The Vikings on the Continent in Myth and History

Between the 8th and 11th centuries, the Vikings surged from their Scandinavian homelands to trade, raid and invade along the coasts of Europe. Their reach stretched from Newfoundland (Canada) to Baghdad (Syria); their battles were as far-flung as Africa and the Arctic. Were they great seafarers or desperate farmers, noble heathens or oafish pirates: the last pagans or the first of the modern Europeans, being the ancestors of their admirable modern descendants? This book puts medieval chronicles, Norse sagas and Muslim accounts alongside more recent research into ritual magic, genetic profiling and climatology. It includes biographical sketches of some of the most famous Vikings, from Erik Bloodaxe to Saint Olaf, King Canute to Leif the Lucky. It explains why so many Icelandic settlers had Irish names; how the Norsemen took over Normandy (and then conquered England); and how the last Viking colony was destroyed by English raiders.

If we rely solely on the narrative provided by the annalists and authors of the Carolingian empire, the appearance of the Vikings in Western Europe was an abrupt and unexpected one.

An essay written as part of the application process to UCL in 2013, examining the accuracy of the popular perception of the Vikings.

Scandinavian Journal of History, 2015

‘Remembering the Vikings in Thirteenth-Century England and Denmark’, Thirteenth Century England XVII, ed. A.M. Spencer and C. Watkins (Woodbridge, Boydell), 1-21, 2021

This chapter explores and compares the ways in which the vikings were remembered in thirteenth-century England and Denmark.

2014

A review of P. H. Sawyer's book written for the 'Histories & Cultures of the Nordic Region' course in 2014.

Our most recent and thorough publication is written in English (2001), but was pubished in German a year later ("Die Welt der Wikinger"). We have been encouraged to make this work available in English and here are the the first chapters. A list of references will follow soon.

VIKING WARS, 2021

The Norwegian Archaeological Society is proud to present the very first special Viking volume: VIKING WARS. The 13 articles presented in this publication represent some of the latest, and most relevant research on Viking warfare from the Viking and early Scandinavian medieval period in Europe. The Vikings fought for power, wealth, and land in many areas of the Northern hemisphere, and left traces of their activities from Canada in the West to the Caucasus in the East. In many parts of Europe visual, literary, and material culture contain influences of past Viking activities. This volume offers new insights on Viking female warriors; local defense systems; a Danish-Obodrite attack on a Frankish fortress; deeply rooted traditions relating to weapon production; viking encampments in Atlantic Europe; rune carvers in campaign; textiles essential for sea journeys, and related warfare; the symbolic power of weapons; the roles of Rus’ captives and slave soldiers; as well as the relationship between Viking and Norse settlers, and the local Picts of the Western Isles. Viking Special Volume 1 is co-funded by the Centre for Viking-Age Studies (ViS) and the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo.