles, some in English, dealing with runes and runic
inscriptions.]
Very good bibliographic data from some one who knows some pretty cool stuff, sumarized in one place. A lot of the info will already be at http://www.vikinganswerlady.org
Norsefolk list is rather medium level discussion, with occasionally annoying amounts of noise, but occasional gems (as shown above).
To: Norsefolk_2@yahoogroups.com
From: "C.L. Ward" <gunnora@vikinganswerlady.com>
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005 12:20:22 -0500
Subject: [Norsefolk_2] Persona Development Part 2 - The Big Bibliography
This bibliography is by no means a complete or exhaustive listing of the
sources available on the Viking Age peoples. I have mostly limited this list
to books in English. The vast body of research in the field of Scandinavian
studies exists in German, Swedish, and Icelandic, and is inacessible to
those who do not possess fluency in those languages. However, this listing
should more than serve to whet the scholastic appetite of those interested
in medieval and Viking Scandinavia.
Culture
----------
* Almgren, Bertil, et. al. The Viking. New York: Crescent. 1975.
[This is often referred to as "the ugly Viking book" due to its line
drawings depicting some of the ugliest, most wrinkled Vikings you'll ever
see. Do not let this dissuade you, however, for this book also contains the
best illustrations of Viking tools, daily life, and warfare that you'll ever
see as well. Note, however, that the pictures of Norse costume are not very
good at all.]
* Brogger, A.W. and Haakon Shetelig. The Viking Ships: Their Ancestry and
Evolution. Oslo: Dreyers Forlag. 1951. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0906191408/thevikinganswerl
* Byock, Jesse. Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas and Power. Berkeley:
University of California Press. 1988. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520069544/thevikinganswerl
[A discussion of Icelandic social structure, acquisition/loss of wealth and
power, and the complex interrelationships of Icelandic politics and law. An
excellent source, which really helps make the sagas more understandable.]
* Conquergood, Dwight. "Boasting in Anglo-Saxon England: Performance and the
Heroic Ethos." Literature in Performance. 1 (1991): 24-35.
[Essential to the persona of any Germanic warrior is the ability to boast.
Until Christianity was adopted, with its ideas about pride being a sin, it
was considered not just acceptable, but even desirable to advertise one's
abilities and make known what heroic deeds one would soon attempt. This
article discusses the form of the boast, and gives excellent examples from
period literature.]
* Ellis-Davidson, Hilda Roderick. "Insults and Riddles in the Edda Poems."
Edda: A Collection of Essays. eds. Robert J. Glendinning and Haraldur
Bessason. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. 1983. 25-46. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0887551173/thevikinganswerl
[An excellent article that can help you add real Viking character to your
persona conversations.]
* Fitzhugh, William W. and Elisabeth I. Ward, eds. Vikings: The North
Atlantic Saga. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. 2000.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1560989955/thevikinganswerl
* Foote, Peter and David M. Wilson. The Viking Achievement. London:
Sidgewick and Jackson. 1970. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0283979267/thevikinganswerl
[An authoritative and readable work on the culture of the Vikings, drawn
from the best historical and archaeological source materials.]
* Hastrup, Kirsten. Culture and History in Medieval Iceland: An
Anthropological Analysis of Structure and Change. Oxford: Clarendon. 1985.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198232500/thevikinganswerl
[This is a fantastic source for personna development, as it really covers
the Viking world-view in depth, discussing conceptions of time, space, kin
groups, social/political structure, and the social vs the wild.]
* Mauss, Marcel. The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic
Societies. New York: W.W. Norton. 1967. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393306984/thevikinganswerl
[Includes a chapter on "Pledge and Gift in Germanic Societies" - a very
useful look at the Viking/Germanic customs of hospitality and generosity.]
* Pulsiano, Phillip et al., eds. Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia.
Garland Reference Library of the Humanities 934. New York & London: Garland.
1993. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0824047877/thevikinganswerl
[A wonderful source of all types of information about Scandinavia of the
Vikings and Middle Ages. Each encyclopedia entry is a short article written
by scholars in that particular area of Norse life, history and culture. An
outstanding source.]
* Roesdahl, Else. The Vikings. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1987. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140252827/thevikinganswerl
[Written by a Danish archaeologist, traces the activities of the Vikings in
Europe and assesses the significance of those traces. Also provides
excellent discussion of the sources and their relative merits.]
* Roesdahl, Else, and Wilson, David M., eds. From Viking to Crusader: The
Scandinavians and Europe 800-1200. New York: Rizzoli International
Publications, Inc., 1992. ISBN 0-8478-1625-7.
* Simpson, Jacqueline. Everyday Life in the Viking Age. New York: Dorset.
1967. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/088029146X/thevikinganswerl
[A very readable work on the culture of the Vikings, provided with many nice
line-drawn illustrations. Provides a good general introduction to life in
the Viking Age. Lacks footnotes and consistent identification of its
sources.]
