New book reveals diversity within Viking Age society
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Archaeologist Neil Price explores the varied lives of people during the Viking Age, challenging the common image of Vikings as solely brutish raiders.
Price’s new book, “The Sea-King and the Sorceress,” examines over 20 Viking Age burials and broadens understanding of this period, spanning roughly 793 to 1066 AD. He details how Scandinavian people ruled, traded, and fought across a vast area, from North America to Asia, and highlights often-overlooked groups like enslaved people, or thralls.
Price’s research reveals evidence of powerful women in Viking society, including a female warrior buried with weapons in Sweden, a woman practicing magic in Denmark, and a matriarch who established a local empire in Sweden. He also points to a burial in Estonia dating to around 750 AD, decades before the traditionally accepted start of the Viking Age in 793, suggesting that raiding activity began earlier and further east than previously believed.
Price also examined the Rus', Scandinavians who settled in what is now Ukraine, finding they were a mix of traders and warriors. He details a specific example of Varangian mercenaries carving a message into a marble lion statue in Venice, demanding payment for a fallen comrade, showing a glimpse into their lives and contracts. Price hopes his work will show readers that people of the Viking Age were complex individuals, not simply the stereotypical raiders often portrayed.
