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The Viking World Links Page

Page history last edited by Skallagrimssonr 14 years, 3 months ago

 

Link Categories

 

 

 


General Viking Sites


The Viking Answer Lady One of the best general information Viking sites on the web. Regularly updated, well-researched. 

 

Viking Today Magazine This is a magazine dedicated to Vikings and their history. The magazine also covers subjects related to Vikings and their contemporary descedents.     

 

The Viking Rune: Norse Vikings and All Things Scandinavian This site covers many topics on both the Viking Age and Scandinavia in the Post-Viking period. The site is stuffed full of fascinating articles about everything Viking, from DNA research based on Viking remains, to tattoos and symbols, to literal translations of runes, to obscure details about weaponry and sword-craft that I have not encountered anywhere else. The articles are well-written, short, engaging, and easy to read.    

 

Jorvik Viking CentreThe website of the famous York Viking museum based on the findings of the Coppergate Dig, where Viking structures and artifacts were uncovered around 1980. In the "About Vikings" section there are some fascinating details about how scientists reconstruct the appearance of Vikings from their remains.    

 

The Viking Network Extensive but fairly basic site, though a little hard to navigate. Provides much information, from recipes for authentic Viking food to detailed accounts of Viking raids and battles.    

 

Old Norse News Excellent scholarly blog on topics about Vikings. Gives you some idea of what's going on in the academic field of Old Norse Studies.              

 

Ravensgard A huge, sprawling collection of links on all things Viking. Rather dated appearance, and many of the links are dead, but still a lot of infomation on topics including modern-day Viking off-shoots like neo-pagan religions and re-enactment groups, bibliographies of children’s books, embroidery techniques, online texts of Old Norse literature, information on Viking exploration…you name it, I bet you can find it here.    

 

BBC Ancient History: Vikings Of course we need BBC! Part historical articles, part building longships, part games. Discusses such topics as the role of women and various Viking raids throughout Britian. 

 

Explore Vikings! Aggressively unattractive site, but provides a basic description of Vikings and links to other more Viking sites. It does offer some Viking activities like cooking a Viking meal, making Viking clothes, and constucting a Viking ship model.

 

Jesse L. Byock's The Viking Site Byock is a renowned translator of Old Norse literature, and his site contains links to the sagas, articles about Vikings, videos about Vikings, and lots of other cool things. Worth one’s while.

 

Encyclopedia Britannica Site on Vikings A general information site about the history and origins of Viking culture in Europe.  Has a lot of great links to more specific information like literature, romance, longships, weapons, etc.

 

Norse and Viking Ramblings Very good scholarly blog about Old Norse and Viking Studies.

 

BBC Primary History Viking Site A BBC site about Vikings for elementary-age children. It addresses the basics of historical Viking life, covering  who they were, what everyday life was like, their beliefs, and what happened to them. A good overview that includes a timeline and glossary.

 

Ragnar’s Viking Page A short and simple webpage: more appreciative than academic. Covers basics of Viking literature as well as runes and where they fit in.

 

History Channel’s “How Stuff Works” Viking Site  Basic Q&A site about politics, culture, weapons, and lifestyle.  Interesting site with some videos and a lot of cool external links.

 

Nova Online: The Vikings Companion website to NOVA program on Vikings that aired in 2000. The site includes video clips on Viking ships, villages, runes, the Viking diaspora, and an analysis of who the Vikings were.

 

Viking Unst Homepage  This site is dedicated to a reconstruction effort going on in Shetland, a small chain of islands in the United Kingdom that was on the way from Scandinavia to Iceland. Evidence has been found here that indicates Vikings used it as a stopover on the journey to Iceland. The group that publishes the website wants to preserve some of the architecture left over and make it into a learning experience.

 

Top Ten Myths About Vikings Funster's debunking of the most common Viking myths.

 

Vikingworld: The Wild Life of the Vikings Primarily focused on Vikings in Denmark, ‘Vikingworld’ provides information on the Viking history of Denmark from references to the country in the Norse sagas to the Danish Kings.  

 

The British Museum's Viking Page This link to the British Museum website enables you to take a virtual tour of some of the Museum’s Viking artefacts, providing information about the Vikings and about the artefacts themselves.     

 

About.Com Medieval History: Vikings Large collection of links on Vikings.

 

The Museum of Foteviken This is the website for the Museum of Foteviken with the Viking Reserve. The Viking Reserve is an area of Viking reconstruction and re-enactment. It includes historical recreations of ships and buildings, along with special articles about hola stones and Birka, a large Viking town in Sweden. It lends an authentic look at Viking life. 

 

The Viking Society for Northern Research Founded in 1892 as the Orkney, Shetland and Northern Society, or Viking Club, to promote interest in the Scadanavian North, its literature and antiquities.


General History

Lost Worlds: The Vikings  Youtube video of one part in the "The Babarians" series made by the History Channel.

 

The Straight Dope: Did Vikings really wear horns on their helmets?  Question and Answer article in which the question of horns on Viking helmets is discussed.  The article provides the answer and discusses how this depiction came about.  The article is an fascinating read and contains a very detailed answer.    

 

Watts Up With That? On the Vikings and Greenland  This page is about a farm which was found in Greenland above the present day treeline by two hunters back in the early 20th century. Many Viking items were found there such as hinges, sheep combs, and other small metal trinkets.  

 

BBC News: Did the Vikings make a telescope? This site discusses the possibility of Vikings creating the first telescope. 

 

Spirit Pond Rune Stones  This website details some runestones that were found in Maine in the 1970s. Although they are purported to be a hoax, they are still housed in the Maine State Museum.

 

Sutton Hoo Society Website for the Sutton Hoo Society, created to support the researchers working on the Sutton Hoo Project. A well developed and thought-out site with quite a bit in the way of information about the archeological site, as well as an interactive tour.

 

Viking Denmark An interesting site with general information about Vikings, brief historical details, and a tragically brief summary of Norse mythology. It details the remains of Viking settlements in various locations around Denmark, and discusses Viking architecture, including runes, ships, houses, and towns. Not the world's most appealing site, but it has a wealth of excellent photographs

 

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland  This is a search engine for archaeological finds in Scotland. One has to look through the Viking search results, but it gives a good account of Viking burial practices in Scotland. Many of the documents list everyday items buried with the Viking settlers and raiders. 

 

Vikings During the Medieval Warm Period This website offers an account of the effect of the climate on Viking travels.

 

Isle of Man Heritage Site This site has lots of links that examines the impact of the Vikings on the Isle of Man.  Interesting way to see how Viking culture effects modern-day societies.

 

The Fate of Greenland’s Vikings  An article from Archaeology Magazine about the fate of Vikings in Greenland.  There are excellent pictures to go along with the interesting text.    

 

51 Headless Vikings Found In English Execution Pit  Super cool article from National Geographic about 51 headless Viking bodies found in an execution pit.  A picture is included.      

 

History of the Vikings: Brief but useful summary of the History of the Vikings, from early English raids to Stamford Bridge. The site also contains links to other accounts of Vikings and their travels.    

 

Vikings in the Netherlands  Useful and easy to navigate. While focusing on Vikings in the Netherlands, the site also addresses general Viking history, settlements, mythology, the role of women, and some recent discoveries of Viking jewelry.

 

The Viking Network Ireland Contains historical and archaeological information about Viking life, battles, and raids in Ireland.     

 

"The Wrath of the Northmen": The Vikings and Their Memory Brief, well-written essay on the history of the Vikings and their legacy.

 

Vikings in America  This site presents archaeological finds in North America that point to Viking settlement, specifically in Greenland and Newfoundland. It examines the actual, physical evidence for Viking settlement in North America.    

 

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga  This website is administered by the Smithsonian and serves as a virtual museum for an exhibit which has toured museums nationwide. It is a very good site on the Viking settlement of North America.

 

Orthodox Christians in North America 1000 Years Ago  Written by Priest Andrew Phillips, this site explains how Christianity was accepted by the Vikings and came with Leif Ericsson to the New World.    

 

The Norse Discovery of America Index  A more detailed account of the Vikings in America containing three books: I. Arguments and Proofs That Support the Claim of Norse Discovery of America, II. Icelandic Records, and III. The Norsemen in America.    

 

Orkneyjar This site contains information about the Viking heritage of Orkney. In particular in the history section it refers to the Orkneyinga Saga and the Viking Earls of Orkney.  The site also details information on traditions, place names and folklore.    

 

Viking Archaeology Blog  Excellent academic blog contains information about Viking archaeological sites as well as links to a number of sites relating to the Vikings, links varying from articles to Norse texts.      

 

Egil's Bones Interesting article from Scientific American on the disease that might have been the cause of Egil's lack of pulchritude (aka ugliness).

 

Kidipede: Vikings This website features a description of Viking explorers and some of the historical themes of the Viking era. The page is tailored specifically for elementary and perhaps junior high students.

 

PBS: Lost Vikings of Greenland This is a Public Television website featuring the exploration and settlement of Greenland by Erik the Red. Has a link to a video episode about Greenland.

 

Vikings at War


Deadliest Warrior: Viking vs. Samurai  Episode of Spike TV's The Deadliest Warrior pitting Viking against Samurai. Though cheesy, this episode gives an an excellent overview of Viking weapons and their uses.

 

Viking Era Long Swords?  This is a forum topic; however, there do seem to be a few trusted sources weighing in on the question of whether Vikings used 2-handed swords or not.

 

Battle 1066 Very informative historical site. The Viking section is only one of many worth looking at. It is a well-researched, 5-part, systematic discussion of many aspects of Viking history also includes a section of photos at the end.

