The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman

Nancy Brown evidently does her homework! She seems to have delved deeply into every aspect of Viking life, and her account of her own explorations and discussions with experts, interwoven with her biography of Gudrid and her extensive travels a thousand years ago, makes fascinating reading. Chapter 9, on the complicated techniques used in weaving, is a great example: who knew that it takes around 200 miles of handwoven thread to make the sail for a Viking ship?! Or that the seemingly not-very-exciting archaeological discoveries at L'Anse aux Meadows allow a very comprehensive reconstruction of the history of that settlement. And that the voyages were possibly abandoned not just because of hostile receptions by the people who already lived there but also because ships and their crews were lost in the perilous northern seas (something which has happened even to modern replicas), and the population of Iceland was too small to sustain these losses. I re-read this book very few years, and immerse myself in it (admittedly, while tending to pass rather rapidly through the many simialr unpronounceable names!). Highly recommended.

Prepared me for my visit to the authentic L'Anse aux Meadows Norse site in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, Canada

I read this before going to Iceland. I visited the farm archeological site and having read the book made my in person visit stellar. I didn't think there was anything missing - but I am familiar with history and archeology. If I needed clarification, maps or cartoons to further my interest I have this magic thing that allows me to find all those wonders. It's a great book about an amazing woman for curious people who have a little bit of knowledge, are radically self reliant and interested enough to augment what they don't know by looking online.

I am just a general reader who happens to enjoy well-written history. I've never read much at all about the Vikings but the NY Times review of THE FAR TRAVELER was enticing and I was not let down by its promise. Nancy Marie Brown has reached back to a place and people obscured by time, doing a decent job of erasing some of the fog and cold desolation that obscure the Dark Ages and Medieval Epoch in Iceland and Greenland. She also succeeds in revealing a lot about contemporary archaeological practice and thought.Brown turns first to the Sagas, the 10th and 11th century tales of Vikings, for inspiration. Though embroidered, the Sagas, written down some generations later, are regarded as holding historical memories. Brown focuses on one woman who appears in both the Eirik the Red and Greenland Sagas as her guide, Gudrid, who traveled from Iceland to Greenland to Vinland, back to Iceland and remarkably, in later age, on a pilgrimage to Rome. Her son Snorri was very likely the first European child born on North American soil, circa 1005. Her personal story reveals much about religion, economics, gender relations, values, world view and other aspects of her culture. Born late in the 10th century AD, she witnessed the spread of Christianity and the fading of the violent marauding male economy as the domestic textile industry spun by women on the farm began to reposition Iceland in the world trade scene. Brown travels to all of the places Gudrid did, reads scholarship on her topic and participates in archaeological digs and recreation of weaving studios.The digs at L'Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland, have been reported on before, but Brown brings a fresh fascination to them in the context of Gudrid's life. She provides strong descriptive passages of the places she visits and there is one map in the front of the book. It would have been nice, however, to have had some illustrations. I would also like to have known a little more about Brown's own context and interest in this subject.

Would have rated higher if it included photographs, sketches etc. Words are not enough when discussing life over 1000 years ago.

What an amazing job of research this author did and what a fascinating tale she told of Gudrid, the Far Traveler, an Icelandic woman during the Viking Age. She went to Greenland, Vinland and on a long pilgrimage to Rome. The author organized this in a fascinating way, weaving in genealogy, the Icelandic sagas, lifestyle descriptions, ancient writings, explanations galore of all manner of things from word derivations to weaving techniques to boat building. All done in a very readable format. She traveled to many of the sites mentioned, talked to a multitude of scholars on every subject and even did archeology on one of Gudrid's homes in Iceland. We are talking total immersion research here, mud and all! I think the best thing about the book was the rich context into which all facts were placed with accompanying explanations. A brilliant read on Icelandic Viking history!!!

