VIKING HISTORY
Auðr – Kvinneliv i vikingtiden
Published by Spartacus Forlag, 2022
Auðr means wealth. It was a common name for women in the Viking age, emphasising their importance in society. They were poets, skilled artisans and entrepreneurs who had their own ships. Women traded, led expeditions and played a crucial role in sharing knowledge, educating and protecting societal values. It was women who were responsible for textile manufacture and the preparation and storage of food, in addition to their important duties as healers.
In this book, we follow Aud the Deep-Minded, a rural Norwegian woman, on a 4,000-kilometre journey throughout her life, from her childhood in Norway to her adulthood in Ireland, Scotland and the Hebrides and her old age in Iceland. Kim Hjardar uses Aud’s story as a prism. How can we consider the role of women and the opportunities available to them in the Viking period?
Women in the Viking Age offers a journey of discovery through a history that has been overlooked. Through engaging writing and thought-provoking illustrations of both reconstructions and archaeological finds, the book provides a fascinating insight into the lives of Viking women.
Format 17,5 × 24,5 cm, 228 pages, illustrated.
Translation rights sold to Denmark.
Read sample in English here (PDF, 251 kB)
Kim Hjardar (b. 1966) has an MPhil in Nordic Viking and Medieval Culture studies from the University of Oslo, and works as a Lector of History at St. Hallvard College. He is a former head of Norway’s oldest and biggest association for living history re-enactments of the Viking period. Hjardar has published many books about the Vikings, among them Vikings at War (Vikinger i krig), 2011/2017, with Vegard Vike. The book was awarded the Saga Prize in 2012. This major and well-received work has been sold to Denmark, France, the UK, Spain and Sweden. Hjardar’s works also include Vikings – Raiders from the Sea (Casemate 2017) and The Vikings’ Greatest Battles (Vikingenes største slag), 2020. He has also participated in several TV documentaries. Among them: Travel Channel’s Legends of the Lost with Megan Fox and National Geographics newest show, Vikings – The Rise and Fall.