Tag Archives: Vikings

Eastern Vikings Conference Results

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The Legends of the Eastern Vikings Sigfús Blöndal memorial conference was held at Laugarvatn on the 21st to 22nd of October. Sigfús Blöndal wrote one of the defining accounts of the Vikings in the east over 50 years ago, but a lot has happened in the field since and at Laugarvatn some of the world’s leading scholars in the field presented their findings. Happily, the papers will be published in a book that should be out next year.

Meanwhile, Sverrir Jakobsson’s The Varangians: In God’s Holy Fire presents an updated account of recent scholarship. And while we wait for the book, here is a radio interview with Þórir Jónsson Hraundal about the conference.

Samfélagið – Flatnefja gæludýr, meðafli og væringjar | RÚV Útvarp (ruv.is)

 

New Podcast Available! Who Were the Rus?

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Who were the Rus? Host Valur Gunnarsson speaks with Dr. Sverrir Jakobsson, one of the worlds’ leading authorities, about all things Rus. Where did they come from, and how did they impact the Middle Ages as well as the world we know today? (In English)

Part 2 of the Legends of the Eastern Vikings Podcast.

Spotify – Legends of the Eastern Vikings: Who were the Varangians and the Rus, with Dr. Sverrir Jakobsson – Legends of the Eastern Vikings | Podcast on Spotify

(see also the Podcast Page for Part 1)

Were the First Norwegian Kings Copying the Rus and the Romans?

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One of the more preposterous plot points in “The Vikings” TV show is when the Rus invade Norway. This would have been geographically impossible without cutting through present-day Finland and Sweden first, quite apart from the fact that the Rus and the Scandinavians were generally on good terms.

It is fairly well established that the Scandinavians played a part in the founding of the Rus state, which leads back to modern day Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. But what about vice-versa? In his book The Varangians: In God’s Holy Fire, Dr. Sverrir Jakobsson points out that both St. Olaf and Harald Hardrada, two of the kings most fundamental to the creation of the Norwegian state, had been in exile in the Rus for long periods of time. Harald even went further and served in the Varangian Guard of the Roman Emperor.

The Rus at the time had so many towns that the Scandinavians called it “Garðaríki,” sometimes translated as “the kingdom of cities” or “the realm of towns.” And the court of the East Roman Emperor in Constantinople was the greatest in all of Christendom. Were the Norwegian kings inspired by the Rus and the Byzantines when they set about creating a state in Norway? These and many other Rus-related questions will be answered in an upcoming podcast with Sverrir  Jakobsson on this very page.

Harald Hardrada window in Kirkwall Cathedral | Colin Smith / Harald Hardrada / CC BY-SA 2.0

 

Are the Mysterious Figurines Valkyries?

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“Mysterious, ancient female figurines have been found by the dozens all over Denmark, and as far afield as England and Russia.” Thus begins an article in a recent issue of National Geographic Magazine. What are these mysterious figurines?

A find in Ribe, Denmark, which was a major trading port in the 9th century, may shed some light on the subject. Here, an “assembly line” of pedants was discovered in 2017. By making moulds out of clay, hundreds of pedants could be made at a time. These represent a variety of figurines similar to the ones seen on the tapestry found in the Oseberg ship, buried in a mound in Norway in 834 and discovered in 1904.

Some of the figurines portray women bearing swords and shields. These have usually been taken to be Valkyries, but a recent study by Pieterjan Deckers, archaeologist at the Free University of Brussels, suggests otherwise. He claims that these represent actual women fulfilling ceremonial roles, as they are wearing dresses that would be highly impractical in combat. Hence, the women are wilfully shown taking on male attributes. Similarly, other figurines show a man tearing at his hair, which is a traditionally feminine gesture.

Leszek Gardela, archaeologist at the National Museum of Denmark, says: “They steer away from a simplistic interpretation of women and weapons, where they’re all Valkyries and warriors, and argue for something else. It’s good to remember there’s no one fixed way of interpreting this material.”

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/viking-amulet-factory-discovery-forces-rethink-enigmatic-artifacts

Valkyrie - Wikipedia

The World’s Only Viking Helmet (and Other Objects)

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Still ongoing in Oslo is the “Vikingr” exhibition at the Museum of Cultural History. On display is the most extensive collection of Viking swank assembled in Norway, including the world’s only intact Viking helmet (sans horns, if there was still any doubt).

