Viking Woman’s Grave discovered in Norway
She was placed in a burial chamber and took several hundred miniature beads with her on her last journey. Who was the woman who was buried by Valsøyfjord over 1000 years ago?
Gjellestad was a major Viking burial ground, new research reveals
The ground-penetrating radar data showed 13 burial mounds once existed at Gjellestad, some over 30 metres wide.
Harald Bluetooth and the Ring-Castle at Trelleborg
Trelleborg and the other ring-castles constructed by Harald Bluetooth stand out in history as products of a developing age of state formation, and the rising importance of military power.
Medieval Scandinavia: Power Dynamics in the Viking Age
In the first article on a series about the rise of kingdoms in medieval Scandinavia, Beñat Elortza Larrea examines the society and power dynamics found in the Viking Age.
Looking for the Northern Lights in Medieval Iceland, finding Jane Austen
Ármann Jakobsson attempts to answer the questions he keeps being asked about Icelandic sagas.
The Legendary History of Norway
That the legendary forefathers of Norway are named after elements of nature (and winter) is interesting.
Why was Leifr Eiríksson called ‘Lucky’?
Although it might be said that the discovery of a whole continent was a sufficient justification for such an appellation, the sources do not indicate that Leifr earned his cognomen through discoveries or exploration.
Visual material evidence of Viking presence in the Balkans
The purpose of this article is to outline the Viking objects discovered in the Balkans.
Polynesians of the Atlantic? Precedents, potentials, and pitfalls in Oceanic analogies of the Vikings
Though unconnected in time and place, both the Vikings and the Polynesians were changed by their contacts with ultimately the same alien religion and external imperial forces – but they also incorporated and manipulated them to their own ends, and remained uniquely themselves.
Fragments of the past: how to study old Norse religion
The state of the sources of the Old Norse religions presents a great problem. Most of them were written down two hundred or even three hundred years after the Christianization of the North, based on an oral tradition going back to the pre-Christian ages.
Viking runestone reveals fear of climate catastrophe, scholars find
The new interpretation suggests the inscription deals the conflict between light and darkness, warmth and cold, life and death.
The Vikings and their Filed Teeth
Were the Vikings really filing their own teeth and why?
New Medieval Books: Vikings and the Norse World
Ten books published in 2019 that tells us all about the Vikings and the Norse World.
Mysterious Viking boat graves discovered in Norway
Two people died roughly 100 years apart. Nevertheless, they were buried together. In boats.
Playing Vikings: Militarism, Hegemonic Masculinities, and Childhood Enculturation in Viking Age Scandinavia
How do we define and understand the concept of childhood as it existed during the Viking Age?
Gender equality and the Vikings
Modern-day Scandinavia is regarded as a model of equality between the sexes. A new study indicates that this may go back to the early Middle Ages.
Messages from the Otherworld: The Roles of the Dead in Medieval Iceland
The ghosts in sagas are no phantoms or incorporeal spirits, but appear to the living in their physical and tangible bodies at a dark time of the day or year. The dead look the same as they used to when they lived, and are thus easily recognized by the living.
Old Age in Viking-Age Britain
Did the same negative attitudes towards the old exist in Viking-Age England? What was considered ‘old’ in Viking-Age colonial society? And, what sort of life could the old individual expect?
How Did the Norsemen in Greenland See Themselves? Some Reflections on ‘Viking Identity’
We can contrast two possibilities: 1) that there was an overarching Scandinavian cultural unity in the Viking Age, or 2) that there were distinct cultural identities in different parts of what is often called the “Viking world.”
Creating Viking Age Clothing in the 21st Century
Today’s cultural image of a Viking is of a hulking man fit with a horned helm and piles of fur. Is there a better way of creating clothing that melds fantasy and reality?
Did Henbane make Berserkers go Berserk?
A new study on the legendary Viking warriors known as berserkers suggests that they were able to achieve their battle trances and ferocity through the use of henbane.
How well do you know these Viking-age artefacts?
We have many remains from the Viking-age that offer insights into the Norse world. Here are ten artefacts – do you know what they are?
Viking Age Hair
In Viking-Age Scandinavia, hair also seems to have played an important role in social dynamics.
Thoroughly Modern Valkyries: The Shift to Girl Power
From Wagner to the Marvel Cinematic Universe – the modern portrayal of Valkyries.
Viking Currency
Buying, selling and trading in the Viking Age, and how hoards are different over the centuries.