REVIEW BY EMMA LOUISE THOMPSON From Norwegian courts to Icelandic households and British burial grounds, the lives of Viking women were as intricate as the worlds they inhabited. The Hidden Lives of Viking Women offers a ‘kaleidoscopic review’ drawing on…
Tacitus, in his book on the life and character of his father-in-law Julius Agricola, the Roman Governor of Britain from c.AD 77 to 84, makes the often-quoted observation that ‘Britons make no distinction of sex in their leaders’. In his Annals (XIV.35), the same author depicts Boudica (AD 30-61) rallying her supporters with the cry: ‘we British are used to women commanders in war’.
The ‘hippy generation’ prefers to tell archaeological narratives that paint our ancestors as egalitarian, caring for weaker members of society and welcoming migrants for the new skills and ideas.