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Viking Clothing

vikingclothing

About Me


Paperback Book, 200 Pages, 248 x 172 mm
over 100 illustrations, including 14 colour plates
Contrary to popular myth the Vikings had a reputation for neatness and their fashions were copied far beyond the realms of Scandinavia. Those who could afford to displayed a love of fine clothes made from silks, from lightweight worsteds in subtly woven twills, and from the finest of linens. They wore short hair and their beards were carefully trimmed.
This accessible new book is the first to tackle the question of what the Vikings wore, drawing on evidence from art and archaeology, literature and linguistics to arrive at a fresh understanding of the nature of Viking clothing, covering rich and poor, men and women across Scandinavia. It includes an overview of Viking textiles and dyeing, and an exploration of cloth production and clothing in the context of Viking society as a whole, as well as a detailed consideration of both male and female outfits and a new interpretation of the suspended dress. There is also a discussion of recent evidence suggesting that the Germanic and Viking pit house was primarily designed for textile production.
Writer and translator Thor Ewing graduated from Durham University in 1989, where he studied Medieval Literature. He has published books and academic articles on early medieval culture, and is currently completing a book on Viking and Germanic religion for Tempus.
To buy your copy, just click on the button below (Price £17.99; postage is free within the UK and EU). Or if you live outside the EU, send me a message with your email address, and I'll send you an invoice by email.

My Interests

I'd like to meet:


I'd like to know what you think.

This profile is not just to get you all to buy more copies of the book and I'll be starting a blog here soon that will allow you to add to the pool of knowledge on this subject. Or if you want to make a different point about Viking Clothing, please feel free to use the Comment area or send me a message.

I should also add that there's an online list of updates which is periodically updated, which is available here.

Movies:

Hollywood has so-o-o much to answer for!

Heroes:

Lise Bender Jørgensen
Penelope Walton Rogers
Inga Hägg
Agnes Geijer
Hjalmar Falk

My Blog

A review of Viking Clothing in Saga Book

Viking Clothing. By Thor Ewing. Tempus. Stroud, 2006. 208 pp. ISBN 978 0 7524 3587 9. In his highly informative volume Viking Clothing, Thor Ewing ventures into the thorny field of Viking-Age dress ...
Posted by Viking Clothing on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 02:13:00 PST

Short-haired Vikings

I've had a query from my friend Baldulf about my claim that the Vikings wore short hair  after all, it's hardly the image we grew up with. In the 1960's, long-haired Vikings seemed the natural origin...
Posted by Viking Clothing on Wed, 16 May 2007 08:40:00 PST