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:

Viking Weapons

Many Viking Swords in Museums Are Fakes

January 20, 2009 Viking Technology
Viking swords

According to a report in The Guardian, published in December 2008, Viking swords in some of the most famous weapons collections are counterfeit. However, the age of the fakes is the same as the one of the genuine swords, about a thousand years. The fact is that the best swords that were used by the [...]

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Viking Raven Banner

January 8, 2009 Viking Weapons
Sutton Hoo raven

Viking warlords led their armies under a banner (merki) or war flag (gunnefane). For instance, king Olaf Tryggvason had a dragon banner. However, raven was the most common image on such standards. Under the year 878 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions a viking banner called Hræfn (‘Raven’). Harald Hardrada’s banner called Landøyðan (‘Land-Waster’), mentioned in the [...]

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Viking Helmet from Gjermundbu, Norway

January 8, 2009 Viking Weapons
Gjermundby Viking helmet

Contrary to a widespread delusion, Viking helmets did not have horns. The only helmet that may be unmistakeably attributed to the Viking armor was found in 1943 in a burial mound near Gjermundbu, Norway. The mound contained many other artifacts of the Viking Age, such as swords, sheath fittings, chain mail and several tools. The [...]

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