* Williams, Mary Wilhelmine. Social Scandinavia in the Viking Age. 1920. New
York: Kraus Reprint Co. 1971.
[A comprehensive work on the culture of the Vikings, however much of the
data is drawn from the sagas, as this work was written at a time when
historians assumed that the sagas were in fact accurate sources of
historical information. Excellent as an overview of Viking practices and
customs, so long as the reader keeps in mind the fact that all information
should be cross-verified with another source, such as The Viking
Achievement, above.]
* Wilson, David M., ed. The Northern World. New York: Harry N. Abrams. 1980.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0810913658/thevikinganswerl
[A collection of essays by various scholars, covering Scandinavian
mythology, the continental Germanic tribes, the Anglo-Saxons in England, the
Celts, the Scandinavians at home, Viking raids, the Northern Slavs, and
Romanticism and Revival in the modern day.]
History and Archaeology
-----------------------
* Bronstead, Johannes. The Vikings. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1960.
[Written by a noted art historian and archaeologist, discusses the history
and archaeology of the Vikings.]
* Farrell, R.T., ed. The Vikings. London: Philmore. 1982.
[A collection of scholarly articles, ranging from history, art history and
archaeology to literature to the Vikings in North America. Pretty dry
reading. ]
* Gelsinger, Bruce E. Icelandic Enterprise: Commerce and Economy in the
Middle Ages. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. 1981. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0872494055/thevikinganswerl
[A thorough discussion of Iceland's economy, resources, trade and trading
partners. Covers many related topics, such as ships and navigation, as well.
Excellent source.]
* Graham-Campbell, James. The Viking World. New York: Ticknor & Fields.
1980. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0899190057/thevikinganswerl
[A study of the history and archaeology of the Vikings by a noted specialist
in Celtic and Viking archaeology. Contains wonderful photographs of
artifacts, plus copious diagrams and illustrations.]
* Hall, Richard. The Viking Dig: the Excavations at York. London: The Bodley
Head. 1984. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0370308212/thevikinganswerl
[The chronicle of the archaeological excavation of the Viking remains at
York. Provides insight into the process of discovering and reconstructing
the history and culture of the Vikings.]
* Jones, Gwyn. A History of the Vikings. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
1968. To order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/019285139X/thevikinganswerl
[A very readable history of the Scandinavian peoples.]
* La Fay, Howard. The Vikings. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society.
1972.
[Much like an extended National Geographic magazine article, this book
focuses not only on the history of the Vikings, but also on their modern day
descendants. Particularly notable for its many photographs of the landscapes
of Scandinavia.]
* Lewis, Archibald R. The Northern Seas: Shipping and Commerce in Northern
Europe, A.D. 300-1100. New York: Octagon Books. 1958, repr. 1978.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374949794/thevikinganswerl
* Magnusson, Magnus. Viking Expansion Westwards. London: The Bodley Head.
1973. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0809835290/thevikinganswerl
[Explores the Viking colonization of England, Scotland, Man, Ireland, the
Faroes, Iceland, Greenland and Vinland. Includes discussion of the reasons
for this outward migration of Scandinavian peoples.]
* Magnusson, Magnus. Vikings! New York: E. P. Dutton. 1980. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0370302729/thevikinganswerl
[An overview/introduction to Viking history, meant as a companion to
Magnusson's PBS-TV series of the same name. Very worth while.]
* Sawyer, P. H. Kings and Vikings: Scandinavia and Europe, A.D. 700-1100.
New York: Methuen. 1982. Reprint, 1993. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0415045908/thevikinganswerl
[Discusses the Viking expansion westwards, including raids and piracy
affecting Western Europe, with an assessment of the consequences, good and
bad, that this activity had on both the Vikings and their victims.]
* Sorenson, Preben M. The Unmanly Man: Concepts of Sexual Defamation in
Early Northern Society. trans. Joan Turville-Petre. The Viking Collection,
Studies in Northern Civilization 1. Odense University Press. 1983.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/8774924362/thevikinganswerl
* Wernick, Robert. The Vikings. Time Life Seafarers Series 7. Alexandria,
Virgina: Time-Life Books. 1979. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0809427087/thevikinganswerl
* Wilson, David M. The Vikings and their Origins. London: Thames and Hudson.
1970. Rev edition, 1989. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500275424/thevikinganswerl
[Written by the Director of the British Museum, this book is mainly a work
of archaeology. There is some discussion of history, but the best and
greatest part of this book are its photographs and color plates showing some
of the most beautiful of the extant Viking
artifacts. ]
Viking Ships and Shipbuilding
-----------------------------
* Brogger, A.W., and Shetelig, Haakon. The Viking Ships: Their Ancestry and
Evolution, trans. Katherine John. 1951; Reprint New York: Twayne Publishers,
Inc., 1971. Out-of-print, to have Amazon.com do a book search for it (this
is where I got my copy) go to:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0900966602/thevikinganswerl
* Christensen, Arne. "Boats and Boatbuilding in Western Norway and the
Islands." in: The Northern and Western Isles in the Viking World: Survival,
Continuity and Change. eds. Alexander Fenton and Hermann Palsson. Edinburgh:
John Donald. 1984. pp. 85-95. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0859761010/thevikinganswerl
* Olsen, Olaf. Five Viking Ships. 1978.
