In this fascinating history of the Vikings and the Viking Age, Eleanor Barraclough explores games, art, hair care, stories, language, and, yes, warfare from the period in incredible and complex detail. Drawing on archaeological records and historical documents to create this history of the medieval Nordic world and choosing a title from a poetic kenning referring to gold, this book is incredibly detailed and immersive in its approach to the Viking age and every facet of life which has appeared in the historical and archaeological record. With chapters focusing on different themes, objects, or elements of medieval Nordic life, the book covers a massive range of topics that readers are guaranteed to find interesting for the artifacts they draw on and the story they create. Barraclough is an excellent writer and has done an incredible job bringing this world to life, and the depth of research is absolutely remarkable. The focus on Viking life outside of battle is incredibly interesting and does an excellent job subverting reader expectations and challenging the mainstream image of the Vikings. Brilliantly written, immersive, engaging, and incredibly detailed, this is a fascinating, complex, and deeply enjoyable history of the Vikings and their culture that history readers will love.

This was rather dull although there is informative information as well.I enjoyed the photos and the personal stories told through various items found in long ago Viking settlements and graveyards.I liked how the author specifically picked items I could relate to and I also was completely fascinated by one particular clothing accessory.It was kinda a slog to get to the gems but it was nicely researched and organized and could be worth a read depending where your interests lie within the Viking age.

This is a brilliant book! I've read quite a bit about Viking history but this sets itself apart by focusing on ordinary people and their lives. The author's writing style is wonderful: storytelling at its best but also full of interesting details and facts. I loved the organization of the book as well. and the way that the information focused around artifacts, so deeply rooted in the archeology of recent finds. I was sorry when it came to an end! I will definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the Viking world.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

There was more to the Viking Age than going on sea raids and dying heroically in battle in hopes of reaching Valhalla. In this book, the author examines archaeological artifacts from that time period to provide a fuller picture of Viking culture and how they interacted with the rest of the Medieval world.

I greatly enjoyed this approach as a captivating way of exploring “everyday life,” even if occasionally her analysis seems overly speculative. While I have read quite a bit of Norse mythology and a few sagas, I found plenty of new and interesting information here. There are many scholarly notes, but the intended audience seems to be readers who are looking for a basic overview of the topic (rather than seasoned scholars in search of new insights). Overall, I would highly recommend this for anyone interested in Norse culture…especially if you want to go beyond mythology and the power games of the nobles.

Author Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough uses "Embers of the Hands" to try and convey the world of the everyday person living in the Viking Age. Using archaeological findings and texts she describes what it might have been like to live, work, eat, and play across the Viking world.

The book is broken into sections by category ("play", "trade", etc.) which in some ways worked since it followed discoveries or ideas about that topic, but sometimes made it harder to follow the larger flow of people in time and place Barraclough was trying to show.

Well written in some places, though a bit dry and slow in others, this wasn't the best recent book I've read on hidden histories of the Viking Age (that has to be "The Northwomen" by Heather Pringle), but it is ok. Probably a better book if you're already a little familiar with some of the language and ideas in the book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This isn’t so much a history as a description of artifacts. It’s written in a lively and engaging style.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Examining Vikings from Their Remains, and Fictions About Them

