Vikingology Podcast

This time on the podcast the authors outnumbered the historians. We got a fun glimpse into the world of historical fiction writing set in the Viking Age from authors Johanna Wittenberg and K.S. Barton. Johanna writes the Norse Women series. K.S. is author of the Norse Family Saga trilogy. And that’s not all! They also co-host the podcast Shieldmaidens: Women of the Norse World where they discuss what it meant to be a woman in the Viking Age. With a mix of history, writing, and podcasting, they are our kind of people!We talked to them about why they chose the Viking Age as the backdrop for their stories, the art of writing and what it takes to appeal to readers of historical fiction, and what role AI may play in changing the writing game. And we also waded into the murky waters of women warriors. Did shieldmaidens exist? Watch or listen and find out!Thank you Johanna and K.S.! We had a great time.You can learn more about their work on their websites:johannawittenberg.com and ksbarton.com. Vikingology is reader-supported. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to keep the content coming. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

Terri and C.J. are finally back together again!After a summer hiatus so that C.J. could move to France, we reunite for a very special chat with medievalist historian and fellow American Pacific Northwesterner Eleanor Janega. Some of you might recognize her from her incredibly popular History Hit TV series that she’s done on everything from the history of body modification to the plague, King Arthur, the medieval afterlife, and more.But we wanted to talk to her about her latest series about vikings named Norman.Well, actually the ones named “Rollo the Walker” and “William the B*****d” whose viking opportunism and medieval badassery gave us the area in France that we still call Normandy to this day because of them. We find out how and why a viking chieftain could create a dynasty that would change the history of a French region and the entirety of England forever. And why those Normans are the tech bros of the Viking Age.Thanks so much Eleanor! You are great fun and we look forward to chatting again soon.You can find out more about Eleanor’s work, including her books THE ONCE AND FUTURE SEX: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society and The Middle Ages: A Graphic History on her website.You can also check out Eleanor on her two podcasts: Gone Medieval and We’re Not So Different.Vikingology is reader-supported. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to keep the magic coming. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

Here at Vikingology we spend what we often think is an outsized amount of time focusing on viking activity on the eastern shores of England. From the raid on Lindisfarne monastery in 793 — the so-called start of the Viking Age — and into the creation of the Danelaw, to the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, it seems all the action in the British Isles was in the east.But in today’s episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with historian John Fletcher who told us about the importance of Cornwall in the viking story, in the southwest of England. He specializes in that part of Britain during the early medieval period and in 2023 published The Western Kingdom: The Birth of Cornwall. He is currently researching the impact of viking and Scandinavian activity there from the 9th to 11th centuries. It appears that while our eyes have been on the east, just like the vikings, Cornwall sort of snuck up on us.From being the “true” heirs of the Roman Empire in the North, to tin mining, King Arthur, lots of Catholic saints, and being a sandbox for vikings to hone their skills, suffice it to say there’s lots more to Cornwall than meets the eye. To check it all out, watch the podcast and then buy John’s book!You can also find John on Facebook and Instagram @authorjohnfletcherThanks so much John! We look forward to chatting again. 'Eghes da!This Substack is reader-supported. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help us keep the good stuff coming. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