[Discusses the Roskilde ship finds.]
* Petersen, Ole Crumlin, ed. Sailing into the Past: Proceedings of the
International Seminar on Replicas of Ancient and Medieval Vessels, Roskilde
1984. Roskilde: Viking Ship Museum. 1986. (I found this one in the
University of Texas at Austin Perry Casteneda Library -- you can probably
get it through Interlibrary Loan).
* Simek, Rudolf. "Old Norse Ship Names and Ship Terms". Northern Studies 13
(1979), pp. 26-36.
* Sjovold, Thorleif. The Viking Ships in Oslo. Oslo: Universitetets
Oldsaksamling. 1985.
* Wernick, Robert. The Vikings. Time Life Seafarers Series 7. Alexandria,
Virgina: Time-Life Books. 1979. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0809427087/thevikinganswerl
Warfare and Warrior Culture
---------------------------
* Cherniss, Michael D. Ingeld and Christ: Heroic Concepts and Values in Old
English Christian Poetry. The Hague: Mouton. 1972. Available from
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9027923353/thevikinganswerl
[This one is invaluable for understanding the heroic ethos and worldview of
both the Saxons and the Vikings. Cherniss uses the first part of the book to
look at the aspects of behavior that were honored and idealized in the
Germanic heroic poetry and legend, focussing on the institution of the
king's warband, its ethics and structure.]
* Ellis-Davidson, Hilda R. The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England: Its Archaeology
and Literature. Oxford: Clarendon. 1962. Reprint: Boydell & Brewer, 1998.
Available from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0851157165/thevikinganswerl
[This book is an invaluable exploration of the significance of the sword as
symbol and weapon in the Anglo-Saxon world, using archaeological and
literary evidence. The first part of the book, a careful study of the
disposition of swords found in peat bogs, in graves, lakes and rivers,
yields information on religious and social practices. The second is
concerned with literary sources, especially Beowulf. Ellis-Davidson
frequently discusses Viking evidence as well in the process of examining the
Anglo-Saxon ideas of the sword. Very good book and well worth reading.]
* Evans, Stephen S. Lords of Battle: Image and Reality of the Comitatus in
Dark-Age Britain. Woodbridge: Boydell. 1997. Available from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0851156622/thevikinganswerl
[This small book is an interesting look at warbands in early Britain. Most
of the evidence refelects Anglo-Saxon warbands, but Welsh warrior culture is
also examined where possible. Of course quite a bit of evidence comes from
literary sources, particularly the heroic poetry, but where possible
archaeology is consulted as well. In examining northern European warbands in
general, Evans ends up talking quite a bit about the Scandinavian evidence.]
* Griffith, Paddy. The Viking Art of War. Greenhill Press. 1995. To order
used from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1853672084/thevikinganswerl
[Griffith's "Art of War" is just about the only book that's been published
purporting to deal with Viking military organization and tactics, but
Griffith is clearly unfamiliar with the Vikings, their culture, and the
source material. The information covered in this book is extremely shallowly
presented, and all seems to be taken from secondary sources at best. In some
places (notably the information on ships) the text is shockingly incorrect.
Poor editing rounds out the debacle. Don't waste your money, unless you're
just getting it to round out your collection or as an example of "what not
to do" in terms of writing about the Viking Age.]
* Harrison, Mark. Viking Hersir: 793-1066 A.D. Osprey Warrior Series 3.
London: Osprey Publishing. 1993. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1855323184/thevikinganswerl
[Like all OSprey books, this is most valuable for the illustrations.
Harrison focuses on the local chieftain or hersir, the local warleaders of
the Viking countries. The overall military organization of the Viking Age
people, and some info on training and tactics is included, etc.]
* Haywood, John. The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings. London:
Penguin Books/Viking, 1995. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140513280/thevikinganswerl
[This little book focuses on a military view of the Vikings. As the "Atlas"
in the title suggests, this book includes some excellent maps. By itself,
this book doesn't go into extensive detauil, rather being devoted to little
short pithy bits of information, but it's an excellent companion book to
Gwyn Jones' "History of the Vikings".]
* Heath, Ian. The Vikings. Osprey Elite Series 3. London: Osprey Publishing.
1985. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0850455650/thevikinganswerl
[Again, as an Osprey book, the focus is on the illustrations. Looks at
Viking ships and shipbuilding, Vikings in Britain and Russia, with some
information on tactics, armor and weapons.]
