Ohthere’s voyages seen from a nautical angle
But whatever Ohthere and his English hosts exchanged in the way of news and information, the re- corded account keeps closely within ränge of its objective: a geography of unknown and little known areas of Scandinavia and their inhabitants.
The Sagas of Icelanders as a Historical Source
In the main, the stories are set in Iceland in the 9th through 11th century. This is the period in which Iceland was settled, primarily by Norwegians, and the time in which the Icelanders set up their commonwealth form of government.
The Economics of Organizing 9th Century Viking raids
Some scholars have argued that the early raids were a deliberate ‘softening up’ of Europe, a deliberate prelude to land-grabbing. But this view assumes that raiders were displaced farmers, victims of climate change or population pressure.
Why so Many Viking Age Swords in Norway?
Logically it does not seem reasonable that Norway should have had so many more weapons than Sweden and Denmark, not to mention the military superpower Frankia. All the same, it seems that a comparatively rather larger part of the adult and free men were buried with weapons in Norway than in other countries.
Was St Edmund killed by the Vikings in Essex?
If confirmed, the new proposal would change our understanding of the early history of Suffolk and especially of the town and abbey of Bury St Edmunds.
Kings and Vikings: On the Dynamics of Competitive Agglomeration
While we hope our theory is useful in understanding the basic forces driving agglomeration in the face of conflict in a general setting, we shall discuss our theory in terms of a particularly dramatic episode in history: the era of the Viking invasions.
Viking Hoard discovered in England
Now known as the Silverdale Viking Hoard, the collection cotnains a total of 201 silver objects and a well preserved lead container. Of particular interest is the fact that the hoard contains a previously unrecorded coin type, probably carrying the name of an otherwise unknown Viking ruler in northern England.
Immortal Maidens: The Visual Significance of the Colour White in Girls’ Graves on Viking-Age Gotland
The purpose of this paper is to explore the significance of the colour white of cowry shell-beads in burials from the Viking Age on Gotland, considering aspects of gendered age identities as well as fertility and status.
Some sources for the history of Viking Northumbria
The sources for the history of Northumbria in the two centuries between the Viking and Norman Conquests are not voluminous and most are only preserved in later, often incomplete, copies.
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.
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?
Alfred the Great: The Most Perfect Man in History?
Barbara Yorke considers the reputation of King Alfred the Great – and the enduring cult around his life and legend.
The Vikings in Scotland
Intermittent raids were followed by phases of permanent settlement, and in Scotland this focussed on Northern Scotland, the Western Isles and South-West Scotland.
Ireland’s Viking Towns
Comparison of recent excavation results from Irish Viking Age towns in terms of location, layout, defences and buildings show that they have many physical traits in common…
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…
‘í litklæðum’ – Coloured Clothes in Medieval Scandinavian Literature and Archaeology
What do we mean by coloured clothes? Or rather, what did the saga writers mean by their term litklæði?
Lewis Chessmen arrive in New York City
Beginning today, over 30 chessmen from the collection of the British Museum will be shown at The Cloisters until April 22, 2012
England and the Vikings
In 789 the reeve or sheriff of Wessex called Beaduheard went with several of his men to meet three ships of Norwegians who have entered the bay of Portland on the Channel. He thought that they were traders.
Scholars explore Viking fortress in Ireland
Viking scholars from around the world came to the Irish communities of Dundalk and Annagassan last week to take part in a conference…
The Vikings in Spain from Arabic (Moorish) and Spanish sources
Elsewhere Viking victories have been attributed to deficient organization on the part of those attacked. Here the best organized military force then existed, anywhere, was defeated by them.
Viking boat burial site discovered in Scotland
Great Britain’s first fully intact Viking boat burial site has been discovered by archaeologists working in northwest Scotland. The 5 meter-long grave contained…
Unwilling Pilgrimage: Vikings, Relics, and the Politics of Exile during the Carolingian era
Unwilling Pilgrimage: Vikings, Relics, and the Politics of Exile during the Carolingian era By Daniel C. DeSelm PhD Dissertation, University of Michigan, 2009…