Viking Berserkers Berserkers were battle-frenzied warriors devoted to the god Odin, who fought in a state of complete fury and reckless abandon. Berserkers were said to channel the bear's spirit (or, in the case of the the úlfheðnar, the wolf's spirit) and take on the berserkergangr – the berserker’s rage – to become almost invincible. But this incredible valor and prowess were accompanied by highly erratic behavior – howling and bellowing, biting the rims of their shields, bizarre physical movements, and sometimes even foaming at the mouth. Furthermore, according to some sagas, once the animal spirit had spent itself, the berserker underwent a period of weakness, apathy, and exhaustion. These strange manifestations have left many people believing that berserkers took drugs before...

  (and Shakespeare’s Best Play) The Northman is already being hyped by some as "the definitive Viking movie" and the "most accurate Viking film ever made." Director Robert Eggers is well known for his artistic creativity, attention to fine detail, and respect for his source material. His previous movies include The Witch and The Lighthouse. Eggers co-wrote The Northman with Sjón, the Icelandic novelist and poet, and the project immediately attracted a stellar cast. In addition, an elite team of consultants worked on the film, including Swedish University Archeology Chair Dr. Neil Price (Children of Ash and Elm and The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia), Oxford scholar Dr. Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir (Valkyrie: The Women of...

Norse mythology has made tremendous contributions to popular folklore and today’s fantasy. Elves and dwarves are but two of these elements that have become ubiquitous. Today, the word “elf” might make people think of Santa’s helpers or Elf on the Shelf or 'The Lord of the Rings’. However, the original elves and dwarves were not the "wee folk" of Victorian storybooks, nor the alternative humanoid races of modern sword & sorcery. They were supernatural beings that played a significant role in the world's past, present, and future, as the Vikings saw it. This article looks at what we know – and what we don’t know – about Viking elves (light and dark) and dwarves.

The oldest depiction in Scandinavia skiing is a rock carving in Norway from about 4,000 B.C. Skis were found in Finland from 3,300 B.C. and a pair recovered from a Swedish bog date to 2,700 B.C. When 18th century explorers bumped into the Inuit and other aboriginals of northern Greenland, Canada, and Alaska, they found that they were as comfortable on skis as natives in Siberia.

The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok refers to London as “the finest city in Scandinavia."  This seems like quite a mistake, considering London is the capital of England and sits on the east coast of Britain.  However for the skalds who composed the old saga, London was indeed in Scandinavia, for England was once part of a Viking empire.  This part of English history is almost always glossed over or simply not mentioned at all. The tidier narrative is that Vikings invaded Britain in the 9th century, quickly knocked down most of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, but were eventually halted by the founder of England, Alfred the Great.  Most history books are silent on what happens after that, before picking up the national...

“I have never seen bodies more perfect than theirs. They were like palm trees. They were fair and ruddy. They wear neither coats nor caftans but a garment that hangs on one side and leaves one hand free. Each of them carries an axe, a sword, and a knife and is never parted from any of the arms we have mentioned. Their swords are broad-bladed and grooved like the Frankish ones. From the tips of his toes to his neck, each man is tattooed in dark green with designs and so forth. All their women wear on their bosoms circular brooches, made of iron, silver, copper, or gold according to their husbands’ wealth … around their necks each woman wears...

“I have never seen bodies more perfect than theirs."
-Ahmed Ibn Fadlan (Arabian diplomat describing Vikings that he traded with)

This article investigates common day to day Viking foods, how and when they liked to eat them, and how Viking nutrition contributed to their success.

It is no exaggeration to say that life in the Viking Age was held together by oaths. In fact, in the East, Vikings were known as “Varangians,” which meant “Sworn Companions.” A man or woman’s word was binding, and any person of merit would far rather die than violate their word. There was literally a special place in Hel for oath breakers in the Viking belief system ...

Overall ...five out of five stars from us. But not everyone agrees. As of the writing of this article, Rotten Tomatoes is giving it 89% from the critics and only 67% from the general audience. This most likely comes from the extreme (yet historically accurate) violence and possibly the slower pace found in the middle of the movie. But as for those of you who consider yourselves true fans of Viking history and mythology, we are probably going to love it. Is it Historically Accurate? The Northman is an ambitious film that strives to balance accuracy with powerful storytelling to such a high degree it could only be called “experimental.” Many film critics have already weighed in on its cinematic merit....

During the same time these Icelandic magic books were written, there still existed places in Europe where Christians would have literally burned you at the stake if you were caught with one of these books in your possession.

An international team of archaeologists has discovered a Viking neighborhood and trading base near Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) Turkey.  The site itself is in the ancient city of Bathonea near Lake Küçükçekmece, about 12 miles away from the fabled capital of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire.  This find matches written sources (such as the 12th century Russian Primary Chronicle) which tells of Viking-Byzantine treaties that only allowed Norse traders inside Constantinople in small numbers and only during the daytime.  The site that archaeologists are now uncovering was strategically located a short sail from the mighty Byzantine capital and provided easy access to the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Şengül Aydıngün leads the excavation team of 75 experts.  He commented to Istanbul’s Hurriyet...

