Kirsten Wolf
Author of Viking Age: Everyday Life During the Extraordinary Era of the Norsemen
Works by Kirsten Wolf
24 Hours in the Viking World: A Day in the Life of the People Who Lived There (2024) 51 copies, 1 review
The Saints in Old Norse and Early Modern Icelandic Poetry (Toronto Old Norse-Icelandic Series (TONIS)) (2017) 8 copies
Romance and Love in Late Medieval and Early Modern Iceland: Essays in Honor of Marianne Kalinke (Islandica, 54) (2009) 2 copies
An Annotated Bibliography of North American Doctoral Dissertations on Old Norse-Icelandic Studies (Islandica, 50) (1997) 2 copies
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Wolf, Kirsten
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of Iceland (BA, Icelandic and Norwegian)
University College London (MA, Scandinavian Languages)
University College London (PhD, Scandinavian Languages) - Occupations
- Skandinavist
professor
editor
translator - Organizations
- University of Wisconsin, Madison
- Short biography
- [from University of Wisconsin, Madison website]
I am a Professor and Torger Thompson Chair. I currently serve as chair of the Department of Art History. I am a native of Denmark. I received my M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Scandinavian languages from University College London and my B.A. Hons. in Icelandic and Norwegian at the University of Iceland. I joined the Department in the fall of 2001, where I teach a variety of courses on Old Norse-Icelandic langauge and literature and Scandinavian linguistics. I have published several books. The most recent are Vikings: An Encyclopedia of Conflict, Invasions, and Raids (with Tristan Mueller-Vollmer) (2022), Saints and their Legacies in Medieval Iceland (ed. with Dario Bullitta) (2021), and the 6-volume A Cultural History of Color (2021), of which Carole P. Biggam and I served as co-general editors and edited the volumes on Medieval and Enlightenment. I am currently putting the final touches on The Priest's Eye: AM 672 4to in the Arnamagnaean Collection, which is to appear in the series Manuscripta Nordica: Early Nordic Manuscripts in Digital Facsimile. In addition to books, I have translated a number of Sagas of Icelanders into Danish and published approximately 90 articles on a variety of topics within the field of Old Norse-Icelandic, including editions of religious texts, non-verbal communication, gender dysphoria, color terms, and illnesses. - Birthplace
- Denmark
- Associated Place (for map)
- Denmark
Members
Reviews
Thank you to Netgalley and Tantor Audio for the Advanced Listening Copy! As always, all thoughts are my own.
I'll start with two quick notes for context. This is the first book I've read of this series so I can't really compare it to the other entries. Also, I am a newbie to everything Viking. I didn't know much about the civilization beyond what pop culture exposes one to, so I was approaching this audiobook with a clean slate.
To me, this was an interesting introduction to medieval Viking show more world. It quickly dispelled a lot of the misconceptions, as well. The stories and the details are clearly well-researched.
While I was expecting more 'slice of life' or day-to-day stories (probably because of the title), we did get some of those, but most others were more dramatic stories from the era. Blood feuds, vengeful ex-wives, houses on fire, etc. The last story was especially dark! Still, they were very intriguing and do introduce the reader/listener to aspects of the culture and laws of the time, so I enjoyed them.
I just was hoping for more day-to-day stories as these were my favourites. Some of the stories describing home decor, clothes, food and social neighbourly visits were especially fun. They made me feel as if I was actually there with them.
The writing can be a bit dramatic at times, but I adored every minute. It never dragged and the storytelling style was fun and engaging which works especially well for the audiobook format.
The narrator did a good job capturing the tone of the text. I listened mostly at 1x and 1.25x speeds and never needed to speed things up for my brain to engage. But with the narrator's voice and enunciation, I think the audiobook would still be very easy to understand at faster speeds.
Overall, I really enjoyed this audiobook and will be checking out the other entries in the series as well as other books by the author! show less
I'll start with two quick notes for context. This is the first book I've read of this series so I can't really compare it to the other entries. Also, I am a newbie to everything Viking. I didn't know much about the civilization beyond what pop culture exposes one to, so I was approaching this audiobook with a clean slate.
To me, this was an interesting introduction to medieval Viking show more world. It quickly dispelled a lot of the misconceptions, as well. The stories and the details are clearly well-researched.
While I was expecting more 'slice of life' or day-to-day stories (probably because of the title), we did get some of those, but most others were more dramatic stories from the era. Blood feuds, vengeful ex-wives, houses on fire, etc. The last story was especially dark! Still, they were very intriguing and do introduce the reader/listener to aspects of the culture and laws of the time, so I enjoyed them.
I just was hoping for more day-to-day stories as these were my favourites. Some of the stories describing home decor, clothes, food and social neighbourly visits were especially fun. They made me feel as if I was actually there with them.
