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OverviewUsing textiles to understand gender and economy in Norse societies In The Valkyries’ Loom, Michèle Hayeur Smith examines Viking textiles as evidence of the little-known work of women in the Norse colonies that expanded from Scandinavia across the North Atlantic in the ninth century AD. While previous researchers have overlooked textiles as insignificant artifacts, Hayeur Smith is the first to use them to understand gender and economy in Norse societies of the North Atlantic. This groundbreaking study is based on the author’s systematic comparative analysis of the vast textile collections in Iceland, Greenland, Denmark, Scotland, and the Faroe Islands, materials that are largely unknown even to archaeologists and span 1,000 years. Through these garments and fragments, Hayeur Smith provides new insights into how the women of these island nations influenced international trade by producing cloth (vaðmál); how they shaped the development of national identities by creating clothing; and how they helped their communities survive climate change by reengineering clothes during the Little Ice Age. She supplements her analysis by revealing societal attitudes about weaving through the poem “Darraðarljoð” from Njál’s Saga, in which the Valkyries—Óðin’s female warrior spirits—produce the cloth of history and decide the fates of men and nations. Bringing Norse women and their labor to the forefront of research, Hayeur Smith establishes the foundation for a gendered archaeology of the North Atlantic that has never been attempted before. This monumental and innovative work contributes to global discussions about the hidden roles of women in past societies in preserving tradition and guiding change. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Michèle Hayeur SmithPublisher: University Press of Florida Imprint: University Press of Florida Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.182kg ISBN: 9780813080116ISBN 10: 0813080118 Pages: 236 Publication Date: 30 January 2023 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Not yet available This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release. Table of ContentsReviewsFills a void by examining the politics of heritage from a geographic and postcolonial perspective, skillfully weaving materiality, ideology, and history together in a critique of nationalism during the republican and revolutionary periods. . . . Conceptually cohesive and rich in detail. --Choice Author InformationMichèle Hayeur Smith is research associate at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Brown University. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |