Thursday, November 21, 2013

Viking Warrior Women and their Weapons plus Giveaway

Guest Post by: Heather Day Gilbert

Heather will be giving away one ebook copy of God's Daughter to one commenter. To enter, leave a comment at the bottom of the post. 

Now, I usually try NOT to post about Viking women using weapons. Images of Xena: Warrior Princess and Hagar the Horrible's wife spring to mind. With my Viking historical, God's Daughter, I was trying to dispel some of those horned-helmet images.

But historically, we know Viking women would've known how to protect themselves and their families. The sagas show they weren't afraid to use weapons. So when I wrote about a small group of Viking women who sailed to the New World with a large group of Viking men, I knew they had to be prepared to "take up arms."

I had two main female characters, and I wanted each of them to use a signature weapon. Both of them know how to use a sword, but for a more personalized touch, I gave them each something a bit different.

Gudrid, the more nurturing, healer type, used something she kept close to her (in a sheath on her thigh). It was actually her dead first husband's weapon (she's twice-widowed when this novel begins). It is a bit long for her, but believe me, she was ready to use it. This weapon is called a seax.

The description of a seax on the Museum Replicas site is this: "The seax, or sax, was universal in Northern Europe. Carried and used by the Saxons, Angles, Vikings and German tribes, its use probably dated before the fall of Rome and continued on into the early Middle Ages. From small knives with 3-4 inch blades to actual swords with blades of 27-28 inches and always single-edged, the profile of the seax varied a great deal. The original version of this large knife served from camp work to cutting work, on shipboard, and for fighting if a sword or axe was not available."

Gudrid's weapon--a Seax

Freydis, Gudrid's sister-in-law (and Eirik the Red's daughter), was, according to the sagas, a true warrior-woman, with little thought for her life. I wanted her to be dangerous and fierce...as dangerous as the men. She hunts with a bow, but she also had a curved knife that was like her favorite item in the world:


Freydis' curved hunting knife

Since Freydis has long fingers, it was easy to imagine that loop wrapped about her little finger...I was trolling around the internet, looking for Viking knives, and I found this one, made by Michael Mara. The man is a professional knife-maker, and I'm not sure if this is based on actual archeological finds, but he calls it a Viking skinning/hunting knife. I kind of fell in love with it as much as Freydis did.

Viking swords and axes were the men's weapons of choice in my novel. If you want to watch an enlightening film on just how long it took to make a specialized steel Viking sword called the Ulfbehrt, you need to watch this video on Netflix: Secrets of the Viking Sword, in which a master swordsmith today recreates this legendary sword.

I did use a little liberty envisioning my Viking ladies' weapons...but that's the freedom we have as historical fiction authors. We know Vikings were talented craftsman, so it's not a far stretch to imagine Freydis might've had a curved hunting knife or that Gudrid strapped her dead husband's weapon to her thigh (versus on her belt, where many Viking re-enactors carry knives).

I think the thing I wanted people to realize is that Vikings were not dumb. They had all kinds of skills, not limited to invading and plundering. Viking women loved their families and would give their lives to protect them, just like women today. And I believe they had a variety of weapons at their disposal to do just that.

God's Daughter:
One Viking woman. One God. One legendary journey to North America. 


In the tenth century, when pagan holy women rule the Viking lands, Gudrid turns her back on her training as a seeress to embrace Christianity. Clinging to her faith, she joins her husband, Finn, on a journey to North America. 

But even as Gudrid faces down murderous crewmen, raging sickness, and hostile natives, she realizes her greatest enemy is herself--and the secrets she hides might just tear her marriage apart. 

Almost five centuries before Columbus, Viking women sailed to North America with their husbands. God's Daughter, Book One in the Vikings of the New World Saga, offers an expansive yet intimate look into the world of Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir--daughter-in-law of Eirik the Red, and the first documented European woman to have a child in North America.

Author Bio:
Heather Day Gilbert enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Sixteen years of marriage to her sweet Yankee husband have given her some perspective, as well as ten years spent homeschooling her three children. Heather is the ACFW West Virginia Area Coordinator.

You can find Heather at her website, Heather Day Gilbert--Author, and at her Facebook Author Page, as well as Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads. Her Viking novel, God's Daughter, is here on Amazon and Smashwords now, with a soft-cover version slated for release later in November.

Remember Heather will be giving away one ebook copy of her novel. To enter, like her facebook page and leave a comment with your email address below. 

30 comments:

  1. I've never read a Christian novel in this time period! I'm intrigued...
    Thanks for the giveaway!!!

    colorvibrant at gmail dot com

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    1. Thanks, Heidi! The only other CBA Viking novel I'm aware of is Michelle Griep's Undercurrent. Thank you for your interest!

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  2. For my MA History Dissertation I'm looking at Ethelflead of Mercia, daughter of Alfred the Great who supposedly described as 'a woman of extraordinary strength and ability' . Sometimes she has been presented as a 'warrior woman', which may be doubtful, but it seems as though she certainly 'ruled the Kingdom' in her own right and may have acted as leader to the 'comitatus' or war-band.

    Seems that these Norse-Germanic women could be quote formidable when they needed to be. Though even in the later Medieval period it wasn't entirely unknown for women to defend their lands if they had to.

