In the early Middle Ages Norway was comprised of many petty kingships. According to the sagas, it was Harald Fairhair (ca. 850 – ca. 932 AD) who united Norway into a single kingdom. Harald Fairhair’s father, Halfdan the Black,… Read More ›
Vikings
The Skald Guthorm Sindre – Norway’s First Peace Negotiator
(Photo: NRK.no) Thanks to the effort of an unknown poet (Old Norse: skald), the history of Norway could have been very different. In 915 AD, King Harald Fairhair was ready to go to war against his own son, Halfdan… Read More ›
What Did the Vikings Look Like?
The world’s only existing Viking Age helmet, from Gjermundbu in Ringerike. Exhibited in Historical Museum. (Photo: Museum of Cultural History) The Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the… Read More ›
Norse Warriors Going Berserk
Textile fragment from the Oseberg Viking ship grave, c, 834 AD: Horned figure with crossed spears facing a person wearing bear skin. (Drawing / Photo: Museum of Cultural History, Oslo) The berserker warriors (Old Norse: ber-serkir, meaning “bear-shirt”) were said to… Read More ›
A Viking Burial Described by Arab Writer Ahmad ibn Fadlan
The Oseberg ship, a well-preserved Viking ship discovered in a large burial mound at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg in Vestfold county, (Photo: norskevaapen.no) Norse funerals, or the burial customs of Viking Age Norsemen (early medieval Scandinavians), are known both… Read More ›
Nordland Boat – A Heritage From the Vikings
(Photo: Hildringstimen.no) The Nordland boat, closely related to the Viking longships, has dominated the fishing industry in the Lofoten and Vesterålen islands for centuries. The Nordland boat (Norwegian: Nordlandsbåt), is a type of fishing vessel used for centuries in the northern… Read More ›
Norwegian Forest Cat – A Small Puma
The Norwegian Forest Cat is a breed native to Northern Europe. The cat is adapted to a very cold climate with top coat of glossy, long, water-shedding hairs and a woolly undercoat for insulation. Although this is uncertain, their ancestors… Read More ›
Year 995 AD – Norway’s First Coin
Olaf Tryggvason’s silver coin, front side, Photo: University of Oslo) Shortly after he became king in 995 AD, Olaf Tryggvason started to mint silver coins in his own name; ONLAF REX NOR (Normannorum); “Olaf, King of the Norwegians”. On the… Read More ›
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