Viking Story

An overview of religion in the Viking age with a particular contrast between the pagan religion of the Vikings and Christianity. Both of these religions play a large role in my novel, as in the year 1000 Christianity was making large inroads into the Scandinavian consciousness; therefore, both require special attention in this episode. What were the major differences then between the pagan religio...

This is the last episode of the “Location Series” and it focuses on Vínland, a mysterious location alluded to in the so-called Vínland Sagas, and a place that confounds scholars even to present day. 

This episode draws heavily on my MA Thesis, published in 2009 by Háskoli Íslands and entitled “The Geography of Viking Age North America.” Topics covered include: What were the Vínland Sagas and how...

This is the third overall episode but only the second of the “Location Series.” In this episode I welcome you to Iceland, a place where I have recently lived and a central location to my novel. This episode will feature insights into what life is like in Iceland, both now and as it was in the Viking age, as well as insight into how Iceland was discovered and what makes the island unique. We will e...

This is the first of three episodes dedicate to the “Location Series”; three locations specific to my novel, set in the Viking age, and three locations where I have dedicated a significant part of my life to either living or researching, or both. The first of the Location Series episodes focuses on Tromsø Norway, a city above the Arctic Circle where I lived in the 1990s. What was Tromsø like in th...

An exploration of the Viking world with, among other things, a look into attitudes surrounding the physical landscape. Did the Vikings look at their physical surroundings in more than just practical terms? What were some of the cairns like that Vikings made and what were they used for? Other topics in this episode include: The importance of wealth in the Viking age. Why did the Vikings target Chri...