books-Norse-msg - 5/7/14

Books about the Norse. Book reviews.

NOTE: See also the files: V-Arts-and-A-art, Norse-lit-bib, Norse-msg, pst-Vik-Norse-msg, N-drink-ves-msg, Norse-crafts-bib, Vik-Shp-lst-art, ships-msg.

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                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: PRIEST at vaxsar.vassar.EDU (THORA SHARPTOOTH)
Date: 8 Nov 91 13:28:00 GMT
Organization: The Internet

Unto the fishyfolk of the Rialto from Thora Sharptooth, greeting!

Brynjolfr asked:

> does anybody know of any decent references for 10th/11th century
> Scandinavian crafts? I've been looking but all I can find are political
> histories...

Start with the bibliographies of good books on Vikings, such as Gwyn Jones' THE
VIKINGS.  Read the bibliography and look up any books or articles on the things
that interest you.  When you find those references, read their footnotes and
bibliographies, and you'll probably discover more things that interest you. 
Look them up, too.  (Be careful, though; by then you'll be doing RESEARCH,
which can get you into a lot of trouble in some circles!)

A really good place to look for information on the handicrafts of an era is
journals that deal immediately with period artifacts--archaeological journals,
museum bulletins, and so on.  Articles in these kinds of journals frequently
describe an artifact better than any other source, and they often contain
information (or speculation) on how the artifact was produced.  Depending on
the art or craft you're interested in, you may be able to find a journal which
is explicitly devoted it.  If you do, then make a habit of reading it as often
as it comes out, checking through the back issues, or (if you're lucky and it
HAS them) reading the indices for subjects that interest you.

Some of my favorite sources include:

-- MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY (an annual journal on British Isles finds which often
has Anglo-Scandinavian information)

-- TEXTILE HISTORY (biannual; not always useful because it covers the last two
thousand years or more)

-- ANTIQUITY (easier to find than the previous two, and not always as
technical)

-- the ARCHAEOLOGY OF YORK series (which consists mainly of monographs, only a
few of which have been published so far--but the full set covers a wide variety
of Anglo-Scandinavian crafts)

These are just a few of the many journals/series out there which touch on
Viking issues).  Happy hunting!
****************************************************************************
Carolyn Priest-Dorman                   Thora Sharptooth
Poughkeepsie, NY                        Frosted Hills
priest at vassar.edu                       East Kingdom
****************************************************************************


From: rkister at lonestar.utsa.edu (Robert F. Kister)
Date: 12 Nov 91 21:14:08 GMT
Organization: University of Texas at San Antonio
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

To Brynjolfr, greetings from Gunnora Hallakarva.

There are lots of sources for Viking Age/Medieval Scandinavian crafts,
but they are often difficult to find if you are not an archaeology student or
serious historian.  Bibliographies of Old English studies etc. may be useful,
for instance I know the Mitchell and Robinson Bibliography of Old English lists
an article which I read and found to be excellent on what exactly the Anglo-
Saxons (and presumably other Germanic peoples) meant by certain color terms
in the Middle Ages.

Some specific books are:

N.B. Harte & K.G. Ponting, eds. Cloth and Clothing in Medieval Europe: Essays
     in Memory of Professor E.M. Carus-Wilson. Pasold Studies in Textile
     History 2. London: Heinemann Educational Books. 1983.
     pp. 80-99 Agnes Geijer "The Textile Finds from Birka"
     pp. 100-107 Margareta Nockert "A Scandinavian Haberget?"
     pp. 316-350 Inga Hogg "Viking Women's Dress at Birka"
     pp. 351-367 Marta Hoffman "Beds and Bedclothes in Medieval Norway"

Marta Hoffman. The Warp-Weighted Loom: Studies in the History and Technology
     of an Ancient Implement. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. year??
     [Has everything you need to do Viking weaving... good diagrams of the
     looms, photos and descriptions of modern Lapps and Faroese using the
     loom (use has been continuous since the Viking Age...highly recommended.]

