A Brief History of the Vikings

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A Brief History of the Vikings Page 26

by Jonathan Clements

35 Heimskringla, pp.646–7.

  36 DeVries, Norwegian Invasion, p.242ff., mounts a series of convincing arguments concerning Tostig’s double-dealings with the Normans. He may have even been hoping to play Harald the Ruthless against William the Bastard, and emerge as the ultimate victor. But such discussions belong to a study of English history, and we must concern ourselves specifically with the Vikings.

  37 DeVries, Norwegian Invasion, p.255. The town has grown to such an extent that there are now streets and houses all over the original site of the battle.

  38 DeVries, Norwegian Invasion, p.269–70. The exact site of the final showdown is unknown today, as the river has changed course, but Battle Flats, where many skeletons were unearthed during the Victorian age, would appear to be a rather obvious contender.

  39 Heimskringla, p.653.

  40 Ibid., p.655. There are elements here of the Balder legend (or that of Achilles), since Harald’s long coat of mail, incongruously named ‘Emma’, was said to be impervious.

  41 Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, p.199.

  Chapter 10 – Children of Thor

  1 The last battle between the English and the Normans was fought in Albania, where Anglo-Saxon Varangians took great pleasure in attacking invaders from Norman Italy in the name of the Byzantine Emperor. They were, however, defeated.

  2 Haywood, Encyclopaedia of the Viking Age, p.45.

  3 Ultimately, the falling sea levels would cut off several of the greatest Viking ports – the waters around Hedeby were too shallow for deep-draft ships by 1071, and the famous entrepot was replaced by nearby Schleswig. Haywood, Encyclopaedia of the Viking Age, p.95.

  4 Marcus, Conquest of the North Atlantic, p.155.

  5 Haywood, Historical Atlas of the Vikings, p.97.

  6 Jones, History of the Vikings, p.309.

  7 Rink, Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, p.323.

  8 Ibid., p.313.

  9 Marcus, Conquest of the North Atlantic, p.162.

  10 Ibid.

  11 Wawn, Vikings and the Victorians, p.16.

  12 Niitema et al. Old Friends Strong Ties, pp.14–18.

  13 Ibid, p.72.

  14 Wahlgren, The Kensington Stone, p.3.

  INDEX

  Abasgun 108

  Abbasid Caliphate 106

  Adam of Bremen 63, 122, 161

  Advice to an Emperor 193

  Aegir 18

  Aelfgifu 184

  Aelfheah, Archbishop of Canterbury 172

  Aella, King of Yorkshire 74

  Aesir 18, 21, 36, 38

  Aethelred Unraed (‘Unready’) 121, 127, 128, 163–5, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173–5

  Aethelstan (son of Aethelred Unraed) 174

  Aethelwulf, King of Wessex 75

  Afghanistan 105, 108

  Africa, North 186, 192

  Aifur 103

  Åland 99

  Alcis 34

  Alcuin 50, 52

  Alfheim, King of 58

  Alfhild 58, 198

  Alfred the Great 75–80, 129, 192

  Alof 88

  amber 25, 49

  America, North, Viking landings in 13, 53–4, 143, 148–59, 222–8

  Anatolia 192

  Andersen, Magnus 53–4

  Andover 129

  Andvari 40–1

  Angantyr 23

  Angles/Angle-land 4, 6, 7, 12, 50

  Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, The 7, 9, 48, 50, 125, 163, 164, 166, 169, 170, 173, 211–12

