Vikingology Podcast

The Art and Science of the Viking Age
  • 4.6 (14)
  • HISTORY

Terri and C.J. are first and foremost educators passionate about the Viking Age and Viking history. Theirs was a meeting foretold in the myths of old. Both are historians of Viking history, both live in Oregon in the U.S., and both share the same birthday. It seemed only natural they team up for something epic. The Norns have woven this fate. vikingology.substack.com

  1. MAR 27

    For the love of Beowulf

    For centuries explorers have been searching for El Dorado, the famed ‘city of gold’. Ditto the lost city of Atlantis. Many long believed the historical city of Troy was not real until archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann proved them wrong. And now we have Hans Wanneby and Rikard Evertsson who also hope to prove the unbelievers wrong by finding the home of Beowulf, the famed warrior protagonist of the medieval poem by the same name. They believe not only was Beowulf real, but his home was on the island of Gotland just off the east coast of Sweden, and they’ve written a book about it: Home of Beowulf, just published in late 2025. We sat down with Hans and Rikard to find out about their research and decided to invite friend of the show Rowdy Geirsson along for the ride, since he too is interested in this quest and has written about the Beowulf mystery more than once, including on his own website and recently on Medievalists.net. Whether you believe the poem is a fictional account or true history, you’ll be intrigued by Hans and Rikard’s findings and dedication to finding more. We learned some interesting things about Gotland and its important role during the Migration Period and Viking Age. And a special shout out to our friend Octavia — the unofficial ambassador of Gotland — for putting us in touch! After you watch this episode, revisit our chat with her. If by the end you’re not (a) a Beowulf believer and (b) booking a flight and ferry to Gotland, then we fear you are beyond help! Skál! Vikingology Podcast is reader-supported. To support us and keep the good stuff coming, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 21m

  2. FEB 14

    A milestone episode with Jackson Crawford

    It’s our 60th episode! And what better way to spend our Diamond Jubilee than a long-awaited chat with Old Norse scholar Dr. Jackson Crawford? Many of you will be familiar with him through his immensely popular YouTube channel, where you can experience the intersection of cowboy cool and the vikings. He has produced hundreds of videos about Old Norse, history, and the literature of the Viking Age, much of it set in a wild west backdrop. He has also done saga and poem translations, including The Poetic Edda, The Saga of the Volsungs, and Hávamál, and is currently working on a translation of The Prose Edda. We chatted with him about a lot of things, as we tend to do, but we started with the word ‘viking’ and its linguistic origins in the Old Norse words viking and víkingr. Did actual vikings use that word to describe themselves? Did it mean the same to them as it does to us? Was it seen as a good thing to be a viking? Was it a full-time profession, or were they just seasonal violence workers? Watch or listen for the answers to all of that and more! Takk fyrir Jackson for spending some time with us. It was well worth the wait! Vikingology is reader-supported. To support what we do, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 33m

  3. JAN 24

    Myth and belief in the Viking Age and beyond

    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 vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 10m

  4. JAN 17

    The Art of Viking Death

    This time we are excited to welcome back to the show experimental archaeologists and living history experts Kevin Alexandrowicz and Devon Rawlings of Regia Anglorum and Jarnborg Vikings. They have collaborated on a new book project that brings Viking Age death to life in a stunningly visual and visceral way. Painstakingly staged and photographed, and based on the archaeology of actual burial sites, the graves Kevin, Devon, and their team created give us a glimpse into how the Norse prepared the dead for the next life. You’ll definitely want to watch instead of listen to see some of their amazing photographs as they explain the history and interpretation behind them. Published by Hyldyr in Washington State, which has also brought to life other Norse themes such as the poems Völuspá and Hávamál, the Fuþark runic alphabets, and the Galdrabók, this new book promises to change the way we visualize death and burial in the Viking Age. It even includes introductions by friends of the show archaeologists Leszek Gardeła and Giorgia Sottotetti! If you want to see an intriguing new way to engage with the Viking Age past, please buy the book! You’ll be supporting history, archaeology, artists, and publishers all at the same time. Thanks so much Kevin and Devon for sharing your knowledge and artistry. Can’t wait to see what you do next! Skál! Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. And it you like what we do, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 7m

