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 dedicate quite a bit of column space to Viking treasures since these artifacts often inspire pieces in our collection. Most of the objects from the Viking Age that we have shared come from the Viking world Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, and North Sea islands and the regions where the Vikings had a great…
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…
There is good evidence that the Vikings were sailing into the Baltic and the region of Estonia from the start of the 9th century and that by the 10th century, they were having a big impact on the area with several Estonian-Viking settlements emerging in the mostly Finno-Hungarian region. However new archaeological evidence suggests that…
While most people have heard of the Knights Templar and now that they have something to do with the Crusades, few people know much about their history or their Viking connection. This is a brief history of the Knights Templar that highlights some of the practices that they seem to have borrowed from Viking warrior…
While we might think of the Vikings as ancient history, our knowledge of what the Viking world was like is constantly evolving thanks to new archaeological discoveries. New finds can push back the dates for important events, reveal greater spheres of influence, and elucidate rituals, fashions, and more. With that in mind, here are some…
We know that the Vikings believed in life after death. What exactly they believed it looked like is unclear. While surviving sources provide descriptions of Valhalla, Odin’s hall in Asgard for brave fallen warriors, Helheim, the underworld, and other afterlives, these were written by Christian observers of Norse culture and were highly influenced by Christian…