Margrethe Hald. Primitive Shoes: An Archaeological-Ethnological Study Based
     Upon Shoe Finds from the Jutland Peninsula. Archaeological-Historical
     Series I. Vol. 13. Copenhagen: National Museum Of Denmark. 1972.
     [Gives photos and line drawings of the flat pattern for virtually every
     shoe ever dug up in Denmark, also compares shoes from Celtic areas, modern
     handmade shoes from the Scandinavian countries etc. From the descriptions
     and diagrams, it's easy to make your own shoes (given a modicum of leather
     crafting ability). Very Highly Recommended.]

David M. Wilson and Ole Klindt-Jensen. Viking Art. London: George Allen & Unwin
     1966.
     [Along with a good art-history discussion, this book has lots of photos
     and line drawings of Viking art and artifacts. This is of invaluable
     assistance no matter what sort of craft you are doing. I tend to use this
     on connection with George Bain's Celtic Knotwork book. Highly recommended.

Nyelen. Swedish Handicraft.
     [Unfortunately, I don't have this one currently available as I'm in the
     process of moving.  This book covers modern (1700's to present) Swedish
     crafts, including many that are the same now as in the Viking Age such as
     working wood, horn and bone. While it doesn't get into methods much,
     there are so many large full color photos that it can serve as a great
     craftsman's "wish-list of stuff I want to make". Highly recommended.]

I hope you find this of help...

::GUNNORA::
Gunnora Hallakarva
c/o Christie Ward
 (Barony of Bjornsborg, Ansteorra)


From: rkister at lonestar.utsa.edu (Robert F. Kister)
Date: 14 Nov 91 22:58:52 GMT
Organization: University of Texas at San Antonio

Greetings from Gunnora Hallakarva (again):

I have finished rummaging my boxes, and here are the remaining books I'd
reccomend for those wanting sources for Viking crafts.

The full information on Swedish Handicraft is:

Anna-Maja Nylen. Swedish Handicraft. trans. Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey.
    New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. 1968.

Others of interest are:

Marta Kashammar. Skapa Med Halm. Halmstad, Sweden: Bokforlaget Spektra. 1985
    [Yes, unfortunately this one is in Swedish. It's about weaving with straw,
    wheat, grasses, etc. Even if you don't read Swedish this book can be useful
    as it has copious diagrams. I'm currently preparing an English translation]

Venetia Newall. An Egg at Easter: A Folklore Study. London: Routledge & Kegan
    Paul. 1971.
    [Decorating Easter eggs is a period activity, most especially for the
    Germanic and Slavonic peoples, however evidence of decorated eggs goes back
    to prehistory.  While this book is largely devoted to the folklore of the
    Easter Egg, it does describe several period techniques for decorating eggs.
    I like this one because it's an inexpensive craft, if you mess up you can
    still eat the egg, and even children can have fun with it.]

If anyone else out there finds sources I don't know about, I'd also love to
hear from you!

Gunnora Hallakarva


Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Intro Book Recommendations
From: peterj at violet.ccit.arizona.edu (PETERSON, JOYCE)
Date: 27 Oct 1993 08:39 MST  
Organization: University of Arizona

For those interested in Vikings, _Njal's Saga_ (or Nial's) is a very good
read.  It can be found in most University libraries.  I think Penguin
produced a paperback version.

-Astridr Thorgeirsdottir


From: jeffs at bu.edu (Jeff Suzuki)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Help on Viking persona
Date: 21 Jun 1996 01:01:43 GMT
Organization: Boston University

Josh Chesser (jchess at gorilla.net) wrote:
: Hello I am a member but am looking to redo my persona to a Viking.  Does 
: anyone have any good references that might be in the library or other 
: areas to look?  Any help on devices would also be appreciated.  I am 
: trying to determine if a Raven is a good charge.  Thanks in advance.

: Rick Drake aka. Richard
: West Umbria 
: jchess at gorilla.net

Hi!  You might want to check out Gwyn Jones, _The Vikings_ (he also
has a few other books out on things Scandinavian, I discover on the
back cover of my copy...); it's a pretty good place to start, though
it tends to run a bit dry in spots.

