Embers of the hands Hidden histories of the Viking Age

The Viking Age, often thought of as a time of continuous terror, receives a new focus in this intriguing book. Its purpose is to look at the everyday lives of ordinary people rather than warriors and kings. Historian and BBC broadcaster Barraclough does this by using historical records (chronicles, sagas, missives, letters, and documents) and archeological artifacts (combs, textiles, cutting boards, farm equipment, looms, drawings, and runic inscriptions, as well as skeletal remains) to search for clues about daily Viking life. Barraclough looks beyond the surface of these sources for glimpses of ordinary humanity: for example, gleaning information about hairstyles and hygiene from an abbot's complaints, sensing someone's boredom from graffiti on a boat, or perceiving a wife's annoyance with her husband in a runic message. In so doing, Barraclough takes readers on a fascinating journey that looks for the voices of ordinary people through a wide range of everyday human experiences, such as travel, childbirth, beliefs, home life, and play. VERDICT Written in beautifully evocative prose, this book deserves a place on the shelf of everyone interested in Viking history.--Karen Bordonaro

The world of the Norsemen who made a vivid impression on Europe during the last millennium. British historian and broadcaster Barraclough begins in the swamps of Scandinavia, where its ancient inhabitants lost, discarded, or deliberately disposed of tools, coins, weapons, jewelry, clothing, pottery, and even their fellow humans. Still digging, archeologists have learned that they traded with ancient Rome and traded and fought with ancient Germany. Their rulers and elites were warriors. Because Scandinavia contained little arable land and other sources of wealth, fighting and robbing foreign tribespeople was the ambition of brave young men, and Norsemen took up raiding as soon as they acquired ships. They entered history in the last decade of the eighth century and soon were raiding Ireland, Britain, and France. By the ninth century, raiding progressed into conquest, and Norsemen ruled much of England and Normandy. To the west they settled Iceland and Greenland and touched on North America. Barraclough concentrates on Norse daily life; although the author does not ignore Viking conquests and politics, readers looking for more fireworks have innumerable authors to choose from. Although not the first account for a popular audience, it's absorbing. The author has a rich bounty to choose from, Scandinavia having long, freezing winters to preserve artifacts, global warming to expose them, ancient writing systems, and now modern nations with enthusiastic archeologists. Scraps of wood reveal doodles, notes, poems, insults, and prayers; thawing glaciers turn up clothes, furs, tools, toys, food, and plenty of clues to the Vikings' role in Norse society. A satisfying plunge into Viking culture. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.