Susie Finkbeiner
asked
Heather Day Gilbert:
What is it about Vikings that captured your imagination enough to write about them?
Heather Day Gilbert
Great question, Susie! I know it's not a time period we read about often in fiction!
Growing up, my Grandma always reminded me that we were related to Eirik the Red. Every time I could, I read Viking history and followed Viking excavation news, etc. When I finally bought my own copy of The Sagas of Icelanders, I loved reading more about how Vikings lived and explored...in particular, Eirik the Red and his family--and Gudrid was his ward.
I loved that Vikings were pretty fearless...I mean, who just goes sailing right off the side of the earth? And yet I suspect they understood the earth was round somehow (they had a dragon biting its tail in a CIRCLE to represent the oceans of the world). Their carvings were breathtaking. They loved storytelling and played games...in fact, they sounded very similar to family units today...though the plundering/fighting was admittedly not the way we usually live!
Gudrid's story was compelling on so many levels. She was a Christian in a pagan society. She had been trained in the volva (seeress) songs. She sailed with her THREE (!!!) husbands all over the place. Two of her husbands died and yet she was still young...it was just SUCH a rich history there, even simply from the saga accounts. Also, she had the first recorded European child born in North America. WHO sails to a new world while pregnant? One tough gal...or one who really loves her husband, I'll tell you that.
Anyway...great question and I'm so thankful EVERY time new Viking finds or info comes out. It is such a rich time period, and one so little documented. Hoping my 2-book Viking series will bring the sagas alive for people and show them how Vikings were not so very different in their motivations than we are.
Growing up, my Grandma always reminded me that we were related to Eirik the Red. Every time I could, I read Viking history and followed Viking excavation news, etc. When I finally bought my own copy of The Sagas of Icelanders, I loved reading more about how Vikings lived and explored...in particular, Eirik the Red and his family--and Gudrid was his ward.
I loved that Vikings were pretty fearless...I mean, who just goes sailing right off the side of the earth? And yet I suspect they understood the earth was round somehow (they had a dragon biting its tail in a CIRCLE to represent the oceans of the world). Their carvings were breathtaking. They loved storytelling and played games...in fact, they sounded very similar to family units today...though the plundering/fighting was admittedly not the way we usually live!
Gudrid's story was compelling on so many levels. She was a Christian in a pagan society. She had been trained in the volva (seeress) songs. She sailed with her THREE (!!!) husbands all over the place. Two of her husbands died and yet she was still young...it was just SUCH a rich history there, even simply from the saga accounts. Also, she had the first recorded European child born in North America. WHO sails to a new world while pregnant? One tough gal...or one who really loves her husband, I'll tell you that.
Anyway...great question and I'm so thankful EVERY time new Viking finds or info comes out. It is such a rich time period, and one so little documented. Hoping my 2-book Viking series will bring the sagas alive for people and show them how Vikings were not so very different in their motivations than we are.
More Answered Questions
Linda Cokley
asked
Heather Day Gilbert:
Is there a sequel to Guilt by Association? I loved this book!!!!!!
Werner
asked
Heather Day Gilbert:
Heather, when do you expect that the sequel to The Distant Tide will be completed?
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