Which books about the Vikings should I read?
There are many books about the Vikings and the Norse world for someone to choose from. Here is a list of books we think are a good reads about the Vikings – ones that are both fairly new and relatively inexpensive.
The Land of Darkness and the Global Middle Ages
Why do we find coins from Central Asia and silver from Iran in Lincolnshire? What prompted medieval people to pack up and look for opportunity and adventure elsewhere?
Charisma, Violence and Weapons: The Broken Swords of the Vikings
The blades were beaten, bent or twisted, sometimes folded together in a way that needs preparation, expertise and equipment. The fact that these swords were subjected to special treatment, handled in a different manner than the rest of the grave goods, underscores the distinctive role of swords in Norse society
The slave markets of the Viking world: comparative perspectives on an ‘invisible archaeology’
This study explores the comparative archaeologies and histories of slave markets in order to examine the potential form and function of these sites, and how they might have operated as part of the wider, interconnected Viking world.
Viking warrior women with Leszek Gardeła
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle interviews archaeologist Leszek Gardeła to learn more about women, warriors, and when a weapon is more than just a weapon.
Viking ship discovered in Norway
The remains of a Viking ship has been discovered in southern Norway, thanks to ground penetrating radar.
Let Us Go Forth Amongst the Fighters: Valkyries, Shield Maidens, and Alt-Right Women
To begin a three-part examination of the concept of the valkyrie and other powerful female figures in Norse literature, this month we’re delving into medieval Scandinavia and the use of Norse symbols and figures by the alt-right.
Study shows that Vikings enjoyed a warm Greenland
Chemistry of bugs trapped in ancient lake sediment shows a warm climate at a key time in Greenland’s history.
Creating the Vikingverse – An Interview with Ian Stuart Sharpe
What if the Norse religion of the Vikings had overcome Christianity? That is one of the questions Ian Stuart Sharpe explores in his debut novel, The All Father Paradox.
Medieval Reads: Henry Treece’s Viking’s Dawn
I shall explore in this column is how each writer creates their particular Middle Ages and how that Middle Ages works at story feel.
Dried Fish and the Vikings
This month we’re taking a look at the modern cultural phenomena of “superfoods” and the latest Nordic sensation on the market – dried fish!
Leprosy at the edge of Europe—Biomolecular, isotopic and osteoarchaeological findings from medieval Ireland
We propose that the Vikings were responsible for introducing leprosy to Ireland.
How the Vikings Inhabited Scotland: A Social Zooarchaeological Approach
The field of human-animal relations is a growing area of research, and with regard to the
Viking Age the majority of this research has concerned the Scandinavian homelands.
Milk: Does a Viking Good?
For more adventures in weird “Viking” food, this month we’re delving deeper into the history of Viking Age and medieval Scandinavia and their culture of milk-drinking.
Vikings: The Salty Dogs of the Northern Seas?
Can there be such a thing as ‘Viking Salt’? Beth Rogers, in the first post for her new column on Medieval Food, looks for the answers behind this unusual product and how the Vikings are being associated with healthy eating.
Viking Warrior Women?
Medieval texts tell of Viking warrior women taking part in battles, but are these stories describing reality or pure fiction? What can archaeology tell us about women in the Viking Age?
Viking ship discovered under the ground in Norway
Archaeologists using high resolution georadar have found a Viking ship and a large number of burial mounds and longhouses in southeastern Norway.
Children in Viking Studies: a case for material culture studies
I will argue that the study of Viking-Age children, though historically stagnant, could be expanded through implementation of theoretical frameworks focused on the influence of both actors and their material culture.
Religious belief and cooperation: a view from Viking-Age Scandinavia
Did the Vikings perceive themselves subject to supernatural monitoring and punishment?
Co-operation between the Viking Rus’ and the Turkic Nomads of the Steppe in the Ninth-Eleventh Centuries
Besides the Slavs, Turkic nomads were the main partners of the Viking Rus’ in the period, testified to by close commercial ties and joint operations in warfare.
The Viking Age colonization of islands: “Utopian” experiments?
Today I’m going to talk about the character of the Scandinavian colonization of Orkney, to a degree in comparative perspective, particularly talking about the Isle of Man and Iceland briefly at the end.
For the want of Emma: What if the Vikings had won the Battle of Stamford Bridge?
If you could alter history, change one subtle event, what would you pick? For a Viking fan, the answer might be as simple as it is iconic.
Vikings, History, and Ourselves: Still Searching…
In the fall of 2017 a bombshell announcement was made that shook not only the academic world, but the general populace as well.
Viking invasions, a French failure?
Vikings never interested French Historians. Pagan, illiterate, barbaric, Germanic, everything was despicable in the eyes of the French Historians of the 19th century.