Jeffs


From: dickeney at access1.digex.net (Dick Eney)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Help on Viking persona
Date: 21 Jun 1996 13:21:59 -0400
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA

Josh Chesser (jchess at gorilla.net) wrote:
> Hello I am a member but am looking to redo my persona to a Viking.  Does 
> anyone have any good references that might be in the library or other 
>
> Rick Drake aka. Richard  jchess at gorilla.net

You also might try:
_Scandinavian Archaeology_ by Haakon Shetelig and Hjalmar Falk,  circa
1930s, in English.  some of the material is dated but it's very good.
Inter-library loan should get it for you.

-- Arwen


From: priest at vassar.edu (Carolyn Priest-Dorman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Viking books--info
Date: 23 Jun 1996 23:41:00 GMT
Organization: Vassar College

Greeting from Thora Sharptooth!

I'd like to take issue with something a gentle known only as 
"erilarlo at win.bright.net" wrote:

>These books have information as well as lots of pictures, and I would
>think at least the Time-Life books should be findable in a library. The
>first one is really good for details of garb. (It's lying on my worktable
>right now because I'm trying to come up with shoes that will go over or be
>glued to an old pair of running shoes.)
>
>"The Viking" by several people .  Crescent Books, 1975. (good details for 
garb!)

This book is a reprint of the 1966 edition of _The Viking_ (Gothenburg, 
Sweden:  Tre Tryckare, Cagner), edited by Bertil Almgren.  In my opinion, it 
is _NOT_ a good source for garb in the Viking world.  Its reconstructions of 
men's garments are 25 years behind the times and even misunderstand much of 
the material that was available when the book was written.  Let me list some 
of the more glaring inaccuracies.

The man wearing the cruciform headband and the little scarf with the stag on 
it is based on incorrect interpretation of the find locations of several Birka 
artifacts.  The headband was actually a straight piece of wire trim used on 
(depending on size) either a man's riding coat or its matching hat.  The 
little stag appears to have been some sort of insignia and was worn on a 
riding coat.  The embroidered trim on the edge of the scarf is taken from the 
Valsgarde embroideries, which may have belonged to a cloak but definitely did 
not appear in a transverse fashion on a scarf.

The overgament the man on page 229 wears, a buttoned coat with transverse trim 
strips, is based on an incorrect interpretation of a specific Birka tunic, not 
a coat.  The original was not a buttoned garment but a closed-torso blue-green 
wool tunic with a samite overlay on the chest to which many strips of silver 
brocaded tablet-weaving were stitched.  His hat, with its prominent fur brim, 
would be fine if the fur were taken off (i.e., the peaked cap from Birka with 
its dangling silver mesh balls is correct); there's no evidence mentioned in 
the literature that any of the Birka hats were fur-brimmed.  There's also no 
evidence for the cross-garters he wears:  instead, there is a great deal of 
evidence in several places in the Viking world for spirally-wrapped leg 
coverings, many about 4" wide.  The silver-embroidered collar he wears is 
based on the Valsgarde embroideries, which are as likely as not to have been 
cloak ornamentation; they definitely did not belong to a riding coat of this 
sort.

The ubiquitous headscarf depicted in this book as being worn by all women is, 
as nearly as I have been able to tell, a misinterpretation of the Oseberg 
queen's headgear. To my knowledge, there is only one mention in the 
archaeological literature of a scarflike garment even remotely similar to this 
depiction, and it wasn't discovered (and analyzed) until some years after this 
book was published.

The pleated undergarment worn by many of the women depicted in this book has 
been found at one location and one century only.  It can not be demonstrated 
to have been by any means a ubiquitous fashion.  The same is true of the short 
cloaks most of the women are drawn wearing:  the archaeological evidence for 
that layer of garment is sparse and, in many locations, nonexistent.  The cap 
sleeves depicted on page 200 are not, to my knowledge, based on any 
speculation by textile or costume historians (I have no idea who dreamed that 
up and why).  There is no evidence for trim around the bottom of the woman's 
apron-dress as is depicted in so many of these drawings, and the wrapped 
apron-dress is only one of the forms now believed to have been worn in the 
period.  

Lastly, there's no depiction at all of several other garments, both men's and 
women's, that are now known to have existed then.