I've been reading this book since the end of March, and I don't really know why I kept avoiding it all these months. I just felt that it was an interesting premise that somehow faltered. There was nothing wrong with the scholarship, or the writing, but it felt disjointed to me as if the author simply didn't know how to construct a narrative.The story of Gudrid should have been riveting. This is a woman who traveled from her Scandinavian home to Greenland, Iceland, and the area of the Americas known to Vikings as "Vinland," for its wild grapes. In her old age, she made a pilgrimage to Rome and became a nun. But the book goes every which-way, bouncing from her life, to archeological information, to Erik the Red, and back again, never quite allowing the reader to come to know Gudrid on a level where we could feel engaged with her life and adventures. I recognize that there's scant information about her, but what there was could have been better used, in my opinion.Still, if you're interested in Viking travels to the new world, this book does offer some insights, and that's not a bad thing.

I have had the pleasure of hearing the author speak and being able to ask questions about this book and about her research. She is an incredibly impressive scholar and it shows in her work. She expertly combines evocative writing with incredibly detailed research - how she comes up with some of the ideas for how to research certain things and new approaches to well-covered ground is what really strikes me. I took a class on Icelandic sagas in my spring term of this year at college in the states, and read this afterwards, and it was a wonderful and fun way to further my knowledge of the period and the remarkable woman who was Gudrid. However it is definitely a book which can be read by anyone interested in the period without any prior knowledge of iceland and its literary tradition (though I can guarantee it will leave you wanting to learn more!). I simply do not understand why this author's books are not more widely known - I realise that Brown writes about quite a specialised period, but anyone interested in the history and heritage of english and germanic speaking peoples would love her work. Even if you know nothing about the sagas, this is simply a highly enjoyable way to learn a little something and gain some insight on a topic that is fascinating and vastly undertaught. Having learnt a little about norsemen and the icelanders, and the enormous impact they and their culture have had on the modern world, I find it very hard to understand why it is not a required topic in the UK national curriculum beyond the primary school level. This book would definitely be of interest to those who have either a serious or just a passing interest in the subject, as I do. Nancy Marie Brown is superb. Don't hesitate to buy this book! Or even better, her latest book "Song of the Vikings" on Snorri Sturluson and the Norse Myths. Her writing is anything but dry. PLEASE READ THE WORK OF THIS FANTASTIC AUTHOR. This is one on the top books I have read this year (maybe in my top 3 of 30).

I agree with a lot of the reviews. The author is obviously passionate about her subject but the way the book is written is...rather dull. It desperately needs illustrations/ maps.

This book was extremely interesting. I have been to Iceland a few times and the book concerns the origins of settlement there, and a history of Vikings and their life on Iceland. The facts are taken from the famous Icelandic sagas, from various archaelogical digs the author helped on and various other historical sources. It is a fascinating book, which follows the life of Gudrid, an early female settler.We read about settlement in Greenland and also the discovery of North America, again pieced together from old sagas and real, archaeological evidence.Unfortunately, some of the writing is a little hard to follow - the author has some rather ambiguous sentences and one is often confused the the names and relationships between different families. the thread of the story is often distracting.However, for those who want to learn more about how the Vikings spread across the world in their longboats, how Iceland became a land of sheep-farmers and how Eirik the Red discovered America, it is definitely well worth reading.I enjoyed it.

The author is an experienced historical researcher with a passion for the Viking traditions of Iceland. Anyone interested in that country's history will find this book utterly absorbing not only for the details in Brown's account, but also her extensive list of further recommended reading: Icelandic sagas, Viking-age ships and sailing and Viking exploits in England as well as voyages to Greenland and L'Anse aux Meadows in what is now Canada. The author's familiarity with Icelandic sagas provides a rich framework for Gudrid's life and also enriches Brown's storytelling. This is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of Iceland as background for visiting that extraordinary place of "ice and fire" as well as providing insights into the lives of women in that country.

It was an informative book. I learned about Viking life beyond the stereotypes of their way of being.