Between the 8th century and the end of the Viking age, the Vikings and other Norsemen traveled extensively in the Western part of the world. They traveled all over Europe, as far South as the Mediterranian Sea, and inland as far as Bagdad (though their raiding parties went further, into the Caspian Sea). They also traveled North and West, landing in Iceland, Greenland, and North America, and establishing settlements that, in many places, still have modern equivalents.  More ..read more

Most cultures around the world throughout history have had some kind of deity or spirit that they attributed patterns of weather, tides, and other natural phenomena to; oftentimes, they have multiple. According to modern research and observation, the weather deeply affects the well-being of a society. For the Vikings specifically, who were semi-nomadic raiders, weather patterns played a massive role in food production and storage, travel, land acquisition, and more. When the typical weather patterns were disrupted - by torrential rains and storms, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and other nat ..read more

The name a parent bestows on their child can be one of the most important early gifts they give. Names have power, as many folkloric and religious traditions will tell you, and deciding on a name has been a cultural milestone since ancient times..... Here are five of the most popular Viking names, where they come from, and what they mean. More ..read more

The world of the Vikings is often depicted in media as dangerous, violent, and uncultured; the Vikings are often the savage raiders who appear from the seas to attack the protagonists. The truth is that Viking culture was as intricate and complex as any of the other cultures of the era and involved plenty of deeply meaningful social and religious rituals. More ..read more

There’s a common misconception that the term Viking refers to a particular ethnic group of people. This isn’t true; “Viking” was a profession and collective culture that encompassed people from across Scandinavia and Northern Europe. Most Vikings were Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish, though there were Vikings from Finland and Estonia as well, among other places. Vikings were a warrior group that traveled by sea and raided coastal settlements in Britain, Russia, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, and most of the European continent. They were feared by many of the people in these places as talented ..read more

You’ve probably seen Viking runes before - the strange, straight-lined symbols that populate Viking media and decorate shields and ships. While they may look confusing and mystical, the reality of Viking runes in the culture at the time and in the modern world is as interesting and diverse as the cultures they come from. Here’s what you need to know about the origins, meanings, and uses of Viking runes. What are Viking runes? A “rune” is another name for a letter or symbol used in an alphabet system to document information in written form. The Viking runes as we know them today were originall ..read more

If you asked a Northern European in the 11th century what they thought about the Vikings, you’d probably hear that they were violent, pagan raiders. However, travel further South and you might discover an altogether different reputation. If you asked someone in Southern Europe or the Middle East about the Vikings, they might tell you about canny traders and businessmen bringing valuable commodities from the North. As well as travelling to raid and colonise in the North Atlantic, the Vikings travelled South and East as merchants. In fact, the Norsemen established a vast trading network, facilit ..read more

Though the overwhelming majority of Viking warriors depicted in TV, movies and museums are men, in recent years pop culture has become increasingly fascinated with female Viking warriors. From Lagertha in Vikings to Astrid in How to Train Your Dragon, there seems to be no end of swash-buckling, battle-hardened Viking women on our screens. These characters make for great TV, but how much truth is there behind the female Viking warrior trope? Characters like these go back as far as the Icelandic Sagas and beyond. Even in the Viking-age, ordinary folk would have been regaled with stories of Shiel ..read more

Living in Scandinavia and settling in some of the coldest habitable regions on Earth, the Vikings were masters at overcoming long, dark winters. But without electricity or central heating, how did the Vikings not only survive, but thrive, through the cold months?   Life in the Viking-age was controlled by the passage of the seasons, with the time of year deciding what you ate, what work there was to be done and how you spent your leisure time. Though farming and raiding were on hold during the winter, the colder months were still incredibly busy for the Vikings. With food harder to come ..read more

We all know that the Vikings were some of the most skilled seafarers of their day. Medieval Norsemen ruled a vast network of trading outposts and settlements, as well as full-blown colonies far from their home Scandinavian homeland. But exactly how far did the Vikings travel in their quest for exploration and influence over the globe? From East to West, and North to South, the Viking world spanned thousands of kilometres. Taking in their entire network is a momentous task; far more than can be covered in one short article. So let’s focus right now on the Vikings’ dominance over the North Atlan ..read more