Viking Identities is the first detailed archaeological study of Viking-Age Scandinavian-style female dress items from England. Based on primary archival and archaeological research, including the analysis of hundreds of recent metal-detector finds, it presents evidence for over 500 brooches and pendants worn by women in the late ninth and tenth centuries. Jane F. Kershaw argues that these finds add an entirely new dimension to the limited existing archaeological evidence for Scandinavian activity in the British Isles, and make possible a substantial reassessment of the Viking settlements. In this volume, Kershaw offers an interpretation of the significance of the jewellery in a broad, historical context. The jewellery highlights locations of settlement not commonly associated with the Vikings. In contrast to claims of high levels of cultural assimilation, the jewellery suggests that incoming groups maintained a distinct Scandinavian identity which was sometimes appropriated by the indigenous population. The author also addresses one of the great unanswered questions in the study of Viking-Age settlements: what about the women? The interpretation of the jewellery challenges traditional perceptions of Viking conquest as an all-male affair and brings into focus a population group which has, until now, been almost invisible. Kershaw describes the objects and explores a number of themes related to their contemporary use, including their date, distribution, and function in costume. This body of material - unknown 30 years ago - is introduced to a public audience for the first time. Including many object images and maps, the study provides a practical guide to the identification of Scandinavian metalwork.

About the Author
Jane F. Kershaw received her BA in History at Oxford University. She was a Kennedy Scholar at Harvard University before returning to Oxford to complete a PhD. She is am an ERC Principal Investigator at the Institute of Archaeology, Oxford.

Reviews
Jane Kershaw shows impressively how Viking women can be found in the archaelogical record. * Harold Mytum, British Archaeology *
This volume is a wonderful asset to Viking Studies, it is well written and presented in a logical form and provides a clear route through the complexities of this range of metal jewellery finds. This book should now be required reading by all who work with material culture, be it Scandinavian, Anglo-Scandinavian or otherwise. * Colleen Batey, Networks and Neighbours *
this is hugely informative and very well-written study of a complex body of material. * Victoria Whitworth, Early Medieval Europe *
Readers of this smart and well-argued book may be surprised (and impressed) by how much information the author can tease from metal-detector finds. * Nancy Wicker, Cambridge Archaeological Journal *
the field of Viking studies will be invigorated by this new study, containing material and interpretations which will be a benchmark for discussions for years to come. * Soren M. Sindbaek, Medieval Archaeology *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198855491
Author Jane F. Kershaw
Format Paperback
Page Count 328
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 644g
Dimensions(mm) 245mm * 172mm * 16mm