Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Kirsten Wolf is the Kim Nilsson Professor and the Torger Thompson Chair of Scandinavian Studies in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Tristan Mueller-Vollmer is a doctoral student in Scandinavian Studies in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
<i>The Vikings</i> is an excellent work not only for those interested in Viking history but also for those interested in how our view of the past can shift.
Booklist
This well-designed series presents contemporary fictions in a historical context to explain both the origins of the fictions as well as the actual background stories. . .The volume would be an excellent research aid for advanced high school students and undergraduates.
ARBA
A book that just came out – and one that deserves to be on many bookshelves – is <i>The Vikings: Facts and Fictions, by Kirsten Wolf and Tristan Mueller-Vollmer.</i>
Medievalists.net
This book explores 11 popular misconceptions about the Vikings. Each chapter looks at a particular misconception, examines how it became popular, discusses what we now believe to be the truth, and provides excerpts from primary source documents.
When people think of the Vikings, they often envision marauding barbarians who lived violent lives. While a number of mistaken beliefs about the Vikings have become engrained in popular culture, they are not grounded in historical facts. This book examines popular misconceptions related to the Vikings and the historical truths that contradict the fictions.
The book discusses 11 mistaken notions about the Vikings, with each fiction treated in its own chapter. Topics include whether the Vikings wore horned helmets, whether they were unhygienic, whether they had primitive weapons, whether they drank out of skull cups, and more. Each chapter examines how the misconception proliferated and discusses what we now believe to be the facts contradicting the fictions. Excerpts from primary source documents help readers to understand how the misconceptions came to be throughout history and provide evidence for the historical truths.
Preface
Introduction
1. Vikings Were One Nation
2. All Scandinavians Were Vikings
3. Vikings Were Barbarians
4. All Vikings Were Pagan
5. Vikings Were Hated by Their Peers
6. Wives of Vikings Had Equal Rights
7. Vikings Had Primitive Weapons
8. Vikings Were Unhygienic
9. Vikings Wore Horned Helmets
10. Vikings Carved the Blood Eagle
11. Vikings Drank Out of Skull Cups
Bibliography
Index
Did Nero really fiddle while Rome burned? Did the Egyptians really worship animals and gods with animal heads? History is full of misconceptions that have been passed down as historical facts and become rooted in the popular imagination. Books in the Historical Facts and Fictions series help readers think critically about the past and prepare them to be equally critical of the present.
· Each book focuses on a particular topic and begins with a summary essay of that period, event, or movement to introduce the topic to readers
· Each chapter tackles misconceptions head-on by taking a historical fiction and exploring what people think happened
· The next section explores why the story took hold in the public imagination, enabling readers to understand the political, social, and economic context of the time and how it contributed to the belief
· The third section explores what really happened, supported by extensive analysis and primary sources, so readers have an informed understanding of historical facts
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Kirsten Wolf is the Kim Nilsson Professor and the Torger Thompson Chair of Scandinavian Studies in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Tristan Mueller-Vollmer is a doctoral student in Scandinavian Studies in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.