Everyone knows that Viking Age Scandinavia was a barbaric and lawless place, right? With all that stealing, killing, property destruction, and selling of people into slavery, who else could get away with all that mayhem if not people with a complete disregard for law and order? Well, if that’s your view of the viking world, we’ve got news for you. In this episode we chat with Professor and Dr. Alexandra Sanmark of the University of the Highlands and Islands in Scotland, an expert in all things legal and judicial in Viking Age society. Turns out, those Scandinavians knew a thing or two about crime and punishment and took it very seriously. The result was an intricate set of laws, courts, and procedures that were part of Germanic custom going all the way back to the Roman era. We talked to her about various legal policies and procedures, what our sources are for them, and where those public assemblies took place. We also discussed the legal parity that the Viking Age is famous for in our modern imaginations. The reality may surprise you.Her book Viking Law and Order: Places and Rituals of Assembly in the Medieval North spells out the complex nature of Norse systems at a time when laws were not written down but performed and remembered visually and orally. It’s a fasinating look into a culture that counters our every impulse thought about what it meant to be a “viking.”Thanks Alex, it was a most interesting and thought-provoking pleasure!To comment on our posts and support our work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode we have one of our most wide-ranging conversations yet, and if you follow us at all you’ll know that’s saying something because we are very prone to ranging wide!We chat with Alex Harvey, an archaeologist from Yorkshire, England, who has written several books on medieval history. But we wanted to hear all about his Forgotten Vikings which was published in the U.K. in 2024 but is just now reaching audiences in the U.S. in 2025. Alex’s book and research had us asking many questions — What is the meaning of “Viking” and how is that changing? When did the Viking Age actually begin and end? How did he become interested in Vikings in the first place? Then we ventured into how the Romans may have influenced the Viking Age North, the intermix of myth and reality in storytelling then and now, the importance of modern pop culture for getting people interested in Viking history, authenticity in the movie The Northman and TV series Vikings and The Last Kingdom, and how Vikings look to us like a mix of Walter White and Tony Soprano. We warned you that we ranged pretty wide. But just who are the “Forgotten” Vikings? You’ll have to watch/listen to find out.Thanks so much Alex! We look forward to doing it again soon when we can dig into more about archaeology. After you’ve read Forgotten Vikings, don’t forget to check out his other book Riddles of the Isle and then be on the lookout for his forthcoming book Little Kingdoms: An A-Z of Early Medieval Britain.This Substack is reader-supported. To support our work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

Do you believe in elves or magic spells? In Iceland those things have been part of the traditional folklore for a very long time. To learn about what that meant, and continues to mean, we spoke with experts in Old Norse religion and folk beliefs Kári Pálsson and Giorgia Sottotetti. They worked together on a new book, The Galdrabók: Forbidden Icelandic folk magic with Hyldyr, a small, independent publisher in Washington State that has also published other books on related themes.This episode was a bit of a spooky one for Terri. As a researcher of Vikings and Iceland herself, coincidentally (or not?) back in 2019 she had seen Jarðskinna, the tiny manuscript that we discuss and that is the focus of Kári and Giorgia’s book (along with the Galdrabók), and always wondered what it meant. As you can see from her photo above, taken in the Árni Magnússon Institute in Reykjavík, it contains strange images and symbols that still defy explanation. Luckily, Kári and Giorgia have transcribed the Icelandic text, but they have yet to crack the code. If you have any experience with Icelandic folkloric magic and potential insight into what the images might mean, they would love to hear from you. You can reach them through their publisher.The episode was a bit spooky for C. J. too. All he could see in the images and symbols was an alien abduction! But perhaps that was because he was a bit under the weather and could really have used a magic healing spell. Or maybe he’s just spent too much time in the Vikingverse ;)This was a really interesting and fun chat, not only about the manuscripts, but the beliefs of Nordic peoples that have withstood the test of time, from before and during the Viking Age straight through to the present. And we ended on a recitation of a Fart Rune, so what’s not to love about that?!Takk fyrir Kári and Giorgia! Vikingology Podcast is a reader-supported publication. To support our work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

We are delighted to welcome back to the show Dr habil. Leszek Gardeła. It’s been two years since our last conversation with him, and so we were excited to get a chance to speak with him again and hear about his new book The Vikings in Poland (hardback now available, paperback to be released soon). Leszek is a Polish archaeologist, so this history is personal for him, and this book has been a long time in the making. But thankfully he undertook the task of researching and writing it, for it finally brings to light an often-neglected but very important aspect of the Viking Age. In addition to his book, we talk about our changing understanding of just what a “Viking” is (or was) and the art and artifacts that help us to see them a bit more clearly. We also talk about the misuse of history and symbols of the past particularly those connected with the Viking Age. And we cover the migrations and mixes of past peoples that show us a dynamic world that can’t easily be reduced to Scandinavian or Slav, Viking or warrior, us or them. As always, the conversation with him is thoughtful and enlightening.Leszek is a prolific writer. He is skilled at taking the complexities and nuances of the Vikings and bringing reason and clarity — in short, he finds the humans behind the legends. We highly recommend his books for anyone interested in the Viking Age. Dziękuję Leszek! We look forward to chatting again.Click the images to buy his books. Vikingology has no affiliate relationship and does not profit from book sales. We provide links simply to support the author.Interested in our previous chat with Leszek? We’ve got you covered…Vikingology Podcast is a reader-supported publication. To receive support our work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe