Vikings!
We are a hardy race, being independent booksellers, so of course we are interested in those Norse entrepreneurs who made Europe a lively place in the so-called Dark Ages.
One of the standard-setting writers about medieval Scandinavia was Nobel Prize-winning Sigrid Undset. I have assembled all her works that we carry on this page, even though they technically do not involve Viking culture and history (a few are even contemporary to Undset’s own time). Other than that, she needs no defense as one of the greatest of historical novelists.
Winters in the World: A Journey Through the Anglo-Saxon Year
Winters in the World: A Journey Through the Anglo-Saxon Year
A beautifully observed journey through the cycle of the year in Anglo-Saxon England.
Winters in the World is a beautifully observed journey through the cycle of the year in Anglo-Saxon England, exploring the festivals, customs and traditions linked to the different seasons. Drawing on a wide variety of source material, including poetry, histories and religious literature, Eleanor Parker investigates how Anglo-Saxons felt about the annual passing of the seasons and the profound relationship they saw between human life and the rhythms of nature.
Many of the festivals we celebrate in Britain today have their roots in the Anglo-Saxon period, and this book traces their surprising history, as well as unearthing traditions now long forgotten. It celebrates some of the finest treasures of medieval literature and provides an imaginative connection to the Anglo-Saxon world.
Eleanor Parker is Lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Brasenose College, Oxford. She has a doctorate from the University of Oxford and is a specialist in the literature of medieval England and Scandinavia. She writes regularly for publications including History Today and BBC History Magazine, and is the author of Dragon Lords: The History and Legends of Viking England (2018) and Conquered: The Last Children of Anglo-Saxon England (2022) .