River Kings
Page 29
Isle of Man, 75
isotope analysis, 20, 21, 22–3, 34, 35–7, 40, 150; of ‘Birka warrior woman’ (Bj.581), 159; of Gotland burials, 169, 170–1; of lead at Birka, 115–16; of Prague Castle burial, 227; of the Repton burials, 20, 23–4, 140–1; Salme ship burials, 180, 181–2; at Sigtuna in Mälaren, 127; of silver ingots, 61–2; of skulls at Oslo University, 136–7, 152; and smallpox virus, 287; of St John’s College skeletons, 286–7 see also strontium analysis
Itil (Khazar capital), 201, 203, 246, 275, 277
Ivar the Boneless, 28, 47–8, 122
Izborsk, 224–5
jewellery, 90, 109, 116–18, 152–3, 158, 165, 196, 242, 243, 244, 288; Anglo-Saxon, 55, 174; bronze hoard at Spillings, 166–7; items repurposed into, 93, 119 see also carnelian beads
Jewish merchants, 120, 202, 292
Jordanes, 165
Josef, King of Khazar, 282
Justinian, Byzantine Emperor, 268, 270
Jutes, 26
Kattegat strait, 113
Kaupang (Vestfold, Norway), 108–9, 121
Kent, 95
Kerch Strait, 203
Ketill Flatnose, 153Khambat, Gulf of, 294, 296, 297
Khazars in northern Caucasus, 176, 196, 223, 246, 252, 276, 277, 292; and Byzantine Empire, 237, 238, 275; as connectors with Muslim world, 201–2; control of trade routes, 201, 203, 282; control/exploitation of Slavs, 230, 240; emergence of Khazar state, 201; and slavery, 231
Kufic script, 56, 117–18
Kyiv, 128, 206, 224, 225, 228, 229, 247–50, 252, 273
Lågen, River (Norway), 109
Latvia, 166, 168
Laxdæla saga, 49–50, 108, 120, 269
Leif Erikson, 146
Lejre, Denmark, 39
Leo VI, Byzantine Emperor, 264
leprosy virus, 288
lidar (aerial-borne laser photography), 82–3
Life of St Fintan, 50–1
Lincoln, 88, 269
Lindisfarne, 4, 15, 93, 94, 151, 183, 278
Lithuania, 166
Liutprand of Cremona, 266
livestock, 78–9, 112
London, 88, 113, 269
Lothal (Indus Valley city), 294
Louis IV of France, 144
Louis the Pious, emperor of Frankia, 196–8, 237, 238–9, 260, 269
Lovat river, 185, 228
luxury commodities, 106, 119–20, 173, 174, 232, 288
Magdeburg (Germany), 292
Magnus Olafsson the Good, 91
Magyars, 201, 236, 237, 238
Al-Mahdi (eighth-century caliph), 233
al-Mansur, Caliph, 60, 282–3
maps: early medieval, 81; Gough Map, 82; mappa mundi, 81; modern scientific mapping techniques, 82–3
Marmara, Sea of, 260
marriage alliances, 183–4
Al-Masudi, 232–3, 246, 277–8, 292, 297
medicine, 90–1
Mediterranean, 37, 60, 98, 173, 174
Melkorka (Irish princess), 49–50, 108, 120
Mercia, kingdom of: coinage, 60, 117; kings of, 16, 17–18, 60, 95; peace made at Torksey (872), 89; royal burials at Repton, 17–18
Mesopotamia, 282–3, 294
metal detectorists, 6, 64, 85–6, 108, 133, 149, 152; Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), 54, 55, 152, 253; finds at Foremark, 55, 57, 63, 64, 66–7, 83, 85; at Torksey, 84, 85, 90; Vale of York hoard, 57–9, 167
micromorphology, 82
migration patterns, 5, 156–7, 160; bioarchaeological analysis of, 21–7, 40, 125–9, 136–7, 138–9, 140–1, 150–2; ‘migration period’ preceding Viking Age, 174; IKEA analogy, 123–4; story of Rurik in Primary Chronicle, 224–5, 227, 228, 236, 247; and women, 128–9, 135–7, 138–9, 140–1, 150–3, 157, 158–60, 244
