Ancient Germanic Warriors

Presenting a range of evidence for these diverse styles from Roman art to early medieval bracteate amulets and from classical texts to Beowulf the Edda and Icelandic sagas Professor Speidel here details seventeen different Germanic warriors styles including berserks wolf-warriors club-wielders long-hairs ghost warriors and horse-stabbers and how they indicate an unbroken continuity of customs beliefs and battle-field tactics. Ancient Germanic warriors played a decisive role in historical events from 200 BC when Germanic culture first became identifiable to AD 1000 when Christianity swept through the Nordic countries. Arising from beliefs and states of mind a variety of warrior styles manifested themselves in differences of dress weaponry and fighting technique. Fully illustrated with over fifty photographs this vivid and fascinating survey adds a colourful new dimension to our understanding of the history of Europe. . Language: English