The book opens with a sharp map of areas from Newfoundland to Greenland to Iceland to Britain to explain the range of territory covered. I had some problems looking through this ebook review copy: this might have been because it is a larger file. The titles of the chapters are rather vague, “Love”, “Bodies”, “Play”: but I guess these describe the themes covered by the artifacts better than more detailed headings would have. The “Prologue: Kindling” asks the important question of where the “Viking Age” begins, according to historians, noting that the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that in 793 there were “fiery dragons and lightning in the skies over Northumberland”, before Scandinavians began their raids (1-2). Instead, the author takes us back a millennium earlier to the Vimose bog, on a Danish island. A brief summary of artifacts found here follows: “pottery shards and bones… Ancient tools of metal and wood: hammers and tongs, knives and twist-drills, files and fire steels, even anvils. Gaming pieces and scraps of clothing…” This paints a great picture to explain what sort of book this is: one that weighs the evidence that has been dug up without interpreting it solely within the Viking mythology (3). The author also confesses that many things remain unknown about the uncovered artifacts, such as that the “HARJA” letters inscribed on a Viking comb can mean anything from “comb” to “warrior” or could have been the name of the wearer (7). It is important for such accounts to unknowledge such unknowns because otherwise they are likely to use their intuition to guess at the meaning, instead of finding evidence to support what the true meaning was most likely to be.
Though there is a bit too much pondering and not enough getting to the point, as the “Introduction” continues with a glossy puffery of this age. There is a mention of god Odin’s poem, in between ponderings about “glowing remnants”. Forensic archeology is best done by weighing the scientific evidence, and analyzing items’ dates, and regions, and functions in relation to each other, instead of in connection with texts that were probably first-written hundreds or thousands of years later.
Another problem is that some sources are not cited when dates are finally introduced. “In 865 a large fleet landed in England, with the aim not of hit-and-run raids, but of conquest” (22). This seems like a generally known fact, but the source of this claim is propaganda that was written centuries later to serve political interests of later rulers. What archeological evidence is there to support this date? I searched for “carbon” to find if there are any mentions of scientific dating and found a mention near the end of this book. This section describes what was excavated from Herjolfsnes in Norse Greenland, which is now showcased at the National Museum of Denmark and at the Greenland National Museum. These exhibits show “Gowns, stockings, hoods and caps… No other archaeological site has revealed such a treasure trove of medieval European clothing…” One of these artifacts is the skeleton of a buried woman in a set of clothing: catalogue number D10581. “Radiocarbon dating suggests this happened sometime between 1380 and 1530, in the very last decades of the Norse settlement in Greenland” (299). They could have been the last decades, or the first and last decades. It would take carbon-dating the other artifacts to figure this out, instead of relying on probably biased histories written long after claimed events. The only other mention of this scientific method is in its definition on pages 42-3. This explanation includes one other application of carbon dating. The L’Anse aux Meadows Viking Age site was unearthed in the 1960s, proving Norse explorers “reached the edge of North America, just as the Icelandic sagas reported. Chopped logs here were tested and there was a ring that matched “a solar event that took place in the year 993”, which allowed for the precise dating of that chopped log to having been cut down in 1021, “giving them the only secure year when we know that the Norse categorically had to be present on the edge of North America”. This book would have benefited from giving all known carbon-dated date estimates for all artifacts mentioned throughout, as only mentioning these few examples is insufficient in a book entirely reliant on examining artifacts to check historic claims.
Overall, there were only a few cases of digressive writing I found. Otherwise, this is a thoroughly researched book that presents a new step towards questioning what the evidence about Vikings is truly saying, as opposed to what propaganda has taught it should be saying.
—Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Fall 2024: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-fall-2024

When we think of the term “Viking”, we often get images of battle-harden warriors, covered in guts and dirt, with horned helmets. We also believe that Vikings are warriors primarily from the Scandinavian world and that the Viking age ended in 1066 with the Norman Invasion of England. Our assumptions, thanks to television and a certain operatic cycle, are wrong. The Viking Age is a complex period of the past that spans centuries over half the known world. Using archeological evidence and written records, Eleanor Barraclough tells the tale of the Viking Age in her book, “Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age.”

I want to thank W.W. Norton & Company and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I enjoy reading books about archeological discoveries, so when I heard about a book about the Viking Age and archeology, I jumped at the chance to read it. I have read a few historical fiction novels about the Viking Age and a few about the Anglo-Saxons, so I was curious what new information Barraclough would present in her book.

The short answer to that question is that Barraclough provided a plethora of information about the Viking Age. As she explains in her prologue, we try to compartmentalize history, but history flows like a river. Just because we label a period like the Viking Age does not mean that it ends at a certain date. We have artifacts from other parts of the world, including Russia and the Middle East, that would be dated to the 1500s. So what can the artifacts from the past tell us about this diverse age?

