The Valkyries’ Loom Audiobook Libro.fm

Using textiles to understand gender and economy in Norse societies

This groundbreaking study is based on the authors systematic comparative analysis of the vast textile collections in Iceland Greenland Denmark Scotland and the Faroe Islands materials that are largely unknown even to archaeologists and span 1000 years Through these garments and fragments Hayeur Smith provides new insights into how the women of these island nations influenced international trade by producing cloth vaml how they shaped the development of national identities by creating clothing and how they helped their communities survive climate change by reengineering clothes during the Little Ice Age She supplements her analysis by revealing societal attitudes about weaving through the poem Darraarljo from Njls Saga in which the Valkyriesins female warrior spiritsproduce the cloth of history and decide the fates of men and nations

Bringing Norse women and their labor to the forefront of research Hayeur Smith establishes the foundation for a gendered archaeology of the North Atlantic that has never been attempted before This monumental and innovative work contributes to global discussions about the hidden roles of women in past societies in preserving tradition and guiding change