  Anglo-Saxons 5–7, 129

  language 50

  Angul 24

  Anna, Princess 114–15

  Annales Bertiani 104

  Annals of Ulster 69

  L’Anse aux Meadows 151, 226–8

  Anskar 61–2, 63

  Arcadiopolis, battle of 113

  archaeology 16, 226–7

  linguistic 32, 101, 224

  see also burial mounds; cemeteries; grave-goods; ship-burials

  Arctic Sea 100

  Argyllshire 216

  Ari the Learned 143

  Armagh 69, 72, 74

  Arnarson, Finn 188, 203–4

  Arnarson, Ingolf 141–2

  Arnarson, Kalf 184, 204

  Arnarson, Thorberg 203, 212

  Arthur, King 6

  Asa, Queen 57, 58

  Asgard 39, 44

  Asia Minor 191

  Asleifarson, Svein 216

  Assandon, Battle of 175–6

  Astrid (daughter of Olof Skötkonung) 180

  Astrid (mother of Crowbone) 124, 198

  astronomy 17

  Asvaldsson, Thorvald 145

  Athelstan, King of England 78, 92, 93, 172

  Athens 191

  atrocities

  English 12, 165, 167

  Viking 12, 172

  Aud the Deep-Minded 142–3

  Aud (wife of Turgeis) 72

  Audhumla 20

  Aurelianus, Ambrosius 6

  aurora borealis 27

  Azerbaijan 108

  Badon Hill 6

  Baffin Island 150

  Baghdad 11, 107, 114

  Baku 108

  Balder 41–3, 46

  Baltic Sea 25, 59, 60, 98, 99

  Basil II, Emperor (the Bulgar-Slayer) 114–15, 190, 191

  Batavii 4

  Bath 173

  Beaduheard 50, 51

  ‘bear-shirts’ 26

  beliefs, Viking 16–17, 36–7, 44–5

  Benjahir 105

  Beorhtic, King of Wessex 50

  Beorhtric 169

  Beothuk Indians 154

  Beowulf 25, 41

  Berda 108

  Berezany 106

  Bergen 218, 223

  Bergljót 203

  berserkir 26

  Bifrost 33, 45

  bird-arson 111, 192

  Birka 61, 98–9, 106

  Bjarnarson, Guthroth 116, 117

  Bjarni Herjolfsson 148–50

  Björkö 98

  Bjorn (son of Fairhair) 91

  Black Sea 4, 18, 102, 104, 106, 109, 196, 215

  boar, worship of the 23

  Bodvar the Wise 56

  Boe 43

  Boleslav 124, 160–1

  Bosphorus 109, 196

  Boudicca, Queen 1–2

  Bragi 18–19

  Brattahlid 152, 153

  Brentford 175

  Britain

  Crowbone circumnavigates 124–5

  and Iceland 221–2

  kingdoms of 6–7

  Roman rule 1–2, 4–5

  Saxon settlement of 5–6

  Vikings control eastern coast of 80

  see also England; Ireland; Scotland; Wales

  Brittany 7

  Bructeri 3

  Brusason, Rognavald 188–9

  Brynhildr 27

  Bulgars/Bulgaria 109, 112, 193

  Buri 20

  burial mounds 24

  Byrhtnoth 126–7

  Byzantine Empire 10–11, 13, 99, 103–5, 106, 108–13, 162, 190–6, 215

  Caithness 68, 89, 143, 216

  Cambridge 75

  Canada 150–1, 217, 219

  Canninefates 4

  Canterbury 171–2

  Canute the Great, King of England 167, 173–4, 175–9, 180, 181–4, 187, 194, 197, 207

  Canute the Holy, King of Denmark (St Canute) 214

  Cape Cod 152, 223

  Carlingford Lough 73

  Carpini, Friar 225

  Caspian Sea 10, 106, 107, 108, 112

  Celts 121, 142

  cemeteries 71, 84, 101, 105

  Cervianus, Aurelius 1, 2, 5

  Charlemagne 52, 59–61

  Charles the Bald 62

  Charles the Simple 86

  Chauci 3–4

  Chicago World Fair 53

  children, exposure of 144

  China 11, 13, 225

  Chippenham 77

  chivalry 160

  Christianity

  echoes of in Viking sagas 44, 46–7

  Viking conv
ersions to 14, 61–3, 64–5, 78, 80, 95–7, 110–12, 114–15, 118, 120, 123, 129–30, 131–6, 179, 180

  Christmas 95, 97

  Cimbri 3, 23

  Cirencester 192

  clergy, as targets of Vikings 49, 52

  Cleveland 209

  climate, changes in 5, 44, 117, 217–18, 229

  Clonmacnoise 72

  Clontarf, battle of 216

  Clyde, River 74

  coins 105–6, 170, 214, 223

  Columbus, Christopher 158, 223, 224, 225

  Columcille 69

  compasses, solar 55

  Conrad, Emperor 183

  Constantine VII, Emperor 112

  Constantine IX, Emperor 195

  Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Emperor 103

  Constantinople 10, 83, 99, 104, 111–12, 114, 190, 191, 194, 195–6, 215

  Viking attacks on 108–10, 112–13, 115

  constellations 17

  Copford 167

  Cornwall 125, 163, 178

  Crab Island 221

  creation, myth of 19–20

  Crimea 106, 115, 215

  cross-dressing 56

  Crusades 67

  curachs 138

  Cwichelm’s Barrow 167

  Dan 24

  danegeld 76, 122, 167, 181–2

  Danelaw 78, 79, 80, 128, 165, 172

  Daneskin 167–8

  Danevirke 60–1, 63, 119, 120

  Danube, River 110

  Davis Strait 153, 159

  days of the week 33–4

  De Administrando Imperio 103

  Delaware river 222

  Denmark

  attacked by Germany 119–20

  burial sites 24

  Christianity in 61–3, 64–5, 215

  origin of name 24

  place-names 19

  power struggles in 64–5, 94, 215

  raids on the Vik 94

  Swedish control of 64

  and trade routes 59

  tribes 3–4

  Viking raids on 197, 200–1

  war with Franks 60–3

  Derby 77

  Derwent, River 211

  Devon 163, 165

  Diplomatarium Islandicum 143

  dísir 36

  divorce 56

  DNA testing 14, 66, 228

  Dnieper, River 101, 102, 103, 108

  Don, River 18, 106

  Dorset 76, 176

  Dragon’s heads 54

  dreams 36

  Drevljane tribesmen 110–11

  Dristra 113

  drums, shamanic 35

  Dublin 70–1, 73–4, 125, 142

  Dunvegan Castle 217

  dwarves 36, 40–1

  Eadric Streona (‘the Acquisitor’) 168

  East Anglia 6, 74, 79, 163, 165, 171, 176, 178

  East Saxons 6, 125–6

  Edda 16, 17, 45

  Edgar the Atheling 215

  Edgar, King of England 121

  Edington, battle of 77

  Edith (daughter of Aethelred Unraed) 171

  Edmund I, King of England 93

  Edmund, King of East Anglia 74–5

  Edmund Ironside 174–6, 215

  Edward the Confessor 177, 206

  Edward the Elder, King of Wessex 78

  Edwin, Earl 209

  Eggertsson, Gunnar 227

  Egil’s Saga 90

  Eider, River 60

  eiderdown 25

  Einar Paunch-shaker 161, 162–3, 184, 202–3

  Eindridi 203

  Elfsborg 222

  Elgar, Edward 8

  Ellisif, Princess 190, 196, 203, 208

  elves 36

  Emma, Queen 128, 175, 177, 184

  End-Times 44–6

  England

  Danes massacred in 12, 164–5

  foundation of modern 79

  invasion of 1066 207–12

  navy 169

  Norse place-names in 228

  Viking raids on 121–2, 125–9, 163–78, 214–15

  English Channel 4, 86, 121

  Erik Bloodaxe 37, 90–4, 97, 116, 118, 163, 209

  Erik, Earl of Trondheim 123, 161, 162–3, 176, 178, 179

  Erik the Red 145–8, 150, 152, 154, 157, 219

  Erik the Victorious 56, 119, 120, 122, 123, 124, 130

  Erik’s Saga 152

  Eriksson, Leif 223, 226–8

  Eríkssonur, Leif xiv

  Erp 143

  Essex 6, 79, 125, 127, 175

  Estonia xii, 12, 99, 124, 189

  Eyjolf the Lame 56

  Eystein the Bad 95

  Eystein Orri 212

  Eyvind Kelda 132

  Eyvind the Plagerist 56

  Faeroes 10, 54, 85, 140, 220

  Fafnir 39, 41

  family feuds 87–97, 160

  family trees xiv, 123, 233–8

  famine 166

  Fárbauti 38

  Fatimid Caliphate 192

  Fenris 39, 44–5

  Finland/Finns 12, 13, 14, 32, 37, 99, 99–100, 180–1

  Finnmark 85

  fires, sacred 35

  Five Boroughs 76–7, 173

  Fjorgynn 34, 35

  Folkstone 125

  Formosus, Pope 78

  Franks/Francia 4, 6, 50, 59, 65, 104, 124, 129, 170, 173

  alliance with Wessex 75

  grant land to Vikings 86

  war with Saxons and Danes 60–2

  Frey 18, 23, 34, 45, 97, 144

  Freya 18, 34, 39

  Freydis (daughter of Erik the Red) 157–8

  Freyfaxi 23

  Frigg 18, 34, 42

  Frisia 61

  Funen 24

  furs 25, 50, 100, 104, 108

  futhark runic alphabet xiii

  Fuzhou 11

  fylgjur 36

  Fyn 65

  Gainsborough 173

  Galti, Snaebjorn 146