In sum, while this book has a great deal to recommend it in terms of its 
coverage of jewelry, weaponry, etc., it is fatally flawed with respect to 
information on clothing.  For someone who is just investigating a Viking 
persona, I recommend the Osprey Men-at-Arms Elite series book on Vikings.  It 
too has a few flaws, but not nearly as many as this book.  But the best 
one-page summary can be found on page 67 of _Cultural Atlas of the Viking 
World_ (Facts on File, 1994), ed. James Graham-Campbell.  This too is an 
imperfect source, particularly with respect to the fictional cross-laced shirt 
one of the men is wearing, but it has the benefit of introducing to a wide 
audience some of the excellent work in Viking textile and costume archaeology 
that has taken place in the last 15 years.

Footnotes on request, but keep in mind I'm 8 months pregnant and moving next 
month:  if you want a serious diet of footnotes, start by looking at the 
bibliography of C.A. #59, which I co-authored.
***************************************************************************
Carolyn Priest-Dorman                   Thora Sharptooth
priest at vassar.edu                       Frostahlid, Austrriki
          Gules, three square weaver's tablets in bend Or
***************************************************************************


From: erilarlo at win.bright.net
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Viking books--info
Date: Sun, 23 Jun 1996 17:25:29 -0600
Organization: BrightNet Ohio

I tried to e-mail this--who wanted it?
These books have information as well as lots of pictures, and I would
think at least the Time-Life books should be findable in a library. The
first one is really good for details of garb. (It's lying on my worktable
right now because I'm trying to come up with shoes that will go over or be
glued to an old pair of running shoes.)

"The Viking" by several people .  Crescent Books, 1975. (good details for garb!)
 
"The Vikings" by Robert Wernick and others. Time-Life series "The Seafarers".

"Viking: Hammer of the North" by Magnus Magnuson. Galahad Books, New York
City. 1976.

"The Northmen" by Thomas Froncek and others. Time-Life series "The
Emergene of Man".

 "The Northern World" edited by David M. Wilson. Abrams.
        
Also look at "barbarian" books like "Barbarian Europe". 

There are also paperbacks with lots of info but few pictures.

 Re: raven(hrafn in Old Norse) I painted the Icelandic raven on a shield
on a miniature. Somewhere I have info that goes with it, but it's in a
very skinny magazine a German friend sent me that's hiding between books
somehere. It looks a lot like the deutscher Adler(German heraldic eagle).


Date: Sun, 19 Jan 1997 07:31:04 -0600
From: kajander at online.no
Subject: Viking History
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

NEW!!! 
Viking History
200+ Pages Viking History
Bergen Norway West Valdemarsvik Sweden East
1000 Pages 48221 Links 3D Viking Village
http://www.heathcomm.no/galleri/homepage.htm


From: Gunnora Hallakarva <gunnora at bga.com>
To: ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 04:19:49 -0500
Subject: The Viking Art of War

While I was at the library this afternoon I happened across the following
book.  This is not an in-depth scholarly work, but it is based solidly on
accurate scholarship, making it both accurate and highly readable.  There
are some areas in which I found myself disagreeing with the author's
opinions, but not with the facts.  I think there are probably a good many
folks who will find this book both useful and enjoyable.


Griffith, Paddy.  The Viking Art of War.  Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. 1995.  
ISBN 1-85367-208-4

Contents:

I.  Military Analysis of the Vikings
	A. The Vikings defines
	B. The meeting between civilian and military
	C. Myth and Reality

II. The Causes of Viking Expansion
	A. The Legacy of the Romans
	B. More Defeats than Victories: Expansion Attempts, 793-911
	C. The Second Viking Onslaught, 911-1066
	D. The Vikings and their Neighbors

III. Strategic Mobility
	A. The Alleged Reliability of Viking Navigation
	B. An Essentially Coastal Navy
	C. The Boats Themselves
	D. Overland Movement

IV. The Viking Notion of Strategy
	A. Four Types of Viking Warfare
	B. Some Principles of Strategy
	C. Numbers Likely to be Engaged

V. The Composition of Armies
	A. The Classification of Troop Types
	B. Viking C3-I
	C. Engineering

VI. Arms and Armor
	A. Missile Arms
	B. Defences
	C. Close Quarter Arms

VII. Battle
	A. Land Battle
	B. Sea Battle
	C. Counting the Cost

VIII. Conclusion

Gunnora Hallakarva


Date: Wed, 06 Aug 1997 15:18:20 -0500
From: Gunnora Hallakarva <gunnora at bga.com>
Subject: ANST - New Books

Mistress Siobhan asked:
>Several weeks ago, we had a thread going on "SCA required reading," with
>various people writing in recommending books.
>So, did anybody read anything new and inspiring as a result of the thread?