* Peirce, Ian G. Swords of the Viking Age: Catalogue of Examples. Boydell &
Brewer. 2002. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0851159141/thevikinganswerl
[This book provides an oviewrview of the swords made and used in northern
Europe during the Viking Age ca. 850's-1050's. About 60 representative
examples of the various sword-types are presented here, many not shown in
other works. Where possible, a full-length photograph and photographs of
details have been included for each example, with the illustrations and
descriptions of most of the swords covering two facing pages. This book also
includes a brief illustrated overview of blade types and construction,
pattern-welding, inscriptions and handle forms and their classification
under Jan Petersen's classification system.]
* Petersen, Jan. De Norske Vikingesverd: En typologisk-kronologisk studie
over vikingetidens vaaben (The Norwegian Viking Swords: A typological and
chronological examination of Viking Age weapons). Kristiana/Oslo:
Videnskaps-Selskapets Skrifter 2, Hist. Filos. Klasse. 1919. English
translation by Kristin Noer, 1998. http://www.vikingsword.com/petersen/
[This book is still probably the most exhaustive study of Viking Age swords.
In spite of its age (1919) it is still the primary work used by Scandinavian
archaeologists, and happily is partially available online in English
translation. The swords are considered based mostly on the shape and
decoration of the pommels, hilts and handles, while other aspects, such as
length, balance and weight of the blade, are touched upon lightly or not at
all. There is some very brief treatment of axe heads, spear heads and shield
bosses from the same period.]
* Pulsiano, Phillip et al., eds. Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia.
Garland Reference Library of the Humanities 934. New York & London: Garland.
1993. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0824047877/thevikinganswerl
See these articles:
Bagge, Sverre. "Hir?." p. 284.
Barfod, Jorgen H. P. "Warfare." pp. 717-718.
Lindkvist, Thomas. "Feudal Influences and Tendencies." pp. 187-188.
Literature
----------
Aids to Locating and Understanding Viking Literature
----------------------------------------------------
* Byock, Jesse. Feud in the Icelandic Saga. Berkeley: University of
California Press. 1982. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520082591/thevikinganswerl
[Byock carefully explains the system and patterns of feuds in the sagas. One
Icelandic scholar has explained the sagas as stories of "farmers at
fisticuffs", which Byock proves to be more than apt. Really aids in
understanding the sagas.]
* Cleasby, Richard and Gu?brandr Vigfusson. An Icelandic-English Dictionary.
2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon. 1957. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198631030/thevikinganswerl Scanned
version online at:
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~kurisuto/germanic/oi_cleasbyvigfusson_about.html
[The Old Icelandic equivalent of the Webster's Unabridged, this is the best
dictionary of Old Icelandic/Old Norse.]
* Fry, Donald K. Norse Sagas Translated into English: A Bibliography. New
York: AMS Press. 1980. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0404180167/thevikinganswerl
[An indispensible guide to the student of Viking Scandinavia who cannot read
Old Norse. Fry lists all translations of each saga that has been translated
into English, and comments on the translation in some instances. ]
* Gordon, Eric V. An Introduction to Old Norse. 2nd. ed. Oxford: Clarendon.
1986. To order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198111843/thevikinganswerl
[Listed for the bold at heart who wish to learn to read the sagas in the
original. Gordon gives a short discussion of the prose and poetry of the
North, a short grammar, and selections from Old Norse literature, arranged
in order of difficulty. Also includes a glossary of words used in the
readings.]
* Zoega, Geir T. A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic. Oxford: Clarendon.
1910. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198631081/thevikinganswerl Scanned
and OCR'd version online at http://www.northvegr.org/zoega/index002.php
[For the bold at heart, but also for those who want to know what a precise
term means. This particular dictionary does not include an
English-into-Icelandic section, so it is of limited use only in constructing
names, etc. The Cleasby-Vigfusson dictionary of Old Icelandic is the "next
step up" and one may have to locate a library that has it in order to do
more than simple translations as afforded by Zoega's dictionary.]
Literature, Laws and Chronicles in Translation
----------------------------------------------
* Dennis, Andrew, Peter Foote and Richard Perkins, trans. Laws of Early
Iceland: Gragas. Vol. I. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. 1980.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0887551157/thevikinganswerl
[Until this translation was made available, the only was to get any idea of
Icelandic law was by gleaning short, individual passages quoted in various
works. This volume contains the Christian Laws, Assembly Procedures,
Treatment of Homicide, Weregild Ring List, the Lawspeaker's Section and the
Law Council Section. Very useful, contains notes and explanations as well as
an excellent translation.]
* Dennis, Andrew, Peter Foote and Richard Perkins, trans. Laws of Early
Iceland: Gragas. Vol. II. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. August
2000. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0887551580/thevikinganswerl
[Volume II includes Truce and Peace Speeches, Inheritance, Incapable
Person's Section, Betrothal and General Family Law, Land-claims, General
Commercial Law, Stolen Goods and Theft, Duties of Communes, and
Miscellaneous Provisions regarding poetry, biting dogs, bulls and tame
bears, value of silver, prices, relations with Norway, legal procedure etc.]
