The Norse Sorceress
Mind and Materiality in the Viking World
Leslek Gardela, Sophie Bønding & Peter Pentz
Published by Oxbow Books, 2023
Old Norse literature abounds with descriptions of magic acts
that allow ritual specialists of various kinds to manipulate
the world around them, see into the future or the distant past,
change weather conditions, influence the outcomes of battles,
and more. While magic practitioners are known under myriad
terms, the most iconic of them is the völva. As the central
figure of the famous mythological poem Völuspá (The Prophecy of
the Völva), the völva commands both respect and fear.
In non-mythological texts similar women are portrayed as crucial
albeit somewhat peculiar members of society. Always veiled in
mystery, the völur and their kind have captured the academic
and popular imagination for centuries.
Bringing together scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds, this volume aims to provide new
insights into the reality of magic and its agents in the Viking world, beyond the pages of medieval texts.
It explores new trajectories for the study of past mentalities, beliefs, and rituals as well as the tools
employed in these practices and the individuals who wielded them. In doing so, the volume engages
with several topical issues of Viking Age research, including the complex entanglements of mind and
materiality, the cultural attitudes to animals and the natural world, and the cultural constructions of
gender and sexuality. By addressing these complex themes, it offers a nuanced image of the völva
and related magic workers in their cultural context. The volume is intended for a broad, diverse, and
international audience, including experts in the field of Viking and Old Norse studies but also various
non-professional history enthusiasts.
The Norse Sorceress: Mind and Materiality in the Viking World is a key output of the project Tanken
bag Tingene (Thoughts behind Things) conducted at the National Museum of Denmark from 2020 to
2023 and funded by the Krogager Foundation.
Leszek Gardela is a Senior 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 (2021).
Sophie Bønding is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the National Museum of Denmark. She holds a
PhD in the Study of Religion and specialises in religious beliefs and behaviours among Viking Age
Scandinavians, studied through written and material sources.
Peter Pentz is MA in Medieval Archaeology from Aarhus University and Fil. dr. from Gothenburg
University. Currently, he is Curator at the National Museum of Denmark. His areas of expertise are
the Viking Age, Viking mindset and religion, heritage legislation, and cultural ownership. Peter Pentz
is the author of a wide range of academic and popular articles and books.
(The text above comes from the back of the book)