#Children of Ash and Elm

[blackcrowing]

Book Review of 'A History of the Vikings: Children of Ash and Elm' by Neil Price

This is probably singlehandedly one of the best academic books I've read as a pagan addressing the Viking era and its people's.

The author did a PHENOMENAL job of using academic sources (archaeology, literature, historical linguistics, etc) to really paint a living picture of the peoples being discussed in their entirety. The author left room for the peoples spiritual/supernatural believes that I don't often see done by writers who are not writing specifically for a pagan audience.

It was deeply refreshing and I sincerely hope to see more academic authors following in their footsteps in the years to come

#pagan #paganism #paganblr #norse #norse paganism #norse polytheism #scandinavian #Scandinavian paganism #Scandinavian polytheism #vikings #viking era #book #books #book review #Neil Price #children of ash and elm #blackcrowing

[the-hearth-and-the-wild]

Strangely, Asgard also contained temples, cult buildings where the gods themselves made offerings—but to what or whom? The mythology of the Vikings is one of only a tiny handful in all world cultures in which the divinities also practised religion. It suggests something behind and beyond them, older and opaque, and not necessarily ‘Indo-European’ at all. There is no indication that the people of the Viking Age knew what it was any more than we do.

Neil Price, Children of Ash and Elm

#book quotes #children of ash and elm #norse mythology #vikings #norse #viking history #books and libraries #literature #books and reading #Neil price

[transjudas]

this is like poetry to me

#neil price #children of ash and elm #old norse #linguistics #language

[wishesofeternity]

"In a literal sense, the Vikings are of course people of the past, dead and gone—but at the same time they inhabit a curiously haptic kind of prehistory, one that appears to return whatever pressure is applied to it. Many have been tempted to put their fingers on the scales of hindsight and imagined that the impulse to do so came not from themselves but through the revelation of hidden truths buried by time. Medieval monks and scholars reinvented their pagan ancestors either as nobly misguided forebears or as agents of the devil. In the manuscript illuminations of Romance literature, with a kind of Orientalist prejudice, they became Saracens, enemies of Christ depicted with turbans and scimitars. In Shakespeare’s England, the Vikings were taken up as violent catalysts in the early story of the kingdom’s greatness. Rediscovered during the Enlightenment as a sort of ‘noble savage’, the figure of the Viking was enthusiastically adopted by the nationalist Romantics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Searching for their own emerging identities, Victorian imperialists scoured Scandinavian literature looking for suitably assertive northern role models, expressing the manifest destiny of the Anglo-Saxons through their Nordic cousins. The logical end of that trajectory came a century later, when the Nazis appropriated the Vikings in pursuit of their racist fictions, elevating them as a spurious Aryan archetype; their modern successors still plague us today. Elements of the broad Pagan community now seek a spiritual alternative that draws inspiration from Viking religion, with Tolkienesque flavourings added to a cloudier Old Norse brew. All these and many more, including today’s academics and the audiences for historical drama, have taken the fragmentary material and textual remains of the Vikings and recast them in moulds of their choosing. At times it can seem that the actual people have almost disappeared under the cumulative freight they have been made to bear."

- Neil Price, “Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings”

#history #norse history #vikings #viking age #viking history #neil price #children of ash and elm #this was a phenomenally detailed and comprehensive book #queue #mine

[wutheringmights]

2023 Reading Wrap Up

I tried starting this post about 20 times already, and no introduction is really hitting. I am quite a bit hungover, and in dire need of a rest. But alas, I want to talk about all the books I read last year.

So I had the goal of reading as much as I physically could last year. Why? After finishing my degree, I was having trouble reading for the sake of reading. I wanted to be someone who read a lot, but my self-motivated reading habit was in the dumps. My sibling and I ended up making a bet to see who could read more in 2023, and I was determined to win.

I did win, but that's besides the point. My importantly, I am now back in the habit of reading again.

I really enjoyed starting my reading tag and making little write-ups summarizing my thoughts. I really appreciate everyone being so patient with my book-posting, especially as I gradually went from writing a sentence or two to rambling bullet point lists to well-thought out reviews. If you ever interacted with one of those posts-- thank you so much! I hope to continue in this upcoming year.

So to wrap up my year of reading, I figured I would rank all of the books I read. If I read an entire series, I'll count it as one entry on the list. Also, the ranking is going to be determined less by quality and more by personal enjoyment.

