Vikings Archive
-
Give us this day our daily bread: A study of Late Viking Age and Medieval Quernstones in South Scandinavia
Posted on June 19, 2013 | No CommentsPorridge and bread were by far the two most important elements in the Viking Age and medieval diet. -
How Christian Were Viking Christians?
Posted on June 15, 2013 | No CommentsWhat did the Vikings know of Christianity, how did they appreciate Christian teaching per se and in comparison with their native beliefs, in what way was Christianity enrooted in the minds of pagan Scandinavians? -
Searching for the Vikings on the Isle of Man
Posted on May 22, 2013 | No CommentsThe Vikings were not just the wanton marauders of popular portrayal, says a Longwood University medieval scholar who recently conducted archaeological research on the Isle of Man. -
Feasting with Early Medieval Chiefs: Locating Political Action through Environmental Archaeology
Posted on May 18, 2013 | No CommentsThis excellent paper was the first given in the session on Early Medieval Europe. It looked at various archaeological excavations in Iceland and Denmark and the political role feasting played in pre-Christian Viking societies. -
Religion, Raids and Ragnar(ök): Series One of ‘Vikings’
Posted on May 14, 2013 | No CommentsOther than how gorgeous it looks–the rugged landscape of Ireland doubling convincingly for early medieval Scandinavia–the most initially striking facet of Vikings is how deliciously weird it is. -
Book Review: Shadow on the Crown
Posted on May 4, 2013 | No CommentsA review of Patricia Bracewell's book: Shadow on the Crown. -
Vikings – Review of Episode 9: All Change
Posted on April 29, 2013 | No CommentsThe season finale of Vikings - an angry wife, a decimated village, a pregnant lover and treacherous brother. -
Maps Illustrating the Viking Invasions of England
Posted on April 28, 2013 | No CommentsThe accompanying maps, which were prepared for lecture-purposes, may perhaps be useful to others who want to illustrate a popular account of the Viking invasions of this country -
Vikings – Review of Episode 8: Sacrifice
Posted on April 22, 2013 | No CommentsThis week's episode of Vikings takes a break from the usual raiding and pillaging with the gang headed out to get some spiritual fulfillment. Fortunately, this also involves killing. -
Rune Stones and Magnate Farms: The Viking Age in Vadsbo Hundred
Posted on April 16, 2013 | No CommentsWhat is the relationship between the Viking Age magnate farms and local place names? What of the numerous Rune stones, burial mounds, surface finds, and ancient monuments? Are they also tied to subsequent names? Can they help us place farms and other sites? -
Vikings – Review of Episode 7: A King’s Ransom
Posted on April 15, 2013 | No CommentsThis week on the Vikings, we go back and forth between England and Scandinavia as Ragnar prepares to raid in Northumbria again and Lagertha rules the village in his absence. -
Vikings – Review of Episode 6: Burial of the Dead
Posted on April 8, 2013 | No CommentsThis week on Vikings, we focus on two major events: Ragnar's fight to the death with Earl Haraldson and a Viking funeral. -
Vikings – Review of Episode 5: Raid
Posted on April 1, 2013 | No Comments'Let the man who thinks that he is descended from the Gods learn that he is human after all' -
Vikings – Review of Episode 4: Trial
Posted on March 25, 2013 | No CommentsThe war has begun. Aethelstan is right - Ragnar is preparing for the worst and Rollo's refusal to hand his brother over is going to cost them dearly. -
Egil Skallagrimsson and the Viking Ideal
Posted on March 18, 2013 | No CommentsHow did the Vikings want to be perceived--by other members of their own culture, and by posterity? -
Viking poetry of love and war – new book by Judith Jesch
Posted on March 18, 2013 | No CommentsThey are most famous for being violent invaders of foreign shores but a new book by a University of Nottingham Viking expert shows they were also poetry lovers with a wicked sense of humour! -
Vikings – Review of Episode 3: Dispossessed
Posted on March 18, 2013 | No CommentsWhat happens to Ragnar and his band of merry men this week? -
Saga Motifs on Gotland Picture Stones: The Case of Hildr Högnadóttir
Posted on March 17, 2013 | No CommentsThis article will only examine one of these legends, namely the ‘Hildr legend’ in the context of two of these stones, lärbro stora hammars and stenkyrka smiss . An attempt will be made to place the images in a larger context than has been done before, and by doing so to strenghten the probability that they were indeed intended to refer to the original Hildr legend. -
The Slave Trade of Dublin: Ninth to Twelfth Centuries
Posted on March 17, 2013 | No CommentsIt is however, often assumed that taking of slaves reached it peak in the ninth and tenth centuries and that the advent of Christianity made the institution of slavery morally unacceptable. -
Vikings – Review of Episode 2: Wrath of Northmen
Posted on March 11, 2013 | No CommentsA little preparation, a little prayer, a little plunder... -
Limits of Viking influence in Wales
Posted on March 10, 2013 | No CommentsWales experienced sporadic raids, a few settlers and trade, writes Mark Redknap. -
Vikings – Review of Episode 1: Rites of Passage
Posted on March 4, 2013 | No CommentsA review of the series premiere of Vikings -
“The Wrath of the Northmen”: The Vikings and their Memory
Posted on March 2, 2013 | No CommentsThese raiding peoples emerge out of all three Scandinavian homelands--Norway, Sweden, and Denmark--sending off their young men all over the known world in search of wealth and prestige. -
“A Furore Normannorum, Libera Nos Domine!” A Short History of Going Berserk in Scandinavian Literature and Heavy Metal
Posted on February 24, 2013 | No CommentsThe following essay aims to portray the history of the motif from Old Norse literature to its presence in today’s culture and particularly in heavy metal music. I aim to show how the motif is used to act as both a channel for aggression and as social criticism. -
Scandinavian late Viking Age art styles as a part of the visual display of warriors in 11th-century Estonia
Posted on February 24, 2013 | No CommentsArtefacts decorated in Scandinavian Late Viking Age art styles have been known for a long time in the Estonian archaeological material, and were first published as early as 1914 by Max Ebert; a more comprehensive overview was given in 1929 by Birger Nerman. The finds include silver-plated and sometimes partially gilded weapons, as well as belt and scabbard fittings, plaques, and only a few pieces of jewellery.