 

The Strongbow Saga Viking Site: Viking Use of Archery  This site is a rather lengthy paper on use of archery in Viking times. It doesn't cite any scientific/peer reviewed literature but it does include a few footnotes citing Viking literature and also calls upon archeological evidence to support its claim of archery being used in Viking times.

 

Ancient Warriors: The Vikings  Ancient Warriors: The Vikings is another documentary that can be viewed in full on Youtube. This is primarily a military history of the Vikings.

 

The ‘Viking Shield’ This site gives detailed information about Viking shield specifications based on archaeological finds.  Each section discusses a different feature on the shield and contains detailed information and pictures on the topic of discussion.  This site is very interesting and in-depth for those individuals who want to learn more about shields.

 

Daily Life and Crafts


Viking Shoes  A paper written about the construction of Viking shoes. Several good pictures of authentic shoes are shown, as well as patterns and instructions so that you can make your very own pair!

 

Viking Food  The site focuses on what the Vikings ate as well as providing information on how they obtained their food, what they ate when, and how it was prepared. Provides links to more information and a glossary—a nice overview.    

 

Viking Age Foodstuffs  Basically a list of the food items from the Viking period that archeologists have foundl; created to aid in organizing historically accurate feasts. Very basic information, but still useful with more links provided for more information. 

 

Sigurd Portal  A site with depictions of a carved door in Norway that depicts the story of Sigurd slaying the dragon Fafnir. The site is basic, but gives a good short outline of the story with the accompanying carvings from the door.

 

Ships


 Leif Ericson Viking Ship  The Leif Ericson Viking Ship site is run by a group whose main purpose is to educate the world that Leif Ericson was the first European to set foot upon and explore the North American Continent. The site also has a useful Viking FAQ, and much information about Viking ships. They even build and sail their own longships. Nice. 

 

Stigombord A Danish site (also in English) on the reconstruction of Viking ships, with videos, animations, and 3D models.

 

Viking Ship Museum Part of a larger site on a Viking ship museum in Denmark. This section is about a reconstructed ship, the Sea Stallion, and its voyages in 2008 and 2007, including logbook details and diaries. The site also contains a clear, accurate history and top-notch geographical details about the Vikings and their expansion.    

 

The Viking Sunstone  A small ugly Viking page that gives two sides to the discussion on whether or not Vikings used what is called a Sun-Stone.  Supposedly the Vikings used polarization of skylight to direct themselves, since magnetic compasses didn’t yet exist.  Offers fair arguments for both sides.    

 

The Oseberg Ship Museum site for the famed Oseberg ship.  

 

What did the Viking discoverers of America know of the North Atlantic Environment?  Title says it all; very interesting and well-written article.

 

Viking Ships and Norse Wooden Boats Learn about Viking ships that have been discovered through archaeology.  Site provides links to different ships and what they looked like when they were discovered and what they may have looked like in ancient times.  Most of the site is not in English but it is still an interesting site to look at pictures and read the information that is translated.  However, site is poorly organized and some of the links are not interconnected to the page being viewed.

 

Festivals, Re-enactment Groups, and Living History


Leif Ericson Viking Ship  The Leif Ericson Viking Ship is a group whose main purpose is to educate the world that Leif Ericson was the first European to set foot upon and explore the North American Continent. The site also has a useful Viking FAQ, and much information about Viking ships. They even build and sail their own longships. Nice.

 

The Ydalir Vikings  Claiming to be the UK’s oldest and largest Dark Age re-enactment group, their site has information about reenactments, reenacting, and has even named themselves the “Ydalir Vikings.” Discusses the group’s modern understandings of what Viking life was like and how they apply that to their lives today.

 

Sagnlandet Leire (Land of Legends)  The website of a tourist attraction in Denmark called Sagnlandet Lejre (Land of Legends), where the Viking lifestyle is reenacted. Also provides activities for visitors that give an idea of authentic Viking life.

 

Modern Vikings Lead Double Life  This is an article about modern Viking re-enactors in Moscow Russia. 

 

Hafnarfjordur  This site is the homepage of a town in Iceland which hosts an 'international viking festival' every year. They have a replica of a Viking hall and serve Viking era food and drink for that authentic Viking experience.  

 

Lore and Saga A Living History site, with a Viking section. Gives details on Viking art with silver and bone, on Viking ships, and on the Viking museum Lofotr. Only a brief overview, but it has excellent accompanying photos of models and reenactment.

 

Viking Shield Authentic Viking products for sale here; targeted at reenactors, it offers everything from weapons and armor to jewelry and coins. The site also features Viking clothing, including boots, drinking horns, and statuettes of Norse gods, products which many other sites do not have.

 

Glomesdal A Viking reenactment group site. This reenactment group is based in Oklahoma and Arkansas, but it has links to other, larger reenactment groups, including one in the UK. There is information about Living History events, some absolutely fascinating information on the Heavener Runestone in Oklahoma (of all places!), and stunning photo galleries.

 

Storholmen Another reenactment site, although this one is about an entire village of Viking reenactors who live Old Norse style every day. The village (which is in Sweden) hosts parties, gives tours, and accepts visitors from all over the world. It’s really fascinating to peek into this world; there is an article by an Australian guy who stayed there for a while too.

 

 Isle of Man Viking Festival This link takes you to the website of the Isle of Man Viking Festival; the site has video and photographs of previous festivals, as well as information on the Vikings of Mann re-enactment group and details of upcoming events.

 

Hurstwic  One of the best re-enactment group pages!  The site has some really useful articles about the daily life of the Viking, as well as Viking warfare, shipbuilding, language, and literature. 

 

Regia Anglorum Page of a very active English reenactment group. Lots of general information on Vikings as well.

 

Fröjel Gotlandica Viking Re-enactment Society “We have put this data base together with the help of many people in the hope that it will be of use to you by providing good quality pictures of artifacts, accurate articles and a variety of links to other sources and people so you will be able to get an accurate picture of the Vikings.” From the bit of looking I did on the page, this is exactly what the Fröjel page does. It is a little difficult to navigate at first, but it is packed with historical information about the Vikings. I didn’t check out all of the links, but the few I did actually worked, even though the site hasn’t been updated in a couple years.  

 

The Jelling Dragon Viking Craft Store  Another store specializing in historically accurate Viking gear and artifacts. Nice T-shirts, too.

 

Viking Resources for the Re-enactor Even though this site says that it is for Viking re-enactors, the information is based on archaeological finds. The topics of information include; introductory material, clothing, textiles, cooking and food, physical culture, and how to speak.  Not updated since 2001, but still useful.

 

Jomsviking The Brotherhood of Jomsborg; attractive reenactment site that is somewhat uneven.  

 


Myth


Timeless Myths A very detailed and easy-to-navigate site; it has a very clean and appealing layout. Provides summaries of all aspects of Norse and Teutonic mythology, including an excellent section on the sagas. It is brief but accurate. Very helpful, even if the grammar is occasionally a little sketchy. 

 

Encyclopedia Mythica: Norse Mythology  Encyclopedia Mythica is an excellent resource for information on myths in general.  It has entire sections built specifically for different cultures.  The site includes the Norse cosmology as well as basic mythos, and contains a full alphabetic listing of almost every Norse mythological figure.

 

Midgard  This is a interesting Wiki article from the New World Encyclopedia. This specific article is wholly about Midgard and its link to the other realms. 

 

Norse Mythology  This is an interesting site with a massive list of Viking myths, all alphabetically listed in an easy to use sidebar.  This site also has a small number of different sagas and legends available as resources. 

 

The Norse Gods Site contains several embedded videos from YouTube about Norse mythology.  The videos are narrated stories about several Norse legends.  Hear about Thor’s hammer, the binding of Fenrir, and the creation of the universe – just to name a few.  Stories are very intriguing for those who enjoy mythology.

 

Runes


Runes, Alphabet of Mystery  This is a website devoted to the Runic alphabets. It is informative but also tends towards the New-Agey. Lots of information on general topics about Vikings as well, but many links are broken. Somewhat untended.

 

Upon Reflection  Upon Reflection is a web site about using Viking runes for divination. Not historically based, but rather a variation of Tarot cards.

 

Arile Hauge's Runes  Mostly focuses on runes from different countries, but also has good information about the social structure of the Vikings, addressing family hierarchy and social order as well as political structures and raiding.

 


Viking Culture


 Viking Art  This site on Viking art provides photographic examples and information on different aspects of Viking art. The site focuses on decorative Viking art and carvings.

 

Language and Literature


 How Vikings Changed the English Language: Spelling - My Little Norway  This site deals with the way that the Nordic languages influenced the deveolpment of the English language.

 

Jörmungrund A thorough, philological site on Old Norse texts, poetry, and the language itself. The webmaster has compiled an exhaustive lexicon, and a mind-blowing section on kennings – he lists, categorizes, traces, and explains thousands of kennings found in Old Norse literature. The site also contains academic articles and side-by-side original Old Norse texts (Völuspá, Hrafnagaldur, etc.) and their English translations for comparison.

 

The Old Norse Language While it has a really annoying bar at the top, this is a great site for anyone interested in the Old Norse language. There are sections on all types of grammar, on pronunciation and phonetics, an up-coming section on etymology, and also upcoming beginning lessons in Old Norse. There is a lengthy wordlist too.

 

Old Norse Name Formations  Just as the title says this is an attempt to give a comprehensive list of prefixes and suffixes for names.  It also attempts to explain the reasoning behind the names as well as the way names were constructed.

 

Icelandic Saga Database Excellent collection of Icelandic sagas, usually translated into several modern languages.

 

Old Norse Etexts Most useful for its online collection of Eddaic poetry. All in the original.

 

Learning Old Norse: Some suggestions  This site is a simple and dated listing of resources with brief annotations.  Only lists a few print materials as well as a small number of web based resources available for self-directed research.

 

Volsung Saga Genealogy Tree  A genealogy of the Volsunga Saga with links to different characters.

 

Medieval Nordic Text Archive Menota is a network of leading Nordic archives, libraries and research departments working with medieval texts and manuscript facsimiles. The aim of Menota is to preserve and publish medieval texts in digital form and to adapt and develop encoding standards necessary for this work.

 

Fiske Icelandic Collection This website, the home of the Fiske Icelandic Collection, provides access to ‘SagaNet’, a database of digital images of Icelandic and Norse manuscripts and books.  The website is in English and Danish, and although initially difficult to navigate, there are a series of search options available.   The site is perhaps most useful if you already have an idea what you are searching for, and if you are able to understand the Icelandic/Norse titles. 

 

Heimskringla This site links to a number of texts relating to the Eddas, Icelandic Sagas and Skaldic poetry.  However, despite the welcome page being available in Danish and English, the text collections are in Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic and Faeroese.  Therefore unless you are able to read these languages, you must use the toolbar to translate the text.   

 

Old Norse Texts Online This is a great reference to get started reading Viking literature. From here you will be able to find Most of the available texts


The Viking World In Post-Viking, Contemporary, and Popular Culture


 The Origins of the Imaginary Viking  This paper by a professor of medieval history traces the origin of the "new barbarian aesthetics", which portrays Vikings as troglodytes with horned helmets.

 

The Viking Revival  A BBC article about how perspectives on Vikings have shifted over the years, tracing changes from the time of Queen Victoria’s reign to the present day.  It is a helpful look at how the history of Vikings is told and retold based on the current “feeling” toward Vikings.

 

Land of Legend: Why are Vikings so Popular?  This is a well-designed and aesthetically pleasing website that asks the question, “Why are Vikings still popular?” The site also contains some photos and links to video and audio clips. 

 

Vikings: Popular Culture  This article is a brief review of the history of the integration of Viking culture into the popular culture of modern age.  Beginning with a litany of books written within the last century.  It then shifted gears into a recounting of the major motion pictures created about Vikings, in order of creation.  The article ends upon the invention of the Football team from Minnesota of the same name and the reasons to which it was named such.

 

Vikings Popular Culture  This site describes some ways that Viking culture has been integrated with contemporary times. Breif and uneven, though often interesting.

 

Vikings Invade Pop Culture with Style!  While at first you may think that this article is about how Vikings have raided the modern world it is more about where in the modern world you can find things about Vikings.

 

Minnesota Vikings Football Team Purple and proud since 1960. 0-4 in the Super Bowl. Ouch.

 

Art


Norse Inspired Art  A page about Norse-inspired art. This is mostly a collection of links, but provides a good overview of more recent depictions of Vikings with links to both biographical information about the artists and pictures of the pieces themselves. 

 

Painting History, Viking Raids  This site also has some images of Vikings in Pre-Raphaelite art and a brief write-up about the theme.

 

The Rhinegold and the Valkyrie  Arthur Rackham's famous illustrations for ‘The Rhinegold & the Valkyrie’.

 

Siegfreid and the Twilight of the Gods  Arthur Rackham's famous illustrations for ‘Siegfried & the Twilight of the Gods".

 

Crafts


Northan Original Viking Age Jewelry  A jeweler in Germany who makes silver jewelry designed after pieces found in burial mounds and graves that trace back to the Viking age. The pieces are modeled in wax and cast in silver by artisans in Denmark.

 

Viking Jewelry English makers of Viking jewelry and armor.

 

Trove of Valhalla Viking Jewelry (or Jewellery)  Viking art has inspired many sites selling versions of Viking jewelry. This is one of those websites. “The Vikings concealed hoards of ornaments and silver believing that what was buried would be enjoyed in the afterlife.  Through archaeological finds of treasure-trove, we can experience the wonders of the Viking age, which we have re-created here in this unique range of pendants.”

 

The Viking Trader  The Vikings were great traders, traveling vast distances to trade with different cultures. On this site one can purchase jewelry from a collection of “historically authentic Viking artifacts in replica” crafted by  Danish silversmiths.

 

Urweg: Nordic Tribal Jewelry Jewelry that is influenced by Viking culture. This site also contains jewelry from other culture. Jewelry is intricate in design and quality looks good, though prices on some pieces are high.

 

Gaming


The Lost Vikings  Video of gameplay footage from The Lost Vikings. This was the first game created (in 1992) by Blizzard entertainment, which has since gone on to create such iconic games as Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo and the ubiquitous World of Warcraft. But this old school sidescroller is a fond memory for many nostalgic gamers.  

 

Viking Culture and RPGs  This website is about how one could create a game world (either for role-playing card/dice games or maybe computer games) in order to simulate a realistic Viking culture but still have a playable game. Such things are mentioned as the ships Vikings used, runes, and the social aspects of viking culture. 

 

Civilization III: Play the World The game Civilization III is made for PC and Mac and the Viking world is included. This site gives some historical background to Vikings as well as explains the different character brought in for this game, the berserker (with moving berserker graphic included).

 

Viking – Battle for Asgard This is a game trailer for another video game based of Viking culture. It depicts Vikings as nothing but blood-thirsty warmongers in search of honor and revenge. It promises, “The bloodiest war of vengeance and brutality ever.” 

 

Too Human Video Game  This is pretty much the most badass looking game ever. Too Human takes place in a sort of futuristic Viking world. All of the characters are named after Viking gods and the costuming has some Viking features. Also, the trailer has unmistakable similarities to Beowulf. 

 

BBC’s Viking Quest: An Epic Tale of Loot and Legend  The game of 'Viking Quest' takes you back to AD 793. Your Viking “chief” gives you a challenge so you must build a ship, cross the seas, loot a monastery and return home before one of your rivals does. It is similar to a Viking themed Oregon Trail. All of your success depends on what decisions you make while travelling. The game goes over some interesting cultural information, like how to build a long ship.

 

BoardGameGeek: Viking Games Extensive list of Viking-themed games with ratings.

 

General


Husqvarna Viking Sewing Machine Site  History of Husqvarna sewing machines, all of which are named after something in Viking culture.  An interesting way in which Viking culture has been picked up in commercialism. In 1689 a Swedish king made firearms in Husqvarna; in 1872 the company switched to making sewing machines.Viking sewing machines. 

 

The Quarter—What’s YOUR Viking Name? This website is a very stereotypical look at Viking culture. The more badass you are in real life, the more badass your Viking name will be. I am Kaðlín Sheeptipper—I need to, “Try to be more like a Viking.” 

 

Viking Inn | Nordic Inn Medieval Brew and Bed  This is the home site of the Viking Inn, a Minnesota bed a breakfast began by Steinarr Elmerson (AKA “The Crazy Viking”). It boasts Viking-themed rooms, an interactive Viking dinner theater, and the complete Viking experience.

 

Write your Name in Runes  This web site, although a tad gimmicky and cheesy, does give the basic definitions of the Viking Runes. It is on the PBS web page, so I figure that it must be somewhat historically accurate. 

 

Viking Costume Site What else is there to say about a site selling really bad Viking costumes (including Sexy Viking and Rapper Viking) other than… SWEET!

 

Another Viking Costume Site  If you’re looking for an historically accurate Viking costume, my only suggestion is don’t look online.  This site is dedicated strictly to historically ridiculous costumes, but it speaks to the modern vision of Viking culture.

 

Pirate-Viking Comparison Article  Apparently, Viking culture is given credit for the invention of pirate culture.  Similarities are drawn between the two in this (perhaps unreliable) article, which seems obvious but interesting nonetheless.

 

Literature


Odin’s Gift A collection of hilarious Viking-spoof songs and poems, some re-telling myths like Thrym’s marriage, others “to the tune of” popular songs. Many contributors. Excellent humor, especially for those who are familiar with Norse mythology and can understand the inside jokes.

 

Viking Romance Novel Site I know it sounds ridiculous—Viking romance novels?  The summary of the books sound like they meet those expectations, too.

 

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton Crichton's retelling of the Beowulf story, which spawned the move The Thirteenth Warrior.

 

Eric Brighteyes by Rider Haggard Haggard's (author of King Solomon's Mines, She) take on the Viking saga. Nowhere near authentic, but vastly entertaining.

 

Thomas Grey's Norse Odes Grey's proto-romantic rendering of Old Norse poetry.

 

Blake's Illustrations to Grey's Norse Odes Blake's illustrations for the above (scroll down).

 

William Morris The Saga of the Volsungs The great Victorian artisan and socialist takes on Sigurd.

 

Graphic Novels, Cartoons and Comics


Hagar the Horrible  This is a link to the somewhat dated official web site of the somewhat dated Viking comic strip. Hagar has been “aviking” since the 70’s.

 

What's Opera, Doc? The Looney Tunes episode based on Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. Who can forget “Kill the Wabbit?” Not Liz Lemon. 

 

Northlanders: A Viking Comic Blog  Northlanders is a graphic novel series set in Viking times and published by Vertigo comics. This blog provides a preview into the comic book with full pages, covers, and reviews all dealing with the comic book and Vikings.  

 

How To Draw Viking Women  Here is a video on how to draw Viking women.  As silly as it seems this is a pretty good video. 

 

Frank Frazetta Art  Frank Frazetta could be the most influential fantasy artist ever. This website provides a large gallery of his art.  He drew the original Conan: The Barbarian comics, and has inspired and influenced countless fantasy artists over the years, particularly in their representations of "vikingness". 

 

Thor Comic Book Cover Art  This website is pretty awesome.  You can see every cover of Marvel Comics' Thor. Thor makes his intial appearance in Journey Into Mystery 83.

 

Odin and Friends  The “Odin and Friends” web comic. Based on the lives and myths of the Old Norse gods but with modern twists like pirates and Halloween parties—an original reinterpretation of Viking mythology.  

 

Vinland Saga  This is a manga (Japanese Comic book) based loosely on Norse life during the age of Vikings. 

 

Brat-Halla  An amusing romp through the Asgard cosmology.  This is an American web comic based loosely upon the gods and goddeses of not only but primarily the Norse mythology and the gods that inhabit it.

 

The Justice Friends  YouTube video. The Justice Friends was a segment that sometimes aired during the cartoon Dexter’s Laboratory. One of its heroes is Valhallan, a play on rock band Van Halen and Valhalla. Valhallan vanquishes his foes with his mighty axe (electric guitar) and rides across the heavens in his goat-driven chariot. 

 

Valoric: The Viking Commando  The Viking Commando is a DC comic character first introduced in All-Out War #1 in 1979. “The Viking Commando was Valoric, a Viking who'd been taken before his time and, at Odin's command, returned to Earth in post-D-Day World War Two. Fey, a Valkyrie who loved him, was sentenced to shadow him until he truly perished. Recruited to fight the modern equivalent of the Huns, the Viking Commando became a force to be reckoned with. It's unknown when Valoric finally met his end.”

 

Noggin the Nog  Site dedicated to the English children’s programme on the Sagas of Noggin the Nog.  The site has information about the origins of the series and about the different tales and characters featured in the series.  

 

Religion


 The Troth  The Troth is a religious fellowship in the vein of Germanic neopaganism. They are specifically followers of the Asatru, which is often used as an umbrella term for all of the Norse Pagan religions. This group specifically does not align themselves with white supremacism or anti-Christian ideologies. 

 

Religion Facts: Asatru  This website gives a summary of the history, beliefs and practices of Germanic Paganism.

 

The Odinist Fellowship  A brochure printed in the UK by modern Odin worshippers explaining their interpretation of the Old Norse religion and how they follow that today—kind of a frequently asked questions page for Odinists. 

 

European Ancestral Religion  A more extensive explanation of modern Odin worship, this groups sees things a little differently than the Odinist Fellowship, this group seems more focused on finding its own ancestral religion than on using it as a political tool like some Odinist groups. 

 

Northvegr Foundation  A site that claims to strive for a greater understanding of Old Norse gods and religion in order for the religion to be practiced again today, this site makes it very clear that they are not a white supremacist group and has some interesting articles about Viking religion and what it means today.

 

Odin’s Volk Astaru  This is a revival sight for old Pre-Christian religions of northern Europe.  It is full of reinterpretations of many of the Old Norse Myth’s as well as their principles and symbols.  They even go so far as to make comparisons to other Pre-Germanic based religions.

 

Pagans and Prison The Southern Poverty Law Center's article on the problem of racism in contemporary Norse religions, especially in prison populations.

 

Odin Brotherhood Yet another example of a contemporary Odinic website.

 

Music


Barbarians and Literature - Viking Metal and its Links to Old Norse Mythology This excellent scholarly paper analyzes the rise of Viking metal music. The author provides information on the most popular Viking Metal bands and shows how each uses Viking culture and mythology in its music. 

 

New York Times on Viking Death Metal  This article speaks on the subject of Viking death metal music and specifically the band Enslaved. The article emphasizes the ties between the band’s Viking themes and their Norwegian roots. 

 

Anna Russell on Wagner’s “Ring Cycle”  Anna Russell is a classically trained British singer turned comedienne. This thirty-minute analysis of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen covers not only the Ring Cycle’s plot, but also introduces the major motifs used by Wagner in the opera. It is also incredibly hilarious. Part OnePart Two, Part Three

 

LA Opera Ring A fascinating and bizarre site by the LA Opera about their production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Of greatest interest, under Multimedia, are a collection of photos of the production. The design concepts are incredibly unique. It’s interesting to see what has become of the horned helmets and blond braids. 

 

Screaming Masterpiece: 1000 Years of Icelandic Music Great documentary on the eclectic Icelandic music scene. Includes Bjork and Sigur Ros, as well as much speculation on how the Viking past has influenced Icelandic music.

 

 Turisas  Official website of the Finnish band Turisas, their history page gives a brief description of how they developed the Viking theme of the band. 

 

Amon Amarth One of the best known Viking metal bands.

 

Movies


 Viking Movie Listings on Spout Through this site you can tag movies that may be of interest; this link has a Viking tag.  This site lists several movies that deal with Vikings in some way. 

 

Outlander The website for the movie “Outlander”. This site discusses how the film places a monster from space into historical Viking society. The concept was based on the story of Beowulf and the fights with Grendel.