military life/activities: Alfred’s building of burhs, 237; all-male raiding parties assumed, 32, 135, 140; archaeological search for ‘fortifications,’ 84, 86; ‘Birka warrior woman’ (Bj.581), 141–4, 150, 152, 156, 158–9, 181, 216, 233, 236, 243, 247; camps as form of proto-urbanisation, 90–1; Climata province in Crimea, 237, 238; and collection of tribute, 58, 63, 224, 228, 230, 236, 237, 247–8, 263; death numbers in historical accounts, 157; description of Viking camp, 89–90; the druzhina (elite retinue), 236, 239; first attacks on England, 4, 15, 93–5, 114, 151, 183, 278; Greek fire, 266; herepaths – ‘army roads,’ 88; intelligence and information networks, 92–3, 114; Lindisfarne attack (793), 4, 15, 93, 94, 151, 183, 278; and medicine, 90–1; Portland attack (787), 94, 95, 114; probable camp at Foremark, 66–7, 81, 83, 85; provisioning of food, 91–2; raids on western France and Mediterranean, 98; reasons for overseas attacks, 15, 57, 155; Roman influence on tactics, 110; and Rus’ settlements, 235–6, 237; strategic choice of camp locations, 87, 88, 89; strategy of seasonal raiding, 16–17, 91; use of winter camps, 1, 16–17, 29, 30–1, 76, 88, 234; women wielding military power, 144–7, 249–50 see also Viking Great Army
Miracles of St Benedict, 89–90
Mjölnir (hammer of Thor), 11, 13, 19, 55, 58, 79, 84, 90, 121, 123, 135
Mongolia, 173, 200
Morocco, 98
Muhammad, prophet, 56
al-Muhammadiyah (Rayy), 67
Al-Muqtadir, Abbasid caliph, 209
Nasjonal Samling party, 125
navigation: awareness of natural elements, 97; celestial, 95; and early medieval maps, 81–2; possible navigational tools, 96–9; of rivers in the east, 207–8; sunstones, 96–7; written descriptions/directions, 96
Nazi Germany, 124–5, 225, 226
/neck rings, 58–9, 191, 193, 196, 212, 213, 228–9, 244
Nestor (monk at Kyiv), 224, 244, 250, 262
Netherlands, 91, 113
Normans: invasion of England (1066), 78–9, 274
Norse mythology, 20, 79, 245; Asgard, 148, 272; board games in, 181; female warriors in, 148–9; Glitnir, the hall of Forseti, 272; Mjölnir (hammer of Thor), 11, 13, 19, 55, 58, 79, 84, 90, 121, 123, 135; Norse creation story, 272–3; Ragnarok (end of the world), 181; Sessrumnir (Freya’s hall on Folkvang), 149; temple at Gamla Uppsala, 39; Valhalla, 20, 79, 148, 167, 169; the Valkyries, 148–9, 169
North Africa, 98, 175, 176
Norway, 5; and arrival of Christianity, 123; Battle of Stiklestad (1030), 274; bias towards male burials in archaeological record, 137, 154–6; Borre burial mounds, 125; carnelian beads in, 106, 108; DNA analysis of skeletons from, 130, 137–9; emergence of kingdom of, 111, 125; fascist Nasjonal Samling party, 125; female traders in, 157–8; geography of, 15, 112; Gokstad ship, 86–7, 116; Gulatingslov law code, 273; narrative of westward expansion, 4, 165, 252; navigation from, 96, 97; Nazi-occupied, 124–5; as origin of first Viking raids west, 93, 94–5; Oseberg ship, 76, 186, 208, 216, 247, 249–50, 269; poor agricultural land in, 15, 112; possible human sacrifice in, 245; and settling of Iceland, 153; trading routes to the west, 159–60, 165; trading sites, 107–9, 232;; Viking Ship Museum (Oslo), 74, 129–30; western coastal route (Leden), 205; women with links to the west, 159–60
Novgorod, 166, 185, 187*, 200, 203, 207, 208, 224, 225, 253, 276
Odin, 39, 63, 148, 149, 167, 169, 272
Offa, King of Mercia, 60, 95, 117
Oguz (Turkish tribe), 211
Ohthere of Hålogaland, 96, 108, 112, 166, 231–3
Olaf, 28–9, 47–8
Olaf Skotkonung, King of Sweden, 275
Olaf the Holy, saga of, 76
Olaf Tryggvason (King of Norway), 77–8
Öland, island of, 287
Oleg (heir to Rurik), 228, 262, 263