I recently picked up several books on the Viking Age that I hadn't
previouly read:

Karras, Ruth.  Slavery and Society in Medieval Scandinavia.  Ann Arbor:
Yale Univ Press. 1988.
[Discusses the thrall and the role of unfree people in medieval
Scandinavia.  Very excellent.]

Griffith, Paddy.  The Viking Art of War.  Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole
Books.  1995.
[While this book does not present any startling information for one
familiar with the sagas and Viking Age history, it does discuss the
Viking's military technology in a straighforward manner.  There is a lot of
useful information in this book, and also in a few places some which I
think is a little misleading, especially if the reader has no background in
Viking studies to evaluate them against.  I'd recommend this book, but
don't believe tjust everything it says without double-checking with another
source, say, The Viking Achievement.]

I've also been doing a lot of reading about the Viking settlements and
invasions in the British ISles.  This has already resulted in one new
article on my webpage regarding Norse relations with Wales, and I'm
researching the Vikings in the Isle of Man right now.

Gunnora Hallakarva
Herskerinde


Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 01:00:01 GMT
From: mmy at fp.co.nz (Maggie.Mulvaney)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: EARLY PERIOD EMBROIDERY?

Ms Gwendolyn the Obscure wrote about some sources for early
embroideries.

>Someone earlier mentioned the Maamen embroideries too.  The only work I
>have on those is found in Ancient Danish Textiles from Bog and Burials by
>Hald.  There are some photos in black and white on pages 107-110 and some
>text on pages 102 to 105. Chapter 6 is needles and sewing which includes
>embroidery. 
>The Maamen period is from around late 9th to the end of the 10th century-
>off the top of my head.

That would be me. I've got a great source for Mammen;

Mammen
Grav, kunst og samfund i vikingetid
Ed. Mette Iversen, published by Jysk Arkaeologisk selskab in
conjunction wiht Aarhus Universitetsforlag (A great publishing house!)

The title means 'grave, art and society in the viking age'

Despite the title it's not all in Danish; the book is the result of a
symposium held in Mammen in 1987, and each of the people there had to
write at least one article for the book. Articles are written in
Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, German and English, all with summaries
(mostly in English). All captions are in original language and
English. All aspects of the grave and the runestones are discussed,
there's a very detailed article on the wax candle, for example.
The article on the textiles goes into a fair amount of detail on the
embroieries, and also has colour pictures. There are analyses of the
textiles (weave, thread, wooltype) and a separate on on the dyes.

Can you tell I like this book? :)

I do have the advantage of reading Scandinavian languages, so I get
full use of it, but I've lent it to a number of people who have still
gotten a lot of information out of it.

/mmy
************************************************************
* MMY             *               Maggie.Mulvaney at fp.co.nz *
* Maggie Mulvaney * http://www.fpnet.co.nz/users/m/maggiem *
************************************************************


From: PRIEST at vaxsar.vassar.EDU (THORA SHARPTOOTH)
Date: 8 Nov 91 13:28:00 GMT
Organization: The Internet

Unto the fishyfolk of the Rialto from Thora Sharptooth, greeting!

Brynjolfr asked:

> does anybody know of any decent references for 10th/11th century
> Scandinavian crafts? I've been looking but all I can find are political
> histories...

Start with the bibliographies of good books on Vikings, such as Gwyn Jones' THE
VIKINGS.  Read the bibliography and look up any books or articles on the things
that interest you.  When you find those references, read their footnotes and
bibliographies, and you'll probably discover more things that interest you. 
Look them up, too.  (Be careful, though; by then you'll be doing RESEARCH,
which can get you into a lot of trouble in some circles!)

A really good place to look for information on the handicrafts of an era is
journals that deal immediately with period artifacts--archaeological journals,
museum bulletins, and so on.  Articles in these kinds of journals frequently
describe an artifact better than any other source, and they often contain
information (or speculation) on how the artifact was produced.  Depending on
the art or craft you're interested in, you may be able to find a journal which
is explicitly devoted it.  If you do, then make a habit of reading it as often
as it comes out, checking through the back issues, or (if you're lucky and it
HAS them) reading the indices for subjects that interest you.

Some of my favorite sources include:

-- MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY (an annual journal on British Isles finds which often
has Anglo-Scandinavian information)

-- TEXTILE HISTORY (biannual; not always useful because it covers the last two
thousand years or more)

-- ANTIQUITY (easier to find than the previous two, and not always as
technical)

-- the ARCHAEOLOGY OF YORK series (which consists mainly of monographs, only a
few of which have been published so far--but the full set covers a wide variety
of Anglo-Scandinavian crafts)

These are just a few of the many journals/series out there which touch on
Viking issues).  Happy hunting!

****************************************************************************
Carolyn Priest-Dorman                   Thora Sharptooth
Poughkeepsie, NY                        Frosted Hills
priest at vassar.edu                       East Kingdom
****************************************************************************


From: rkister at lonestar.utsa.edu (Robert F. Kister)
Date: 12 Nov 91 21:14:08 GMT
Organization: University of Texas at San Antonio
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

To Brynjolfr, greetings from Gunnora Hallakarva.

There are lots of sources for Viking Age/Medieval Scandinavian crafts,
but they are often difficult to find if you are not an archaeology student or
serious historian.  Bibliographies of Old English studies etc. may be useful,
for instance I know the Mitchell and Robinson Bibliography of Old English lists
an article which I read and found to be excellent on what exactly the Anglo-
Saxons (and presumably other Germanic peoples) meant by certain color terms
in the Middle Ages.

Some specific books are:

N.B. Harte & K.G. Ponting, eds. Cloth and Clothing in Medieval Europe: Essays
     in Memory of Professor E.M. Carus-Wilson. Pasold Studies in Textile
     History 2. London: Heinemann Educational Books. 1983.
     pp. 80-99 Agnes Geijer "The Textile Finds from Birka"
     pp. 100-107 Margareta Nockert "A Scandinavian Haberget?"
     pp. 316-350 Inga Hogg "Viking Women's Dress at Birka"
     pp. 351-367 Marta Hoffman "Beds and Bedclothes in Medieval Norway"

Marta Hoffman. The Warp-Weighted Loom: Studies in the History and Technology
     of an Ancient Implement. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. year??
     [Has everything you need to do Viking weaving... good diagrams of the
     looms, photos and descriptions of modern Lapps and Faroese using the
     loom (use has been continuous since the Viking Age...highly recommended.]

Margrethe Hald. Primitive Shoes: An Archaeological-Ethnological Study Based
     Upon Shoe Finds from the Jutland Peninsula. Archaeological-Historical
     Series I. Vol. 13. Copenhagen: National Museum Of Denmark. 1972.
     [Gives photos and line drawings of the flat pattern for virtually every
     shoe ever dug up in Denmark, also compares shoes from Celtic areas, modern
     handmade shoes from the Scandinavian countries etc. From the descriptions
     and diagrams, it's easy to make your own shoes (given a modicum of leather
     crafting ability). Very Highly Recommended.]

David M. Wilson and Ole Klindt-Jensen. Viking Art. London: George Allen & Unwin
     1966.
     [Along with a good art-history discussion, this book has lots of photos
     and line drawings of Viking art and artifacts. This is of invaluable
     assistance no matter what sort of craft you are doing. I tend to use this
     on connection with George Bain's Celtic Knotwork book. Highly recommended.

Nyelen. Swedish Handicraft.
     [Unfortunately, I don't have this one currently available as I'm in the
     process of moving.  This book covers modern (1700's to present) Swedish
     crafts, including many that are the same now as in the Viking Age such as
     working wood, horn and bone. While it doesn't get into methods much,
     there are so many large full color photos that it can serve as a great
     craftsman's "wish-list of stuff I want to make". Highly recommended.]

I hope you find this of help...

