180 replies to this topic

[Kortoso]

Vikings may have brought a squaw back from Vinland:
http://www.physorg.c...land-years.html
http://www.speroforu...oots-in-Iceland
Cold nights, you know!

[deuce]

The Vikings had it relatively "easy" in Iceland and Greenland during the Medieval Warm Period:


http://www2.sunysuff...during_mwp.html

[Ironhand]

Nice article on Vikings from TIME magazine:

http://www.time.com/...96836-1,00.html

[Libaax]

The Swedish Vikings who ventured east for samarkand were such splendid physical specimens that the 10th century Arab voyager Ibn Fadlan felt moved to write, "I have never before seen such perfect bodies; they were tall like palm trees, blonde, with a few of them red." When the Swedes went home and hung up their helmets, they set about building a capital city every bit as stunning. Stockholm is a cluster of jewel-like islands, and its long, light-filled days make summer the ideal time for your raid. Here's where to find the choicest spoils.


I liked that part about Swedes because Norway,Danmark gets more viking hype in Anglo,saxon part of the world for understandable historical reasons.

Time Magazine should have known though Stockholm our capital was build a 100-200 years later than Viking Age.

Edited by Libaax, 01 December 2010 - 02:25 PM.

[PaulMc]

Vikings might have brought Native American to Iceland

[Kortoso]

Which restrictions are you referring to, Kromtaar?

Due to forum posting restrictions, here are the other favorite pieces of Harald Foss that I selected :

Go on the youtube channel where all the previous pieces , and look for:
" Vindharpen " (this piece is really worth it)
"H?kon den gode" (this one as well)
" gjoglerdansen"


Tell me what you think about this!

[Kortoso]

Vikings might have brought Native American to Iceland

That explains the Black Irish, then.

[Ironhand]

Viking bling from Kiev

http://museum.veliza...ovel/index.html

I guess this is why those barbaric slavs invited the Vikings to come and teach them the ways of civilization.

[Ironhand]

A Viking's life was not a rose garden. For information on Viking losses see

http://networkedblogs.com/lHuHk

[Ironhand]

Early Viking village discovered in Ireland.

http://www.independe...ts-2900893.html

[Morrigan]

The first ever discovery of a Viking longboat burial on mainland Britain.
http://www.guardian....d?newsfeed=true

[Ironhand]

Early Viking gravesites in Poland.

"Sword at his side, the so-called Young Warrior (left) is among the thousand-year-old discoveries in a newfound cemetery in Poland, a new study says.
The burial ground holds not only a hoard of precious objects but also hints of human sacrifice—and several dozen graves of a mysterious people with links to both the Vikings and the rulers of the founding states of eastern Europe."

http://news.national...easure-science/

See also
Thor's Hammer' Found in Viking Grave.

[deuce]

Early Viking gravesites in Poland.

"Sword at his side, the so-called Young Warrior (left) is among the thousand-year-old discoveries in a newfound cemetery in Poland, a new study says.
The burial ground holds not only a hoard of precious objects but also hints of human sacrifice—and several dozen graves of a mysterious people with links to both the Vikings and the rulers of the founding states of eastern Europe."

http://news.national...easure-science/

See also
Thor's Hammer' Found in Viking Grave.

Very cool! Sacrificing women to accompany prominent warriors seems to go back to the primal Indo-Europeans (possibly, if the Scythians are any indication). "Young Warrior" must've been a bad-a$$ to rate that treatment.

[Kortoso]

Ongoing set of videos, reconstructing some of the Viking combat from the sagas.

[Morrigan]

Up Helly Aa, the annual Viking Festival on shetland.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16826966
http://www.bbc.co.uk...otland-16829485

[Kortoso]

Now that's a party.

[Ironhand]

Cool Viking age stuff photos
http://www.arild-hau...ous-museums.htm
The captions are all in Norwegian, so sometimes you have no idea what you are looking at. But it's neat, and wide-ranging.

[Athelstane]

deuce,from my limited understanding,if there was one country that the Vikings liked and assimilated the most in, it was Erin.

The Vikings certainly "liked" Northern England a great deal, and particularly the city of Jorvik (which the Romans called Eboracum).
Under Viking control, Jorvik became a primary river port city and a key hub for their trade routes throughout Northern Europe.

The religious views of the pre-conversion English and the Vikings were also very similar.

Where a Viking worshipped Odin, an Englishman worshipped Woden.
Where a Viking worshipped Thor, an Englishman worshipped Thunor.
Where a Viking worshipped Tyr, an Englishman worshipped Tiw.
And so on.

The old ways were still strong in the Engla-Lands, even with the kings having accepted conversion to the new faith and churches springing up across the land.
And even though the christians co-opted the old pagan festivals and imposed their own fabricated holy days over them, the heathen traditions were still vibrant in the communities.

And the Danelaw also embodied the assimilation and co-existence of Viking and Anglo-Saxon belief and culture, not difficult when the cultural parallels were so strong to begin with anyway.

And then there's northern Scotland, and the very north lying crown of the isles.... to this day the Viking influences in the islanders' culture is strong.
In fact, Orkney and Shetland still owed allegiance to Norway after the Western Isles were ceded to Alexander III of Scotland in 1266!
The islands were ruled by the Vikings for 500 years before finally becoming part of Scotland in 1468.

"But what I started to say is that the Nordic proper is the German, Scandinavian and Norman-Saxon Englishmen and not a Celt at all."

Here lies truth.

[deuce]

deuce,from my limited understanding,if there was one country that the Vikings liked and assimilated the most in, it was Erin.

The Vikings certainly "liked" Northern England a great deal, and particularly the city of Jorvik (which the Romans called Eboracum).
Under Viking control, Jorvik became a primary river port city and a key hub for their trade routes throughout Northern Europe.

Without rechecking, all your info looks accurate, Athelstane. I assume this was the thread you were looking for.

BTW, have you read Poul Anderson's Mother of KIngs? Lots in there about Bloodaxe and York's "Jorvik" period.

[Athelstane]

BTW, have you read Poul Anderson's Mother of KIngs? Lots in there about Bloodaxe and York's "Jorvik" period.

I've read some works by Anderson, but not Mother of Kings.
If it features Jorvik extensively, I might well check it out. Thanks!

And if anyone finds themselves in York at any time, I certainly recommend the Jorvik Viking Centre:
http://www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/

Similarly, if anyone ventures to the northern isles on the last Tiw's Day of January, the Up Helly Aa fire festival is essential:
http://www.uphellyaa.org/

(No, I don't work for the Jorvik or Shetland tourist department or anything! )

Edited by Athelstane, 02 May 2012 - 02:51 PM.