 

Viking Movies This web-page is less of an article and more of a listing of movies and music that goes beyond what Wikipedia has available.  Each movie listed gives a link to a place where said movie can be accessed, whether it’s to see in theaters or to buy from a web-sight.  Each has an opinion based annotation attached to it. 

 

The Vikings  The Vikings was an action/adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer in 1958, produced by and starring Kirk Douglas, and based on the novel The Viking by Edison Marshall. The following link is a short excerpt from the movie on Youtube. 

 

Beowulf  This movie is based on the book Beowulf in which a warrior travels to Scandinavia to save the inhabitants from a demon that has been brutally attacking a settlement.

 

Pathfinder IMdB site on the film. Viking raised by Native Americans must protect them from evil giant Vikings escaped from Warhammer World.

 

Videos


Viking Quotes  Here is a “video” that shows some classic pieces of Viking art, along with what sounds like classic, epic, Viking metal, along with classic quotes from a number of different Icelandic Sagas.  Some of the quotes seem more meaningful outside the context of the sagas, others are just neat. 

 

Gisli’s Saga Video  Here is a video of what seems to be just a few friends making a cheap, homemade film adaptation of Gisli’s Saga.  The film is extremely poor quality, and poorly done, but only eight minutes, so maybe worth your time.

 

Bones – On The Hill Top  This is actually a really cool video.  Great illustrations made to accompany a song that tells the story of an old and dying Viking.  The music sounds more Celtic than Norse. 

 

YouTube: Eric Remembers His Past & Godric Clip from the hit series “True Blood” on HBO, roughly based on the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.  Eric is a vampire who was a Viking when he was turned.  The books and TV series differ in plots; this clip shows the TV version.  This clip is interesting to watch in order to see how the Vampire and Viking cultures can come together.

 

Humor


The Viking Dad  Definitely an original take on what is “Viking.” Based on the premise that a 10th century Viking somehow survived and is now living in the suburbs, it is a tongue-in-cheek blog that plays on our modern perceptions of Vikings for humor.

 

Monty Python: Spam  YouTube video. A skit which somehow makes a connection between Vikings and spam. The Vikings seem to greatly enjoy the spam, and the spam has something to do with their successful conquests. 

 

Badass of the Week: Egil Skallagrimsson The Badass of the Week site has honored several Vikings, as is proper and fitting.

 

The Late Show – Viking Talk (1992).  Clip from The Late Show in 1992, which presents a comedic skit of a Viking talk show.  The clip features Tony Martin, Mick Molloy and Jason Stephens as the Vikings.  May or may not be funny, but it is interesting to see how they depicted Viking culture.

 

Monty Python: Njorl's Saga: Youtube video of the Python's take on Norse saga. Pretty accurate in some ways, pretty funny in others.

 

Viking Kittens Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song". With kittens.

 

Techno Viking The famous video from Youtube.

 

Comments (7)

James Arrick said

at 3:04 pm on Dec 15, 2009

Here are some videos I will be adding.

Old Icelandic Song on Icelandic Instrument: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF8o3i7mvJ8

Iceland - Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PRSIASKrQM
Iceland - Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK8R2o3aCzY&feature=channel
Steaming Iceland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4HQgp0eFko&feature=channel

Skallagrimssonr said

at 4:55 pm on Dec 14, 2009

I made the following changes to the page:
1) Stripped out all tags (span, div,...) except for: <p><i><em><a><h1><h2><img><hr>
2) Changed <h3> tags to <h2> for uniformity, because they were both being used for subheadings.
3) Stripped all attributes (style, class...) out of the <p> tags
4) Recreated the JUMP TO

So, each annotation is surrounded by <p></p>. Each link is surrounded by <a...></a>. Section headings are <h1>, subsection headings are <h2>.

James Arrick said

at 9:07 am on Dec 10, 2009

I'm having trouble getting my links to align correctly. I'll work on them later today.

Kaðlín Jódís Foesbane said

at 2:30 pm on Dec 9, 2009

Here are a few clips I found on youtube but I have not written a discription for them. Not sure if you want to include them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFeRN19Blr4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkaKXTtGNvM

Rick Fehrenbacher said

at 6:50 am on Nov 20, 2009

There ya go.

Skallagrimssonr said

at 9:43 pm on Nov 19, 2009

All the URLs seem superfluous to me, and there is way too much empty space. This is the format I suggest:
1) The title of the link, bolded and hyperlinked
2) Two spaces
3) The annotation
4) One blank line before the next entry.

To create a hyperlink:
1) Enter EDIT mode.
2) Highlight the title of your link with the mouse.
3) Click the hyperlink button on the toolbar. It is the icon with the globe and chainlink picture.
4) For Link Type, choose URL.
5) Type (or paste) the link url into the url field.
6) Select "Open in New Window" so that it is checkmarked.
7) Click OK.

Rick Fehrenbacher said

at 5:35 pm on Nov 19, 2009

Ok, edit this stuff. There are way too many spaces between some of these entries. Don't just dump stuff in here without formatting it afterwards.

Rick

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