COA01 - The Discovery of Iceland

In this week's episode we explore the initial settlement of Iceland. We'll talk about who settled the island, when they settled down and begin our discussion of the society they created.

To kick us off we are going to explore this topic by example by exploring the settl ...

In this week's episode we explore the growing number of challenges faced by the Icelanders as the landnám period drew to a close in the 930s. We will then take a long look at the key components of the institution the Icelanders turned to in order to solve that problem ...

Who were the Vikings' ancient ancestors? In this episode Tristan Hughes explores the fascinating maritime culture, sophisticated trade networks and social hierarchies of the Nordic Bronze Age c. 1800–700 BC. Joined by Professor Johan Ling, they shed light on how proto-Viking soci ...  Show more

Vikings have long been depicted as that stereotype of the hairy, nameless warrior, leaping ashore from his longboat, ready to terrorise a hapless local population in a northern European country. But there were also seers, artisans, travellers, and writers, too whose stories ca ...

September is Vikings month on Gone Medieval, as Dr. Cat Jarman presents a mini-series about her favourite, specialist subject. Over four episodes, Cat is taking a deep dive into the Viking age, looking at how it all started, how it all ended, and the stories we t ...

Last episode I gave you a forest view of where we are going and, roughly, who these Viking raiders were as well as the scale of the impact that they will have upon Europe. And it really is something to behold. The Viking Age isn’t very long, but Europe hadn’t seen this level of r ...  Show more