Olga of Kyiv, 247–50
Orkney islands, 51, 97, 128
Ormen Lange (legendary ship), 77–8
Orosius, Historiae adversum pagano, 166
Oseberg ship, 76, 129–30, 144–5, 186, 208, 216, 247, 249–50, 269
Oslo (Norway), 74, 111, 129–30
Oslo, University of, 5; Schreiner Collection at, 136–7, 138, 152
osteological analysis, 29, 138, 152, 156
Otto I (the Great
), Emperor, 144, 292
Ottoman empire, 237, 266, 270
Ouse, River, 97
Oxford, St John’s College, 286
Paris, 18, 29, 79–80
Pechenegs, 201, 202, 204
Permian rings, 58–9, 64, 191, 193, 212
Persia, 167, 172–3, 275, 276; Samanid dynasty, 175, 177, 243
Persian Gulf, 283, 294
Photios, patriarch of Constantinople, 261–2
pitch production, 235*, 241
Poland, 113, 166, 198, 207
Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), 54, 55, 152, 253
Portland (Dorset), 94, 95, 114
Prague Castle, 226–7
Prose Edda (Snorri Sturluson), 272
Ptolemy (Egyptian geographer), 165
Qatar, 284
Quisling, Vidkun, 125
Radhaniya (organisation of Jewish merchants), 202
radioactive half-life concept, 34
radiocarbon dating, 24, 32–6, 38; marine reservoir effects, 34–6, 285; and smallpox virus, 285; of St John’s College skeletons, 286
Ragnar Lothbrok, 25, 28
Ratanpur carnelian mines, 296
Red Sea, 293, 294
religion, 79; bronze ladle on Helgö, 105–6, 183; in early emporia/trading towns, 120–1; and grave goods, 122–3; Islamic descriptions of Vikings, 195–6, 210–11, 214–17; Islamic missions, 209–10; pagan beliefs, 48–9, 93–5, 112, 114, 121–2, 147, 198, 249, 250, 263; as political tool, 122, 262–3, 273–4; volve (travelling woman), 215
Repton (Derbyshire): analysing of charnel deposit bones, 31–2; Anglo-Saxon monastery, 2, 17, 18, 30–1, 33, 91, 116; artefact archives, 1–3; G295 burial, 23–5, 26, 27–9; grave with four children, 37–40, 41, 48, 217; defensive ditch, 17, 84; mass grave (charnel deposit), 1, 3, 4, 5–6, 30–6, 37, 40–1, 47; Mercian royal burials at, 17–18; new excavations, 69, 73; Norman castle, 2; origins of people in mass grave, 36, 37, 40–1, 47; radiocarbon dating anomaly, 32–6; Repton warrior (Grave 511), 18–20, 22, 23–5, 26, 27–9, 55, 135, 141, 142, 143; and River Trent, 79, 81; span of history covered by site, 2; church, 16–17, 18, 29–30; Thor’s hammer pendant, 11, 13, 19, 55, 90, 135; Viking winter camp (873), 16–18, 29, 30–1
Ribe (Denmark), 113, 176, 261
Richthofen, Ferdinand von, 172
Ridanäs, cemetery of (Gotland), 169
Riga, Gulf of, 178
Rigstula (List of Rig, poem), 48–9
rivers: Dnieper trade route, 185–6, 187, 203–6, 227–30, 253, 259, 260–1, 275; on Gough Map, 82; historical sources on usage, 80–1; lack of early medieval sources on locations of, 81; modern scientific mapping techniques, 82–3; strategic control of, 87, 88, 89, 230, 234; systems of eastern Europe/central Asia, 4*, 178, 185–7, 195, 202, 203–8, 213–17, 227–30, 241–2, 253, 260–1, 275, 278–9; tendency to change course, 81; and Viking consumption of fish, 92; Viking movement along, 66, 67, 74–5, 79–80, 86–8, 205–8; Volga trade route, 185–6, 187, 213–17, 228, 275, 278–9
rock crystal beads, 108, 109
Roman Empire: coinage of, 60; finds at Repton, 2; occupation of Egypt, 293; roads, 88; silk introduced to, 173; view of Scandinavia, 110
Rörik (relative of Harald Klak), 227
Roskilde (Denmark), 111
Royal Frankish Annals, 49, 227
runestones, 168, 182, 204, 206, 259–60, 271, 275–6, 292
runic inscriptions, 121, 186, 198, 211, 259, 270–1
