Laughing Shall I Die

Lives and Deaths of the Great Vikings

Tom Shippey (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

368 Seiten

2020
Reaktion Books (Verlag)
978-1-78914-217-4 (ISBN)

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A robust new account of the Vikings, which explores their fascination with heroic death.

In this robust new account of the Vikings, Tom Shippey explores their mindset, and in particular their fascination with scenes of heroic death. The book recounts many of the great bravura scenes of Old Norse literature, including the Fall of the House of the Skjoldungs, the clash between the two great longships Ironbeard and Long Serpent and the death of Thormod the skald. The most exciting book on Vikings for a generation, Laughing Shall I Die presents them for what they were: not peaceful explorers and traders, but bloodthirsty warriors and marauders.

Tom Shippey is Professor Emeritus of Saint Louis University, Missouri. His books include J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century (2001), The Road to Middle Earth (4th revd edn, 2004), and Hard Reading: Learning from Science Fiction (2016).

Maps
Preface
Introduction

Part I: Dying Hard
1 The Viking Mindset: Three Case Studies
2 Hygelac and Hrolf: False Dawn for the Vikings
3 Volsungs and Nibelungs: Avenging Female Furies
4 Ragnar and the Ragnarssons: Snakebite and Success
5 Egil the Ugly and King Blood-axe: Poetry and the Psychopath

Part II: Moving to the Bigger Picture
6 Weaving the Web of War: The Road to Clontarf
7 Two Big Winners: The Road to Normandy
8 Furs and Slaves, Wealth and Death: The Road to Miklagard

Part III: The Tale in the North
9 The Jarls and the Jomsvikings: A Study in Drengskapr
10 A Tale of Two Olafs; or, The Tales People Tell
11 A Tale of Two Haralds: Viking Endgame
12 Viking Aftermath: The Nine Grins of Skarphedin Njalsson

Appendix A: On Poetry: Types, Texts, Translations
Appendix B: On Sagas: Types, Texts, Translations
Appendix C: Snorri Sturluson

References
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index

Erscheinungsdatum	12.05.2020
Zusatzinfo	5 black and white illustrations
Verlagsort	London
Sprache	englisch
Maße	129 x 198 mm
Themenwelt	Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Mittelalter
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
ISBN-10	1-78914-217-2 / 1789142172
ISBN-13	978-1-78914-217-4 / 9781789142174
Zustand	Neuware