* Fell, Christine, trans. Egil's Saga. London: J.M. Dent & Sons. 1975. To
order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0460872656/thevikinganswerl
[The story of the most memorable character in Viking literature, the
farmer/rune-magician/warrior/skald, Egil Skallagrimsson. Fell's translation
is superior to the Penguin edition listed below, but is not as generally
available. Contains outstandingly excellent notes, and particularly accurate
translations of Egil's poetry, with explanation of the kennings.]
* Hollander, Lee M., trans. The Sagas of Kormak and the Sworn Brothers.
Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. 1949.
* Hollander, Lee M., trans. The Poetic Edda. Austin: University of Texas
Press. 1962. To order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0292764995/thevikinganswerl
[A good introduction to the Elder or Poetic Edda. The translation sometimes
suffers in its accuracy due to Hollander's successful effort to maintain the
poetic qualities of the original. The Poetic Edda is the basis for much of
our surviving knowledge of Norse myth and legend.]
* Hollander, Lee M. trans. The Skalds: A Selection of their Poems with
Introduction and Notes. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 1945.
[Translation of a selection of the surviving skaldic poetry with discussions
of style and language, as well as some bibliographical data on the various
poets.]
* Johnston, George, trans. Faereyinga Saga (The Faroe Islanders' Saga).
Canada. Oberon Press. 1975. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0887501362/thevikinganswerl
* Johnston, George, trans. Gisla saga Surssonar (The Saga of Gisli).
Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 1959. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802062199/thevikinganswerl
* Jones, Gwyn, trans. The Norse Atlantic Saga. 2cnd ed. New York: Oxford
University Press. 1986. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0192851608/thevikinganswerl
[Contains a history of the Norse colonization and exploration of Greenland
and Vinland, with translations of The Book of the Icelanders (Islendigabok),
The Book of Settlements (Landnamabok), The Greenlanders' Saga
(Groenlendingasaga), the Saga of Eirik the Red (Eiriks saga rauda),
Karlsefni's Voyage to Vinland (from Hauksbok), and the Story of Einar
Sokkason (Groenlindingathattur).]
* Jones, Gwyn, trans. The Vatnsdaler's Saga. New York: Princeton University
Press. 1944.
[The story of the men of Waterdale. Written by a Christian ca. 1270, this
saga is much concerned with witchcraft and magic, and with the old pagan
religion. Very entertaining reading.]
* Laing, Samuel, trans. The Olaf Sagas. London: Dent. 1930.
* Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, trans. Laxdaela Saga.
Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1969.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140442189/thevikinganswerl
[Like all the Penguin editions of the sagas currently in print, this
translation is rendered by two outstanding experts in the field of Old Norse
literature. Contains useful introduction, notes, glossary of names, and
genealogies.]
* Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, trans. Njal's Saga. Harmondsworth:
Penguin. 1960. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140441034/thevikinganswerl
[The Saga of Burnt Njal has long been considered to be the greatest work of
Icelandic literature, and with good justification, one of the greatest
literary works in the world.]
* Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, trans. The Vinland Sagas: The Norse
Discovery of America. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1965. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140441549/thevikinganswerl
[Contains Groenlindingasaga and Eiriks saga rauda: the stories of Eirik the
Red and his son, Leif the Lucky. ]
* McGrew, Julia H. and R. George Thomas, trans. Sturlunga Saga. 2 vols. New
York: Twayne. 1970 and 1974. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805733647/thevikinganswerl
[Sturlunga Saga is a collection of tales written during the decade
immediately following the events described in its pages, making this the
only saga which is a reliable source for historical information. Useful for
insights into Icelandic culture and history in the early Christian period. ]
* Morris, William and Eirikr Magnusson, trans. The Story of the Volsungs and
Niblungs. 1870; Totowa, NJ: Cooper Square. 1980. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0815405189/thevikinganswerl
[A reprint of a Victorian translation. There are more current translations
of Volsungasaga available.]
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Landnamabok: The Book of
Settlements. University of Manitoba Icelandic Studies 1. Manitoba:
University of Manitoba Press. 1972. ISBN: 0835773426
* Palsson, Hermann, trans. The Confederates and Hen-Thorir. (Bandamanna Saga
and Hansa-?oris Saga). Edinburgh: Southside. 1975. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0900025182/thevikinganswerl
* Palsson, Hermann, trans. Hrafnkel's Saga and Other Icelandic Stories. New
York: Penguin. 1983. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140442383/thevikinganswerl
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Landnamabok: The Book of
Settlements. Univ. of Manitoba press. 1972.
[Thought to have been written by Ari the Wise, chronicles the Settlement of
Iceland and early Icelandic history.]
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Egil's Saga. Harmondsworth:
Penguin. 1976. To order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140443215/thevikinganswerl
[The story of the most memorable character in Viking literature, the
farmer/rune-magician/warrior/skald, Egil Skallagrimsson.]
