Want to learn more about Norse Vikings? We provide information and insight for people interested in Viking Age Scandinavia. The present web site is a dynamic resource that treats on current and past issues related to Norse cultural heritage. The Viking Rune offers unique online features: free Rune Converter and Motto Generator. We are committed to greater access to knowledge about the Vikings, which is the only way to dispel the myth about Norse warriors as cruel and bloodthirsty raiders who did nothing but kill, pillage and rape. The Viking Rune is always up-to-date with the latest developments in North Germanic studies, including hot archeological finds in Scandinavia and elsewhere.


From the category archives:

Vikings History

Beheaded Vikings in Weymouth Execution Pit

March 23, 2010 Viking Burials
Viking skull

In June 2009 a thousand-year-old execution pit was discovered at Ridgeway Hill, on a hilltop by the ancient main road from Dorchester to Weymouth. The pit contained the remains of 51 robust young warriors, most of whom were in their late teens to early 20s. Since no pins or toggles were found, it is suggested [...]

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Viking Graffiti in Hagia Sophia

March 30, 2009 Vikings History
Viking graffiti

Tagma ton Varangion, the Varangian Guard, was first created in the Byzantine Empire under Basil II Bulgaroctonus (Slayer of the Bulgars), one of the outstanding Byzantine emperors. After the death of John I Tzimisces in 976, who governed the empire before Basil, two powerful generals revolted and received military support from Georgia and Baghdad. Basil [...]

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Jelling Rune Stones Remain Outdoors

March 29, 2009 Rune Stones
Jelling runestones

The Jelling stones are two massive runestones standing in a churchyard in Jelling, Denmark, between two large mounds. Both date to the 10th century. The older and the smaller of the two was erected by Gorm the Old in memory of his wife Thyra. The Larger stone was erected by Harald Bluetooth in memory of [...]

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The Vikings Reloaded

March 15, 2009 Vikings History
Viking

Today is the third and the last day of the conference Between the Islands: Interaction with Vikings in Ireland and Britain in the Early Medieval Period hosted by the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic of the Cambridge University. “The rehabilitation of the Vikings is nothing new to academics, but it is surprising how enduring [...]

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Viking Society in Iceland – Key Concepts

March 10, 2009 Vikings History
Thingvellir

Viking society of the 10th century in Iceland was a democracy of free men, böndr (singular: bóndi) who worked on the land that they owned. As it seems, rural community, hreppr, originally united people who first came to Iceland on the same ship. From among chieftains, höfðingjar (singular: höfðingi) a priest, goði (plural: goðar), was [...]

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Vikings in England – A Historical Commentary

March 9, 2009 Vikings History
Vikings in England

Comments by Professor Jobling and Dr King quoted in my earlier article on the Viking genetic heritage in northern England may need some explanation. Danelaw, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, is the territory in Britain, where the laws of the Danes for a certain period dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons (see the map). The first [...]

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Jorvik Viking Festival in February 2009

February 24, 2009 Vikings History
Jorvik Viking Festival

The day before yesterday the 23rd Jorvik Viking Festival in York reached its finale. This long-established festival, celebrating England’s Viking heritage, included a whole range of public events and spanned a wide range of interests. Each of the five spectacular days of the festival had a different theme: Combat Day, Family Day, Invasion Day, International [...]

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Viking Burial Site in Cumwhitton, Cumbria

February 21, 2009 Viking Burials
Cumbria

In March 2004 amateur archeologist Peter Adams found two Viking copper brooches on a farmland in Cumwhitton, near Carlisle, Cumbria, using a metal detector with permisson from the landowner. Mr Adams immediately reported this important find under the Portable Antiquities Scheme. This led to the discovery of six Viking graves, dating from the early 10th [...]

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