This article is part of an ongoing series of short biographies of medieval scribes. Scribe: Snorri Sturluson Lived c. 1179 – 1241 Location: Reykholt, Iceland Notable works: Prose Edda – literary work, […]
A Scribe’s Life (3): Snorri Sturluson
The King Lives! Scandinavian Legends of Hastings and Svolder
Tradition (and most chroniclers) tell us that on 14 October 1066, the Anglo-Saxon army saw their King, Harold Godwinson, killed on the field of battle. It was a moment upon which the […]
Sweyn Forkbeard, Olaf Tryggvason, and the Kingship of Norway
Dressed in armour, watching his fleet fall to his Danish rival, King Olaf I Tryggvason of Norway threw himself into the sea, sinking to his death and denying his enemies the pleasure […]
Danish Invasion, Viking Violence, and Cnut’s Mutilation of Hostages at Sandwich
By 1028, Cnut the Great had brought England, Denmark, and Norway into a vast North Sea hegemony under his kingship. It was an unrivalled achievement that granted Cnut the political clout to […]
Viking Identity & Christianity – The Performed Violence of Olaf Tryggvason
Olaf I Tryggvason took the throne of Norway in 995, reigning for a brief but eventful five years. Though Olaf had been a pagan Viking raider, by the time he took the […]
The Postgrad Chronicles 