  Gandalf 82

  gandir 36

  Gannascus 4

  Gardar the Swede 139

  Garm 45

  Gate Fulford 209

  Gaul see Franks/Francia

  Geira, Princess 124

  Georgia 114

  Germany 59, 112, 119–20, 218

  Geysa, Thorkel 200–1

  giants 35, 38, 45

  Ginnungagap 19

  Goda 125

  Godard Point, Maine 214

  Godfred 60, 61, 63

  Godric 127

  gods

  German 34

  Norse 18–33, 38–47

  Godwine, Earl 175, 177, 206

  Godwinson see Harold II

  Gokstad ship 53–4, 58

  Gorm the Old 64, 82

  Goths 4, 23

  Gotland 25, 64, 98–9, 106, 137

  Graiae 21

  grave-goods 24, 28, 53, 57, 67, 98–9, 105, 106, 108, 170

  Great Army, Viking 75–6

  Great Heathen Host 66–80, 164, 208

  Greece 10, 21

  Greek fire 109

  Greenland

  Christianity in 153, 218

  colonisation of 147–8, 158–9, 217

  discovery of 146–7

  Inuits in 218–20

  last Vikings in 218–21

  under Norwegian rule 218

  Greenlander Saga 149, 150, 151, 152, 156, 157

  Greenwich 172

  Gregory, Father 111

  Grendel 25

  Grimnismal 17

  Grjotgarth 117

  Gudrid xii, 152, 154–6

  Gulathing Law 83

  Gulf Stream 140, 147

  Gunnbjörn’s Skerries 145, 146

  Gunnhild Kingsmother 37, 56, 90–1, 93, 94, 97, 116, 117, 118, 123, 124

  Gunnhild (sister of Forkbeard) 165

  Gunnhilde (daughter of Canute) 183

  Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue 128

  Gunroth the Generous 58

  Guthorm 81–2, 129

  Guthroth the Radiant 87, 88, 92

  Guthrum 75–8, 164, 192

  Gytha (daughter
of Forkbeard) 123

  Gytha (daughter of Harold Godwinson) 215

  Gytha (of Hordaland) 82, 85

  Hadstock 167

  Haetheyn 41

  Hagia Sophia Cathedral 111, 191

  hairstyles, Viking 50, 113

  Haka Dale 82

  Hakon IV, King of Norway 217

  Hakon VII, King of Norway 216

  Hakon, Earl 131, 184

  Hakon the Good, King of Norway 92–7, 116, 133, 172

  Hakon the Great, Earl 117–19, 120, 124, 129

  Halfdan (Danish ‘king’) 63

  Halfdan the Black 57, 58–9, 81

  Halfdan the Black (grandson of above) 92

  Halfdan Longshanks 87, 88–90

  Halfdan the Stingy 58

  Halfdan the Wide-Grasper 74

  Hallgerd Long-legs 56

  Halli the Sarcastic 56

  Halogaland 180

  Hamburg 62

  hamingjur 36

  Hanseatic League 218

  Harald II, King of Denmark 174

  Harald Bluetooth xiii, 64–5, 91, 94, 117, 118–20, 122, 123, 127

  Harald Fairhair 59, 81–92, 116, 117, 131, 135, 141, 163, 170, 178–9

  Harald Goldenbeard 59

  Harald Grenske 118, 130, 131, 166

  Harald Greycloak (Harald II, King of Norway) 116–18, 123, 163

  Harald Red-Beard 58

  Harald the Ruthless (Hardraada) 2, 186–213, 214, 217

  Harald Wartooth 29, 30

  Hardanger Fjord 50

  Hardegon 64

  Harold II, King of England (Godwinson) 177, 206, 207, 209–13, 215

  Harthacanute, King of England 184, 194, 205–6

  Hastings, battle of 213

  Hebrides 49, 51, 68, 86, 124, 130, 139, 216, 217

  Hedeby 60, 61, 62–3, 64, 98, 106, 119–20, 201

  Hedin the Sorcerer 135

  Heimdall 18, 33, 45

  Heimskringla xiv, 8, 16, 18, 57, 58, 81, 82, 83, 84, 87, 90–1, 93, 96, 118, 124, 129, 131, 132, 143, 160–2, 170, 178, 179, 187, 188, 198, 201, 207, 223

  Heithmork 58

  Hel 19, 39

  Helgi, King 64

  Helsingaland 95, 181

  Henry III of Germany 183

  Henry VIII, King of England 221

  Heorot 25

  Herebald 41

  heregeld 122

  Heruls 4, 104

  hidden folk 35–6

  hides 168

  hillingar effect 138–9, 145

  History of the Danes 24, 29

  History of the English 177

  Hoder 42–3

  Holand, Hjalmar Rued 223–4

  Hollander, Lee xiv

  Holmgard see Novgorod

  homosexuality 56

  Hordaland 25, 82

  Horik the Elder 62, 63

  Horik the Younger 62

  horses, sacred 23, 144

  Hrafn the Dueller 146

  Hreidmar 40, 41

  Hring 30

  Hrodmarrson, Leif 141–2

  Hrolf the Walker 86, 128, 129, 213

  Hromund the Lame 55

  Hrothgar, King 25

  Humber, River 74, 209

  Huntingdon, Henry 177

  Husavik 139

  Hygelac 23

  Ibn Battúta 11

  Ibn Fadlan xii, 107

  Ibn Rustah 107

  Ice Age 2

 

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