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Gautrek's Saga and Other
Medieval Tales. New York: New York University Press. 1968. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/034009396X/thevikinganswerl
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Eyrbyggja Saga. Buffalo:
University of Toronto Press. 1973. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140445307/thevikinganswerl
[Eyrbyggja saga contains the most supernatural/mythological elements of any
existing saga. This makes it a fun saga to read: there are ghoulies and
ghosties and long-leggedy beasties aplenty.]
* Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, trans. Orkneyinga Saga: The History
of the Earls of Orkney. New York: Penguin. 1978. Reprint 1985. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140443835/thevikinganswerl
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Seven Viking Romances.
Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1985. Reprint 1986. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140444742/thevikinganswerl
[A collection of fourteenth-century stories of heroic adventure set in the
legendary world of the Viking Age, composed for the purpose of
entertainment, and patterned after tales from classical myth, French
Romance. etc.]
* Scach, Paul and Lee M. Hollander, trans. Eyrbyggja Saga (The Ere-Dweller's
Saga). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. 1959, reprint 1977.
* Sturluson, Snorri. Heimskringla: Or the Lives of the Norse Kings. 1932;
New York: Dover. 1990. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486263665/thevikinganswerl
[Snorri's history of the Norwegian kings, beginning with the Odin, ancestor
of Norwegian kings in Ynglingasaga through the rule of Magnus Erlingson,
ending in 1184.]
* Sturluson, Snorri. Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway. Lee M.
Hollander, trans. Austin: University of Texas Press. 1964. Paperback 1991.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0292730616/thevikinganswerl
* Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda. trans. Anthony Faulkes. Everyman
Paperback Classics. To order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0460876163/thevikinganswerl
[A survey of early northern mythology intended as a guide for poets, written
by the thirteenth-century chieftain and scholar, Snorri Sturluson. Includes
a great wealth of small details about mythic beliefs.]
* Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda. trans. Jean I. Young. Berkeley:
University of California Press. 1954. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520012321/thevikinganswerl
[A survey of early northern mythology intended as a guide for poets, written
by the thirteenth-century chieftain and scholar, Snorri Sturluson. This
translation does not contain the greater part of Snorri's text, which was
devoted to the skaldic meters. See the translation by Anthony Faulkes
(above) for the complete work.]
Old Norse Names
---------------
sources available online for documenting and researching Old Norse names:
HOW TO FORM AN OLD NORSE NAME
"Names and Name-Giving in the Viking Age" Class Presentation
HTML format of a PowerPoint presentation developed for a class given at
Ansteorra's July 2004 King's College
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONNamesClass.htm
"Names and Name-Giving in the Viking Age" PowerPoint Class Presentation
PowerPoint presentation developed for a class given at Ansteorra's July 2004
King's College (Zipped PPT format, Zip file 776KB, PPT file when unzipped
1265KB)
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONNamesClass.zip
Aryanhwy merch Catmael's A Simple Guide to Creating Old Norse Names
An overview of Viking names, based primarily on Geirr Bassi Haraldsson's The
Old Norse Name.
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/sg-viking.html
It's good to note that Geirr Bassi (and the sources here derived from Geirr
Bassi) don't give dates, and do in fact include names that are post-Viking
Age. The only way to get dates for most of these is to go to a print-only
source such as E.H. Lind.
The Viking Answer Lady's Old Norse Names
Overview article on how Old Norse names are formed. You can also write me at
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONNames.htm
PERSONAL NAMES
Aryanhwy merch Catmael's Viking Names found in the Landnamabok Based on
Geirr Bassi Haraldsson's "The Old Norse Name".
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/landnamabok.html
Nordiskt runnamnslexikon (In Swedish)
A dictionary of Old Norse names from runic inscriptions.
http://www.sofi.se/images/runor/pdf/lexikon.pdf
Most of these names come from eastern Scandinavia and are therefore most
appropriate for people with personas from Sweden or Denmark, but there are
some west Scandinavian names from Norway, the British Isles, etc. as well,
also some placenames.
Nordiskt runnamnslexikon (rough English translation)
A huge zipped PDF. You will need a utility to unzip the file -- for example,
the shareware tool WinZip (http://www.winzip.com) -- and you will need a
copy of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, available at
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/FTP_Files/NordisktRunnamnslexicon.zip
The Viking Answer Lady's Old Norse Men's Names and their Meanings
Gives names collected from several references, with etymologies when
scholarly evidence for name element meanings is available. Each entry
references the original sources from which the data was taken, which should
allow people to backtrack to the good source material.
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONMensNames.htm
The Viking Answer Lady's Old Norse Women's Names and their Meanings
Gives names collected from several references, with etymologies when
scholarly evidence for name element meanings is available. Each entry
references the original sources from which the data was taken, which should
allow people to backtrack to the good source material.
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONWomensNames.htm
BYNAMES
Aryanhwy merch Catmael's Viking Bynames found in the Landnamabok
By-names or nick-names can be an element in reconstructing an Old Norse
name. Based on Geirr Bassi Haraldsson's "The Old Norse Name".
