My birthday is tomorrow and because my mother is awesome, she sent me several books I have been wanting as my gift! I have not, of course, had a chance to read them yet, but I have flipped through them and can point out a few nice things about each in the event anyone is considering a purchase.
The first one is Vikings: Life and Legend. This volume accompanies the British Museum's current Viking display. I have to say that this book is absolutely lovely. It is jammed full of images (and while many are published elsewhere, they are larger and more clear than some I have seen in older texts). There are only a few textiles, but it has an extensive selection of metalwork and other items.
I would absolutely suggest that anyone building a library of Viking research purchase this book. It is a fantastic resource for the minimal price! Clicking the image will take you to the British Museum's page, and the book is available via Amazon as well.
I would absolutely suggest that anyone building a library of Viking research purchase this book. It is a fantastic resource for the minimal price! Clicking the image will take you to the British Museum's page, and the book is available via Amazon as well.
The Material Culture of Daily Living in the Anglo Saxon-World is a nice collection of articles. Of particular interest to me are the following pieces: "The True Staff of Life- The Multiple Roles of Plants", "'To eat, to wear, to work' - The Place of Sheep and Cattle" and "Woven Works - Making and Using Textiles."
Some of the other topics covered are metal work, work done in bone, leatherwork and glass.
Some of the other topics covered are metal work, work done in bone, leatherwork and glass.
Where the previous book is a collection of academic articles with each having a narrow focus, Anglo-Saxon Crafts is a more reader-friendly to a number of skills from the era. There is some discussion of how each type of item was created and how it was used in society and some of the items found. Some of the categories included are wood, bone, textiles, leather, pottery, glass and metal.
I really look forward to digging deeper into this book!
I really look forward to digging deeper into this book!
Finally, I picked up War and Worship for myself as I happened to find a copy for less than $20. This text discusses textile finds from 3rd-4th century weapon deposits in Denmark and North Germany. It is pre-Viking era but I am always interested in textiles and this also gives more detail (as well as very nice photos of the fabric) for the Thorsberg trousers and tunic.
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