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Norse

The small Thor’s hammer amulet was carved out of sandstone.

Rare Thor’s Hammer Amulet Found in Iceland Casts New Light on Viking Life

In archaeology, anything from the past can be of great importance, including artifacts that may seem rather small and unremarkable at first glance. For example, archaeologists have just announced the...
The brooch found at Værløse Airfield has been inscribed with Norse runes and the ancient sun symbol, the swastika, which the Nazis used to further their horrifying ideology.

Unearthed Brooch Tells of the Nazis’ Abuse of Ancient Norse Runes to Spread Their Dark Ideology

During the Second World War a brooch inscribed with ancient Norse runes (letters) was discovered in a field at Værløse Airfield in Denmark telling a sinister story of the Nazi’s efforts to abuse...
L’Anse aux Meadows

L'Anse aux Meadows: Discovery of Norse settlement in Canada Proved Viking Sagas Contain Real History

Canada has a rich history which is not often realized by foreigners. One of the most remarkable and interesting historic sites in Canada is L’Anse aux Meadows. This was a Norse settlement or outpost...

Thousands of Artifacts Emerge from Lost Ancient Viking City of Sea-Masters

As the world awaits the second half of season five of History Channel’s epic show Vikings , which will premiere on November 28, 2018, archaeologists in Ribe, Denmark have been excavating a real life...
Vikings on a ship.

Hastein: A Notoriously Vicious Viking Raider…Not So Good At Navigation

Described as “fierce, mightily cruel, and savage, pestilent, hostile, sombre, truculent, given to outrage, pestilent and untrustworthy, fickle and lawless” by his contemporaries, Hastein was one of...
Left: Upper jaw bones of a walrus, with tusks removed. Right: an elaborately-carved ecclesiastical walrus ivory plaque.

Lost Norse of Greenland Fueled the Medieval Ivory Trade, Ancient Walrus DNA Suggests

The Icelandic Sagas tell of Erik the Red: exiled for murder in the late 10th century he fled to southwest Greenland, establishing its first Norse settlement. The colony took root, and by the mid-12th...
Two actors from the History Channel series “Vikings.”

Survey Shows About Half of Brits Wish They Were Descended from Vikings…and Many Probably Are!

If you’re from the British Isles, do you ever wonder if you’re a descendant of the marauding Vikings known sometimes to rape and pillage far from home and other times to set up settlements and...
The one-eyed Odin with his ravens Hugin and Munin and his weapons. An illustration from an 18th-century Icelandic manuscript.

The Saga of Gestumblindi and Odin’s Riddles

In mythology, riddles are used to test the intelligence and wisdom of mortals. They can contain elements of everyday life, but they can also contain elements from lore that would only be known by...
What did this ring with two wolf heads symbolize to the Viking who wore it?

Two Wolves Entwined: What did this Viking Ring Symbolize?

By ThorNews In the autumn of 2015, a unique Viking Age spiral ring with two wolf heads was found in Goa in Randaberg, Western Norway. Does the ring show Odin’s two wolves, Geri and Freki – or is it...
Thor and the Midgard Serpent, by Emil Doepler, 1905.

Thor: How a Norse Warrior God of Thunder Handles a Predicament

Thor is one of the most important gods in the Norse pantheon. He’s normally depicted as a middle-aged man with a red-beard wielding his famous weapon, a magical hammer known as Mjollnir...
Heimdall blowing Gjallarhorn

Heimdall, Watchman of the Gods, Will Sound the Horn as Ragnarok Approaches

Heimdall is a god in the Norse pantheon, most well-known for his task to announce the coming of Ragnarok by sounding his horn, which will be heard across all worlds. He is one of the better-known...
A calcite crystal found on an Elizabethan ship believed to have helped the Vikings navigate the seas.

Mythical Viking Sunstone Used for Navigation was Real and Remarkably Accurate, New Study Shows

The Vikings have been reputed to be remarkable seafarers who could fearlessly navigate their way through unknown oceans to invade unsuspecting communities along the North Sea and Atlantic Sea coasts...
Painting by John Bauer of two trolls with a human child they have raised

The Weird, Wonderful and Wicked Beings in Scandinavian Folklore

In Scandinavian folklore, there are numerous races of beings, the best-known of which (apart from human beings) are the gods and the jötnar, their nemesis. In rather simplistic terms, these may be...
Viking or Norse settlers image at L'Anse aux Meadows.

Can Oceanic Archaeologist Finally Zero in on Elusive Lost Viking Colony?

An archaeologist believes she is one step closer to finding a “lost Viking settlement” in North America, which would be one of the most significant discoveries this century, so far. Birgitta Wallace...
Artist’s representation of Vanaheimr.

Where is Vanaheimr, Land of the Norse Nature Gods?

In a realm of nine worlds, one might assume that the gods would be satisfied with one. One world where they could live away from humans and watch over their antics as one might watch a TV show. In...
‘Njord god of the sea’. (Deriv.)

Njord: The Tumultuous Marriage of a Norse God of the Sea and a Goddess Giantess

Njord was the god Norse sailors and fisherman turned to in times of need. He was a sea god with powers over the wind and the fertility of land along the coast. But what this deity is best remembered...
Venus and Anchises

Explainer: The Gods Behind the Days of the Week

The Roman weekday ‘dies Veneris’ was named after the planet Venus, which in turn took its name from Venus, goddess of love. The origins of our days of the week lie with the Romans. The Romans named...
The comb was discovered in Ribe, West Denmark.

Objects with Viking Rune Inscriptions Unearthed in Denmark’s Oldest Town

Ancient objects with rare Viking rune inscriptions have been discovered in Denmark. Experts suggest that the runic inscriptions could possibly shed new light on a very important period of the early...
Runic inscription found in Bergen.

Erotic Medieval Runic Inscriptions Found in Bergen

By ThorNews A runic inscription found in Bergen is quite long and the author must have had a lot of “erotic energy” when he carved these runes into the 33 centimeter-long (13 inches) wooden stick: “I...
This Swedish Viking had filed front teeth.

Did These Filed and Grooved Teeth Belong to a Viking Elite Warrior?

BY THORNEWS Scandinavian findings and a mass grave in Dorset, England, proves that some Viking males filed grooves into their front teeth and most likely filled them with pigment. Researchers are...
A Viking Warrior

Never Offend a Viking or ‘The Thing’ Might Just Decide Your Fate

BY THORNEWS If you offended a Viking, a normal reaction would be to kill you on the spot. If the murder took place in daylight with witnesses present and without trying to hide his act, the...
Recreated Viking helmet and weapon

Burning, Pillaging, and Carving up the Lands: Viking Raids into England - Part II

Vikings in history and popular culture are known as strong and dangerous, bloodthirsty killers, raiders, pillagers – pirates of land and sea. But who were the Vikings, and what were the causes of...
The Burning Galley

“Never Before Has Such a Terror Appeared”: Viking Raids into Ireland – Part I

Vikings struck terror into the hearts of many in Europeans—and their reputation still lingers today when you ask a person to describe them. The answers given are that they were violent, hairy brutes...
Thorbjörg Lítilvölva from the Saga of Erik he Red displayed in the Saga Museum in Reykjavik.

The Feared and Respected Old Norse Völva Sorceresses

BY THORNEWS In the Viking Age, the völvas (female shamans) were both feared and respected: they exercised seiðr (Norse magic) and were supposedly in direct contact with Odin, the Allfather. The word...

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