While many Europeans called the Vikings the Northmen, the Vikings had their own northern neighbors. While the Vikings, or Norse men of Germanic descent and culture, occupied the southern regions of Norway and Sweden, plus Denmark, the north was occupied by the Sami. Who Are the Sami? The Sámi are indigenous people who have traditionally…
We talk a lot about the most well-known Norse gods. Odin, the All-Father and god of war and wisdom, Thor, the god of thunder and protector, Freyja, the goddess of love and fertility, and many more. We enjoy reading the stories preserved about them and unpicking what they can reveal about these fascinating deities. But…
Since the Vikings were raiders, it is not hard to imagine them wealthy pirates, bathing in gold acquired on distant shores. But some of the richest and most interesting pieces of gold that survive from the Viking period come from the pre-raiding era. These are bracteates and gullgubber. Germanic Bracteates Bracteates are thin, single-sided gold…
We often talk about the important role symbols played in the Viking world and have dedicated articles to explaining the meaning behind important symbols such as the Valknut, Vegvisir, and Mjolnir. Many of these symbols inspire the designs of our Viking jewelry. Since launching our Celtic jewelry line we have been learning more about the…
It is hard to imagine what medicine and health looked like a thousand years ago before the discovery of medicines like antibiotics was invented and before the regular use of soap was a thing. But while the Vikings may not have had our modern scientific medical knowledge, they developed some sophisticated and effective ways to…
Traditionally, the start of the Viking age is dated from 793 CE, when the Vikings attacked the monastery at Lindisfarne in England. However, there is evidence that the Vikings were raiding in the Baltic region up to a century earlier, and they may have been actively raiding elsewhere. The traditional end date for the Viking…
Many Wiccan and Neo-Pagan traditions venerate the triple goddess, who manifests as the maiden, mother, and crone. They represent past, present, and future, and also the cycle of life and death as new growth, fertility, and death. She aligns with the cycles of the moon, with the maiden the waxing moon, the mother the full…
When reading Norse sagas and other types of Norse literature, one important literary motif to understand is kennings. Kennings are not just common in Old Norse literature, but also Old Germanic texts and Old English poetry. A kenning is a figurative phrase that replaces a common noun. For example, a Skaldic poet might refer to…
One thing that we have in common with our Viking ancestors is an appreciation for a good joke and a robust sense of humor. The surviving Norse sagas suggest that the Vikings had a dark sense of humor that involved sarcasm, irony, and strangeness. They would tell jokes at the dinner table and on the…
Druids were the priests and religious leaders among Celtic tribes and are known to have existed across the Celtic world from Ireland to Germany. What little we know about them comes from observations from writers from other cultures, especially the Romans, and from more modern folklore. While it is believed that the Druids were literate,…