Leszek Gardeła is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the National Museum of Denmark. He specialises in the study of the material expressions of Viking Age magic, funerary practices, and interactions between Viking Age Scandinavians and Slavs. He is the author of numerous academic articles and five monographs, including Women and Weapons in the Viking World: Amazons of the North (Oxbow Books, 2021).

• List of figuresList of tablesAcknowledgements1. Introduction: the methodological and theoretical frameworkEntering the Viking world … of the deadFunerary diversityCremation gravesInhumation gravesLost identities and elusive grave goodsWarriors and warrior idealsSex and gender in the Viking AgeAmazons of the North: the scope of the book2. HistoriographyResearching women in the Viking AgeWarrior women in Old Norse studies and Viking archaeology3. Women and weapons in medieval textual sourcesArmed women in Gesta DanorumArmed women in Old Norse LiteratureWomen and weapons in the ÍslendingasögurFreydís EiríksdóttirÞórdís SúrsdóttirAuðr and ÞuriðrÞórhildr VaðlækkjaNot only axes and swords: understanding women’s weaponsWomen and weapons in the fornaldarsögurHervör BjarmarsdóttirÞornbjörg EiríksdóttirOther armed women in the fornaldarsögurArmed women in Old Norse mythologyValkyrjur, disir, fylgjurSkaðiÞorgerðr HölgabrúðrFemale Giantesses as grinders of war and bearers of armsArmed women of the Viking Age in non-Scandinavian medieval sourcesÆthelflæd of MerciaWomen and war in the account of John SkylitzesWomen with weapons in medieval literature: more than literary embellishments4. Women and weapons in Viking archaeology: the burial evidenceFemale graves with weaponsSwedish female graves with weaponsNorwegian female graves with weaponsDanish female graves with weapons5. Interpreting the arsenal of armed womenWomen and axes in the Viking AgeAxes in the Viking AgeAxes in Viking Age funerary contextsMiniature axesInterpreting axes in Viking Age female gravesWomen and axes in textual sources and folkloreWomen and axes in the Viking Age: conclusionsWomen and swords in the Viking AgeSwords in the Viking AgeSwords in Viking Age funerary contextsWomen and weaving swordsWomen and swords in iconographyMiniature swordsInterpreting swords in Viking Age female gravesWomen and swords in Old Norse sourcesWomen and swords in the Viking Age: conclusionsWomen and spears in the Viking AgeSpears in the Viking AgeSpears in Viking Age funerary contextsWomen and spears in iconographyMiniature spearsInterpreting spears in Viking Age female gravesWomen and spears in Old Norse sourcesWomen and spears in the Viking Age: conclusionsWomen and shields in the Viking AgeShields in the Viking AgeShields in Viking Age funerary contextsWomen and shields in iconographyMiniature shieldsInterpreting shields in Viking Age female gravesWomen and shields in Old Norse sourcesWomen and shields in the Viking Age: conclusionsWomen, bows and arrows in the Viking AgeBows and arrows in the Viking AgeBows and arrows in Viking Age funerary contextsInterpreting bows and arrows in Viking Age female gravesWomen, bows and arrows in Old Norse sourcesWomen, bows and arrows in the Viking Age: conclusionsWomen, riding equipment and horses in the Viking AgeRiding equipment in the Viking AgeRiding equipment and horses in Viking Age funerary contextsInterpreting riding equipment and horses in Viking Age female gravesWomen and horses in Old Norse sourcesWomen, horses and riding equipment in the Viking Age: conclusions6. Women and weapons in Viking Age iconographyThe so-called ‘valkyrie brooches’: distribution and materiality(Re)interpreting the so-called ‘valkyrie brooches’Freyja and a warrior woman?Sigurðr and Brynhildr/SigrdrífaOther iconographic representations of armed females in Viking Age Scandinavia and England7. Women with weapons: a cross-cultural phenomenonWarrior women in prehistoric timesFemale cross-dressers in early modern EuropeThe Amazons of DahomeyWomen in the First and Second World WarsEmerging patterns and conclusions8. Amazons of the North? Women and weapons in the Viking worldWomen and weapons in Viking archaeologyWomen and weapons in medieval textsThe way of the warrior: past and presentAppendixReferences

Gardeła has provided a most welcome, cross-disciplinary survey of very diverse source materials. There is still much to discuss of this fascinating subject and this volume opens future avenues of research.