by Cat Jarman
Anglo-Saxon England: Alfred’s building of burhs, 237; coinage, 56, 58, 60, 117, 289; conflict with Vikings in 920s, 58; and Danegeld blackmail, 89; and DNA analysis, 26–7; female warriors in, 144; finds at Repton, 2, 3, 17, 24; herepaths (‘army roads’), 88; kingdom of Wessex, 15*, 94, 95; monastery at Repton, 2, 17, 18, 30–1, 33, 91, 116; St Wystan’s church at Repton, 16–17, 18, 29–30; Staffordshire hoard, 174; Sutton Hoo burial ship, 173–4, 183; and taxation, 61; term ‘Anglo-Saxon,’ 23*; and Varangian Guard, 274 see also Mercia, kingdom of
Annals of St Bertin, 92, 196–7, 238
Annals of Ulster, 28–9, 47, 49
Ansgar (archbishop in Hamburg-Bremen), 122, 198
Arabian Peninsula, 56, 284, 294
Arabic language, 283; Kufic script, 56, 117
archaeology, 6; analysis of teeth, 21–2, 23, 136, 159; bias towards male burials in record, 137, 154–6; bioarchaeological evidence, 26, 125–9, 169–71, 226–7, 252; dearth of evidence on Vikings, 17, 54, 83–4; forensic evidence, 29, 38; ground-penetrating radar (GPR), 107–8; and issue of identity, 22–3, 26, 73; nineteenth century, 74; relationship with metal detectorists, 53–4; search for ‘fortresses’ or ‘fortifications,’ 84, 86; sites in Russia and Ukraine, 219, 221, 227–30, 234, 235; and slave trade, 48, 288; Soviet, 242–3 see also DNA analysis; isotope analysis; radiocarbon dating
Armagh, Northern Ireland, 47
Armenia, 176
Asbjørn, story of, 111
Asbjørn Selsbane, 76
Aud the Deep-Minded, 153
Azerbaijan, 176, 277–8
Azov, Sea of, 203, 275
Baghdad, 174–5, 203, 232, 268, 282–4, 292, 294, 296
Baldur (son of Odin), 245
Baltic Sea, 4*, 96, 166–72, 195, 207, 252; classical writers on, 165; emporia around, 113–14, 166, 177–8, 185, 242, 288, 294; Gotland, 165, 166–72, 175, 182, 204, 206, 211, 240, 244, 260; islands in, 59, 165, 166, 178–82, 184, 225; Salme ship burials, 178–82, 184, 204, 216, 248–9; and the Silk Roads, 172, 173, 186; and smallpox virus, 287, 288; trading sites as gateways to east, 172, 184, 185
Bardha’a, town of, 278–81
Basil II, Byzantine Emperor, 273–4
Bayeux Tapestry, 78–9
Beaduheard (reeve at Portland), 95, 114
Beloye, Lake, 224
Berezan, island of, 259–60, 275
Bharuch (Gujarat), 297
Birka (Sweden), 109, 114–15, 116–17, 181–2, 186–7, 242, 261; Ansgar’s missionary visits to, 122, 198; ‘Birka warrior woman’ (Bj.581), 141–4, 150, 152, 156, 158–9, 181, 216, 233, 236, 243, 247; chamber graves at, 115, 127, 141, 216, 228, 243; decline of, 127; female traders in, 157, 158; grave goods at, 115, 116–18, 127, 157, 158, 159, 236, 269; and Islam, 120–1; Islamic dirhams in, 176; military garrison/fortifications at, 84, 114, 235–6, 237
Black Sea region, 138, 185–6, 187, 195, 203, 207, 237, 259, 275; Berezan stone, 259–60
Book of Roads and Kingdoms (Ibn Khurradadhbih), 202–3, 276–7, 284
Borg (Lofoten Islands), 112
Borkovsky, Ivan, 226
Bosphorus, 260
Brittany, Duchy of, 232
Brunanburh, Battle of (937), 157
‘Buddha bucket,’ 129–30
Buddha figure from Helgö, 101, 103, 105, 123
Bukhara, 177, 283
Bulgaria, 207
Bulghars, 201, 209–10, 268
Burghred, King of Mercia, 16, 18
Byzantine Empire, 197, 202, 203–5, 206, 238, 249, 260–5, 275; Climata province in Crimea, 237, 238; silverware at Sutton Hoo, 174, 183; trade treaties with the Rus’ (tenth century), 239, 247, 264–5, 267–8, 274; Varangian Guard, 269, 273, 274; victory over Rus’ at Dorostopol (971), 147–8, 247 see also Constantinople (Istanbul)
Caesar, Gaius Julius (historian), 110
camel caravans, 203, 283, 298
carnelian beads: bead found at Repton, 1–6, 31, 33, 36, 40–1, 83, 97–8, 172, 282, 291, 294–8, 299; discovered at trading sites, 107–8, 109, 158, 186; dung beetle-shaped pendants, 186–7; as evidence of contact with east, 3–4, 6, 116–17, 158; found exclusively in women’s graves, 106; found in Vypovzyv, Ukraine, 219, 221, 230; Harappan style of, 294–7, 299; as markers of the exotic, 118; in Scandinavia, 106, 107–8; sources of carnelian, 276*, 293, 294–7
Carolingian Empire, 29, 58, 59–60, 92
Caspian Sea region, 67, 185, 186–7, 201, 203, 233, 275–82, 292
Caucasus region, 176, 200, 276, 278
Ceolwulf, King of Mercia, 18, 95
Charlemagne, emperor, 91–2, 175, 183, 197
Charles the Bald, Emperor, 29
Chernihiv, city of, 229, 241; Chernay Mogila or ‘Black Grave,’ 251
China, 172–3, 200, 202, 268, 269, 283, 292, 294; Great Wall of, 284
Christianity: in England, 58, 94, 121, 123; fragment of crozier on Helgö, 106; and hybrid Viking identities, 58, 123; missionaries in Scandinavia, 122, 198; and Olga of Kyiv, 249, 250; pilgrimage to Jerusalem, 273; and the Rus’, 249, 250, 262–3, 273–4; Russian Primary Chronicle, 224; in Scandinavia, 36, 121, 123, 171; and slave trade, 48; in southern India, 293; view of women, 146, 147; Viking conversions to, 122, 262, 273–4; Viking targeting of, 122
Clyde, River, 47
Cnut, King, 181
coinage: Anglo-Saxon, 56, 58, 60, 117, 289; Arabic, 60, 84, 121; Carolingian currencies, 58, 59–60; circulation and travel time, 65–6, 67; debasing of silver content, 177; dirhams transformed into necklaces, 119; found at Foremark, 45, 67; found at Torksey, 84; hoards, 53, 55, 57–9, 65, 167–8, 175, 177; Islamic dirham coins, 43, 55–62, 64, 65–6, 67, 84, 98, 108, 121, 165, 175–6, 186, 243; Islamic gold coinage (the dinar), 56, 60, 64; Islamic silver coins, 158, 166, 177, 285; Persian, 167, 175, 177; and political stability, 176–7; Roman, 60; Samanid coins, 175, 177, 243; Silver dirham from Cottam, Yorkshire, 43; silver pennies found at Repton, 30; St Peter’s penny, 58; Vale of York hoard, 57–9, 167
Constantin, King of the Picts, 28
Constantine the Great, 265
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, 203–5, 206, 249, 265
Constantinople (Istanbul), 195, 197, 203, 206, 207, 238, 253, 292; Bardas Phokas rebellion (987), 273–4; Book of Ceremonies, 265; city walls, 266; and descriptions in Norse mythology, 272, 273; founding of, 265; and Greek fire, 266; Hagia Sophia, 255, 257, 265, 267, 270–2, 274; hippodrome, 265, 267; as Miklagard (‘Great City’), 260; Palatium Magnum, 265–6, 267, 274; runic inscriptions in Hagia Sophia, 270–1; Rus’ raids on, 260, 261–3, 266; silk industry in, 268–9; strategic location of, 260
Copeland, John, 295, 296
Covid 19 pandemic, 285, 287
craft activities, 86, 89, 90, 105, 108, 109, 113, 230; in Staraya Ladoga, 186, 187
currency and payment systems: barter, 59, 60; bullion-type economies, 59, 60, 61, 212–13; Carolingian coinage-based, 58, 59–60; combined Islamic/Swedish system, 64; Islamic, 56–7; Permian rings as wearable currency, 59, 64, 212; polyhedral or cubo-octahedral weights, 63, 64–5; Scandinavian impact on Britain, 16; silk as currency, 173; test marks on silver objects, 59, 61, 177; weight-based, 57, 59, 108, 115, 116, 212–13 see also coinage
