This book is a study of communities that drew their identity and livelihood from their relationships with water during a pivotal time in the creation of the social, economic and political landscapes of northern Europe. It focuses on the Baltic, North and Irish Seas in the Viking Age (ad 1050-1200), with a few later examples (such as the Scottish Lordship of the Isles) included to help illuminate less well-documented earlier centuries. Individual chapters introduce maritime worlds ranging from the Isle of Man to Gotland - while also touching on the relationships between estate centres, towns, landing places and the sea in the more terrestrially oriented societies that surrounded northern Europe's main spheres of maritime interaction. It is predominately an archaeological project, but draws no arbitrary lines between the fields of historical archaeology, history and literature. The volume explores the complex relationships between long-range interconnections and distinctive regional identities that are characteristic of maritime societies, seeking to understand communities that were brought into being by their relationships with the sea and who set waves in motion that altered distant shores.

About the Author
James H. Barrett, Sarah Jane Gibbon

Reviews

"The volume is well-presented and sufficiently illustrated with some full color images. The many maps and tables are clear to use and internally consistent. With good production values, the volume is well edited and includes several go-to papers for the subject, mostly for the serious student of the subject and for scholars with university classes in mind. This fine volume is indeed a welcome addition to the scholarship of this exciting era."

- Colleen Batey, University of Glasgow, Scotland in The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 2016

Book Information
ISBN 9780367267100
Author James H. Barrett
Format Paperback
Page Count 396
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 750g