::GUNNORA::
Gunnora Hallakarva
c/o Christie Ward
11711 Braesview #1504
San Antonio, TX 78213

(Barony of Bjornsborg, Ansteorra)

From: rkister at lonestar.utsa.edu (Robert F. Kister)
Date: 14 Nov 91 22:58:52 GMT
Organization: University of Texas at San Antonio

Greetings from Gunnora Hallakarva (again):

I have finished rummaging my boxes, and here are the remaining books I'd
reccomend for those wanting sources for Viking crafts.

The full information on Swedish Handicraft is:

Anna-Maja Nylen. Swedish Handicraft. trans. Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey.
    New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. 1968.

Others of interest are:

Marta Kashammar. Skapa Med Halm. Halmstad, Sweden: Bokforlaget Spektra. 1985
    [Yes, unfortunately this one is in Swedish. It's about weaving with straw,
    wheat, grasses, etc. Even if you don't read Swedish this book can be useful
    as it has copious diagrams. I'm currently preparing an English translation]

Venetia Newall. An Egg at Easter: A Folklore Study. London: Routledge & Kegan
    Paul. 1971.
    [Decorating Easter eggs is a period activity, most especially for the
    Germanic and Slavonic peoples, however evidence of decorated eggs goes back
    to prehistory.  While this book is largely devoted to the folklore of the
    Easter Egg, it does describe several period techniques for decorating eggs.
    I like this one because it's an inexpensive craft, if you mess up you can
    still eat the egg, and even children can have fun with it.]

If anyone else out there finds sources I don't know about, I'd also love to
hear from you!

Wassail!

Gunnora Hallakarva


Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2011 08:04:54 +1000
From: Raymond Wickham <insidious565 at hotmail.com>
Subject: [Lochac] book review
To: lochac <lochac at sca.org.au>

Muirithe, Diarmaid.  "From the Viking Word-Hoard: A Dictionary
of Scandinavian Words in the Languages of Britain and Ireland".
Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2010.  Pp. 301.  $70.00.  ISBN:
9781846821738.

It is, unfortunately, too seldom that a book arrives on one's desk
that is highly enjoyable to read while retaining high standards of
scholarship.  "From the Viking Word-Hoard" is such a book.
Diarmaid Muirithe is a former Senior Lecturer in Irish Language
at University College Dublin and has published widely on linguistic
matters, with particular emphasis on the influences of now-defunct
languages on the vocabulary and idiom of modern English.

The Vikings--the collective term generally applied to early-
medieval Scandinavian raiders and merchants--first descended on
Britain and Ireland in the late eighth century.  They also
travelled, raided, traded and, in some instances, made new homes
further afield, reaching  Greenland, Iceland, France, Spain,
Portugal, Italy, Russia, and Constantinople.  The language spoken
by these migrants is known as Old Norse.  "From the Viking Word-
Hoard" is concerned with the impact of this language on the
indigenous languages of Britain and Ireland.


Date: Tue, 06 May 2014 15:55:42 -0400
From: The Merry Rose Tavern at Cheapside
	<atlantia at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org>
To: atlantia at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org
Subject: [MR] New Book on Vikings

Noble Friends, Especially Vikings.

Just received at the UVA library: VIKINGS IN THE EAST, ESSAYS ON CONTACTS ALONG THE ROAD TO BYZANTIUM (800-1100) by Fedir Androshchuk (ISBN 9789155488154; our call # DL65 .A68 2013). 

This work explores Viking settlements and influences in Russia, the Balkans and Byzantium. The author is proposing a transnational history of the Vikings, showing how their culture influenced, and was itself influenced, by trade and settlement throughout eastern Europe. This is largely traced through excavations in both Scandinavia and eastern Europe, and the artifacts found there, which illustrate trade moving in both directions. His thesis is supported by illustrations of rings, pendants, brooches, coins, swords, spear points, and much more, some of Byzantine style found in traditional Viking homeland sites such as Birka, and items of Viking style and manufacture found in Byzantium and what is now Russia. 

The book is profusely illustrated with both photos and drawings (sadly all black-and-white). It concludes with an extensive bibliography and the usual index. This would be a great source book for Scadian Vikings who need to know more about weapons and garb accessories, as well as those who want to brush up on this often neglected aspect of the Viking world.

Lord Mungo Napier, That Crazy Scot	 	   		

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