Fridriksdottir, Johanna K. Walküren. Frauen in der Welt der Wikinger

In Norse mythology, Valkyries decided the fate of warriors on the battlefield. Other women also appear in the Icelandic heroic sagas as strong and influential figures who played a significant role in the power struggles of their communities. But what was the reality behind the sagas? Based on the latest historical and archaeological research, medievalist Johanna Katrin Fridriksdottir describes the astonishing and diverse lives of the Viking women, who are attested not only as wives, mothers and widows, but also as poets, patrons and rulers. The Icelandic sagas are stories of war and battle, oaths of loyalty and betrayal, murder and revenge, hardship and victory. In this literature, women were often endowed with considerable agency and represented in various positions of power. In other areas, however, they were systematically oppressed and excluded. We read about the heartbreaking fates of girls and women whose traumatic experiences are still deeply moving today. This volume offers a balanced insight into the lives of Viking women and at the same time an introduction to the dramatic and fascinating world of these medieval tales of heroes and heroines from the far north.