This time on the podcast we laughed a lot with Rowdy Geirsson, the author of several books and articles based in the Viking Age, both its history and mythology. Like us, Rowdy is an American who has a passion for the Norse — he even spoke to us from Sweden where he is soaking up local viking history for the month.

So, what do Boston, Snorri Sturluson, warriors, Leif Eriksson, Óðin’s bird poop of wisdom, and getting sucked into black holes in the Vikingverse have in common? Watch the interview and find out!

You can follow Rowdy and his work on his website Scandinavian Aggression, and also on Instagram @rowdygeirsson. His writing on Norse culture and history has appeared in many places from Scandinavian Review to McSweeney’s. You’ll basically find him wherever vikings and humor collide. And for Óðin’s sake, buy his books!

Thanks Rowdy! We hope we can do it again.

Skál!

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Everyone knows that Viking Age Scandinavia was a barbaric and lawless place, right? With all that stealing, killing, property destruction, and selling of people into slavery, who else could get away with all that mayhem if not people with a complete disregard for law and order?

Well, if that’s your view of the viking world, we’ve got news for you. In this episode we chat with Professor and Dr. Alexandra Sanmark of the University of the Highlands and Islands in Scotland, an expert in all things legal and judicial in Viking Age society.

Turns out, those Scandinavians knew a thing or two about crime and punishment and took it very seriously. The result was an intricate set of laws, courts, and procedures that were part of Germanic custom going all the way back to the Roman era. We talked to her about various legal policies and procedures, what our sources are for them, and where those public assemblies took place. We also discussed the legal parity that the Viking Age is famous for in our modern imaginations. The reality may surprise you.

Her book Viking Law and Order: Places and Rituals of Assembly in the Medieval North spells out the complex nature of Norse systems at a time when laws were not written down but performed and remembered visually and orally. It’s a fasinating look into a culture that counters our every impulse thought about what it meant to be a “viking.”

Thanks Alex, it was a most interesting and thought-provoking pleasure!

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Góðan Daginn, Bonjour, and Hello!

This post is a quick update for our subscribers. Learn about our new projects and podcast guest teases for May. There’s lots of good Viking stuff coming up.

Thanks for reading, watching, and listening. We appreciate your support!

You’ll find C.J.’s Substack here.

You´ll find Terri´s Substack here.

And lots of good stuff for Viking and medieval nerds on Medievalists.net, including information about Terri’s online Viking history courses.

Skál!

In this episode we have one of our most wide-ranging conversations yet, and if you follow us at all you’ll know that’s saying something because we are very prone to ranging wide!

We chat with Alex Harvey, an archaeologist from Yorkshire, England, who has written several books on medieval history. But we wanted to hear all about his Forgotten Vikings which was published in the U.K. in 2024 but is just now reaching audiences in the U.S. in 2025.

Alex’s book and research had us asking many questions — What is the meaning of “Viking” and how is that changing? When did the Viking Age actually begin and end? How did he become interested in Vikings in the first place?

Then we ventured into how the Romans may have influenced the Viking Age North, the intermix of myth and reality in storytelling then and now, the importance of modern pop culture for getting people interested in Viking history, authenticity in the movie The Northman and TV series Vikings and The Last Kingdom, and how Vikings look to us like a mix of Walter White and Tony Soprano.

We warned you that we ranged pretty wide.

But just who are the “Forgotten” Vikings? You’ll have to watch/listen to find out.

Thanks so much Alex! We look forward to doing it again soon when we can dig into more about archaeology.

After you’ve read Forgotten Vikings, don’t forget to check out his other book Riddles of the Isle and then be on the lookout for his forthcoming book Little Kingdoms: An A-Z of Early Medieval Britain.

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When one of Peter Gibbons’ book reviews reads, “A great read full of blood and gore,” you know you’re in for an interesting ride! And so it was that we had a great ride (and time) talking with Peter about his best-selling book series set in the Viking and Saxon worlds: The Saxon Warrior and Viking Blood & Blade Saga.

Peter is not only a prolific writer but a very accomplished one as well, winning the highly coveted Kindle Storyteller Award in 2022 for his book King of War. He lives in Ireland, but was born in the north of England. His love of reading as a kid and growing up in the shadows of Viking settlements helped to spark his interesting career.

We talked with Peter about several things like how he got his start as a writer, when he was fortunte enough to quit his day job to write full time, the intrusion of AI into the writing field, and how the world still needs the creativity and passion that only humans can bring to the table. We also asked him who it is that he sees when he looks at Vikings. His passion for them and their Age was immediately apparent and infectious.

But as we tend to wander on Vikingology, we ended our talk on King Arthur. Go figure.

Thanks so much Peter for such a fun chat!

Sláinte!

You can shop for all of Peter’s books on his website.

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Do you believe in elves or magic spells? In Iceland those things have been part of the traditional folklore for a very long time. To learn about what that meant, and continues to mean, we spoke with experts in Old Norse religion and folk beliefs Kári Pálsson and Giorgia Sottotetti. They worked together on a new book, The Galdrabók: Forbidden Icelandic folk magic with Hyldyr, a small, independent publisher in Washington State that has also published other books on related themes.

This episode was a bit of a spooky one for Terri. As a researcher of Vikings and Iceland herself, coincidentally (or not?) back in 2019 she had seen Jarðskinna, the tiny manuscript that we discuss and that is the focus of Kári and Giorgia’s book (along with the Galdrabók), and always wondered what it meant. As you can see from her photo above, taken in the Árni Magnússon Institute in Reykjavík, it contains strange images and symbols that still defy explanation. Luckily, Kári and Giorgia have transcribed the Icelandic text, but they have yet to crack the code. If you have any experience with Icelandic folkloric magic and potential insight into what the images might mean, they would love to hear from you. You can reach them through their publisher.

The episode was a bit spooky for C. J. too. All he could see in the images and symbols was an alien abduction! But perhaps that was because he was a bit under the weather and could really have used a magic healing spell. Or maybe he’s just spent too much time in the Vikingverse ;)

This was a really interesting and fun chat, not only about the manuscripts, but the beliefs of Nordic peoples that have withstood the test of time, from before and during the Viking Age straight through to the present. And we ended on a recitation of a Fart Rune, so what’s not to love about that?!

Takk fyrir Kári and Giorgia!

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This time we sat down with Ross Downing to talk about the new book he co-wrote and edited with Kaarina Aitamurto, Germanic and Slavic Paganisms: Security Threats and Resiliency, which through a collection of essays looks at the various ways the Viking past is interpreted and misinterpreted in modern Paganism. Ross has an extensive academic and professional background in the study of religions and Old Norse mythology as well as in investigating right wing extremism’s misuse of them.

In this interview, we talk about the background of modern Paganism and how it is deeply rooted in the romantic nationalism of the 19th century — a time when modern nation states were just being born in Europe, and many of them — including in Scandinavia — looked to the Vikings as the perfect model for how those nations wanted to be viewed: as strong, independent, and courageous folk with an adventurous spirit.

But, as Ross explains, the creation of that history and folklore also resulted in what his books calls “The Folkish Problem.” Originating in the German word völkisch, folkish refers to a more nativist and exclusive view of what it means to have Germanic heritage. And this “you’re either one of us, or you’re not” has become the basis for many right wing extremist movements who also co-opt Paganism and use the Vikings as their ideal.

Ross’ book highlights the problems this has caused and continues to cause in the world, and argues for an inclusive Paganism, or Heathenry, as well as provides tools for how it can work toward a set of beliefs and practices that are less prone to misuse and abuse by those who seek to use Viking history and symbols in dangerous ways. It should be read by anyone interested in the “Old Ways.”

We also discuss the obligation that academics who research Vikings have in helping us understand that past in a way that is grounded in the evidence. As a researcher who has taken his expertise into the world of security and threat assessment, Ross is the very embodiment of the ways that responsible scholarly knowledge of the past can be used to help address some of the most pressing issues of our time.