To tell the story of this age, Barraclough breaks her book into sections that focus on different elements such as beginnings, love, travel, slavery (known in this book as unfreedom), and endings. Each section focuses on not only the artifacts, like a comb, a chess piece, or a runestone with a love story, but also what these pieces can tell us about the average citizens who lived during this period. We can learn about their grooming habits, how they lived, how they traveled, their ever-changing beliefs from Norse mythology to Christianity, and how they approached issues like slavery and childbirth. Barraclough also takes the time to show what the chronicles and sources tell us about this period while showing how to understand what the runes on artifacts can tell us. I think my one concern about this book is that because it was not in chronological order, it was a bit hard to follow and there were points where it was a bit dry for my taste.

Overall, I found this book fascinating and a difficult read. It took me a long time to understand how complex the Viking Age was as I am not as familiar with the language and historical accounts. I think Barraclough does a decent job of presenting the information to not only those who are familiar with the era but to complete novices. If you want to understand the Viking Age through archeological research, I suggest you read, “Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age” by Eleanor Barraclough.

History is often the detailing of the accomplishments or failures of notable figures from history, but the more pedestrian everyday life is left out of the narrative and can fade to obscurity. Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age by Eleanor Barraclough seeks to detail what can be learned of viking age Scandinavian domestic life through a combination of archeological discoveries or reconstructions, literary or historical studies and scientific analysis.

Through the surviving material culture, Barraclough's narrative is divided into chapters that explore themes that easily flow from one to the other. Some examples are: Love, Travel, Bodies or Unfreedom. The book begins and ends with sections title just that, helping provide an understanding of what had occurred that allowed for the Vikings to spread from Greenland to Byzantium. The work also ends not with one definitive end to the age of Vikings, but instead three possibilities. Among many of the interesting objects detailed are what look to be children's doodles, a warm woolen garment with a hasty looking repair, game pieces found in the mouths of ritually buried bodies, or the traced outline of a food on the boards of a ship.

Barraclough writes very engagingly, responding at times with clear humor, but also offering many bits of fascination and encourages one to delve more deeply in to the subject with a recommended reading section divided by chapter subject, this before a fuller bibliography.

A very detailed and fascinating exploration of the material culture of the viking age.

Highly recommended to readers of history, archeology or the past human condition.

Absolutely phenomenal book. I loved every page of it. Learned more than any of the many books I've read on the subject.

I read it on the Kindle and wish the photos were zoomable (of course print has the same limitation). Some of the items mentioned did not get a photo. My suggestion would be to create a companion website with high-res and comprehensive images.

Seeking the lives of “ordinary people” in the Viking Age (750 CE to 1100 CE), Eleanor Barraclough clearly loves her subject, and she shares it with scholarship, zest, and humor. She takes a comprehensive look at almost three centuries of beliefs, travels, and home, as well as grooming and play, slavery and even how one measures history.

Her goal is to show the lives of everyday people, and so she focuses on artefacts such as combs, clothes, games, purses, amulets, jewelry – anything that can be used to suggest what people valued and did. Especially intriguing are runes – ancient writing on wood and stone – often written about heroes, but also by people telling jokes and making common place, even rude, comments.

Overall, she does a compelling yet light exploration of language and its many meanings, both figuratively and for what it reflects about Viking life. One example that I found moving: how the same Norse word meant “home” as well as “world.”

There is much spirited speculation, as “ordinary” people did not leave the kinds of records and objects that those above them in the hierarchy did. But Barraclough makes cogent and creative connections that give a sense of how life may have been.

Some of the chapters are too long, especially the “Introduction,” which describes many details of Viking life, that are elaborated in later chapters, and “Beliefs,” where many Norse myths and gods are introduced and attempts made to disentangle their relationships and powers. Some charts, maps and/or diagrams would have been helpful. (None were included in my advanced e-book copy.)

While her touch remains light, one does need to work to see how the many threads of topics and times come together. Fortunately, her exuberance for her subject, and delight in sharing it, carry the reader forward with knowledge and insight.

I loved this excellent history of early Nordic peoples told through materials. Barraclough does a terrific job of presenting information in ways that will captivate general readers, providing facts, insight, and carefully considered speculation about the so-called Vikings' languages, travels, joys, sorrows, grooming habits, possessions, sex lives, raiding practices, and much much more. She carries readers across seas and into graves, painting detailed, intimate portraits of everyone of the age from bored children and exhausted farmers to board game enthusiasts and enslaved people. Highly recommended.

