Viking Age Iceland (Penguin History)
by Jesse L. Byock
List Price:
Our Price: $2.99
You Save: $13.01 (81%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Jesse L. ByockEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2001-09-01
ISBN: 0140291156
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of Viking Age Iceland (Penguin History)
Book Review: Political Correctness In The Age Of Vikings
Summary: 5 Stars
With the publication of this great work & similar tomes by other scholars, the Norse people of the early Middle Ages are finally getting their due. Instead of the marauding, pillaging hordes that traditional history has depicted them as for centuries, we are shown a more sympathetic view of their society & culture. The term "Viking" itself is a misnomer for the majority of these Norse people. A Viking was the name originally given to those men, predominately Norse, who preyed on defenseless ships, villages, and monasteries. It's interesting to note that it was contemporary foreigners, particularly Anglo-Saxon sources, who first labeled these men "Vikings". By the time that the great Icelandic Sagas were written several hundred years after the fact, the Norse authors were freely using the term. In retrospect, these men were seen as mighty warriors & great adventurers. To be called a Viking had evolved into a badge of honor to a culture that had gradually been assimilated into Christian European. Unfortunately in the process, these remarkable people & the society they had created became little more than villians & despoilers to the "civilized" world in which they existed.
Professor Byock seeks to renounce these false ideas & does a remarkable job of it. By using the Icelandic Sagas as his reference point, he ties in both the Norse contemporary stories with modern historical & anthropological research. These sagas, originally thought to be nothing more than a collection of Icelandic folktales, have now taken on a more scholarly role in understanding these people. While some of the characters, family connections, and incidents recorded might be questioned, the total picture of daily life, culture, values, and society are being proved accurate by modern analysis. Professor Byock provides this analysis within these pages.
Yes, we are treated to tales of mighty warriors fighting against great odds, but we are also witness to the legal maneuverings of the Thing courts. We see political connections being forged & broken as these men sought influence & power from the fellow Icelanders. By placing the human participants depicted in the sagas into his discussion of Viking Age Iceland, Professor Byock has given the reader a face & life that he or she can easily identify with. I applaud his efforts & success. If there is indeed such a thing as "Populist History", this book is an excellent example.
One needs only to thumb through the pages to appreciate the diverse amount of material covered. From "Resources & Subsistence" to "Aspects of Blood Feud", Professor Byock offers a well-researched & well-rounded view of Iceland and its people as a whole. The numerous maps included are of great help in understanding how geography affected & influenced life. The appendix depicting turf house construction was especially interesting & makes one appreciate how these people learned to live in harmony with the land & its sometimes harsh climate.
Professor Byock's writing style is very layman friendly but still detailed & authoritative enough to be referenced in serious research. In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as purely escapist fare. Learning history is seldom this much fun or fascinating. I can not recommend it highly enough to either the casual reader of Norse/Viking material, lovers of the Icelandic Sagas who want to delve further into the factual basis of these stories, or the serious student. You will not be disappointed.
Summary of Viking Age Iceland (Penguin History)
The popular image of the Viking Age is of warlords and marauding bands pillaging their way along the shores of Northern Europe. In this fascinating history, Jesse Byock shows that Norse society in Iceland was actually an independent one-almost a republican Free State, without warlords or kings. Combining history with anthropology and archaeology, this remarkable study serves as a valuable companion to the Icelandic sagas, exploring all aspects of Viking Age life: feasting, farming, the power of chieftains and the church, marriage, and the role of women. With masterful interpretations of the blood feuds and the sagas, Byock reveals how the law courts favored compromise over violence, and how the society grappled with proto-democratic tendencies. A work with broad social and historical implications for our modern institutions, Byock's history will alter long-held perceptions of the Viking Age.General Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in 10 Great Viking Books
Odin-Son: The Berserk Sagaby G. Alvin Simons
WingSpan Press; Published: 2007-12-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.44
Price in other shops:
The Viking Art of Warby Paddy Griffith
Greenhill Pr; Published: 1995-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $90.99
Njal's Saga (Penguin Classics)by Anonymous
Penguin Classics; Published: 2002-05-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.23
Price in other shops:
Egil's Saga (Penguin Classics)by Anonymous
Penguin Classics; Published: 2005-04-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.68
Price in other shops:
Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norwayby Snorri Sturluson
University of Texas Press; Published: 1991; Paperback; Book
Best price: $31.45
Price in other shops:
The Sagas of Icelanders: Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition (World of the Sagas)Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2001-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.78
Price in other shops:
Viking Age Iceland (Penguin History)by Jesse L. Byock
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2001-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.90
Price in other shops:
Vikings: The North Atlantic Sagaby William W. Fitzhugh
Published: 2000-04-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.82
Price in other shops:
The Vikings: Revised Editionby Else Roesdahl
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1999-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.68
Price in other shops:
A History of the Vikingsby Gwyn Jones
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2001-07-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.90
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki (Penguin Classics)by Anonymous
Penguin Classics; Published: 1999-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.75
Price in other shops:
Njal's Saga (Penguin Classics)by Anonymous
Penguin Classics; Published: 2002-05-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.25
Price in other shops:
A History of the Vikingsby Gwyn Jones
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2001-07-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.76
Price in other shops:
Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas, and Powerby Jesse L. Byock
University of California Press; Published: 1990-02-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.82
Price in other shops:
The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings (Hist Atlas)by John Haywood
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1995-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
Iceland: Land of the Sagasby Jon Krakauer, David Roberts
Villard; Published: 1998-10-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.33
Price in other shops:
The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology (Penguin Classics)by Snorri Sturluson
Penguin Classics; Published: 2006-01-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.53
Price in other shops:
The Vikings: Revised Editionby Else Roesdahl
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1999-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.70
Price in other shops:
The Saga of the Volsungs (Penguin Classics)by Anonymous
Penguin Classics; Published: 2000-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.75
Price in other shops:
The Sagas of Icelanders: Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition (World of the Sagas)Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2001-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.95
Price in other shops: