Lars Walker is a librarian, historian, Viking reenactor, and writer. His fiction is outstanding. He has written a series of historical fiction about the Christian Viking ruler Erling Skjalgsson. There are four books in the series and they are all excellent, although not for kids (Vikings really were brutal). He has also written a modern dystopian fiction series based in a small Minnesota town (the Epsom series).

In this episode, Lars and I talk about all things Viking-related, including myths, the contribution of the Vikings to modern democracy, two methods of Christian evangelism practiced in Medieval Scandanavia, and how the Norse culture may have prepared the way for Calvinism to take root. 

Books by Lars:

Erling Series

1. The Year of the Warrior (incorporates Erling’s Word. No need to buy that one).

Epsom Series

1. Troll Valley

Viking Legacy (Translation of the work of Torgrim Titlestad)

Lecture: Christianity Comes to the Vikings (given at Union University in Jackson, TN)