All that being said, let's go~

Ranking My 2023 Reads

#17) Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg - This was my first read of the year, and my worst. This book is near unreadable in terms of prose, and features one of the most infuriating lines I have ever read in my entire life:

Add the most unoriginal plot I have ever seen, and this makes for one bad read. I knew it was going to be bad going on, but the levels of incompetency on display here was mind-boggling.

#16) Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan - Is this the worst book I read this year? No. But it definitely pissed me off more than the others. I didn't need this book to be good; I just wanted it to be fun, but it couldn't commit to a plot line long enough to do so. I will give this book credit for having one of the unintentionally funniest villains I have ever read. That man failed upwards and it was GREAT. No notes.

#15) Ariadne by Jennifer Saint - I don't think this book is terrible, but its flaws are the most glaring to me. Structurally, it's a mess. The prose tries to use imagery to cover up how much telling it's truly doing. Both hampered an overall decent plot.

#14) Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston - This book wasn't really for me. It was an entertaining read, but the references to pop-culture were more cringey than humorous. I also could not stand how the book was ashamed to be escapist literature and tried to uplift itself with shallow critiques of American politics.

#13) Lightlark by Alex Aster - That I am putting this book so high on the list is a crime and an insult against every book ranked below it. If I was ranking off of quality alone, it would be the second worst book I read this year. Unfortunately, I started an inside joke with my friends about how I'm Lightlark's #1 Fan, which ended up increasingly my enjoyment of this very stupid book exponentially. #TeamOro

#12) Garrison Girl by Rachel Aarons - This book really isn't anything special, but its place in publishing and anime history tickles my brain. It's not bad but it's not all that good either.

#11) The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack - Someone with a more thorough baseline on science would probably find this book more enjoyable than me. As is, I didn't understand half of it.

#10) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - A fast, enjoyable read. I think it reveals its hand a bit too quickly, but the plot overall is really fascinating. Lacking on prose, but it didn't need a lot of it. This is a book begging to be made into a movie (which will probably be better than the book itself).

#9) A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes - What this book lacks in originality and plot, it makes up for with comprehensiveness. As much as I enjoyed reading all of its varied perspectives, I am still peeved by how Penelope's perspective was wasted and how Haynes had no interest in writing from Helen's perspective.

#8) The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin - A prime example of a book series that is objectively excellent, but was simply not for me. My interests didn't align with what the narrative thought was important. However, the characters are fantastic and what there is of the central conflict between mother and daughter is earth shattering.

#7) The Poppy War Trilogy by R.F. Kuang - An incredible fantasy series with some excellent characters and ideas. While I do think that the series is a little simplistic, it makes up for it by being endlessly entertaining. Except for the last book, which leaned too heavily into its grimdark flares.

#6) Beowulf by Unknown (Translated by Seamus Heaney) - A reread featuring a fantastic introduction from Heaney that connects the text to his Irish roots. The translation itself, while good, prioritized brevity a bit too much for my taste.

#5) Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - A long overdue reread that reaffirmed why I found this book life changing when I first read it in junior high. Lyrical, brutal, and surprisingly funny, this book paints an honest picture of depression and trauma in adolescence.

#4) In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado - A lyrical, dreamy exploration of an abusive relationship. I love how this memoir pushes the limits of its own medium as it also tries to establish a canon for abusive queer relationships. Machado's imagery is insane, and I devour it every time.

#3) The Catcher In the Rye by J.D. Salinger - My last and most surprising read of the year. I did not expect to love this novel as much as I do. I will never forgive the world for insisting that Holden Caulfield is an archetypal male manipulator when he's a traumatized kid (albeit a bratty one) who desperately wants to be feel happy.

#2) Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price - An incredible, comprehensive look on the history, culture, and legacy of the vikings. Price parses through popular fiction to bring humanity back to a historical group of people every subculture wants to claim as their own, for better and for worse. This book broke a damn in my head that was preventing me from doing world building for a piece of original fiction I want to write.

#1) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas - I have been haunted by this book since I was a little kid, promising myself that I would one day gather the courage to read this behemoth of a story. As long as it is, every word was worth it. It was both parts entertaining and stimulating, and I ended by the book knowing why so many people call this the best book ever written.