  5. 12/11/2025

    Viking Ghost Stories

    The Norse during the Viking Age inhabited a world that was both utterly foreign to us and yet humanly familiar. Like us, they believed in ghosts. But maybe unlike us they believed in revenants and other supernatural creatures of all kinds. It seems their world was pretty porous when it came to the line between the living and the dead. In this episode we chatted with Irina Manea, a scholar of Norse myth and the saga literature, to get a sense of the viking mind regarding death and the afterlife. How did they deal with dead bodies? Where did they believe people went after death? Were ghosts and revenants welcomed or shunned? Were the dead scary or benevolent? Did they take steps to protect against them? And how much did the Christianization of Viking Age Scandinavia change those beliefs? It’s a fascinating topic that we hadn’t delved into much on the show. We learned a lot, including the fact that maybe an important way to keep bad spirits away is to cover your anus. To be safe, you’d better watch or listen and find out why :) Thanks Irina! We must do it again soon. You can find Irina on her Shield of Skuld newsletter right here on Substack. Do check it out. Lots of great viking content there. Skál Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 19m

  6. 11/29/2025

    Viking Law and Order: English Edition

    Historians and archaeologists who study the vikings are constantly grappling with the question of the amount and level of influence they had on the various parts of the world they ventured into. In this episode we add legal customs to the mix with Dr. Jake Stattel, a legal historian and postdoc research fellow at Cambridge University's Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, who is looking into this very thing — pun intended :) We talked about how legal institutions in England were changing dramatically from AD 900 to 1200 due in part to internal political developments but also to the incursion of the vikings who not only raided and traded but eventually settled there, creating a new hybrid culture based on traditional Scandinavian legal systems, in an area that came to be known as the Danelaw. Want to know the difference between customary and common law, how a person would know which laws they needed to obey when living in a hybrid world, and what happened to 13-year old thieves? Jake’s got you covered. His article Legal culture in the Danelaw: a study of III Æthelred has won several awards for its novel approach to this subject, so if you’re interested in a deeper dive, do check it out. Thanks Jake for a really interesting chat that got our wheels turning! Vikingology is reader-supported. Thanks for watching and listening! To support our work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 13m

  7. 11/07/2025

    It's a Saga Thing!

    Four podcast hosts geeking out on the Viking Age. What could be better, right? We finally got our chance to sit down with John Sexton and Andy Pfrenger, Medieval Studies scholars who found they shared a love of the Icelandic sagas and started a podcast about it. They’ve been at it for over a decade now, bringing in-depth readings and discussion of the sagas — those tales about people living on a harsh little island in the North Atlantic during the Viking Age — which are chock full of utterly human situations and emotions that are still relatable all these centuries later. And sometimes they even put them on trial. But oddly enough, we started the conversation by talking about Beowulf and what it means to be killed in the Vikingverse. Go figure. John and Andy are leading a saga tour of Iceland in April 2026. If you are interested in tagging along, check out their website Saga Thing Tours. Space is limited so sign up early! And don’t forget to listen to their podcast. You’ll get a deep dive into the saga literature and occasionally hear an interview with top scholars and general viking enthusiasts as well. All great stuff. Thanks John and Andy! We hope we get to do it again. Skál! Vikingology is reader-supported. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber so we can continue bringing you great guests like John and Andy. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 8m
  8. Catching up with Clare

    10/15/2025

    Catching up with Clare

    This time we welcome friend of the show Professor Clare Downham of the University of Liverpool back to the show for an unprecedented THIRD time. We always have so much fun chatting with her that we can’t seem to stop! Clare is one of the world’s foremost scholars on vikings, particularly vikings in Ireland and England, and this time she talked to us about the new compilation of primary sources she’s just completed that will be published by Penguin Classics next year. But that wasn’t all. As we historians tend to do, we wandered into philosophical questions about the human condition which transcends time. It seems vikings were so very different from us and not so very different at the same time. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. It’s your opportunity to eavesdrop on what historians talk about when they talk like no one is listening. Skál! Vikingology is reader-supported. To make sure the fun doesn’t end, please consider becoming paid subscriber. Get full access to Vikingology Podcast at vikingology.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 29m
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Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

Terri and C.J. are first and foremost educators passionate about the Viking Age and Viking history. Theirs was a meeting foretold in the myths of old. Both are historians of Viking history, both live in Oregon in the U.S., and both share the same birthday. It seemed only natural they team up for something epic. The Norns have woven this fate. vikingology.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    The Art and Science of the Viking Age
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Vikingology Podcast
  • Show Website
    Vikingology Podcast

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