The following is our winning 2020 Student Scholarship submission from Grace Traina.   Freya and Aphrodite: comparing the Norse and Greek Goddesses of Love Freya, the Norse goddess of love, beauty, fertility and sexuality, bears a striking physical and mythological resemblance to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of the same domain. I wanted to research Freya to examine the similarities and differences between the Norse and Greek depictions of the most traditionally “beautiful” goddess. The relationship between Freya and Frigg (the wife of head god Odin) in Norse mythology is similar to the relationship between Aphrodite and Hera (the wife of head god Zeus) in Greek mythology. Freya and Frigg, like Aphrodite and Hera, are considered the two most beautiful goddesses in...

Archaeologists announced July 4, 2019, that they have found the remains of two Viking-era ship burials in Uppsala, Sweden.  Along with earlier Norwegian finds in Østfold County (October 2018) and Vestfold County (March 2019), four Viking Age ship burials have been found in Scandinavia within the last year. 

Widespread viewer enthusiasm for Game of Thrones escalates with each episode, making it the most popular and engaging show of today. The opening episode of the show’s final season (which aired 4/14/19) broke all of HBO’s previous records with a viewership of 17.4 million people.  One of the joys of watching, reading, or writing fantasy is that a creator can craft their story drawing from different sources without being restricted by them.  George R.R. Martin (the veteran author of the series A Song of Ice and Fire from which the show Game of Thrones is adapted from) said that he was directly inspired by Sir Walter Scott’s classic, Ivanhoe, and by the real-life history of England’s War of the Roses. ...

Decorated horse bridles from the Viking era (950 ad) were recently discovered in Jutland Denmark.     Sources:http://www.realmofhistory.com/2017/03/21/viking-oriented-discovery-denmark/ http://cphpost.dk/news/archeologists-make-sensational-viking-discovery-in-denmark.html And for those of you who can read Danish, here is a site that provides live updates from the dig site: http://www.vikingfregerslev.dk/Nyheder-2966.aspx?Action=1&NewsId=904&M=NewsV2&PID=7022 View modern day Viking Jewelry here:

Thor's Rike (Thor's Kingdom): Welcome Viking Enthusiasts! You’ve probably been to Disney World or Six Flags or Cedar Point. Those are all well and good, but what if you could hit a park built on the Viking theme? Well, now you can. It’s called Thor's Rike (Thor’s Kingdom in English) and it’s designed to attract Viking enthusiasts from all over the world. It’s located in the western Norwegian county of Hordaland, with the goal of putting a spin on the traditional theme park. Flume rides and roller coasters will feature “infotainment” to educate visitors about Vikings and their history. Go back 1,000 years and discover what made the Vikings so great and all-empowering. You can even experience the thrill of authentic...

Wardruna is a Norwegian group founded around 2009. They are responsible for much of the soundtrack and music heard on the TV series called Vikings.  Though some of their members came out of the Black Metal scene of the early 2000s, Wardruna predominantly relies on traditional instruments to achieve their unworldly, haunting sound.

Floki and his followers were so preoccupied with fishing that they neglected to cut and store hay for the animals that they had brought.

Ivar the Boneless was an extraordinary warrior whose ferocity and cruelty at times reached psychotic levels.  He was responsible for the death of ...

many of the Norse goddesses were also goddesses of war. It is clear from these stories that the Vikings did not see the battlefield in strictly masculine terms.

Check out the Viking Ship Gokstadfæring on Display! Interested to see a detailed replica of a Gokstadfæring? You can when you visit the Danish Canadian Museum in Alberta Canada! The Freydis Joanna Viking Ship and Naust is part of the museum’s permanent collection, just waiting to be discovered by visitors who love Viking history. The exhibit tells a fascinating story. First off, a little bit about longships: Longships were a vital part of the success of Viking expansion into remote territories. They were extremely competent at navigating open waters, with this group comprised largely of skilled craftsmen and sailors. As such, the Vikings easily and swiftly claimed control over both land and sea. As you know, longships were long, narrow...

More than 2,000 swords have been found so far from the viking age (around 800 AD - 1050 AD). However, unlike most of the swords that were made for battle, recent discoveries through the use of neutron scans have proven that some of these swords may have been purely created for decorative purposes. All three of these swords (found in Denmark and pictured above) were made through pattern welding which includes using thin strips of various metals, irons and steel. They are then welded together, folded and/or twisted and then forged in various ways to produce decorative patterns. Whereas swords made for battle were typically made of pure steel. Learn more at: http://www.livescience.com/58654-viking-sword-scans-reveal-norse-culture.html   Viking jewelry for sale: