Myth and belief in the Viking Age and beyond

Myth and belief in the Viking Age and beyond

From Vikingology Podcast by The Art and Science of the Viking Age

January 24, 2026 · 1h 10m

About this episode

The episode features a discussion with Professor Carolyne Larrington about mythology, storytelling, and their significance from the Viking Age to modern times.

We were honored to finally chat with Carolyne Larrington, Professor and Emeritus Research Fellow of Old English and Old Norse literature at St. John’s College, Oxford. She is one of the world’s foremost experts on mythology with many many books and publications, including her most recent books The Little Book of Trolls and The Little Book of Dragons . She has also done a translation of The Poetic Edda . Since we are both historians, and C.J. is an historical fiction author to boot, we are hardwired for creating narratives about the past and storytelling in general, so we were delighted to get a chance to talk with Prof. Larrington about what stories and myths mean to us humans as a species. This took us not only to the Viking Age and Norse myths, but much farther afield into the realms of religion, modern medievalism, and the human condition in general. This was a fun and enlightening chat. We could have talked for hours! Thank you Carolyne. We hope you will visit us again in the future! Skál! Thank you to all who watch or listen to us! To further support our work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at…

People in this episode

Host: C.J.

Guest: Carolyne Larrington

Topics covered

  • Viking Age
  • Norse mythology
  • mythology
  • storytelling
  • human condition
  • religion
  • modern medievalism

Keywords

  • Viking Age
  • Norse myths
  • mythology
  • storytelling
  • human condition
  • religion
  • medievalism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: St. John’s College, Oxford

Books & works: The Poetic Edda, The Little Book of Trolls, The Little Book of Dragons

More episodes of Vikingology Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Vikingology Podcast podcast page.