Of particular interest to us is silver hoard from the 10th Century, found on the Teisen farm in Oslo in 1844. Among the items here are several Arabian and Persian coins from present day Iran and Iraq. There are also armrings, probably made from melted-down silver coins, which could both be worn and used as currency, sort of like a portable mini-bank. Finally, there are cut-down pieces of silver which must also have been used to buy stuff with and weighed according to price.

As if this wasn’t enough proof that 10th Century Norway was interconnected with large parts of the world, the next display case shows a treasure unearthed at a farm in Buskerud in 1834. While the Vikings mainly used silver, usually originating in the Caliphate, as currency, this hoard contains gold rings including one from England, multi-coloured pearls, Roman jewellery repurposed in the Viking Age, Frankish ornaments, as well as the omnipresent Arabian coins.

At the exhibit there are also finds from a female grave, which includes weapons. This could indicate that the roughly 19-year-old girl was a warrior, but little is known for sure. The still-intact skull will soon be DNA analysed, which may yield further information.

The museum is connected to the Viking Ship House on Bygdö Island, a short ferry trip away. A ticket for one is a ticket for both and can be used on different days. However, the Viking Ship Museum will soon be closed for renovation and will only reopen, vastly expanded, in 2025. Vikingr will run for a few more years. Even if you are not passing through Oslo Norway, you can take a virtual tour here:

https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=KLqd8Ur9Uuf

There is also an introductory video with English subtitles here:

https://www.khm.uio.no/english/visit-us/historical-museum/exhibitions/vikingr/index.html

Bildet kan inneholde: lokk, personlig verneutstyr, sirkel, skrift, metall.

Origin Stories: The Kyivan Rus in Ukrainian Historiography

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A new paper is now available in our dissertations segment. Written by your humble editor while on location in Kyiv and having to prolong his stay because of covid, 2020 turned into a very productive period. The stay formed the backdrop to the nr. 1 best-selling non-fiction book Bjarmalönd, now back in the Icelandic charts. The dissertation, which was part of my master’s degree, can be found below. The opening reads:

“The Russians and the Ukrainians, and indeed the Belarusians too, share an origin myth which reaches back to the legendary Rurik’s founding of the kingdom of the Kyivan Rus However, rather than reaching fruition in the early 20th century, as was the case in much of Central Europe, the origin story was subsumed into the Soviet experiment, and only remerged after 1991. It is still very much a work in progress.
Here we will look at how the founding myth of the Rus has been used in the Ukrainian
nation building project, which will unavoidably lead to comparisons with Russia and, to a
lesser extent, other neighbouring countries such as Poland, Belarus and Lithuania. From the Normanist debate of the mid-18th century to the rise of nationalism in the 19th century and the use of the Rus in the the Soviet Union, we turn to the present with its all its historical complexity and political ramifications regarding the relationship between Ukraine and Russia.”

Lokaverkefni: “Origin Stories: The Kyivan Rus in Ukrainian Historiography” | Skemman

Visiting the Gjellestad site

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The dig at Gjellestad, the most significant Viking find in Norway for over a century, is proceeding apace. The buried Viking ship was discovered two years ago and the excavation is expected to be completed this summer.

As I arrive, there is already a French documentary crew in place. Most Viking ship remains are found at the bottom of the sea, but this is a rare case of burial remains which makes it that much more interesting. Head archaeologist Camilla Wenn tells me that bones have been found belonging to animals, and possibly to humans, but this will have to be verified with DNA.

It’s hard to draw any conclusions at this point, but it seems that the Gjellestad ship did not have a mast. This may indicate that the ship is from before the the time when the old Norse started using sails. It could also just be a different design, or development, a coastal ship perhaps. No one knows.

But it does seem that Östfold, on the eastern side of the Oslo fjord, may have been more equal in power and wealth to Vestfold on the western side. The famous Gokstad ship and the Oseberg ship are both from Vestfold. However, the sandy terrain there does not lend itself well to preservation, so further finds are unlikely. The clay ground in Ostfold has preserved artefacts far better. Among the objects found at Gjellestad are a part of the stem and a large amber bulb. The latter may indicate contact with the eastern Baltic, but amber is quite often found in Viking graves so trade was conducted between the areas in any case.

Here you can see the finds in 3D at the University of Oslo.

Kulturhistorisk museum: 3D-modeller (uiocloud.no)

Are Viking Computer Games Too Violent?

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Some people have criticised the Assassins Creed: Valhalla computer game which came out last year for being excessively violent. Long and bloody execution scenes are common, with no option to skip. Even by the standards of the Assassins Creed series, this is taking things a step further.

