The Sea-King and the Sorceress: Life and Death in the Viking Age

by Neil Price

Almost everyone has heard of the scouring the coasts of Europe in their longships, with plunder and pillage. Those raiders were real and deserved their reputation, but in fact they were only ever a small minority of the Scandinavians. ‘Viking’ comes from the Old Norse word for pirate, and while we may use that label for every Northerner of the eighth to eleventh centuries, in reality they followed many different callings. In his revelatory new book, archaeologist Neil Price takes us on a journey of individual encounters across the whole of the Norse world. From the beginning of the Viking Age to its end, the true diversity of their lives is brought out in vivid clarity from excavated we meet sea-kings and sorceresses; arctic hunters and shapeshifters; Sámi nomads and bears given burials; mercenaries and traders; the free and the enslaved; immigrants and diplomats; followers of many gods, and the worshippers of one; townsfolk and farmers; and yes, the real Vikings too. The time that bears their name will never seem so simple again.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 3, 2026

About the author

Neil Price is an English archaeologist specialising in the study of Viking Age Scandinavia and the archaeology of shamanism. He is currently a professor in the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History at Uppsala University, Sweden.

Born in south-west London, Price went on to gain a BA in Archaeology at the University of London, before writing his first book, The Vikings in Brittany, which was published in 1989. He undertook his doctoral research from 1988 through to 1992 at the University of York, before moving to Sweden, where he completed his PhD at the University of Uppsala in 2002. In 2001, he edited an anthology entitled The Archaeology of Shamanism for Routledge, and the following year published and defended his doctoral thesis, The Viking Way. The Viking Way would be critically appraised as one of the most important studies of the Viking Age and pre-Christian religion by other archaeologists like Matthew Townend and Martin Carver.

Reviews

[Jifu · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)

History lovers definitely should not pass this book up. In The Sea-King and the Sorceress, Through deft use of the archaeological record, Neil Price curates a diverse selection of individuals (one of whom turns out to not even be human, to my surprise and delight), and takes as deep and intimate a delve into each one of their lives as scholarly possibly. The end results cut through popular narratives about the medieval Norse world, and reveal a society that was richly complex in all of its own ways, just as we are on our own in the present day. It makes for reading that not only is marvelously and eye-openingly informative, but also (or at least in my opinion) the historical reality that so Price meticulously puts on display here is frankly far more fascinating than all the stereotypes and tropes surrounding all things Viking.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was spectacular. I have a professional & personal interest in textiles, adornment, and costume history so I was here for the discussion of trade and grave goods, and then I was completely and pleasantly surprised by the discussion of gender and identity. The research - weaving primary and secondary sources and firsthand knowledge - was impeccable, including opposing viewpoints and the bibliography is stacked. Not to make this sound dry: this was lyrical, emphatic, enthusiastic, solemn by turn. More often than not, I would narrate parts to my partner out of sheer amazement.

(My only ask would be for even more visuals, maps, reproductions, etc.!)