The Wolf’s Jaw: an Astronomical Interpretation of Ragnarök
We identified thirteen celestial phenomena (comet passages and total eclipses of the Sun) that may have been collected in the construction of the Ragnarök image among the ancient Norsemen
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?
Dorset, Norse, or Thule? Technological transfers, marine mammal contamination, and AMS dating of spun yarn and textiles from the Eastern Canadian Arctic
Norse woven textiles definitely were acquired by Thule people much farther to the north and during the late 13th century. The AMS date received from Skraeling Island helps to narrow the age of the woven woolen cloth recovered there, and implies that interactions between the Norse and Thule Inuit may have begun almost as soon as these Arctic pioneers arrived from Alaska
Religious belief and cooperation: a view from Viking-Age Scandinavia
Did the Vikings perceive themselves subject to supernatural monitoring and punishment?
How Norse is Skírnismál? A comparative case study
Skírnismál is thus neither a purely Norse nor a purely oral composition.
Shieldmaidens in the Gesta Danorum (I-IX): The collective literary imaginary and history
In this thesis, I will investigate whether shieldmaidens’ symbolic meaning in the collective imaginary had originates in a timeless heritage or whether they are the re-elaboration of specific figures.
Labour Pains: Scenes of Birth and Becoming in Old Norse Legendary Literature
In its ability to produce sons, the maternal body offered one of the few means for women to attain power and influence in the medieval world. However, it is constantly depicted as being broken down in Old Norse legendary literature, a loose generic distinction taken here to encompass principally the poems of the Poetic Edda and the prosimetric narratives of the fornaldarsögur.
Why this is the week to be in Iceland (and learn about sagas)
The scholarly world interested in all things Norse, Viking and saga-related is coming to Iceland this week for the 17th International Saga Conference. Here is a quick guide to what is happening.
When the Atlantic Ocean had many islands: The mythical and miraculous places west of medieval Europe
Why medieval people did not accept that the vast space in the Atlantic Ocean between the Old World and the New could truly be an empty one.
How well do you know your Norse Mythology?
Test your knowledge of Norse gods and goddesses with these 15 questions
‘To Talk of Many Things’: Whales, Walrus, and Seals in Medieval Icelandic Literature
In comparing the roles of whales, walrus, and seals, this study will examine the themes that recur throughout the Old Icelandic literary tradition, and how these may have been influenced by the circumstances of the time.
What did they sound like? Reconstructing the music of the Viking Age
This paper attempts to fill that gap by offering a reconstruction of Viking Age Scandinavian music.
Maiden warriors in Old Norse Literature
In the Old Norse literature, the term ‘shieldmaiden’ (Skjaldmær in Icelandic) tends to be used with reference to a Viking woman warrior
NEW! The Medieval Magazine No. 108
Spring cleaning! The first issue of the Medieval Magazine with a fresh new face!
In this issue, we look at Norse seasons, medieval beliefs about luck, food and politics in Constantinople, Spanish Easter traditions, and the overlooked life of Catherine of Aragon.
What Vikings really put in their pillows
Your pillows – if they’re not synthetic – are almost certainly filled with domestic goose or duck feathers. These are the most common types of fill used for this purpose today. But our ancestors weren’t always as discerning.
Valhalla Rising: The Construction of Cultural Identity through Norse Myth in Scandinavian and German Pagan Metal
This paper is focused on an intriguing and dynamic stylistic trend in metal culture, which is to use Pagan histories as source of inspiration for the lyrics and images of metal bands.
Nalbinding for Beginners
Nalbinding is the Viking-Age term for single-needle knitting. A traditional wool craft that would be used to make woollen hats, socks, gloves and mittens.
Political and Cultural Relations between Norway and England after the Conquest
What I want to suggest here is that there were important connection between Anglo-Norman England and Scandinavian literature and culture as well, even though the Anglo-Norman kings and writers increasingly looked to the continent for modes of explaining their society.
Wood Culture and Technology in the Greenland Norse Society, 10th-15th Century
Despite a relatively poor wooded environment, well preserved archaeological collections show timbers were often used, suggesting Norse people in Greenland found multiple ways to acquire the wood they needed.
Vikings Against The Academy: Junior Scholars Unite in the Face of Looming Career and Mental-Health Crises
Luke John Murphy tells us about The Network of Early Career Researchers in Old Norse.
Walrus Ivory and a History of Trade: Greenland Trade Networks in the North Atlantic
Norse settlement in Greenland represents the far westward reach of Norse influence. Despite being a considerable distance from other settlements, the Greenland colony was not nearly as isolated as it appeared.
How and why did the Viking Age begin?
The question of how the Viking Age started has been much debated by historians. One of the leading scholars in the field, Neil Price, is looking to address this fundamental question with his latest project – The Viking Phenomenon.
How Weather Ruled the Vikings
By Danielle Turner When the weather determines most happenings in a person’s life, what kind of cultural changes emerge as a direct result…
Ascending the Steps to Hliðskjálf: The Cult of Óðinn in Early Scandinavian Aristocracy
This thesis is a study of the cult of Óðinn as it seems to have evolved within the newly emerging warrior-based aristocracy of southern Scandinavia during the centuries prior to the Viking Age.