Medieval manuscripts reveal how bias shaped knowledge about ancient Vikings
Scholars have long relied on Arabic and Persian texts to understand Viking death rituals and society, but a new analysis shows these sources were heavily copied and edited over centuries, distorting the original accounts. The findings challenge how historians interpret early medieval cultures and highlight the risks of depending on secondhand sources in establishing historical fact.
Originaltitel: Death Rituals: The Rūs and 'Vikings' in Arabic and Persian
<p>In the study of the early medieval Rūs and the Viking diaspora, Arabic geographical writings on the practice of funerary sacrifice loom large. Against growing uses of this body of source material as evidence on ritual, the treatment of women, and the global connections of the Rūs, critical issues in the use of and access to this source material necessitate a fresh analysis. This Element reevaluates geographical writings on Rūs death and sacrificial rituals, redirecting focus towards the textual transmission of ideas in both Arabic and Persian to offer a critical guide to geographical knowledge dissemination on Rūs funerary practices.</p>