I want to be specific – I am looking for a book that doesn’t focus on Vikings very much.
Instead, I was wondering whether there were any well written books on life, culture, politics in Scandinavia before or during the medieval age.
It could focus on pagan/heathen religion, rise and fall of kings, the region in general, really anything.
If there’s any books on the “old families” and petty clans that once held power before Christianity please let me know.
by Formal_Outside_5149
4 Comments
“Kristin Lavransdatter” by Sigrid Undset is a wild one
*From Viking Stronghold to Christian Kingdom
State Formation in Norway, c. 900-1350* by Sverre Bagge does cover the Viking period a bit but it’s not the main focus.
There are sadly very few such books in English that are good or even half decent. The only one that I can recommend is *Medieval Scandinavia : from conversion to Reformation, circa 800-1500* (1993) by Birgit and Peter Sawyer.
The medieval period lasted about a thousand years. Quite a lot happened over the course of that time. The first recorded viking raid happened just before 800 A.D. Christianity had pretty much been embraced throughout Scandinavia by the 1100s. The Middle Ages didn’t end until hundreds of years after all that. if you really and truly want to understand the era, the people, and their history and culture I recommend that you read William T. Vollmann’s brilliant ***The Ice Shirt***.