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/vikbynames.html
Lindorm Eriksson's The Bynames of the Viking Age Runic Inscriptions
By-names or nick-names can be an element in reconstructing an Old Norse
name.
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/lindorm/runicbynames/
HELPFUL REFERENCES
The Norse Course Guide to Old Norse Pronunciation
From the Yahoo Groups Norse Course beginning lessons in Old Norse at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/norse_course/
http://www.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/articles/pronunc.html
PLACENAMES AND MEDIEVAL SCANDINAVIAN NAMES
Diplomatarium Norvegicum
http://www.dokpro.uio.no/dipl_norv/diplom_field_eng.html
A collection of the texts of approximately 20000 charters and other offical
documents connected to Norway in the period 1050 to 1590.
Rygh, Oluf. _Norske Gaardnavne_ (Norwegian Farm Names)
http://www.dokpro.uio.no/rygh_ng/rygh_form.html
The search page is in English, and farm names are good both as a model for
household names and also in forming locative bynames. It does require some
understanding of ON locatives to form one, but this is where you'd start to
get the base forms (locatives combine a preposition such as (a) or (i) with
a placename in the dative case).
Landnamabok (Sturlubok). (WWW: Netutgafan, 1998)
http://www.snerpa.is/net/snorri/landnama.htm
Survives in five redactions, the earliest two being Sturlubok, composed by
Sturla ?or?arson (d. 1284) and Hauksbok, written by Haukr Erlendsson in
1306-1308. An account of the discovery and settlement of Iceland, deals
with roughly 430 settlers, their families and their descendants, preserving
over 3,500 personal names and almost 1,500 farm names. Many sagas rely upon
Landnamabok as a source for genealogical and biographical information. Note
that this version is modern Icelandic, which is very close to Old Norse but
has some minor spelling differences. This will get you very close to the
right spelling, and you can usually clean that up to a pure Old Norse form
using the Cleasby-Vigfusson dictionary (see above)
Landnamabok (very old English translation)
http://www.northvegr.org/lore/landnamabok/index.php
Index and Glossary of Placenames starts at
http://www.northvegr.org/lore/landnamabok/033.php
The spellings and meanings given in this translation for the placenames are
very often just completely wrong, but it can give a person at least an idea
and get them started. From here, it's easy to go to the Netutgafan website
Icelandic text of Landnamabok and find a better spelling - though note that
even that may need some minor tinkering.
IDEAS FOR VIKING HERALDIC DESIGN
Mistress Thora Sharptooth's "Personal Display for Viking Age Personae: A
Primer for Use in the SCA"http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/display.html
Gunnvor silfraharr. "Heraldry for a Non-Heraldic Culture: Vikings and Coats
of Arms in the SCA". http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/vikheraldry.htm
MORE INFO FOR NAMES FROM RUNIC SOURCES
In Peterson's Nordiskt runnamnslexikon, above, the various runic examples
are each listed with a cryptic alphanumeric code (also called a signum),
i.e., U229, Og12, etc. These are the standard way scholars reference the
various inscriptions.
These codes can be used to get more info about the date and location of a
given name. The letters in the signum give the general location:
An = Angermanland, Sweden
Bo = Bohuslan, Sweden
D = Dalarna, Sweden
Ds = Dalsland, Sweden
G = Gotland, Sweden
Gs = Gastrikland, Sweden
Hr = Harjedalen, Sweden
Hs = Halsingland, Sweden
J = Jamtland, Sweden
La = Lappland, Sweden
Me = Medelpad, Sweden
Na = Narke, Sweden
Og = Ostergotland, Sweden
Ol = Oland, Sweden
Sm = Smaland, Sweden
So = Sodermanland, Sweden
U = Uppland, Sweden
Vg = Vastergotland, Sweden
Vr = Varmland, Sweden
Vs = Vastmanland, Sweden
Sv = other Swedish locations
DR = Denmark
I = Ireland
BR = usually somewhere in the British Isles
N = Norway
For more info on the runic inscriptions, I turn next to Samnordisk
runtextdatabas (http://home.swipnet.se/~w-61277/rundata/1.htm), also called
Rundata. Rundata is a little downloadable and fairly easy to use database
containing the text of all the runic inscriptions currently known. Each
entry gives you the inscription transliteration, the equivalent in OW.Norse
and OE.Norse, and data about where the item was located and some clues to
dating.
For U510, this info tells us:
Period/Datering: V
Stilgruppering: Pr4
The first of these just is indicating "Viking Age" and is not very
informative (a "M" would mean "medieval"). "Stilgruppering" is more
useful - this is the style group to which the stone belongs, and it's from
this that we can get a better dating. The possibilities here are:
RAK: 990-1010 AD
Fp: 1010-1050 AD
Pr1: 1010-1040 AD
Pr2: 1020-1050 AD
Pr3: 1050-a generation forward
Pr4: 1060-1100 AD
Pr5: 1100-1130 AD
For some Danish inscriptions from Jacobsen & Moltke a more precise
sub-period is given. The periods used are:
V Helnas-Gorlev: ca. 800 (or 750-ca. 900)
V for-Jelling: ca. 900
V Jelling: 10th c. and into the 11th c.