Jane Skjoldli, a self-professed gamer, is part of the Back to Blood Research Project at the University of Stavanger in Norway which aims to look at Viking representations in popular culture. She says that the game is based on a specific view of the Vikings, which sees them simultaneously as brutal warriors and traditionally masculine but also with progressive views on gender. The series has sometimes been praised for historical accuracy but this time we get a mythologized Viking World which combines the old religion and stave churches and various epochs of the Viking era. The game seems more inspired by The Vikings TV series than history.

At least they didn’t have horns in the show. That particular trope was invented by Carl Emil Doepler who was tasked with producing Wagner’s Niebelungenlied in 1876. A century of misconceptions in popular culture followed. Perhaps the History Channel take is the Doepler effect of our day?

Meanwhile, the game has been changed and you can now skip the gore. If you like.

The Viking version of Assassin’s Creed is surprisingly violent, according to researcher (sciencenorway.no)

Assassin's Creed Valhalla review: cloudy with a chance of mead halls | Adventure games | The Guardian

Vikings for Kids

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There are several mentions of children in the Icelandic Sagas. One tells of two Vikings who play a game of tossing an infant between their spearpoints. A third Viking, who does not want to take part, is ridiculed and accused of liking children too much.

Another more joyful story tells of Egill Skallagrímsson, perhaps the most Viking-like Viking of them all who, who sneaks into a party at the age of three, gets drunk for the first time, and composes his first poem. It would take another four years until his first manslaughter.

Sadly, neither of these stories is likely to be represented in Lana Longbeard, a new cartWickeoon set to debut in 2023. The show will consist of 52 eleven minute episodes and is a Canadian, French and German co-production. To German speakers and Japanese, the most famous Viking is Wickie who had is own cartoon series in the 1970s and more recent live-actions films and shows. Many Germans erroneously think him to be based on an Icelandic story, but the original book is actually by Swedish Runer Jonsson.

Lana is a tween who sets out on her father’s ship to become a great adventurer. We will see if she heads east, or west, or both.

Vicky the Viking (TV Series) (1974) - Filmaffinity

Do the Sagas Belong in Iceland or Denmark?

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This year marks 50 years since the Danes returned many of the Saga manuscripts, including the famed Flateyjarbók, to Iceland. Surprisingly, it also marks the first time in 50 years that possession of the manuscripts has come up for debate.

On June 3rd, the Historian’s Association of Iceland held a conference about the manuscripts in Reykjavik. The tone was set at the beginning when Minister of Education Lilja Alfreðsdóttir stated that discussions were being held with the Danes for the return of further manuscripts. This is partly because the Danes are felt not to be honouring the spirit of the agreement from 1971 regarding manuscript scholarship. As an example, they no longer pay the wages of the one Icelandic chair at the University of Copenhagen, this burden now being shouldered by the Icelandic government.

It is true that much has changed since in 50 years. At the time, the study of Saga manuscripts was centred on Copenhagen but has now almost entirely moved to Iceland which, thanks to new transport and technology, is no longer the outpost it once was. Meanwhile, research in the field in Denmark has lapsed due to decreased interest. In addition, the long-awaited House of Icelandic Studies in Reykjavik is nearing completion, which means that the country will finally have the appropriate showcase for the Sagas.

Perhaps surprisingly, all the Icelandic scholars present agreed that the remaining manuscripts should remain in Copenhagen. And yet, there was considerable dispute among them. Some felt that the debate was settled long ago and therefore it was meaningless to bring it up again. Furthermore, it is in the interest of scholarship to have Saga manuscripts available in other countries. Sweden and Britain have their own Icelandic manuscript collections and others can be found further afield.

Others felt that dialogue with the Danes was all for the good. Even if the results would be the same, with the collection remaining divided between Reykjavik and Copenhagen, the debate was likely to rekindle interest in the Sagas. As Saga scholar Gísli Sigurðsson said, in 1971 people took interest in the Sagas for granted as they had been kept in the public eye partially because of the debate with the Danes. These days, more effort must be made to attract public attention.

And public attention was truly attracted, as the debate continued that evening on the much-watched daily newsmagazine Kastljós on Icelandic public television.

The Icelandic Sagas are some of the best available sources on the Eastern Vikings in existence, as well as the Viking Age in general. The Saga collection in Árnastofnun encompasses some 1.666 manuscripts and manuscript parts, whereas the Danes have retained 700 manuscripts, including the famous Heimskringla, the story of the Norwegian Kings, by Snorri Sturluson.

For the broadcast in Icelandic:

https://www.ruv.is/sjonvarp/spila/kastljos/27725/95ersb

For the manuscript collection (Icelandic, English, Danish):

https://handrit.is/en/