Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings

This is a good read for those of you who want to learn more about the Vikings and their times from a current archaeological point-of-view. Scientific measurements are getting more precise and nuanced all the time. Genetic traces can identify ethnicities and genders of persons long dead (A few surprises here), and radiocarbon isotopes can tell you where a person was born and raised, where they lived as an adult, and of course we already know (habeas corpus) where they died. We also have relatively new insights about the effects of certain natural catastrophies on matters such as climate change - it is now thought that a series of unusually large volcanic eruptions which occurred in the 6th century A.D. in southeastern Asia may have kicked up enough dust around the planet to cause the climate to cool precipitously for up to eighty years - an event which apparently caused a large scale die off of the Scandinavian population due to agricultural collapse, and which was the motivating driver behind the ‘Migration Period’, when northern peoples went south crashing into the Roman frontier in order to survive the cold-induced famine. The author also has some cautionary notes about what our northern friends were really like. One of my favorites was: ‘When one looks closer, the real power,and the means of producing it, can take unexpected forms. Some years ago, a prominent historian despaired of the constant focus on the Vikings as maritime warriors, and instead stressed the fact that most of the Scandinavian population stayed at home on the land and never did any harm to anyone. The time of the Vikings, he claimed, was really ‘the Golden Age of the pig farmer.’ He had a point, though he got the animal wrong: The Scandinavian landscape of the late Viking period was a world of sheep.’ (For making ship’s sails and warm clothing) Also, everything hideous that the Arab traveler Ibn Fadlan described with regard to that gang of Russian Volga Vikings he met up with has been shown archeologically to be more or less true. Bottom line is, Tolkien’s stories are about Vikings and their religion the way they should have been, not the way they actually were. PS. The author (Neil Price) is an engaging and informative speaker, and has lectures on this subject readily available on You-tube.

If you, like me, have read many older books on the Viking Age and come away dissatisfied with the proffered hypotheses on why the Vikings exploded out of Scandinavia, then this book is for you. Professor Price's background of the complex political, economic, and social processes that lead the Vikings to expand both East and West, and his description of the impacts of the resulting conflicts, conquests, and diaspora makes for a compelling explanation of what happened. Dr. Price's story is strengthened by his adept blending of differing sources of evidence (archaeological, written, etc.). With that said, other reviewers' criticisms of Price's musings on the Vikings and LGBTQ lifestyles are valid. Price's seeming attempt to make the Vikings (and perhaps his own career focus?) acceptable to 'woke' academia is an embarrassing and lame waste of page... after page... after page... as he drones on in gushing terms about the possibility that some Vikings were sexual 'explorers'. It seems like he tries to make up for the lack of any supporting evidence by sacrificing more words to the theme. Oh well. You can easily skip or skim read the queer-themed parts, and enjoy the rest of the book, which is evidence-backed, comprehensive, coherent and informative.

hildren of Ash and Elm by Neil Price is an ambitious exploration of the Viking Age, offering a sweeping narrative that delves into the complexities of Viking society, culture, and worldview. As a history enthusiast with a particular interest in the Norsemen and their legacy, I approached this book with eager anticipation. While it may not be without its flaws, it undoubtedly stands as a remarkable achievement in the field of Viking studies. One of the most striking aspects of Children of Ash and Elm is its vivid and evocative prose. Price demonstrates a remarkable ability to bring the past to life, painting a rich tapestry of Viking Age society that is both immersive and captivating. From the windswept shores of Scandinavia to the bustling trade routes of the Mediterranean, readers are transported to a world teeming with life, color, and adventure. Moreover, Price's meticulous research and attention to detail shine through in every chapter of the book. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources, archaeological evidence, and comparative analysis, he presents a comprehensive and nuanced portrait of Viking society. Whether discussing the intricacies of Norse mythology, the dynamics of Viking-age politics, or the daily lives of ordinary men and women, Price's insights are both enlightening and thought-provoking. Furthermore, Children of Ash and Elm challenges many preconceived notions about the Vikings, offering a more balanced and nuanced perspective on this enigmatic civilization. Rather than portraying them as mere raiders and plunderers, Price emphasizes the diversity and complexity of Viking culture, highlighting their contributions to art, literature, exploration, and trade. By examining the Vikings on their own terms, he invites readers to reconsider their assumptions and confront the complexities of the past. However, while Children of Ash and Elm excels in many areas, it is not without its shortcomings. At times, the sheer breadth of material covered in the book can feel overwhelming, making it difficult for readers to fully digest and absorb the information presented. Additionally, Price's writing style, while eloquent and engaging, may be overly dense and academic for some readers, potentially limiting its accessibility to a broader audience. In conclusion, Children of Ash and Elm is a monumental work that offers a compelling and comprehensive exploration of the Viking Age. With its vivid prose, meticulous research, and thought-provoking insights, it stands as an indispensable resource for anyone seeking to understand the world of the Norsemen. While it may not be without its flaws, its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses, making it a must-read for historians, students, and enthusiasts alike.

I needed a book to sink my teeth into. A book full of detail. I got more than I bargained for. How the author sat down to write this huge volume I’ll never know. Quite complicated. Perhaps too much so. For sure it’s far too much to recall at any rate. I hope to get through but I cannot promise it will keep my interest for 600 pages. Well done however.

A most interesting and comprehensive book about the Vikings.

