Nordic or Anglo-Saxon Shield Design

Some time ago, I found this image of an Anglo-Saxon or Scandinavian heavy infantryman as it looks. The most interesting feature is his shield Design, so I chose to republish it. Most of his arms and armour are Scandinavian – and definitely the crow standart behind him – but most

How contemporary conflicts resemble the medieval wars in Scandinavian areas

Republication from www.hf.uio.no ( University of Oslo)

“King Sverre’s march over the Vosse mountains” by Peter Nicolai Arbo (1862). Sverre was King of Norway from 1184 to 1202. Picture: Wikimedia Commons

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There are many ways in which to understand the new wars of today. One way is to look at the wars that took place in medieval times.

Most wars since 1989 have not been fought between states. The divisions associated with classical types of warfare – between soldiers and civilians, soldiers and criminals, war and peace – are not that clear anymore. Such as the present situation in Afghanistan.

In recent years, there has been a major international discussion among political scientists and anthropologists about how to understand new types of wars that have arisen since the Cold War.

The classical understanding of the term “civil war” is often imprecise when wars are fought across national borders. Instead, the term “new wars” has become more common among many experts and researchers.

Half the population of the Viking-town Sigtuna were migrants

Republication from Stockholm University

New analysis of the remains of 38 people who lived and died in the town of Sigtuna during the 10th, 11th and 12th century reveals high genetic variation and a wide scale migration. The study is the largest of its kind so far in Sweden and a combination of several methods, including DNA analysis and Strontium isotope analysis of teeth. The results are published in a new article in Current Biology.

Sigtuna is well known as one of the earliest actual cities in the area and was formally founded around 980 AD. More unknown is the fact that the picturesque town, which today is home to around 10 000 people, was a distinctly cosmopolitan place back then.

1,200 YEARS-OLD VIKING SWORD

Republication from the Local

(Courtesy: Hordaland County, Norway)

A hiker travelling the ancient route between western and eastern Norway found a 1,200-year-old Viking sword after sitting down to rest after a short fishing trip. Further studies of the area will take place next spring.

The sword, found at Haukeli in central southern Norway will be sent for conservation at the The University Museum of Bergen.

Jostein Aksdal, an archaeologist with Hordaland County said the sword was in such good condition that if it was given a new grip and a polish, it could be used today.

“The sword was found in very good condition. It is very special to get into a sword that is merely lacking its grip,” he said.

Ηow and where the Viking age began

Republication from Science Nordic

Dragon heads in the prows of Viking longships.

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By Charlotte Price Persson

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The story of the Vikings begins in the year 793 AD, after Norwegian Vikings landed in England on the first official Viking raid. To this day, these fierce raids are the most famous of Viking stories.

Now, a new study suggests a more peaceful start to Viking seafaring — and it all began in Denmark.

Three archaeologists from the University of Aarhus (Denmark) and the University of York (UK) have shown that maritime voyages from Norway to Ribe, the oldest commercial centre in Denmark, occurred long before the Viking age officially began.

The study shows that early Vikings travelled to Ribe in South Denmark as early as 725 AD.

The researchers discovered deer antlers in the oldest archaeological deposits of Ribe’s old marketplace and they turned out to be the remains of Norwegian reindeer.

“This is the first time we have proof that seafaring culture, which was the basis for the Viking era, has a history in Ribe. It’s fascinating,” says Professor Søren Sindbæk, one of the authors of the new study, which has just been published in the European Journal of Archaeology.