--

And that was my year! Please feel free to share what you read this year. Let me know if there's anything I should try to read in 2024. You can also fight me about any of my opinions lol

#me rambling #me reading #books #bookblr #bookish #books and reading #The Count of Monte Cristo #Children of Ash and Elm #The Catcher in the Rye #In the Dream House #Speak #Beowulf #The Poppy War Series #The Broken Earth Trilogy #A Thousand Ships #The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo #The End of Everything #Garrison Girl #Lightlark #Red White and Royal Blue #Ariadne #Daughter of the Moon Goddess #Breaking Time

[freyjuseggr]

getting real emotional over this

#maybe ill copy it out bc i love it a lot #children of ash and elm #neil price

[inkinmyskinandsoul]

The institution of slavery had long antecedents in Scandinavia, probably going back thousands of years before the time of the Vikings. By the eighth century, there was already a considerable population of unfree people living in the North, their condition being largely a hereditary one built up over generations. In the Viking Age, this picture changed dramatically because for the first time Scandinavians began to make the active acquisition of human chattel a key part of their economy. This was one of the primary objectives of the Viking raids and military campaigns, and the results was a massive increase in the numbers of enslaved people in Scandinavia. 

Let it therefore be clearly stated: the Vikings were not only slavers, but the kidnapping, sale, and forced exploitation of human beings was always a central part of their culture.

Neil Price, Children of Ash and Elm

#Neil Price #Children of Ash and Elm #quotes #book quotes #pgs 141-142 #slavery #Vikings #scandinavia

[elisabethwheatley]

Cooking implements have been most often been found in the graves of male vikings. Make of that what you will.

#viking history #medieval scandanavia #children of ash and elm #neil price #viking age #viking burial

[witchqueenofthemoon]

A strong sense of the numinous place courses through Norse poetry and even runic inscriptions, created by minds in tune with their environment. The same mind-set is visible in their material culture, in every available surface—including the human body—covered in interlaced designs, writhing patterns, animals, and other images that were imbued with meaning. Their world hummed with life, but its boundaries, both internal and external, were in many senses more permeable than ours, always and constantly connected by winding paths to the realms of the gods and other powers. —Neil Price, Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings

#neil price #children of ash and elm #vikings #norse mythology #norse paganism #paganism #pagans

[ali-labyrinth]

#brown ajah #children of ash and elm #good morning

[sushi-umbrella]

Every Viking historian has to start their book like this:

"Listen to me, you Nazi fucks, none of this is good and none of what you believe is accurate!!!

Now let me tell the rest of you about sheep farming necessary to produce the wool to make the sails for maritime raiding..."

#Children of Ash and Elm

[samuelroukin]

finished my current (truly terrible dear lord) audiobook now i have to pick a new one??? how

#maybe i’ll just relisten to children of ash and elm actually #ben.txt

[perpetualsarcasmmachine]

Odin, bisexual icon?

Source: Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price

#Odin #norse mythology #bisexuality #bisexual #children of ash and elm: a history of the Vikings

[transjudas]

reading children of ash and elm by neil price and read that there’s a late 13th century saga that tells of the valkyrie working at a loom that was made of men’s body parts and entrails, determining how a battle in ireland is going to go. and i can’t believe i’m JUST learning this

#norse mythology #children of ash and elm #the valkyries #njál’s saga #gore mention

[blackcrowing]

"...history is nothing if not a suppositional discipline, sometimes akin to a sort of speculative fiction of the past." - Neil Price

#A study post for people who's spaces aren't aesthetic #some of us are normal and only study at our very average houses #A history of the vikings: children of ash and elm #neil price #Yggdrasil #self esteem #studying #studyblr #aesthetic #aestheitcs #academic #academics

[wutheringmights]

I finally had time to finish reading "Children of Ash and Elm" by Neil Price. This was such a great read for people who want to get more into reading non-fiction for fun but aren't really experienced with the genre yet (aka: me).

The book acts as on overview of the Viking Age, going into detail about religion, society, history, and more. I was always learning something new and fascinating with every page.

And now my fascination with vikings has only deepened, and I'm already chomping to learn more.

#i need to remember the name of that youtube who does videos on viking life #this book also took me forever to read not because i hated it but because i started reading it at the worst time possible #i just caught up to the person i have my reading bet with but luckily the next few things on my tbr are easy reads that will give me #some filler page counts #me reading #me rambling #children of ash and elm #the children of ash and elm by neil price