The Viking Rune Blog

Vøluspá: The Viking Creation Myth – Part 1

March 17, 2013 Norse Mythology

The Vøluspá is one of the creation stories from the Prose Edda texts and a personal favorite of mine. Some of these old texts can be quite laborious in getting through their meanings, but I will take an attempt at it to put it into context while also addressing a comparison to other cultural myths [...]

Mel Gibson’s Berserker: Real and Visceral

December 10, 2012 Viking History

Three years ago I wrote about an untitled Viking project developed by Mel Gibson. Since then many sad things happened; Mr. Gibson’s personal life has been widely discussed in the news. Many talked about his pariah status in the Hollywood. The Beaver was not successful. His other recent project, Get the Gringo, went straight to [...]

My Favorite Norse Proverbs and Sayings

December 6, 2012 Scandinavia

Today I would like to share with you a few proverbs from Scandinavia. Feel free to post your own favorite Norse and Viking sayings in the comments below. Icelandic Proverbs Neyðin kennir naktri konu að spinna. The necessity teaches a naked woman how to spin. Sjaldan er ein báran stök. There seldom is a single [...]

Second Proven Viking Outpost in North America

October 21, 2012 Viking History

October 7, at a meeting of the Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology in St. John’s, Canada, Dr. Patricia Sutherland presented her research. It shows that wear grooves on whetstones from Tanfield Valley (Baffin Island) had very small parts of bronze, brass and smelted iron. This fact may seem rather natural: indeed, why blade-sharpening tools wouldn’t [...]

Fierce and Fair: The Valkyries of Norse Legend

October 20, 2012 Norse Mythology

I’d like to thank Victor for inviting me to write a guest post here on his blog. The subject that naturally sprang to mind for me was the Valkyries. Norse mythology is filled with memorable stories and themes that still echo within our hearts and minds centuries after they were created. One part of those [...]

Norwegian Names: Top 100 Names Popular in Norway

January 13, 2012 Norse Names

Find below the list of the most used Norwegian names from 1880 through 2010, according to the data provided by Statistics Norway (Statistisk sentralbyrå). Statistics for 2011 are not ready as yet, but in 2010 the most popular boys’ name in Norway was Lucas and the most popular girls’ name was Emma. In 2009 the [...]

Norse Viking Gods

January 8, 2012 Norse Mythology

Odin Odin is the supreme god of the Norse pantheon, the most worshipped among Viking gods. Odin corresponds to West Germanic Woden or Wotan. Etymology of his name points to poetic inspiration and shamanic ecstasy. As it seems, initially Odin was a patron of military unions and initiations, as well as a sorcerer god. With [...]

Viking Shield

January 6, 2012 Viking Weapons

For defense, Vikings used large circular shields. Usually, the size of the Viking shields varied between 30″ and 36″ (75 – 90 cm). The shield excavated at a Viking fortress Trelleborg (Denmark) in 2008 was 33,5″ broad. No less renowned are shields from Gokstad Viking ship burial (Norway). With the end of the Viking Age [...]

Ardnamurchan Viking Ship Burial

November 14, 2011 Viking Longships

Stunning archaeological find was made last month in Scotland. A Viking ship burial, which is about 1,000 years old was unearthed on the Ardnamurchan peninsula. It was the grave of a chieftain buried in a rather small vessel (about 16ft) as compared to famous Gokstad or Oseberg ship burials in Norway or Sutton Hoo grave [...]

St. Brice’s Day Massacre at Oxford

September 9, 2011 Viking History

St. Brice’s Day Massacre is an event recorded in an ancient chart, which says that in AD 1002 the Saxon king Ethelred the Unready was told that there was a Danish plot to assassinate him. After that he ordered to kill all the Vikings in England. The same chart reports that in Oxford the Danes [...]

100 Facts About Iceland

September 5, 2011 Scandinavia

In Iceland, prohibition of alcoholic beverages came into effect in 1915. Prohibition was partially lifted for wines in 1922, because Spain and Portugal refused to import Icelandic salted cod unless Iceland imported Iberian red wine. Beer remained illegal in Iceland until 1989. In 1956 boxing was banned here. In 2002 amateur boxing was allowed under strict [...]

MGM Vikings Series

August 22, 2011 Viking History

After emerging from bankruptcy last year, MGM is going to produce a new TV series on Vikings. The project’s executive producers are Michael Hirst and Morgan O’Sullivan. This team has already proved to be successful in both Camelot and The Tudors. Producers/managers Sherry Marsh and Alan Gasmer also take part in the project. MGM Vikings [...]

The Cawood Sword

February 5, 2011 Viking Weapons

The Cawood sword is probably the finest Viking sword ever found. It was discovered in the River Ouse near York in the 19th century. The pommel type is characteristic for the Viking Age swords, while the shape of the guard is more like the ones found in 12th century weapons. This fact inclined many to [...]

Necropants: Nábrók

February 2, 2011 Scandinavia

The Icelandic Necropants (Nábrók) is perhaps the weirdest way to get rich ever. According to odd medieval practice in Iceland, to get that horrible device, it was necessary to make deal with a male friend, when he was alive, about digging up his body from the churchyard after he would die. The cause of death [...]

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Norse Symbols, Gods and Valkyries