Dagestan, 186–7
Dalkey Island (off Dublin), 50
Danegeld, 89
Danelaw, 58, 85–6
‘Dark Ages,’ 173, 174
Daugava, River, 178
Daylamite fighters, 212
Degg, Simon, 30
dendrochronology, 74
Denmark: Christianisation of, 36, 123, 171; emergence of kingdom of, 111; emporia in, 113; geography of, 112; Islamic dirhams in, 176; narrative of westward expansion, 4, 15–16, 252; Skuldelev ships from, 284; Slavic axe in woman’s grave, 159; and smallpox virus, 287; Trelleborg fortress, 36–7, 39, 84; and Viking ethnicity, 126, 128; Viking genetic legacy in England, 26–7
Desna, River, 229, 236, 241–2
diplomacy and negotiation systems, 182–3, 196–8, 237, 238–9, 248–9, 260–1, 269; marriage all
iances, 183–4
DNA analysis: absence of in east, 252; of bones from Viking homelands, 125, 126–9, 130, 137–9, 141, 142, 150, 170, 171, 182; evidence of slave trade, 51–2; of Gotland burials, 170, 171; mtDNA haplotypes, 130, 137, 138; limits to efficacy over culture/identity, 21, 26–7, 126, 128; mitochondrial DNA, 25, 51, 130, 137, 138; of the Repton samples, 24–5, 140; Salme ship burials, 182; and Scandinavian national boundaries, 126; and sex of infant skeletons, 154; in Shestovitsa, 243; and smallpox virus, 285–6, 287; of St John’s College skeletons, 287; of Viking Age Gnezdovo, 228; of Viking Age skeletons from Norway, 130, 137–9; Viking genetic legacy in England, 26–7, 126; of Viking settlement in Iceland, 51–2, 126; of women in Oseberg grave, 130
Dnieper, River, 201, 202, 238, 259; as trade route, 185–6, 187, 227–30, 253, 259, 260–1, 275; treacherous routes down, 203–6
Dniprov’ska Gulf, 259
Don, River (the Tanais), 203, 238, 275
Dorostopol, battle at (971), 147–8, 247
Dublin, 28, 48, 50, 269
Dudo of Saint-Quentin, 155
Dumbarton Rock fortress, 47
East Africa, 283, 294
East Anglia, 16, 122
Edmund, King of East Anglia, 122
England, 5, 15, 47, 48; Christianity in, 58, 94, 121, 123; Danelaw division, 85–6; early emporia, 113; early medieval architecture, 16; evidence of contact/trade with east, 55–6, 62–7, 119, 152–3, 165, 173–4, 212, 244, 252–3, 269; intensification of Viking attacks in 990s, 289; little physical evidence of Vikings, 17, 54, 75, 83–4, 135; Norman invasion (1066), 78–9, 274; rivers of, 66, 67, 79, 80–1, 82, 83, 86–8, 97; Roman roads, 88; unification of as a country, 17; ‘Viking’ and ‘Anglo-Saxon’ terms, 23*; Viking genetic legacy in, 26–7, 126 see also Anglo-Saxon England; Viking Age in England
Erik the Red, 146
ermine fur, 232
Estonia, 166, 178; Salme ship burials, 161, 163, 178–82, 184, 204, 216, 248–9
Ethelred, king of Northumbria, 15, 94
Euphrates, River, 282–3
Eurasian Steppe: geography of, 200; inhabitants of, 173, 196, 200–2; movement of animals on, 200–1, 202; Pontic steppe, 202
Experiences of the Nations (Ibn Miskawayh), 278–81
Eysteinn (son of Olaf), 28–9
falcon scabbard chapes, 252–3
farming: and Baghdad, 282; at Birka, 115; on Eurasian Steppe, 201, 202; and geography of Scandinavia, 112; on Gotland, 168, 171–2; Viking in England (from late 870s), 27
Faroe Islands, 96
Finno-Ugrian people, 186
food and drink, 21–2, 286–7; beer, 111–12; feorm (’food rent’), 91; Frankish strategies for provisioning of armies, 91–2; importance of feasts, 112; and strategy of seasonal raiding, 91; and Viking armies, 91, 92; Viking consumption of fish, 5, 34–6, 92, 285