The writing can be a bit dramatic at times, but I adored every minute. It never dragged and the storytelling style was fun and engaging which works especially well for the audiobook format.
The narrator did a good job capturing the tone of the text. I listened mostly at 1x and 1.25x speeds and never needed to speed things up for my brain to engage. But with the narrator's voice and enunciation, I think the audiobook would still be very easy to understand at faster speeds.
Overall, I really enjoyed this audiobook and will be checking out the other entries in the series as well as other books by the author! show less
I am going to give this book for what it is; an overview on a bunch of stuff with enough details to give you a good start on various games or activities. It is very nicely organized and the pictures are great. I would recommend picking it up from the library to look through, but I don't see it as a long-term resource you would want to refer back to often.
Having read a lot of dog books, it is harder for me to find something different. If a person was new to owning a dog, and hadn't already show more read a bunch of other books, it would be a lot more valuable to them. I would prefer to have a full book on tracking or on one of the other topics, instead of an overview and the basic steps for the overall activity. What is in the book is good and as I mentioned earlier, would be more interesting to a person new to the topic.
The games in the beginning were pretty obvious to me. The step by step instructions to do and then build upon an activity are well laid out. I was hoping for someone who really brainstormed a lot of new ideas for games, tried them out, and came up with something new. I think that book could still be written. The book then goes into teaching the dog some tricks with step by step directions on how to teach your dog. Section 3 of the books of the book it goes into details of events and activities; jogging, bike riding, hiking, water sports, horseback riding, agility, disc dog competitions, flyball, canine freestyle, obedience, search and rescue, search and rescue, sled dog racing, and dog pulling sports. If you give each topic 2 pages but also put some beautiful big pictures on the pages, you can imagine how much information is given.
One sport I wasn't aware of is Turnierhundesport (THS) that originated in Germany. It is part tetrathlon with four elements: obedience exercises, hurdles, weave poles, and an obstacle course. Another even in the THS is the cross-country races of either 1 or 3 miles with the dog running along on the leash. Then there is a team event called the Combination Speed Cup (CSC) where three dog-plus-handler teams compete in a sort of relay race consisting of three elements of the tetrathlon: hurdles, weave poles, and obstacle course. Running through these events, like the weave poles with your dog trained to stay by your side as you both run thru them, sounds pretty interesting. if anyone has actually done these leave me a comment.
The book finishes with a Happy and Healthy section, and then some pages of the Games and sports covered in the book but now organized at a glance, and a couple of pages on photographing dogs (take a lot of them so you can find the best ones). These sections were just fillers to me.
I enjoyed the pictures, and topics are nice, the book is laid out very well. I am just someone that needs more. It is however a fun quick read and for someone new to dogs and the topics, it may be just the right amount. show less
Having read a lot of dog books, it is harder for me to find something different. If a person was new to owning a dog, and hadn't already show more read a bunch of other books, it would be a lot more valuable to them. I would prefer to have a full book on tracking or on one of the other topics, instead of an overview and the basic steps for the overall activity. What is in the book is good and as I mentioned earlier, would be more interesting to a person new to the topic.
The games in the beginning were pretty obvious to me. The step by step instructions to do and then build upon an activity are well laid out. I was hoping for someone who really brainstormed a lot of new ideas for games, tried them out, and came up with something new. I think that book could still be written. The book then goes into teaching the dog some tricks with step by step directions on how to teach your dog. Section 3 of the books of the book it goes into details of events and activities; jogging, bike riding, hiking, water sports, horseback riding, agility, disc dog competitions, flyball, canine freestyle, obedience, search and rescue, search and rescue, sled dog racing, and dog pulling sports. If you give each topic 2 pages but also put some beautiful big pictures on the pages, you can imagine how much information is given.
One sport I wasn't aware of is Turnierhundesport (THS) that originated in Germany. It is part tetrathlon with four elements: obedience exercises, hurdles, weave poles, and an obstacle course. Another even in the THS is the cross-country races of either 1 or 3 miles with the dog running along on the leash. Then there is a team event called the Combination Speed Cup (CSC) where three dog-plus-handler teams compete in a sort of relay race consisting of three elements of the tetrathlon: hurdles, weave poles, and obstacle course. Running through these events, like the weave poles with your dog trained to stay by your side as you both run thru them, sounds pretty interesting. if anyone has actually done these leave me a comment.
The book finishes with a Happy and Healthy section, and then some pages of the Games and sports covered in the book but now organized at a glance, and a couple of pages on photographing dogs (take a lot of them so you can find the best ones). These sections were just fillers to me.
