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Vikings


AncientVikingsAmerica.com
This site's focus is the fact that, a thousand years ago, there were Ancient Vikings in America.

Birka and Hovgården
An illustrated look at the towns, which date to the late 8th Century, and current excavations.

Bog Myrtle
BBC reports on the little plant which, some say, was used by Vikings to boost themselves before battle.

Building Replica Viking Furniture
A series of well-illustrated articles by Stephen Francis Wyley describe the construction of a chest, table and stool.

A Chieftain's Funeral on the Volga
An excerpt from a translation of a report by Ibn Fadhlan, a Arab emissary from around 920.

Colors, Dyestuffs, and Mordants
This extremely detailed article by Carolyn Priest-Dorman is intended to help those involved in the reproduction of Viking Age clothing.

Crystal Lenses
Lenses found near Gotland provide evidence that sophisticated lens-making techniques were being used by Viking craftsmen over 1,000 years ago.

Did the Vikings Stay?
Thor Heyerdahl thinks that the Vikings had a much larger presence in North America than is suggested by the L'Anse aux Meadows remains.

Encyclopedia Mythica
Excellent biographies on each of dozens of Norse gods.

Jorvik Viking Centre
This multi-million dollar reconstruction of a Viking village in York, England, provides a very entertaining introduction to the Viking Age in Britain.

L'Anse aux Meadows
From Parks Canada, a good introduction to the history, the discovery of the site and the reconstruction.

Nordic & Baltic Shipwrecks
A fabulous resource of underwater archaeological discoveries and current projects. Lots of photos and graphics.

Nordic Mythology
A good introduction from Wikipedia.

Norway in the Arctic
An extensive paper by Dr. Tore O. Vorren, dealing with exploration in the region from the late 800s to the present.

Norwegian Forest Cats
A comprehensive illustrated guide to learning about this ancient breed of cat, which has been living with Norwegian families for countless centuries.

Project Beowulf
Created by students at the Internationella Gymnasiet/International College in Sweden, this site "compares the Vikings' way of thinking to how we think today.

The Saga of Eric the Red
The complete text of this tale, written in 1387 by Jon Thorharson, as translated from the original in the Flateyar-bok

Scandinavian Mythology and Folklore
Glossaries, bibliographies and an extremely detailed family tree of Norse gods.

The Society for Creative Anachronism
This international organization is dedicated to researching and recreating pre-17th-century European history, including the Viking Age.

Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decide which soldiers die in battle and which live.

Viking Discoveries
From DiscoveryEducation.com, a lesson plan for teachers, designed for Grades 9-12.

Viking Names
A collation of hundreds of proper names of Vikings, from sources such as the sagas, rune stones and Viking artifacts.

The Viking Navy
This group designs, builds and sails Viking ships. The Web site has a great deal of information on design features of the ships.

The Vikings: A Memorable Visit to America
Exploring the New World a thousand years ago, a Viking woman gave birth to what is likely the first European-American baby.

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga
From the Smithsonian, an excellent multi-media presentation of Vikings arts, culture and exploration.

Viking Remains Uncovered in Wales
From the BBC of September 12, 1999, a report of a discovery at Llanbedrgoch on Anglesey.

The Vikings: Sea Raiders, Land Raiders
From DiscoveryEducation.com, a lesson plan for teachers, designed for Grades 6-8.

Viking Ship Found in Russian Waters
A brief description and photo of a 9th- or 10th-Century Viking ship found near Vyborg in the summer of 1997.

Viking Tent
Tentsmiths in New Hampshire manufactures a canvas reproduction of a tent found on the Viking ship at Gokstad.

Women in Viking Society
A brief introduction to the importance of women, compared to their position in most societies of the time.

Ydalir Vikings
A Dark Age re-enactment society based in Manchester, UK. The site has articles on Viking crafts, photo galleries, events, and information about educational visits to schools.

A reconstruction of a Viking hut at L'Anse aux Meadows

A reconstruction of a Viking hut at L'Anse aux Meadows


The Viking sword at the top of the page is by Melissa Snell, and is used here with permission.

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