This is a brilliant book, just finished reading it a second time. It's greatest strength is that it does not dumb complicated issues down, does not treat its readership like idiots but it explains them instead in a clear and concise manner that does not strip the ideas from their subtlety. It does not gloss over the destruction the Vikings caused. It discusses in detail how Viking age Scandinavian societies were based on slavery, human trafficking, and sex trafficking in fundamental ways. But it also presents the unbelieveable diversity and scope of Viking age societies, trying to give the reader a peek into the lives of these people a thousand years ago. Neil Price is an archologist and it is the material evidence of the Viking world that informs his thinking and his writing about it. The descriptions and interpretations of burials, settlements, architecture, bits and pieces of everyday life are fascinating. I don't remember when was the last time I was so thrilled by a book. Stellar work.

If, like me, you watched Vikings and wanted to know more about the Viking golden era - more facts and less movie script, This book is for you. Easy to read. Each chapter, gives you a little better understanding of their behavior. It's a great viking history introduction. ...I feel like I need to learn more now... more details, more in-depth information.

In Children of Ash and Elm, Price gives us a comprehensive history of the Vikings. Viking studies, we learn, is based on a vast corpus that the Vikings left to us: millions of graves, countless runestones, a few but remarkable sources written by Viking’s descendants, and contemporary accounts written by the Vikings’ associates. Viking studies is a rich field. The author’s expertise is evident throughout Children of Ash and Elm. Price is a master of this rich and complex area of study. Inevitably I spend many words on quibbles. I have only one serious complaint, but we will begin with the quibbles. The maps are good but require a magnifying glass. The print could have been made a little larger without causing crowding or overlaps. The maps are numbered but, since they are never referenced in the text, there is no reason to number them. There are a few sentences with big words that could have been rendered in simpler and more concrete language. We see “These Scandinavian immigrants seem to have merged rapidly with the Slavic population. This transition in material expressions of identity may represent the formation of a class-based community, in which expressions of ethnicity were not prioritised [British spelling] as a means of identifying between different groups.” What? I would have said that the Scandinavians quickly took up local customs and left it at that. Another quibble is that Price seems surprised by the lack of racism among Vikings, but racism is a recent phenomenon. In the Enlightenment, “environmentalism” prevailed: people from different parts of the world were thought to look different because of differences in climate. Both Europeans and Africans in America would eventually come to look like American Indians. Price can be forgiven; his expertise is in Vikings. My one serious complaint is that we learn that the Viking Age transitioned into the Medieval period, but I don’t know what that means. How did the Medieval period differ from the age of the Vikings? I don’t know. But Children of Ash and Elm came with a surprise bonus. One of the great historic rabbit holes is the Bronze Age Collapse: the end of Western Civilization that took place around 1180 BC in the eastern Mediterranean. We know enough about the Collapse to want to learn more, but it’s not out there. At least it’s not translated. But the hints we see about how the Collapse occurred are not hints at all in Viking history. There is a rise in piracy. The raids become more ambitious and complex. Potential victims switch sides. Groups of pirates band together and make collective decisions. The raids go farther afield. The raids entail the creation of semipermanent camps. Families go along with the raiders. Some settle permanently. The best way to dive into this rabbit hole is Cline’s excellent 1177 B.C: The Year Civilization Collapsed. But back to Children of Ash and Elm. Overall, it’s an enjoyable book. Perhaps not “a thrilling read” as the Wall Street Journal promises, but overall enjoyable and generally well-written. I learned a lot.

If you are keen to learn about the so called Viking age or even if you are well read on the subject, this book is a gem. Highly recommended.

The book can be considered as a fairy tale for the adults before sleep. Enjoyed it from page 1 tot he last.

This is the most comprehensive history of the Vikings that I have ever read. It covers all the areas of known Viking activity and gives us many new insights into the lives of the people from Scandinavia and elsewhere during the time of the Vikings. Neil Price does not confine himself to the traditional starting and finishing dates of the Viking Age and demonstrates that there were no such dates in reality. He shows too, that the influence of the Vikings covered a huge geographical area from North America in the west to Byzantium, and points even further, in the east. By carefully considering each direction in which they moved and looking at the probable motivations behind their expeditions and their frequent build up overtime into settlement and conquest, Professor Price provides a detailed portrait of their histories. These are based not just on past scholarship but also on the many recent finds, new ways of interpreting them, and on the very many discussions within and outside of academia. Neil Price does not neglect the fact that much of the Viking economy depended oh the human trade; capturing, using and selling slaves from many different regions. This is often barely mentioned in many histories but is given its proper place in this book together with the violence, misery and distress that this would have caused. Without slave taking and forced labour there would have been no Viking Age. Many of the slaves and their descendants, wherever they came from, were eventually absorbed into their respective section of Viking society. Of course, there were many other contemporary societies, besides the Vikings, that also dealt in slaves. Throughout the book’s pages the worldview of the Vikings and their beliefs is always there in the background. Again, the author is able to tell us much about the way that they thought and how they saw many aspects of their lives by critically considering the poems and literature and by analysing imagery, artefacts and the thoughts of many scholars and others. The Vikings were active for around three to four hundred years and beliefs will have varied from region to region and over time and eventually were replaced in most areas by Christianity, sometimes forcibly by Scandinavian kings. Viking society was never static and always developing and innovating. With the skill of a storyteller, Professor Price brings his subjects to life and guides us through their vast and complex story. I highly recommend this book but appreciate that not everyone will like it, those who somehow think that the Vikings were some sort of pure ethnic group for example (they never were), or those who are only focussed on their macho image; they were much, much more than either of those portrayals. Neil Price’s work is important and needs to be read. Too many people want to misrepresent history for their own ends and sadly the Vikings can be used by those with their own agendas.

Molto bello. Per gli appassionati di scavi e di vichinghi un libro immancabile

Long , hard read.Even for this avid reader. But very worth the effort. Very well researched , very captivating,