The genetic and historical linkage between the Old Norwegian Sheep, the Icelandic Sheep and the Navajo Churro
It may be possible to substitute a readily available double coated sheep fleece from the American Southwest for the original Scandinavian double coated fleece in order to make suitable vadmal fabric for clothing
The Mythology of Magic in The Hobbit: Tolkien and Andrew Lang’s Red Fairy Book “Story of Sigurd”
This paper was part of the Tolkien at Kalamazoo sessions.
Recreating Beowulf’s “Pregnant Moment of Poise”: Pagan Doom and Christian Eucatastrophe Made Incarnate in the Dark Age Setting of The Lord of the Rings
The following chapters will explore how Tolkien fuses themes and imagery from the pagan Norse apocalyptic myth of Ragnarök with Christian apocalyptic imagery and themes in a recreated Dark Age historical setting to create The Lord of the Rings.
The Runic System as a Reinterpretation of Classical Influences and as an Expression of Scandinavian Cultural Affiliation
Accompanying discussions of the runic system’s graphical origins are arguments concerning its geographical origins. Von Friesen’s theory that runes derived from Greek characters looked east to the Gothic territories, while scholars arguing for North Italic origins have pointed towards the Alps. Moltke, who looked to a largely Latin source for the runic characters, suggested a runic origin in Denmark.
Representations of the Pagan Afterlife in Medieval Scandinavian Literature
I first address the question of the nature of Hel which, according to Snorri Sturluson’s thirteenth-century mythography, was the name both of an underworld home of the dead, and a goddess who presided over that realm.
Ancient Skies of Northern Europe: Stars, Constellations, and the Moon in Nordic Mythology
Nordic mythology from 13th century Iceland contains descriptions that provide traditional depictions of the night sky, constellations, and the Moon. These were not only incorporated within the mythology but also formed the basis for their gods
Rune Stones Create a Political Landscape – Towards a Methodology for the Application of Runology to Scandinavian Political History in the Late Viking Age
The chapters are as follows. 1. Rune stones as historical sources 2. General information about Danish rune stones 3. The process of making a rune stone.
New book examines Vikings in the Outer Hebrides
Instead of supporting the view that the Scandinavian invaders killed men and enslaved their women and children, the archaeological evidence suggests a greater degree of intermixing and continuity than has previously been accepted.
Christianization of the Norse c.900-c.1100: A Premeditated Strategy of Life and Death
Examines how Christianization of the Norse in the tenth and eleventh centuries was the effect of a premeditated mission strategy borne from the experiences of converting the Anglo-Saxon English in the seventh century AD.
Viking-Age sailing routes of the western Baltic Sea – a matter of safety
Included in the Old English Orosius, compiled at the court of King Alfred the Great of Wessex around 890, are the descriptions of two different late 9th-century Scandinavian sailing routes.
Buried with Honour and Stoned to Death? The Ambivalence of Viking Age Magic in the Light of Archaeology
In 1981 Danish archaeologists revealed a remarkable Viking Age grave mound in the village of Gerdrup.
A “Triangular” Shawl Style for the Viking Age?
Drawing together archaeological evidence of textiles, fastenings, and artwork, from Scandinavia and neighbouring cultures around the 8th-10th centuries.
Christmas traditions and performance rituals: a look at Christmas celebrations in a Nordic context
This article grew out of a project with our drama students at Bergen University College, Norway, in December 2002. I wanted to introduce the students to pre-Christian roots of Yule, and to give them an historical introduction to extant dramatic/ritual Christmas customs in our country.
Saga-Accounts of Norse Far-Travellers
What did medieval saga-writers think about the Viking travellers who sailed west across the ocean without knowing the way to the lands they sought, or even whether or not these lands existed?
The Poet and the Spae-Wife: An Attempt to Reconstruct Al-Ghazal’s Embassy to the Vikings
Before Dozy’s work,only excerpts from ibn-Dihya in incomplete shape had been known from the writings of the seventeenth-century Maghribi man of letters, al-Maqqari…