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Death of Marion du Fresne at the Bay of Islands
Painting by Charles Meryon (1821-1868) depicting the death of French explorer, Marion du Fresne (1724-1772), who is surrounded by Maori with children in the background and showing parts of a pa (fortification).
Article
Viking Hygiene, Clothing, & Jewelry
Although the Vikings are routinely depicted as rough, grimy, and violent, they were actually quite refined, took personal hygiene seriously, and wore fine clothes ornamented by jewelry. Some Christian chroniclers who condemned the Vikings...
Video
Writing Old Norse in Runes (remake/improved)
Writing in runes isn't a simple one-to-one conversion of one letter to one rune. This video shows how Old Norse was written using the runes of the Younger Futhark, and then looks at examples of real inscriptions from the Viking Age. Contents...
Video
Krákumál: Ragnar Lothbrok's Last Words?
Krákumál is a long (29-stanza) skaldic poem in Old Norse about a dying warrior's great exploits and death in a snake-pit, composed in the voice of Ragnar Lothbrok but dating to centuries after his death. This video features a reading from...
Video
Which runes go with which language?
A look at the history of the runic alphabets, and which runes were used to write which language. Dr. Jackson Crawford is Instructor of Nordic Studies and Nordic Program Coordinator at the University of Colorado Boulder (formerly UC Berkeley...
Article
12 Best Historical Fiction Books to Read
The AHE team live and breathe history, but we all have our favourite historical periods and authors. We thought it would be fun for each of us to nominate one or two books that we would recommend for the general reader as well as high school...
Video
The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok
The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok (Ragnarr Loðbrók) is an outstanding Old Norse tale, and the foremost medieval source for the legend of the most famous Viking hero. Dr. Jackson Crawford is Instructor of Nordic Studies and Nordic Program Coordinator...
Video
Aptrganga: The Old Norse “Zombie”
The sagas tell us that the Vikings believed in an undead creature much like the zombie or traditional Eastern European portrayals of the vampire. Dr. Jackson Crawford is Instructor of Nordic Studies and Nordic Program Coordinator at the...
Video
To and from Hel
A look at some interesting scenes in the Eddas where someone goes to, or from, Hel, and how. Dr. Jackson Crawford is Instructor of Nordic Studies and Nordic Program Coordinator at the University of Colorado Boulder (formerly UC Berkeley...
Definition
Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814) was a French noblewoman who was the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). She was therefore Empress of the French from 18 May 1804 until the annulment of her marriage on 10 January 1810, as well...