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    1. I love your insights! I do believe that just like us, they would defend their loved ones and lands. But I agree that sometimes the warrior woman image can go a bit over the top. Thank you sharing, Bookish Medievalist! I'd love to learn more about Ethelflead.

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    2. I think I will enjoy learning about her too. Like you, I rather think I wish Christian publishers would be more welcoming of Medieval Fiction. Even in those Christian Medievals that are around I think the Saxons are a people and a period that have been ignored or overlooked. People seem to favour the Celts/Vikings it would appear.

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  3. This book sounds interesting to me. Thank you for the chance to win.

    griperang at embarqmail dot com

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  4. Heather, I liked you F B page. Very interesting article I am very glad I live in a time and place where I do not have to carry such weapons!
    I can see how weapons were necessary back then and admire the courage it took to be willing to use them if the need arose. Thank you for a different story line in your book. The cover is beautiful.
    mcnuttjem0(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Thanks so much, Jackie. I definitely found the weapons interesting and wouldn't mind having my own curved knife! I'm glad you like the cover and storyline. Hope you get to read it!

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  5. I liked Heather's FB page. This looks like an interesting book.
    susanmsj at msn dot com

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  6. This would be my first Viking book.

    mauback55 at gmail dot com

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  7. I 'liked' Heather's page!

    missionwife AT hotmail DOT com

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  8. And I wanna read this story!

    missionwife AT hotmail DOT com

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    1. Thanks, Melody! I'm glad you're excited about it and hope you get to read it!

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  9. Dear Heather,
    your novel has inspired me a great deal. In a non-ostentatious way, it may adumbrate a revolution in historical fiction. I really loved your fresh and simple style of telling the story, rather hinting than explicitly describing certain situations and actions crucial for the plot. While most of contemporary historical fiction writers concentrate on crude, almost naturalised descriptions of not only fighting scenes and pointing out the worst possible behaviour of the time, reveling in bloodshed, severed limbs etc., it is so refreshing to read a novel which doesn't hide or avoid "uncomfortable" truths but focuses primarily on the characters' actions and lives and offers enough space for readers and their imagination.
    It has also been new experience for me because of the outlook on pagan lifestyle and festivals. In many fiction works, Vikings carry a stigma of romanticised heroes, those that pillage and fight, and do not care for anything but dying in battle. Of course that it must have been a strong idea but the God's Daughter novel views the protagonists as real men and women who carry the ideals in their minds but have their own lives in their hands and have to work and toil and take care for their families and their well-being. It can be demonstrated easily by the prologue scene; the main heroine's mother is being offered to Thor, which is generally considered a great and valiant sacrifice, but at the same time, she has to leave her little daughter there, and the daughter is desparate, the more because she knows petty reasons of her father's to sacrifice his wife. I adore the new way of approaching paganism. Especially because having another perspective in mind is always enlightening.

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    1. Michaela--what you said is just beautiful! I appreciate it so much. That is exactly what I was trying to show. Yes, there was violence in Viking times. But love, sacrifice, and dreams were also integral, just like we have today. You have encouraged me so much with your kind words! I'm so glad you enjoyed the novel and would love it if you'd share it with your friends, as well. It is a different type of Viking story, for sure.

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  10. Hello Heather!
    It's so refreshing to meet other Christian authors interested in this era. I'm still unpublished, but am in the midst of writing a series set in 10th Century Ireland that centers around both the Irish and the Vikings. So all cultural aspects of Irish and Scandinavian life have certainly become an obsession for me. I've studied both for 12 years now.

    Thanks for your post. I wish you all the best with your book.

    In Christ,
    Melissa Stroh

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    1. Melissa, WOW! Twelve years! That is wonderful. I'm truly hoping there will be a new trend of Medieval fiction in the CBA (or outside it, if you're self-pubbing like I did). It's a time period liberally covered both in TV/movies and in ABA novels, and I believe Christians should be more informed as to how things really were in these times so we know how to discuss them. All the best to you--hope you can read God's Daughter and would love to get your thoughts on it. Let me know when you are published!

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  11. I really enjoyed reading this blog. I've actually watched a good portion of Secrets of the Viking Sword and I found it very interesting. Thank you for writing this excellent blog. :)

    shadowystarfire at yahoo dot com

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    1. Thanks, Alyssa--I loved that documentary. I had no clue how long it took to make swords and it really was quite an elaborate process. Glad you enjoyed the post!

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  12. Thank you for writing this book It sounds great
    God bless you
    Chris Granville
    granville@frontiernet.net

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  13. Thanks for such an interesting and different post! I can't wait to read God's Daughter. I've never read any kind of historical fiction about the Vikings and very much look forward to your new series!!
    kam110476 (at) gmail (dot) com

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  14. Sorry I wasn't around yesterday to act as hostess, but it looks like we had a good turnout. Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

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  15. Congratulations to Alyssa Farrier, winner of God's Daughter!

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    1. Yay! Thanks everyone for your interest! And thanks for letting me visit, Naomi! Here's hoping Christian Vikings continue to thrive!

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  16. Being a woman of nordic descent and Christian heritage myself, I must say that I'm intrigued! I can't wait to read it!

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