COA04 - The Icelandic Free State

In this Halloween special we tell one of the spookiest ghost stories we find in the Icelandic Sagas - the story of Thorolf Twist-Foot as told in the Saga of the People of Eyri.  The Saga of the People of Eyri is fantastic. My favorite English translation can be found here: https: ...  Show more

In this episode we dive into the gritty details of Icelandic law, culture and politics by looking at the tale of Mord the Fiddle from Njal's Saga. Along the way we talk about marriage in the Viking Age, the definition of a hundred and the importance of moderation and compromise i ...  Show more

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