Women in the Viking Age

By Judith Jesch,

Book cover of Women in the Viking Age

Book description

Well-illustrated, closely argued and fascinating. GUARDIAN

This is the first book-length study in English to investigate what women did in the Viking age, both at home in Scandinavia and in the Viking coloniesfrom Greenland to Russia. Evidence for their lives is fragmentary, but Judith Jesch assembles the clues provided by…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Women in the Viking Age as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Myths about viking women abound, but Judith Jesch’s book is grounded in what we can know from the archeological, historical, and literary record. That still paints a vivid picture of the Viking women who remained in the traditional feminine sphere, and those who ventured into men’s. As Women in the Viking Age reveals, Viking women were farmers, housewives, managers of hundreds of servants, explorers, priestesses, rich benefactors, and war-leaders. In many ways, their lives were more varied than men’s.

From Linnea's list on understanding the Vikings.

Want books like Women in the Viking Age?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Women in the Viking Age.

Browse books like Women in the Viking Age

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in women, Vikings, and Old Norse?

Women 645 books
Vikings 116 books
Old Norse 13 books