Several Months ago, a fellow GM came to me, and asked me to write “a believable Viking seeress, who was lost at sea for a game. She knew of my interest in the Viking age, and felt that I could do the character justice.

I went to my shelf of historical materials, and started going through each text, only to find, all I had was bits and pieces of descriptions. Nothing I could really hang my hat on.

After some exchanging email with fellow “Norse age historians” they all recommended this book as a place to start. After reading this book, and easily turning out a rich, 6 page character sheet in just 2 hours, I heartily agree. If you’re in the need to right historical women characters set in 10^th and 11^th northern Europe, this book should be on your shelf.

Jesch, a firmly grounded anthropologist, starts by taking us through the “hard evidence” that can give the reader a feeling for what the life of a Viking women was like. She shows us what was found at burial sites, and various digs, in order to give the reader a flavor of what a Viking woman was like, and what she had at her disposal.

For costumers, the book goes into the most detailed, 4 page description I’ve seen, including what jewelry would be worn (and where), what materials to use, etc. It goes into sufficient detail that any experience costumer, with a little planning, could create an extremely authentic Viking women’s costume, without a lot of trouble.

For Larper’s interested in details of set design, etc., the book continues on with descriptions of items that would be commonly found in a Viking household, with nice pictures, to help you on your way to design. From combs, to scissors, to anything you could imagine in a Viking household, you’ll find a picture, or at least a description of it here. With just a little reading, and a little planning, this book will enable any GM to create a setting that truly has the feeling of a 10^th or 11^th century Viking stead.

But, perhaps the most useful section of the book isn’t the heavy archeology that it contains. Rather, I found the remainder of the book (which is fully 2/3^rds of it) to be the most useful for character development. Jesch takes a substantial interest in texts, including Viking Sagas, to develop a description of a Viking women’s life. She goes into painstaking detail about a number of Viking women’s lives, and how they were shaped. From the traditional housewife, to the women that traveled abroad as colonists, she gives the reader excellent detail on what their lives were like.

The final section, for those that are interested in creating “stereotypical” Viking women, is devoted to the Myths surrounding Viking women. While many think of Viking women, and the Valkyrie, historically, very few women actually fought in battle. However, Jesch, despite her historical upbringing, takes the time to address these stereotypes, and gives the reader enough that if they wished to write one of these stereotypical characters, they could.

All and all, despite it’s hefty price ($55 Hardover, $30 if you can find it in Soft Cover), I consider it to be one of the most valuable editions to my Norse Library, and, for any GM, or player, that’s going to be Larping in the Viking age (or, playing a character that’s from the Viking age), it’s well worth the investment.