Rurikovo Gorodische, 187, 261
the Rus’: academic debate over Viking identity, 223–4; Arabic accounts of, 196, 198–9, 202–3, 205, 209–17, 223, 224, 246, 277; archaeological sites in upper Dnieper, 219, 221, 227–30, 234, 235, 288; brutality of life among, 211; and Christianity, 249, 250, 262–3, 273–4; combined/mixed identities, 250–1, 252; and Constantinople, 253, 260–5, 266, 267–8, 273–4, 292; and culturally Turkic groups, 201–2; defeat at Dorostopol (971), 147–8, 247; derivation of name Rus’, 198, 225; derivation of names for territory of, 198; the druzhina (elite military retinue), 159, 236, 239; emergence of state, 227, 228, 230, 238–9; emerging state as threat to Byzantium, 238; expedition to Frankia (839), 196–8, 237, 238–9, 260–1, 269; Ibn Fadlan’s account of chieftan’s funeral, 213–17, 236–7, 245, 246–7; and Indian burial rites, 246; Kyivan state, 227, 228, 230; military component of settlements, 235–6, 237; monumental mounds in Chernihiv, 251; Normanists and anti-Normanists, 225–7, 242–3; and personal hygiene, 210; political debate over Viking origins, 196, 223–4, 225–7, 242–3; political organisation, 238–40, 261; raids in Caspian Sea region, 277–82, 292; resources in territories of, 199–200; as the ‘River Kings,’ 187; Russian Primary Chronicle, 224–5, 227–8, 236, 244, 247–50, 262–4, 267–8, 274; and slave trade, 50, 199, 204, 214, 230–1; and smallpox virus, 288; story of Rurik, 224–5, 227, 228, 236, 247; trade routes used by, 202–8, 227–30, 241–2, 253, 260–1, 275, 278–9; trade treaties with Byzantium (tenth century), 239, 247, 264–5, 267–8, 274; travel down the Dnieper, 203–6; and winter weather conditions, 209, 233; written sources on, 196–9, 202–3, 205, 209–17, 223–5, 227, 231, 236–7, 244, 246–50, 262–4, 267–8, 274, 276–81
Russia, 50, 58–9, 128, 158, 166, 186, 187, 195; as Gardarike in Icelandic sagas, 198; Islamic dirhams in, 165, 175, 176; new archaeological sites in, 227–8, 235; origin story in Primary Chronicle, 224–5, 227; travel by sledge in, 208; upper Dnieper region, 227–8
Russian Primary Chronicle, 224–5, 227–8, 236, 244, 247–50, 262–4, 267–8, 274
Saaremaa, island of, 178–82, 184
Sallām (interpreter from Baghdad), 284
Salme ship burials, Estonia, 161, 163, 178–82, 184, 204, 216, 248–9
Samarkand, 58, 177, 292
Sami ancestry, 128
Sarkel, city of, 238, 275, 276
Saxo Grammaticus, 145–6, 147, 273
Scandinavia: bias towards male burials in archaeological record, 137, 154–6; carnelian beads in, 106, 107–8; Christianisation of, 121, 123; classical writers on, 165; contact with the Silk Roads, 3–4, 167, 172, 173, 174, 186–7; development of large textile sails for ships, 76–7; the exotic as fashionable, 118–20, 123, 129–30, 150, 151, 285; female traders in, 157–8; genetic diversity in late Viking Age, 127–9; geography of, 112, 113, 114; increasing urbanism in, 110–11, 113; Islamic dirham coins in, 57, 175–6; land-based resources as crucial to success, 112–13; lead from Derbyshire in, 115–16; migration to from west and south, 126–7; Permian rings in, 59; population growth, 15; and Roman Empire, 110; saga tales of attacks on eastern territories, 239–40; Sami ancestry, 128; and slave trade, 48–50, 126, 196; trading routes to the east, 3–4, 5–6, 159–60, 165, 168, 172, 177–8, 185–7, 195; trading towns, 108–10, 111, 114–15, 116–17, 120–1, 127; urban growth in, 109–11; Viking genetic legacy in England, 26–7, 126; weight-based economic system, 57, 59, 64–5, 108, 115, 116 see also Denmark; Norway; Sweden