Thank you Ross for a very thought-provoking conversation!

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We are delighted to welcome back to the show Dr habil. Leszek Gardeła. It’s been two years since our last conversation with him, and so we were excited to get a chance to speak with him again and hear about his new book The Vikings in Poland (hardback now available, paperback to be released soon). Leszek is a Polish archaeologist, so this history is personal for him, and this book has been a long time in the making. But thankfully he undertook the task of researching and writing it, for it finally brings to light an often-neglected but very important aspect of the Viking Age.

In addition to his book, we talk about our changing understanding of just what a “Viking” is (or was) and the art and artifacts that help us to see them a bit more clearly. We also talk about the misuse of history and symbols of the past particularly those connected with the Viking Age. And we cover the migrations and mixes of past peoples that show us a dynamic world that can’t easily be reduced to Scandinavian or Slav, Viking or warrior, us or them. As always, the conversation with him is thoughtful and enlightening.

Leszek is a prolific writer. He is skilled at taking the complexities and nuances of the Vikings and bringing reason and clarity — in short, he finds the humans behind the legends. We highly recommend his books for anyone interested in the Viking Age.

Dziękuję Leszek! We look forward to chatting again.

Click the images to buy his books. Vikingology has no affiliate relationship and does not profit from book sales. We provide links simply to support the author.

Interested in our previous chat with Leszek? We’ve got you covered…

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The search for the Great Viking Army is both literal and figurative. For years, scholars have tried to answer the questions surrounding this supposed “army” — What, exactly, was it? How big was it? Who fought in it? Who commanded it, and what were their goals? In this episode we welcome back friend of the show archaeologist Tom Horne to help us answer these questions and understand the exciting ways our knowledge of the Great Army is changing. If you’ve ever wondered what the difference between a Viking raider and a Viking army warrior was, this episode has you covered!

Another crucial question has been, where did the Army go? Turns out it was likely right in Tom’s backyard in central and northern Scotland all along. For evidence, Tom shows us some artifacts at Dunblane Museum and explains what they tell us about the Viking presence in places we’ve not known about until now.

To keep up with all the latest updates and finds, check out Tom’s website and Viking blog. We also highly recommend his book A Viking Market Kingdom in Ireland and Britain, which gives context for the trade networks and silver fever that helped to drive the Great Army’s expansion.

Also follow Tom on his several social media platforms to read more about his work and see lots of really cool images of Viking stuff.

Thanks Tom. We look forward to next time and more epiphanies!

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What comes to your mind when you think of Vikings? If it’s a bunch of hairy thugs in boats with swords and axes coming to steal your things, you are only partially correct. In this chat with Dr. Christian Cooijmans we found out that Viking activity in Francia — which encompassed a large swath of Continental Europe 1,200 years ago — was a much more sophisticated and calculated affair than anyone has previously thought.

Through investigating various sources which document Viking activity across the realm, Chris paints a picture of Vikings as economic actors with a level of business acumen rarely ascribed to them. Rather than random farmers out for an occasional good time, think planning, logistics, risk/reward calculations, and a very adaptable infrastructure, and you’ll be on the right track. These are not your grandmother’s Vikings.

After watching or listening to the episode, read more about it in his book Monarchs and Hydrarchs: The Conceptual Development of Viking Activity Across the Frankish Realm (c. 750 - 940) which is available directly from the publisher here. Use code VIKINGOLOGY for 25% off until January 31, 2025. It will make a perfect holiday gift for that Viking nerd in your life.

We also talked to Chris about his involvement in The Great Viking Survey, which is part of a research project looking into modern perceptions of Vikings on a global scale. Responses will help inform researchers about how the world sees Vikings at this moment in the 21st century. Anyone can participate in the survey which you’ll find here on our site by clicking the story below.

Thanks Chris for a fun and illuminating conversation about the changing nature of how we see Vikings. We look forward to chatting again very soon!

Skál!

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