A really great resource for taking a closer look at Norseman, or Vikings. I really enjoyed the depth of information included. I enjoyed the photos that were included as well.

We all think we know who the Vikings were, but most of us only know anything about them because we read that they raided the coasts of Britain and Ireland sometime before the year 1000. This book is an accessible expansion of that knowledge base. Barraclough delves into both archaeology and semi-mythical writings such as the Icelandic sagas to talk about the Norse by way of subject-focused chapters (play, death, travel). Once you give in to that approach and stop trying to perceive chronology, it's very informative and accessibly written.
There was only one thing about which I went -??- and it had to do with the Carolingian rulers of France, who were there before the Norse moved into Normandy and became the "Normans". I would have appreciated a small clarification of who the Carolingians/Franks were, instead of having to look it up to remind myself that they were a Germanic tribe. That in itself is an interesting resonance, because so many of the Norse language words and phrases quoted are clearly related to modern German, and as Barraclough points out they have essentially the same mythic pantheon, the one that ended up burning up in Valhalla at the end of the Ring operas....
All in all a very enjoyable book, if you can avoid trying to hang onto chronology. It was especially interesting to read about the settlements in Greenland, about which I never really knew anything beyond the fact that they existed.

When we strip away the mythology of Viking warriors and seafarers, what remains of the people who lived, loved, and died during this remarkable period? Eleanor Barraclough addresses this question in "Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age," reconstructing the lives of ordinary people through their material remains. Rather than focusing on raids and rulers, Barraclough examines artifacts like combs, toys, and runic inscriptions to reveal the experiences of those traditionally overlooked in historical accounts.

Barraclough challenges the conventional narrative of Viking history by highlighting the lives of women, children, enslaved people, and others who held no positions of power. Through careful analysis of everyday objects, Barraclough demonstrates how material culture can illuminate the complexities of Viking Age society and its social structures.

Barraclough's methodology is particularly effective in examining runic inscriptions, which provide direct insight into personal relationships, beliefs, and daily concerns. These sources reveal everything from love notes to political intrigue, demonstrating the literacy and expressiveness of a broader segment of society than previously assumed. Her analysis of artifacts like the "Hostage Stone" from the Isle of Inchmarnock and various runic amulets provides concrete evidence of the violence and vulnerability that characterized the period.

Barraclough excels in her treatment of religious transition, using material evidence to demonstrate how pagan and Christian beliefs coexisted and merged. The discovery of Thor's hammer pendants in Christian burials and coins featuring Christian crosses and pagan symbols illustrates the gradual and complex nature of religious change in Viking society.

While Barraclough's writing is academic, it remains accessible to a general audience. Barraclough integrates archaeological findings, sagas, chronicles, and legal codes to create a multifaceted view of Viking Age life. This approach gives readers a nuanced understanding of how ordinary people navigated their world.

"Embers of the Hands" significantly contributes to Viking studies by shifting focus from exceptional individuals to the broader population. Through careful analysis of material culture, Barraclough reveals how everyday objects can illuminate the lives of those who left few written records. This work will interest scholars seeking fresh perspectives on the Viking Age and general readers curious about the daily lives of people in medieval Scandinavia.

This review is of an advance reader copy provided by W.W. Norton & Company and NetGalley. The publication date is January 7, 2025.

An interesting look at the Scandinavian world of the raiders known as the Vikings and what recent archaeology can tell us about how they lived.

I've always been fascinated by the Vikings. Much of what we know from pop culture isn't accurate, and some is totally false. This book dives into the history of the Vikings and the Viking age. We have found many Viking items from the past buried deep in the dirt. This book illuminates those items to tell us a story of the real Vikings. Sure, they were raiders, but they were also human. They enjoyed board games, they took hygiene seriously, and the Viking children did what children today do when they're bored, they doodled.

Overall, author Eleanor Barraclough did a great job at writing this as a sort of poetic love letter to the Vikings. It's full of information that can give you a good insight into what the Vikings truly were like.