Scotland, 28, 29, 47, 51–2, 75, 85, 93, 97, 140
Scythia, 185
Seine, River, 80, 92
Serkland, 276
Seville, 79–80
sexual practices, 210, 211, 215, 247
Shestovitsa (site near Vypovzyv), 241–5, 252
Shetland islands, 51, 96, 97
ship burials, 79; Gokstad ship, 108, 116; Ibn Fadlan’s narrative on, 216–17; Île de Groix ship burial, 252; Oseberg ship, 76, 129–30, 144–5, 186, 208, 216, 247, 249–50, 269; Salme ship burials, 178–82, 184, 204, 216, 248–9; Sutton Hoo ship burial, 173–4, 183
ships, Viking: archaeological discoveries of, 74, 75; building of, 77–8; capacity of, 78; carrying of livestock, 78–9; and celestial navigation, 95; clinker-building, 74–5, 179, 205; as colourful sights, 87–8; depictions of in Hagia Sophia, 255, 257, 271–2; design of, 74–5, 77, 78, 129, 205–6; development of, 73–4; Gokstad ship, 86–7, 108, 116; karv (smaller barge-like vessels), 205–6; log boats or dugouts, 206; movement along rivers, 66, 67, 74–5, 79–80, 86–8, 205–8; Oseberg ship, 76, 129–30, 144–5, 1
86, 208, 216, 247, 249–50, 269; repair at winter camps, 71, 76, 234; safe harbours to leave vessels, 242; sails, 75, 76–7, 79; Salme ship burials, 178–82, 204, 216, 248–9; seafaring abilities, 75, 79, 87; ship nails, 69, 73, 75–6, 179; Skidbladner (magic ship), 79; Skuldelev ships from Denmark, 284; speed of, 86–7; stories of legendary ships, 77–8; Tune ship, 74; types used by Rus, 205–6; Viking use of portage, 75, 185, 205, 208; waterproofing with tar, 234–5
Sigtuna (Sweden), 111, 127–9
Silk Roads, 3–4, 58, 167, 172, 291–2, 294, 298; Baghdad as central hub, 174–5, 282–3; origins of the silk trade, 172–3; and smallpox virus, 285; ‘Steppe Roads’ as early precursor, 200; transport of ideas/culture/religion, 173, 174–5
silk trade, 172–3, 268–9
silver: in Birka, 115, 117, 127, 158–9; Byzantine silverware, 174, 183; cupellation process, 62; debasing of content in coins, 177; flow of from east ceases, 177, 275, 289, 297; in Gotland, 166–8, 171; high quality from the east, 117, 118; hoards, 53, 55, 57–9, 65, 167–8, 175, 177; huge deposits in Afghanistan, 177; imported from east, 56–9, 61–2, 63–6, 67, 84–5, 115, 176–7, 178, 184, 199, 285; ingots, 57, 58, 61–2, 63; mining in the caliphate, 177; resources in Germany, 289; Spillings hoards, 166–7; used as portable currency by the Rus’, 212; Viking hunger for, 57, 61, 166–8, 200, 289
Sithric (Viking leader of Dublin), 183–4
skaldic poetry, 198
Skidbladner (magic ship), 79
Skylitzes, John, 147–8, 247
slave trade: in central Africa, 297; and children at Repton, 40, 47, 48; in Christian Europe, 48; and DNA analysis, 51–2; and Gotland, 171; historical records/sources, 47, 48, 49–51, 196; Islamic accounts of Viking involvement, 196; Olaf and Ivar in Ireland and Scotland, 47–8; organisation of, 50–1; and the Rus’, 50, 199, 204, 208, 210, 214, 215–17, 230–1, 246–7, 280; scale of in western Viking world, 48, 52–3; in Scandinavian homelands, 48–50, 108, 126, 130, 171; slaves as leaving no trace, 126, 216, 231, 283, 289; slaves as translators/interpreters, 183, 213, 283; and smallpox virus, 288; stolen or escaped slaves, 267–8; supply and demand in the east, 231; women and children as victims, 49–50, 51–2, 215–17, 246–7, 280