Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson - Böcker

This book is the coming together of several disciplines under the thematic umbrella of Viking Camps and provides the very latest research presented by the leading researchers in the field, making it the most comprehensive compilation of the phenomenon of Viking camps to date.Compiling the current state of research on encampments across the Viking world and their impact on their surroundings, this volume provides an all-encompassing analysis of their characteristics—functions, form, inner workings, and interaction with the landscape and the local population. It initiates a wider discussion on the features and functions that define them, making it possible to identify and understand new sites, also broadening the geographical scope. Sites in Ireland, England, Sweden, Frankia, and Iberia are presented and explored, allowing the reader to understand the camp phenomenon from a comparative, more inclusive perspective. The combination of geographically bound case-studies and in-depth analyses of specific themes, such as economy and religion, bring together an abundance of methodologies and approaches. The volume introduces new interdisciplinary approaches to define and identify Viking encampment sites, combining archaeology, historical documents, metal detecting, landscape analysis, and toponymic research. It builds the methodological foundations for future research on Viking camps, the armies inhabiting them, and their interaction with the surrounding world.Viking Camps contributes to a better understanding of the functioning of Viking expeditionary groups, both on campaign and during the early stages of settlement, and will be of use to researchers in Viking archaeology, history, and Viking Studies.

This book is the coming together of several disciplines under the thematic umbrella of Viking Camps and provides the very latest research presented by the leading researchers in the field, making it the most comprehensive compilation of the phenomenon of Viking camps to date.Compiling the current state of research on encampments across the Viking world and their impact on their surroundings, this volume provides an all-encompassing analysis of their characteristics—functions, form, inner workings, and interaction with the landscape and the local population. It initiates a wider discussion on the features and functions that define them, making it possible to identify and understand new sites, also broadening the geographical scope. Sites in Ireland, England, Sweden, Frankia, and Iberia are presented and explored, allowing the reader to understand the camp phenomenon from a comparative, more inclusive perspective. The combination of geographically bound case-studies and in-depth analyses of specific themes, such as economy and religion, bring together an abundance of methodologies and approaches. The volume introduces new interdisciplinary approaches to define and identify Viking encampment sites, combining archaeology, historical documents, metal detecting, landscape analysis, and toponymic research. It builds the methodological foundations for future research on Viking camps, the armies inhabiting them, and their interaction with the surrounding world.Viking Camps contributes to a better understanding of the functioning of Viking expeditionary groups, both on campaign and during the early stages of settlement, and will be of use to researchers in Viking archaeology, history, and Viking Studies.

When Viking Age house interiors are reconstructed, the focus is usually on the fireplace and the placement of tables, benches and beds. These features help us understand how people lived. However, we often forget that textiles, such as blankets, sheets, tablecloths and wall hangings, were also important in everyday life. Textiles were used for comfort, cleaning and decoration, and they helped tell stories as well as signal a person’s or family’s social status. Most Viking Age textiles that have survived are found in graves. These include not only clothing but also bedding, pillows and fabrics used to wrap objects. A burial can be seen as a kind of room for the dead, filled with items that reflect how people lived and what they valued. Because of this, grave finds are important when discussing the interior textiles used in Viking Age houses. Wall hangings are mentioned as status symbols in the Icelandic sagas, and examples from the late Viking Age and early medieval period have been found and preserved in churches, giving us insight into their use and value. Old Norse texts also mention soft furnishings such as tablecloths and handcloths, and the use of interior textiles can be seen on the Bayeux embroidery. Other types of iconography, such as on rune stones and picture stones, help us understand how interior textiles may have been used. By combining information from textiles, written sources and iconography, and by applying different approaches, the chapters in this book offer various perspectives on how interior textiles were used in the Viking Age, why they were needed and how valuable they were.

In Relations and Runes a number of specialists from the fields of archaeology, numismatics and runology explore the complexity of developments and relations in the Baltic Sea region during the Late Iron Age and Early Middle Ages. The contributions in the book cover a wide spectrum of topics and approaches highlighting how islands functioned as nodes in interaction and communication, while constructing and maintaining individual identities. With special focus on the islands of Öland, Gotland and Bornholm, in-depth studies of specific archaeological materials are set in a broader context of cultural development and change in the Baltic. This book is the outcome of a joint venture between two research projects – The Viking Phenomenon and Everlasting Runes, and Gotland Museum.