About this episode

The episode explores the evolution of mead from a prestigious historical drink to a modern cultural icon with Dr. Simon Trafford.

We all have that iconic image of the Viking Age: a smoke-filled longhall and a horn overflowing with mead. But was it truly the 'nectar of the gods,' or is our modern obsession with it telling us more about ourselves than the actual Norse? Today, I’m sitting down with Dr. Simon Trafford to look past the drunken stereotypes and into the real politics of the mead bench. We’re exploring how mead evolved from a prestigious historical drink into a powerful modern brand—from ancient rituals to its role in heavy metal, film, TV and computer games. Let’s find out if mead is really 'history in a bottle' or just a very successful piece of Viking PR.

People in this episode

Host: Becky Hill

Guest: Dr Simon Trafford

Topics covered

• Viking mythology
• mead history
• cultural evolution
• ancient rituals
• modern branding

Keywords

• mead
• Viking Age
• Norse culture
• ancient rituals
• heavy metal
• film
• TV
• computer games

Mentioned in this episode

Products: mead

Books & works: Viking Age

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