The Vasa: Gustav II Adolf’s Glorious and Doomed Warship
On the 10th of August 1628, the Vasa sank in Stockholm harbour, thus ending the career of the most powerful warship that Sweden had ever seen.
5th-century massacre site uncovered by archaeologists
Archaeologists working on the Swedish island of Öland have uncovered evidence showing dozens of men were massacred about 1,500 years ago.
Uppsala Slott: 5 Things You Ought to Know About One of Sweden’s Greatest Castles
This strategic location not only makes the castle a majestic sight, but also earns it the reputation as the most modern defence fortress in its time. But, as all ancient buildings, there is always more than meets the eye. Here are the five things that you may not know about Uppsala Castle.
A female Viking warrior confirmed by genomics
Already in the early middle ages, there were narratives about fierce female Vikings fighting alongside men. Although, continuously reoccurring in art as well as in poetry, the women warriors have generally been dismissed as mythological phenomena.
The Medieval Magazine (Volume 3, No. 13) : Vikings!
In this issue: Vikings, zombies, medieval music, stew, and celebrating 600 years of London’s history.
Student Life in the Medieval University: The Swedish Experience
What was it like to attend a university in the Middle Ages?
Major Viking Age manor discovered in Sweden
Birka, Sweden’s oldest town, has long been a major source of our knowledge about the Viking Age. New geophysical research has now uncovered the ninth-century manor of a royal bailiff at this site.
Medieval Mass Media and Minorities
The portrayal and (mis)use of the figure of the Jew and the Muslim in vernacular sermons and wall paintings from medieval Denmark and Sweden.
Stable isotopes as indicators of change in the food procurement and food preference of Viking Age and Early Christian populations on Gotland (Sweden)
In short, the end of the Viking Age may have involved a suite of environmental, economic, and sociocultural changes, yet despite these changes practices of food preference and food procurement were maintained within the coastal site of Ridanas. Our research contributes to archaeological th
How Much Taxes Did a Medieval Peasant Pay? The numbers from Sweden
A new study on taxation in late medieval Sweden has revealed fascinating details about how much peasants had to pay to the royal government in taxes.
The Laws about Weddings in Viking-Age Gotland
An important source about daily-life in Viking-Age Scandinavia is Guta Lag, a set of laws from the Swedish island of Gotland. This includes details on how weddings were to be conducted.
Parental Grief and Prayer in the Middle Ages: Religious Coping in Swedish Miracle Stories
This article focuses on expressions of bereavement and religious coping in medieval miracle stories from Sweden.
Viking dragon’s head discovered in Sweden
Archaeologists from Sweden and Germany have discovered a little dragon’s head while digging in the port of the Viking town of Birka near Stockholm.
The building of Castles and the administration of Sweden
Throughout Sweden the King began to build castles on the basis of foreign models in the middle of the 13th century. It is about the new art of castle building under Anglo-Norman and German influence.
The Rök Stone – Riddles and answers
Challenges to the mind were popular at the Frankish court at the time of the Rök Stone. Due to the political situation in Scandinavia at that time the stone was made in a combined Swedish and international context. The methods of the stone are clearly influenced by the Frankish renaissance initiated by Alcuin of York.
Of thieves, counterfeiters and homicides: crime in Hedeby and Birka
Material evidence of prehistoric crime is rare. A compilation of finds from Hedeby harbour however offers three case studies, where three different offences – thievery, counterfeiting and homicide – are likely.
The Medieval Saints of Sweden and Denmark
There is a clear link between the celebration of native saints and the ecclesiastical organisation that emerged in Scandinavia in the 12th century. Yet, according to a new doctoral thesis in history from the University of Gothenburg, important differences can be noted between Sweden and Denmark.
Witchcraft Trials In Sweden: With Neighbours Like These, Who Needs Enemies?!
Everyone has “that” neighbour on their floor, or street who they’d secretly love to move to Mars and never see again. Well, the Early Modern Swedes had a way of dealing with those kinds of nasty neighbours…
The Lost Shoe: A Symbol in Medieval Scandinavian Ballads and Church Paintings
Tommy Olofsson examines the Clog Man, a medieval wall painting in a Swedish church – what was it really about?
Viking Hall discovered in Sweden
A Viking feasting hall measuring about 47.5 metres in length has been identified near Vadstena in central Sweden.
Medieval glass artefacts shed new light on Swedish history
Archaeological finds of glass material from Old Lödöse, a Swedish trade centre in the High Middle Ages, call for a revision of the country’s glass history.
Fast and Feast – Christianization through the Regulation of Everyday Life
This article will illustrate that an important part of rulers’ wish to create a Christian society was the introduction of Christian legislation.
Rethinking medieval spaces in digital environments
Many digital websites and archives of medieval spaces and its objects are not only informed by what we might call a post-romantic notion of aesthetics, they also excise crucial dimensions of medieval materiality and performativity such as touch, smell, movement and sound.
Signs of Power. Manorial Demesnes in Medieval Iceland
An important aspect of medieval Icelandic social organization, namely the manor, has been neglected in previous research, and very little research has been undertaken comparing Icelandic manorial organization with other regions. This article focuses on one aspect of manorial organization, namely the manorial demesne or central farm of the manor.
The Reenactors: A Documentary on Medieval reenactors
We are visiting the medieval fair on Gotland. Here we find people dedicating mostly of their spare time to as accurate as possible recreate medieval life. What makes them want to do that? Is it geeks escaping reality or a proper presentation of researched history? Or maybe a little bit of both?