Medieval History
Playing ball games is an activity played by children around the world. While today?s parents might worry that their sons and daughters might get scrapes and bruises, in the Viking world such a game could end with an axe being driven into an opponent?s head.
This detail comes from a new article, ?What the Vikings did for fun? Sports and pastimes in medieval northern Europe?, which was published last month in the journal World Archaeology. In it Leszek Garde?a of the University of Aberdeen uses saga accounts and archaeological evidence to see what men, women and children from Scandinavia and Iceland amused themselves with during the Viking-era, and found that their were several popular pastimes.
Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net
- Vikings Were ?first To Begin Criminal Profiling?, Historian Says
The Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson tells the story of a tenth-century Viking warrior who took part in raids in Europe and often fought with his own neighbours in Iceland. When his life?s story was written in the thirteenth-century, was the author using him...
- Historian Uncovers Cases Of Ransoms Paid To Vikings In The 11th Century
How much were two women worth in 11th century Iberia? For the Vikings the price was a blanket of wolf skin, a sword, a shirt, three scarves, a cow and some salt. This fascinating story is part of research done by Helio Pires from the New University of...
- Scholar Finds Evidence Of Links Between Vikings And North American Natives
Old Norse sagas such as Saga of Erik the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders have been long been considered among the most important sources of information about relations between Vikings and Native Americans. But new research suggests that accounts...
- Viking Thomasinas: Cross-gender Name Elements In Viking Naming Practices
Vikings had the same concerns about choosing their children?s names as we do, says a researcher from the University of Leicester who delivered his paper at a recent Viking conference. The sixth Midlands Viking Symposium was held at the University of Nottingham...
- What Toys Did Byzantine Children Play With?
A new book on Byzantine children is providing fascinating insights into how people viewed childhood and adolescence in the Middle Ages. Becoming Byzantine: Children and Childhood in Byzantium, is a collection of nine articles that reveal various aspects...
Medieval History
Oar walking, underwater wrestling and horse fighting ? historian examines the sports and games of the Vikings
Playing ball games is an activity played by children around the world. While today?s parents might worry that their sons and daughters might get scrapes and bruises, in the Viking world such a game could end with an axe being driven into an opponent?s head.
This detail comes from a new article, ?What the Vikings did for fun? Sports and pastimes in medieval northern Europe?, which was published last month in the journal World Archaeology. In it Leszek Garde?a of the University of Aberdeen uses saga accounts and archaeological evidence to see what men, women and children from Scandinavia and Iceland amused themselves with during the Viking-era, and found that their were several popular pastimes.
Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net
- Vikings Were ?first To Begin Criminal Profiling?, Historian Says
The Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson tells the story of a tenth-century Viking warrior who took part in raids in Europe and often fought with his own neighbours in Iceland. When his life?s story was written in the thirteenth-century, was the author using him...
- Historian Uncovers Cases Of Ransoms Paid To Vikings In The 11th Century
How much were two women worth in 11th century Iberia? For the Vikings the price was a blanket of wolf skin, a sword, a shirt, three scarves, a cow and some salt. This fascinating story is part of research done by Helio Pires from the New University of...
- Scholar Finds Evidence Of Links Between Vikings And North American Natives
Old Norse sagas such as Saga of Erik the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders have been long been considered among the most important sources of information about relations between Vikings and Native Americans. But new research suggests that accounts...
- Viking Thomasinas: Cross-gender Name Elements In Viking Naming Practices
Vikings had the same concerns about choosing their children?s names as we do, says a researcher from the University of Leicester who delivered his paper at a recent Viking conference. The sixth Midlands Viking Symposium was held at the University of Nottingham...
- What Toys Did Byzantine Children Play With?
A new book on Byzantine children is providing fascinating insights into how people viewed childhood and adolescence in the Middle Ages. Becoming Byzantine: Children and Childhood in Byzantium, is a collection of nine articles that reveal various aspects...