Foremark (Derbyshire), 66–7, 81, 83, 85
France, 6, 58, 89–90, 98, 113, 144, 175*, 225; Paris, 18, 29, 79–80
Frankia, kingdom of, 58, 90, 91–2, 175, 202, 232, 240, 292; collection of tribute by, 237; and garnet trade, 174; Rus’ expedition to (839), 196–8, 237, 238–9, 260–1, 269; strategies for provisioning of armies, 91–2
Freya (Norse goddess), 79, 149
Freydís Eiríksdóttir, 146–7
Freyr (Norse god), 79
funerary and burial customs: cemetery at Heath Wood, 27; chamber graves, 115, 127, 141, 216, 228, 243, 246; cremation and inhumations, 216, 242; disembowelment of corpse, 29; double graves, 23–6, 29, 127, 244–5; elements of performance, 180, 213, 214–17, 245; Ibn Fadlan’s account of Rus’ chieftan’s funeral, 213–17, 236–7, 245, 246–7; in Norway, 156; observed at Bardha’a, 281; and patriarchal connections, 26, 29; possible human sacrifice, 38–9, 41, 196, 215–17, 245–7, 281; at Repton, 17, 19–21, 23–5, 26, 29; Repton mound as secondary burial site, 37; Scandinavian identity in Chernihiv, 251 see also grave goods; ship burials
fur trade, 115, 199, 231–3, 278, 288
galena, 62
Galgedil site (Denmark), 287
gaming pieces, 85–6, 127, 161, 163, 180–1, 182, 186, 243
Gamla Uppsala, Sweden, 39
garnet trade, 174
Georgia, 176, 275, 276
Gerberga of Saxony, 144
Germany, 15, 39, 59, 123, 144, 175*, 292; Hedeby, 84, 109, 113, 120, 125, 166, 261; Nazi era, 124–5, 225, 226; silver resources in, 289
Al-Gharnati, Abu Hamid, 231
Gibraltar, straits of, 98
globalisation, 284–9
Gnezdovo (near Smolensk), 227–8, 230, 235, 244; and smallpox virus, 288; Viking hoard, 58
Gokstad burial mound, 108, 116
Gorgan, city of, 203
Gotland, 165, 166–72, 175, 182, 204, 206, 211, 240, 244, 260
Gough Map, 82
grave goods: animal remains, 19, 38, 141, 179, 180, 182, 216, 243; beads in men’s graves, 13, 19, 106–7; Berezan stone, 259–60; at Birka, 115, 116–18, 127, 157, 158, 159, 236, 269; of ‘Birka warrior woman,’ 141–4, 150, 152, 156, 158–9, 181, 236, 243, 247; boats, 75; ‘Buddha bucket,’ 129–30; in Chernay Mogila, 251; and clues over religious belief, 122–3; and determining of sex, 141–2, 152–3, 156; exotic objects in women’s graves, 106, 116–18, 119, 123, 151–2, 159, 183, 244; and female migration, 137, 150–2; gaming pieces, 85, 127, 180–1, 182, 243; Île de Groix ship burial, 252; in Oseberg ship, 129–30, 208, 216, 269; of Prague Castle bones, 226; question of whether object or owner travelled, 20–1, 117, 150–1; at Repton, 18, 19–21, 24, 106, 150; sacrificed dogs, 180, 182; Salme ship burials, 179, 180–1, 182, 216; in Shestovitsa, 242–5, 252; silk, 269; and social status, 20, 118, 119–20, 129–30, 141–5, 158–9, 269; Thor’s hammers, 13, 19, 55, 115, 123, 135; tortoiseshell brooches, 152–3, 244; Viking loot in western Norway, 93, 150, 151; weighing equipment, 157–8
Great Wall of China, 284
Greenland, 79, 96, 147
Gregory the Great, Pope, 48
Grímnismál (poem), 149
Gripsholm, 276
ground-penetrating radar (GPR), 107–8
Gujarat, India, 6, 295–7, 299
Guta Law on Gotland, 171
Guthrum, 28, 122, 262
Halfdan, 28–9
Hamwic (Southampton), 114
Han dynasty, 173
Harald Bluetooth, 36–7, 123
Harald Finehair, 125
Harald Hardrada, 274, 275–6
Harald Klak, 227
Harappan (Indus Valley) civilisation, 294–7
Harun al-Rashid (Abbasid caliph), 175, 176
Harz Mountains, Germany, 289
Heath Wood (near Repton), 27, 66
Hedeby (northern Germany), 84, 109, 113, 120, 125, 166, 261
