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sagas

AI portrait of fearless powerful warrior Viking man with blood marks. Source: Asiri/Adobe Stock

The Vikings Had a Justice System Based On Blood Feuds (Video)

The Icelandic Vikings of the Middle Ages had a justice system centered on blood feuds , in stark contrast to modern legal proceedings. Unlike today's courtroom dramas with attorneys and evidence,...
Myth or reality, Ragnar Lothbrok remains an iconic figure in Viking lore. Source: HN Works/Adobe Stock

What is the Story Behind the Real Ragnar Lothbrok? (Video)

Ragnar Lothbrok , an iconic figure in Viking lore, emerges from the shadows of Norse sagas, a sea king whose exploits reverberate through the annals of history. In 845, as the Frankish Empire...
Viking warriors facing down death.	Source:  AdamantiumStock/Adobe Stock

5 Viking Deaths And What They Tell Us About the Viking Mindset (Video)

The Viking mindset, as revealed in Old Norse sagas , emerges vividly through tales of these five great Viking deaths. The raid on Lindisfarne in AD 793 marked the outset of Viking depredations in...
A representation of Jötunn (Giant) Surtr of Norse mythology. Source: warmtail/Adobe Stock

Surtr: Norse Mythology's Giant God of Fire and Apocalypse

Giants, demigods, dwarves and elves - all these creatures made the Old Norse mythology so colorful and captivating. Preserved for posterity in the Norse sagas and manuscripts, these myths and legends...
A Viking warrior. Source: Art Gallery / Adobe Stock.

Ragnar’s Death Song: The Last Words of a Viking King (Video)

Ragnar's Death Song, also known as the Song of the Crow or the Krakumal, is a poem that tells the story of Ragnar's death. According to Norse sagas, Ragnar Lothbrok was a legendary Viking warrior and...
Vikings values of bravery, honor and loyalty. Source: (Ben By AdobeStock)

Discovering the Drengr Code: The Truth About Viking Ethics

Many cultures throughout history have had their own unspoken societal rules, and the Vikings are no exception. The Drengr Code was a code of ethics and principles that was believed to have been...
Archaeological excavation at Arnarfjörður has unearthed huge amounts of data. Researchers have also found data within the texts of ancient Icelandic sagas, as well as drone technology to identify possible dig sites. Source: Margrét Hallmundsdóttir

Longhouse From Icelandic Medieval Saga Discovered at Arnarfjörður

In 2013 archaeologists in Iceland came across an ash pile which led to excavations that began in 2017 at Arnarfjörður, near the church town Auðkúla in Iceland . The ash pile led to the discovery of a...
Representation of a Valkyrie

The Bold and Beautiful Valkyries and Their Mortal Lovers

In Norse mythology, Valkyries were originally sinister spirits that would fly above the battlefield in search of the dead, deciding the fate of the fallen for Odin . The word “Valkyrie” means “...
Dream Idyll (A Valkyrie) by Edward Robert Hughes

The Slain Will Rise Again: Lost Valkyries Remembered

“Brothers shall fight | and fell each other, And sisters' sons | shall kinship stain; Hard is it on earth, | with mighty whoredom; Axe-time, sword-time, | shields are sundered, Wind-time, wolf-time...
Sigrid the Haughty, Queen Consort of Four Countries and Owner of a Strong Personality

Sigrid the Haughty, Queen Consort of Four Countries and Owner of a Strong Personality

In Norse sagas, Sigrid appears as the wife of Eric the Victorious of Sweden, then Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark. She's also known as a famous Polish queen of the Vikings, who was called Świętosława...
Sigurd and Fafnir (Public domain). Fáfnir was a son of the dwarf king Hreidmar. After being affected by the curse of Andvari's ring and gold, Fafnir became a dragon and was slain by Sigurd.

Outlaws, trolls and berserkers: Meet the hero-monsters of the Icelandic sagas

Iceland’s medieval literature is rich in many regards: in Eddas and sagas, it tells us about early Scandinavia and its expanding world-view, ranging from the mythology of the North, the legends and...
The Ride of the Valkyries (1890), William T. Maud

The Powerful Valkyries as Icons of Female Force and Fear

The Valkyries of Norse mythology were women of vast prestige and power. They were one of the few factions of warrior women from ancient lore recognized as having any power over the mortal realm...
From the Gisla Saga

The Gisla Saga: an Icelandic Tale of Love, Family, and Revenge

Considered an outlaw saga, the Gisla Saga survives in thirty-three manuscripts, first written in the 13 th century. It is notable for its psychological treatment of characters and its blatant...
A statue of a Norse valkyrie, or battle maiden, on a horse in a park in Copenhagen, Denmark

Neo-pagans are building a temple to practice the ancient Norse religion

In many ways, the old Norse beliefs of Scandinavia are strange and wonderful. The old pagan religion had gods and goddesses of music and fertility, nature deities, elves, dwarves, giants, magical...
Detail of a miniature from a 13th-century Icelandic manuscript.

The Sagas of the Icelanders shed light on Golden Age

The Sagas of the Icelanders have long been preserved as the most comprehensive specimen of the literary culture of the 13 th and 14 th centuries of Iceland. In writing these sagas, many attributes of...
800-year-old body found in Norwegian well

The 800-year-old body found in a Norwegian well supports accuracy of Sverris Saga

Over seven decades ago, an ancient skeleton was found in a well in Sverresborg, a medieval fortification located in Bergen, Norway. But World War II put an end to the excavations and the body was...

The Sagas of the Icelanders May Not be Myth After All

Despite numerous so-called myths which existed in stories, sagas and texts of our ancient past being proven true, many still insist that all myths and legends are simply down the imagination and...
Norse Legends - Ancient Trading - Vikings

Archaeologists Find Evidence of an Ancient Trading Site from Norse Legends

Archaeologists from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s Museum have found an ancient silver button and set of balance scales along with other artefacts during an excavation in mid-...