V efter-Jelling: ca. 1000 - ca. 1050
V kristen efter-Jelling: 1st half of 11th c.
Archaeology and Literary Interpretation of the Runes
-----------------------------------------------------
* Olsen, Magnus. "Runic Inscriptions in Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle
of Man," In: Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland. Part 6 ed.
Haakon Shetelig. Oslo: 1954. pp. 151-233.
* Wilson, David M. "Manx Memorial Stones of the Viking Period." Saga Book of
the Viking Society for Northern Research 18 (1970-1971) pp. 1-18.
* Wilson, David M. The Viking Age in the Isle of Man - the Archaeological
Evidence. C.C. Rafn Lecture No. 3. Odense. 1974. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/8774920960/thevikinganswerl
* Ellegard, Alvar, "Who were the Eruli?" Scandia 53 (1987) pp 5-34.
[The Erulians or Herulians are thought to be the people who brought the
runes to Scandinavia.]
* Duwel, Klaus. Runenkunde. 2nd ed. Stuttgart: Metzler. 1983.
[A useful bibliographic survey on runic texts.]
* Page, Raymond Ian. Runes: Reading the Past. London: British Museum, 1987.
To order from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520061144/thevikinganswerl
[A brief introduction to the runes.]
* Jansson, Sven B. F. Runes in Sweden. trans Peter Foote. Stockholm:
Gidlunds. 1987. Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/917844067X/thevikinganswerl
[On runes and runic monuments in Sweden.]
* Soderburg, Sven and Erik Brate, eds. Sveriges runinskrifter: I. Olands
runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes
akademien. 1900-1906.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Brate, Erik, ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: II. Osterhotlands runinskrifter.
Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1911-1918.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Brate, Erik, and Elias Wessen eds. Sveriges runinskrifter: III.
Sodermanlands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och
antivitetes akademien. 1924-1936.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Kinander, Ragnar, ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: IV. Smalands runinskrifter.
Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes akademien. 1935-1961.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Jungner, Hugo and Wlisabeth Svardstrom, eds. Sveriges runinskrifter: V.
Vastergotlands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och
antivitetes akademien. 1940-1971.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Wessen, Elias and Sven B.F. Jansson, eds. Sveriges runinskrifter: VI-IX.
Upplands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och
antivitetes akademien. 1940-1958.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Jansson, Sven B.F., Elias Wessen and Wlisabeth Svardstrom, eds. Sveriges
runinskrifter: XI-XII. Gotlands runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets
historie och antivitetes akademien. 1962-1978.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Jansson, Sven B.F., ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: XIII. Vastmanlands
runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes
akademien. 1964.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Jansson, Sven B.F., ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: XIV. Narkes runinskrifter.
Varmlands runeinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och
antivitetes akademien. 1975-1978.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Jansson, Sven B.F., ed. Sveriges runinskrifter: XV. Gastriklands
runinskrifter. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antivitetes
akademien. 1981.
[Swedish runic inscriptions]
* Jacobsen, Lis and Erik Moltke. Danmarks runeindskrifter. Copenhagen: Einar
Munksgarrd. 1941-1942.
[The most comprehensive work on Danish runic inscriptions and monuments.]
* Sorheim, Helge. "Ra? Rett Runar. Runeinnskrifter fra More og Romsdal."
Tidsskrift for Sunnmore historielag 1996, pp 9-31.
[A survey and a discussion on runic inscriptions and names found in these
inscriptions, dated from the Roman Iron Age to the Middle Ages, found in
More and Romsdal.]
* Olsen, Magnus and Aslak Liestol, eds. Norges innskrifter med de yngre
runer. Oslo: Norsk Historisk Kjeldeskrift-Institutt, 1941-1990.
[The catalog of Norwegian runic inscriptions and monuments. The work is
still continuing.]
* Sawyer, Birgit. Property and Inheritance in Viking Scandinavia: the Runic
Evidence. Alingsas: Viktoria Bokforlag. 1988.
* Sawyer, Birgit. The Viking-Age Rune Stones: Custom and Commemoration in
Early Medieval Scandinavia. Oxford University Press. December 2000.
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0198206437/thevikinganswerl
* Stromback, Dag. The Epiphany in Runic Art: the Dynna and Sika Stones.
London: University College London. 1970.
* Runor och runinskrifter. Kungl Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets
Akademien, Konferenser 15. Stockholm: Statens historiska museum. 1980.
[A collection of articles, some in English, dealing with runes and runic
inscriptions.]
Very good bibliographic data from some one who knows some pretty cool stuff, sumarized in one place. A lot of the info will already be at http://www.vikinganswerlady.org
Norsefolk list is rather medium level discussion, with occasionally annoying amounts of noise, but occasional gems (as shown above).
