Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age by Eleanor Barraclough
"Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age" by Eleanor Barraclough
The “Hidden Histories” of the subtitle often refer to the overlooked importance of women’s work. Without women making sails and clothing, Eleanor Barraclough writes, Vikings would have been nothing more than “naked men in a rowing boat.” The British historian admits that the “historical record is capricious.” Much of what we’ve heard about the Vikings was written by their victims—or set down in sagas centuries after the Norse converted to Christianity. But archeology and sophisticated DNA analysis have unearthed many clues. Barraclough’s Embers of the Hands sets out to be “a history of the everyday humans who fell between the cracks of history, told through the little bits and pieces that survived the vagaries of time.” She writes with erudition leavened by humor and a gift for finding stories that bring facts to life.
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