Heimdalsjordet (Norway), 107–8, 109, 118
Heimskringla (Snorri Sturluson saga), 77–8, 240
Hel (realm in Norse mythology), 79
Helgö, island of (Sweden), 101, 105–6, 114, 183
herepaths (Anglo-Saxon ‘army roads’), 88
Herodotus, 185, 259
Hetha, 146
Higbald, bishop of Lindisfarne, 183
Himmler, Heinrich, 125
Hinduism, 245–6
historical records/sources, 15–16, 17, 18, 25–6, 27, 84; accounts by Islamic travellers/scholars, 195–6, 198–9, 201, 202–3, 205, 209–17, 223, 224, 231, 246, 277; description of Viking camp, 89–90; on early Viking raids on England, 94–5; on river usage, 79–81; and slave trade, 47, 48, 49–51, 196; written sources on the Rus’, 196–9, 202–3, 205, 209–17, 223–5, 227, 231, 236–7, 244, 246–50, 262–4, 267–8, 274, 276–81
Hitler, Adolf, 225
hnefatafl (board game), 85
Holmgardr region, 187
Holy Roman Empire, 175*, 196–8, 269, 292
Hordaland (Norway), 94
horses, 16, 74, 88, 91, 242, 283; breeding/trading of on Eurasian Steppe, 201, 202; in burial chambers, 129, 141, 243; harnesses, 116, 138; hippodrome at Constantinople, 267; in Norse mytholog
y, 148, 169; pulling of ships by, 208; transport of on ships, 78, 79
House of Lords, 232
human sacrifice, 38–9, 41, 196, 215–17, 245–7, 281
Humber, River, 83, 97
Hungary, 143, 158, 200, 236
Iberian Peninsula, 37, 98, 232
Ibn Fadlan, 209–11, 212, 213, 231, 236–7, 244; and funeral of a Rus’ chieftain, 213–17, 236–7, 245, 246–7
Ibn Khurradadhbih, 202–3, 276–7, 283, 284, 294
Ibn Miskawayh, 212, 278–81
Ibn Rustah, 199, 205, 210, 211, 246
Ibn Sam’un, 279–80
Iceland: Landnám (‘land-taking’), 96; settled by Scandinavians (870s), 50, 51–2, 126, 153; and Viking slave trade, 51–2; women of Celtic origin in, 51–2, 126
Icelandic saga literature, 25, 33, 49–50, 77–8, 108, 111; female infanticide in, 154–5; female warriors in, 146–7; Norse creation story, 272–3; references to the east, 178, 185–6, 195, 198, 203, 206–7, 239–40, 269, 272–3; travelling women in, 153
Igor, Prince, 247–8
Île de Groix (Brittany), 252
Ilmen, Lake, 187, 199, 200, 228, 261
India, 3, 6, 174, 245–6, 283, 291, 292–3; carnelian trade from, 283, 293, 294–7; Indus Valley (Harappan) civilisation, 294–7; Ratanpur carnelian mines, 295–7
Indian Ocean trade networks, 283, 293–4
Ingelheim am Rhein, 196–7, 260, 269
Ingvar the Far-Travelled, 275–7, 292
intelligence and information, 92–3, 95–6, 114, 207–8, 240
Ipswich, 113
Ireland, 16, 28, 85, 90, 269, 288; DNA ancestry studies, 51–2; Uí Imair dynasty, 183–4; Viking slave raids in, 47, 49, 50
iron, 76, 109, 234, 241
Iron Age, 110
Iskorosten (Drevlian capital), 248
Islamic caliphate, 3; Abbasid dynasty, 60, 174, 175, 176–7, 195, 202–3, 209–10; accounts by travellers/scholars from, 195–6, 198–9, 201, 202–3, 205, 209–17, 223, 224, 231, 246, 277; combined weight system with Sweden, 64, 115; demand for slaves in ninth century, 231; dirham coins, 43, 55–62, 64, 65–6, 67, 84, 98, 108, 121, 165, 175–6, 186, 243; finger ring in Birka grave goods, 116–18, 123, 159; founding of, 56; gold coinage (the dinar), 56, 60, 64; Golden Age of Islam, 294; Khazars as crucial connectors, 201–2; missionary journeys, 209–10; ninth century conflict in, 176–7; political stability in later eighth-century, 176; and Rus’ attacks in Caspian region, 278–82; and Scandinavian trading towns, 120–1; silver coins, 158, 166, 177, 285; Umayyad dynasty, 174