The clinker-built Gokstad ship dating back to the year 890 AD is currently on display at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway. (Photo: Museum of Cultural History, Oslo, 1938) Ever since the publication of a scientific article in 1883,… Read More ›
Vikings
Do the Normans Really Have Viking Ancestors?
The Viking Rollo (c. 846 – c. 930 AD), the first Duke of Normandy, was according to the sagas so big that no horse could carry him, hence the nickname “Gange Rolv”, meaning Walking Rolv / Rollo. (Illustration: © Stian… Read More ›
The Confusing Horned Helmets Depicted in the Oseberg Viking Age Tapestries
Section of tapestry discovered in the Oseberg ship burial mound showing a figure wearing a horned helmet. (Watercolor reconstruction: Mary Storm, 1940 / Photo: Museum of Cultural History, Oslo) If you claim that Vikings did not use horned helmets, you… Read More ›
The Story of the Viking Horse Freyfaxi, a Killed Shepherd and a Kept Promise
A herd of Icelandic horses, probably very similar to the original Viking horses brought from Western Norway around the year 900 AD. (Photo: Knut Houge / hest.no) In one of the Icelanders’ sagas, Hrafnkel’s saga Freysgoða, we learn how important… Read More ›
Submission No Alternative: Viking King Herlaug and His Men Choose to be Buried Alive
The burial mound on the Leka island containing King Herlaug and eleven of his men originally was about 12.5 meters (41 ft) high with a diameter of more than 70 meters (230 ft). It is one of the largest Viking… Read More ›
How Was a Viking Chieftain Armed? The Gjermundbu Discovery Reveals the Answer
Based on the findings in the Gjermundbu I grave dating back to the years 950 – 970 AD, this is how a Viking chieftain was armed. (Illustration from the book “Vikings at War”, 2011) In March 1943, a unique finding… Read More ›
Vikings Filled Their Pillows and Duvets with Eagle-Owls’ Feathers
Reconstruction of the Myklebust Viking ship burial chamber c. year 870 AD, Norway, probably containing King Audbjorn of the Fjords. The king’s head is resting on pillows filled with bird feathers. (Illustration: Arkikon.no) In the largest and richest equipped Viking… Read More ›
Did the Viking Age Really Start on 8 June 793 AD?
They came from the fjords of Western Norway, and when they left, only silence could be heard. (Illustrating photo from “Trace” Viking movie, by Markus Dahlslett) “Never before has such terror appeared in Britain as we have now suffered from… Read More ›
The Puzzling Animal Head Posts Found in the Oseberg Viking Ship Grave
One of of five animal head posts found in the Oseberg Viking ship grave. (Photo: © Museum of Cultural History/ Univesity of Oslo /CC BY-SA 4.0/ Kirsten J Helgeland) Five animal head posts were found in the Oseberg Viking ship grave… Read More ›
Travel Food for Vikings
What Did the Vikings Eat? We know little of the recipes from the Viking era, but know a lot about the ingredients the Vikings had at their disposal through archaeological excavations. It is among others found “remnants” of food in… Read More ›
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