The Vikings and Their Outreach: From Buddhas to Butternuts
Examining Viking livelihoods, trade and cultural exchange.
Climate helped drive Vikings from Greenland
The end of the Norse settlements on Greenland likely will remain shrouded in mystery. While there is scant written evidence of the colony’s…
Sailing Directions of the North Atlantic Viking Age
Sailing Directions of the North Atlantic Viking Age (from about the year 860 to 1400) By Soren Thirslund Journal of Navigation, Vol.50 (1997)…
Runes in Changing Contexts: Viking Age and Medieval Writing Traditions
Runes in Changing Contexts: Viking Age and Medieval Writing Traditions Källström, Magnus 7th International Runic Symposium, Oslo (2010) Abstract The topic of Viking…
Viking Shipyard discovered on the Isle of Skye
Archaeologists have discovered a 12th century Norse shipbuilding site on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Investigations at Loch na h-Airde on Skye’s…
Dogs in graves – a question of symbolism?
A 9th century female boat-grave is the starting point for a discussion about dogs in Scandinavian graves from c. 500-1100 AD.
Midlands Viking Symposium to explore the legacy of the Vikings in Ireland
This year’s Midlands Viking Symposium will be taking place outside the United Kingdom for the first time in its history as scholars focus on the…
A Pictish burial and Late Norse/Medieval settlement at Sangobeg, Durness, Sutherland
A Pictish burial and Late Norse/Medieval settlement at Sangobeg, Durness, Sutherland By Keven Brady, Olivia Lelong and Colleen Batey Scottish Archaeological Journal, Vol.29:1…
Odin and his Brothers: Common Threads of the Odinic Tradition
Within the Poetic Edda Odin, Lodur (Loki) and Haenir are responsible for the creation of humanity in Nordic mythology.
Medieval Padlocks: An Introduction
Medieval Padlocks: An Introduction McIntyre, Rob Thornforge Knives Abstract Padlocks were used extensively throughout the medieval period for securing chests and caskets. They were…
The Lewis Hoard of Gaming Pieces: A Re-examination of their Context, Meanings, Discovery and Manufacture
Almost 180 years of scholarship on the Lewis chessmen have given us a solid foundation of understanding, primarily based upon their art-historical analysis.
Translating the Poetic Edda into English
Translating the Poetic Edda into English By Carolyne Larrington Old Norse Made New: Essays on the Post-Medieval Reception of Old Norse Literature and…
Spinning seiðr
Spinning seiðr By Eldar Heide Old Norse Religion in Long-Term Perspectives: Origins, Changes, and Interactions, edited by Anders Andrén, Kristina Jennbert et al.…
The Giantess as a Metaphor for Shetland’s Cultural History
The Giantess as a Metaphor for Shetland’s Cultural History By Andrew Jennings Shima: The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures, Vol.4:2 (2010)…
Vikings in the Nor’ Wast: The Roots of Orkney’s Identity in Norway and Canada
Vikings in the Nor’ Wast: The Roots of Orkney’s Identity in Norway and Canada LANGE, MICHAEL A. Scandinavian-Canadian Studies, Vol.17, (2007) Abstract This article…
Genitives and other Cases in Old Norse-Icelandic
Genitives and other Cases in Old Norse-Icelandic Norsk Lingvistisk Tidsskrift · Årgang 28 · (2010) Barðdal, Jóhanna (University of Bergen) Abstract 1 Diachronic Predictions…
Why did Norse Greenland fail as a colony?
Why did Norse Greenland fail as a colony? Slack, Alexandra York Medieval Yearbook, ISSUE No. 1, (2002) Abstract Since the discovery in 1721…
Viking atrocity and Skaldic verse: The Rite of the Blood-Eagle
They are committed to career advancement, territorial aggrandizement, and the latest technology; they trade, they farm, and they sculpt stone — whenever they are not carving up conquered enemies according to the Odinic rite of the blood-eagle.
Shetland and Orkney Island-Names – A Dynamic Group
Shetland and Orkney Island-Names – A Dynamic Group By Peder Gammeltoft Northern Lights, Northern Words. Selected Papers from the FRLSU Conference, Kirkwall 2009,…
Norse Drinking Traditions
Unfortunately, while there are many passing references in Old Norse literature and occasional bits of evidence in the archaeological record, there is far from a complete picture of Viking Age brewing, vintning, and drinking customs.
Egil’s Bones
Egil’s Bones Byock, Jesse L. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN,Vol. 272, January (1995) Abstract An Icelandic saga tells of a Viking who had unusual, menacing features, including…
Northern Lights on the Battle of Hastings
In the following I shall discuss the historical background for the Battle of Hastings as it emerges from Old Norse, English, Norman, and Anglo-Norman sources, and attempt to shed some light on these questions.
Linguistic patterns in the place-names of Norway and the Northern Isles
Linguistic patterns in the place-names of Norway and the Northern Isles By Berit Sandnes Northern Lights, Northern Words. Selected Papers from the FRLSU…
go geyja: the limits of humour in Old Norse- Icelandic paganism
go geyja: the limits of humour in Old Norse- Icelandic paganism North, Richard (University College London) Paper given at the 11th International Saga…
Chaucer and Old Norse Mythology
Chaucer, I am arguing, made use in The House of Fame of a version of the story falling somewhere between the Norse and the Irish versions, the latter of which, as I hope I haveproduced sufficient evidence to show, had become combined with traditions relating to (St) Brigid well before the time of Giraldus (d.1223), who in turn was writing well before the time of Chaucer (d.1400).