Aud the Deep-Minded: life of the week

It was the Vikings of northern Europe who first settled the harsh landscapes of Iceland in the 9th century. Most of the figures leading this movement were men, powerful chieftains who claimed vast swathes of land and parceled it out to their followers. But among these pioneers was Aude the Deep-minded, a woman who subverted the expectations of the Viking world. In this episode of the History Extra podcast, Emily Lethbridge speaks to James Osborne about Oes' incredible life and legacy, and explains how she went from a vulnerable widower in a hostile land to one of the Vikings' most impressive matriarchs. Emily, you and I, we're here today to talk about the life of Aud the Deep Minded, who was one of the prominent figures in the early Norse settlement of Iceland.

My first question to Emily about her life is I'm aware that I'm saying her name in a very anglicised, modernised way. When I'm saying Aud, that's not how her name would have been said in her own time, the ninth century. Can you please teach me? how it should be pronounced. Yeah, absolutely.

One of those tricky ones. Icelandic pronunciation is is a bit of a nightmare for native English speakers. But her name in Icelandic we pronounce it Oidr. So the U at the beginning is kind of, I suppose, like the French Ur, Oidr. So it's almost like O T H U R, like Other, not Ord.

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