I enjoyed the pictures, and topics are nice, the book is laid out very well. I am just someone that needs more. It is however a fun quick read and for someone new to dogs and the topics, it may be just the right amount. show less
I am going to give this book for what it is; an overview on a bunch of stuff with enough details to give you a good start on various games or activities. It is very nicely organized and the pictures are great. I would recommend picking it up from the library to look through, but I don't see it as a long-term resource you would want to refer back to often.
Having read a lot of dog books, it is harder for me to find something different. If a person was new to owning a dog, and hadn't already show more read a bunch of other books, it would be a lot more valuable to them. I would prefer to have a full book on tracking or on one of the other topics, instead of an overview and the basic steps for the overall activity. What is in the book is good and as I mentioned earlier, would be more interesting to a person new to the topic.
The games in the beginning were pretty obvious to me. The step by step instructions to do and then build upon an activity are well laid out. I was hoping for someone who really brainstormed a lot of new ideas for games, tried them out, and came up with something new. I think that book could still be written. The book then goes into teaching the dog some tricks with step by step directions on how to teach your dog. Section 3 of the books of the book it goes into details of events and activities; jogging, bike riding, hiking, water sports, horseback riding, agility, disc dog competitions, flyball, canine freestyle, obedience, search and rescue, search and rescue, sled dog racing, and dog pulling sports. If you give each topic 2 pages but also put some beautiful big pictures on the pages, you can imagine how much information is given.
One sport I wasn't aware of is Turnierhundesport (THS) that originated in Germany. It is part tetrathlon with four elements: obedience exercises, hurdles, weave poles, and an obstacle course. Another even in the THS is the cross-country races of either 1 or 3 miles with the dog running along on the leash. Then there is a team event called the Combination Speed Cup (CSC) where three dog-plus-handler teams compete in a sort of relay race consisting of three elements of the tetrathlon: hurdles, weave poles, and obstacle course. Running through these events, like the weave poles with your dog trained to stay by your side as you both run thru them, sounds pretty interesting. if anyone has actually done these leave me a comment.
The book finishes with a Happy and Healthy section, and then some pages of the Games and sports covered in the book but now organized at a glance, and a couple of pages on photographing dogs (take a lot of them so you can find the best ones). These sections were just fillers to me.
I enjoyed the pictures, and topics are nice, the book is laid out very well. I am just someone that needs more. It is however a fun quick read and for someone new to dogs and the topics, it may be just the right amount. show less
Having read a lot of dog books, it is harder for me to find something different. If a person was new to owning a dog, and hadn't already show more read a bunch of other books, it would be a lot more valuable to them. I would prefer to have a full book on tracking or on one of the other topics, instead of an overview and the basic steps for the overall activity. What is in the book is good and as I mentioned earlier, would be more interesting to a person new to the topic.
The games in the beginning were pretty obvious to me. The step by step instructions to do and then build upon an activity are well laid out. I was hoping for someone who really brainstormed a lot of new ideas for games, tried them out, and came up with something new. I think that book could still be written. The book then goes into teaching the dog some tricks with step by step directions on how to teach your dog. Section 3 of the books of the book it goes into details of events and activities; jogging, bike riding, hiking, water sports, horseback riding, agility, disc dog competitions, flyball, canine freestyle, obedience, search and rescue, search and rescue, sled dog racing, and dog pulling sports. If you give each topic 2 pages but also put some beautiful big pictures on the pages, you can imagine how much information is given.
One sport I wasn't aware of is Turnierhundesport (THS) that originated in Germany. It is part tetrathlon with four elements: obedience exercises, hurdles, weave poles, and an obstacle course. Another even in the THS is the cross-country races of either 1 or 3 miles with the dog running along on the leash. Then there is a team event called the Combination Speed Cup (CSC) where three dog-plus-handler teams compete in a sort of relay race consisting of three elements of the tetrathlon: hurdles, weave poles, and obstacle course. Running through these events, like the weave poles with your dog trained to stay by your side as you both run thru them, sounds pretty interesting. if anyone has actually done these leave me a comment.
The book finishes with a Happy and Healthy section, and then some pages of the Games and sports covered in the book but now organized at a glance, and a couple of pages on photographing dogs (take a lot of them so you can find the best ones). These sections were just fillers to me.
I enjoyed the pictures, and topics are nice, the book is laid out very well. I am just someone that needs more. It is however a fun quick read and for someone new to dogs and the topics, it may be just the right amount. show less
This book provides an interesting look at the everyday life of people in the Viking Age, with chapters on domestic life, religion, economics and political life. It is obvious that the author knows her subject well and has done a lot of research. However, the book suffers from a lack of narrative...it's a collection of well-presented facts, but is more of a textbook than a nonfiction work for a general readership.
Statistics
- Works
- 23
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 233
- Popularity
- #96,931
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 6
- ISBNs
- 45
- Languages
- 5