For the Norse, Yggdrasil was their world(s) tree. That’s right, world(s)—because they conceived their cosmos as having 9 worlds, not just 1. This raid therefore aims to plunder the heart of their cosmos to better understand Yggdrasil’s role and its symbolism in the Norse world(s)view. We won’t talk about everything (like Odin’s well-known sacrifice upon it), but I’m sure you’ll still leave this raid with some plunder you didn’t have before. 🌟 Featured Object: AM 738 4to, 43r 📚 Sources & Further Reading: Snorri Sturluson, Edda, translated by Anthony Faulkes (Everyman, 1995) …

You probably haven’t heard about a Norse woman who single-handedly saved her family from a political turmoil in Scotland, settled part of Iceland, distributed land, arranged marriages for her kin, and maintained a respected reputation that was remember for generations? Of course not. This International Women’s Day special tells the story of a woman named Aud. The only problem is…her story isn’t always the same. In fact, some people know her better as Unn the Deep-minded. So while we celebrate the accomplishments of an impressive medieval woman, we’ll also talk about how she was remembered, why her story varies, and what it all says about the society remembering her.

It’s not a stretch to say that Midgard and Asgard are the two most important worlds of the Norse cosmos, for they are the homes of us humans and our gods. But…have you ever wondered why they’re both conceived of as fortresses? It’s not a coincidence. In this raid, we’ll go through the must-know details of both Midgard and Asgard; but, more importantly, we’ll also discuss why the Norse used fortifications to describe them. If you’ve already plundered my previous raid on The Migration Period, you’ll know that it’s all part of that lovely…

It’s not a stretch to say that Midgard and Asgard are the two most important worlds of the Norse cosmos, for they are the homes of us humans and our gods. But…have you ever wondered why they’re both conceived of as fortresses? It’s not a coincidence. In this raid, we’ll go through the must-know details of both Midgard and Asgard; but, more importantly, we’ll also discuss why the Norse used fortifications to describe them. If you’ve already plundered my previous raid on The Migration Period, you’ll know that it’s all part of that lovely…

Podcast Episode · The Medieval Irish History Podcast · 28/02/2025 · 43m

The Norse imagined the creation of the cosmos as a story of ice and fire—but it’s really nothing like the more well-known Song of Ice and Fire that people prefer to talk about now. Well, perhaps they used to until a certain show ended on a less-than-popular note. But I digress. In this raid, we’re delving a little deeper into the Norse story of creation. We’ll be forced to reckon the universe’s first genealogy, during which we’ll have to face the fact that Odin was born of mixed races and turned against his own kin.

The Norse imagined the creation of the cosmos as a story of ice and fire—but it’s really nothing like the more well-known Song of Ice and Fire that people prefer to talk about now. Well, perhaps they used to until a certain show ended on a less-than-popular note. But I digress. In this raid, we’re delving a little deeper into the Norse story of creation. We’ll be forced to reckon the universe’s first genealogy, during which we’ll have to face the fact that Odin was born of mixed races and turned against his own kin.

Explore how King Alfred's peace-making strategies, from treaties to baptisms, reshaped Viking leaders into Christian rulers, ultimately transforming the fate of medieval England.

Watch now | A newly translated spell book gives insight into traditional Icelandic beliefs

If you want to begin learning about the Viking Age in England, this book should be one of your top choices. Written in an engaging style but also offering a lot of details, The Wolf Age is aimed at…

This is our third and final raid covering the scanty sources we have for Norse Mythology. To most people, sagas are an odd and obscure group of medieval literature mostly from the equally odd and obscure Iceland. Their content typically covers things like feuding farmers or campaigning kings (occasionally featuring whack-a-mole spectral seals and red-shirt Norwegian companions). For this raid, however, we’re going to talk about 3 genres that occasionally give us some unique insight into Norse Mythology. Sadly, though, we don’t have much to work with…but the plunder is still more rewarding than you might expect!

This is our third and final raid covering the scanty sources we have for Norse Mythology. To most people, sagas are an odd and obscure group of medieval literature mostly from the equally odd and obscure Iceland. Their content typically covers things like feuding farmers or campaigning kings (occasionally featuring whack-a-mole spectral seals and red-shirt Norwegian companions). For this raid, however, we’re going to talk about 3 genres that occasionally give us some unique insight into Norse Mythology. Sadly, though, we don’t have much to work with…but the plunder is still more rewarding than you might expect!

A new study by Valerie Broustin, a Scandinavian Studies expert from the University of Bonn, sheds fresh light on a lesser-known collection of Icelandic sagas. Her work on the Hrafnistumannasögur…

Here are some neat tips and tricks that will make your lives easier and your reading of sagas much more enjoyable.

Some of us dream of studying at a prestigious university to gain the wisdom of the world, while others hang suspiciously from world-trees and wander under equally-suspicious names seeking said wisd…

When it comes to love in the medieval North, these are some of the most essential stories to know. We start things off with a fairly detailed discussion about Freyja, the free-spirited goddess of love and war, including her ferocious cats and her experience with magic, aka seiðr. After that, we cringe (and laugh) through the stories of Freyja’s annoying suitors, cry about the bear-curse love story of Bjorn and Bera, and finally scream about the destructive love Icelandic triangle between Gudrun, Kjartan, and Bolli. And if all of that isn’t enough, we even discuss a few Icelandic love spells.

When it comes to love in the medieval North, these are some of the most essential stories to know. We start things off with a fairly detailed discussion about Freyja, the free-spirited goddess of love and war, including her ferocious cats and her experience with magic, aka seiðr. After that, we cringe (and laugh) through the stories of Freyja’s annoying suitors, cry about the bear-curse love story of Bjorn and Bera, and finally scream about the destructive love Icelandic triangle between Gudrun, Kjartan, and Bolli. And if all of that isn’t enough, we even discuss a few Icelandic love spells.

Archaeologists say the importance of the findings on the farm is

While we don’t make major progress through Ljósvetninga saga in this episode, we have a great time talking about two of the three þættir that fill a gap in the manuscript. Another gap in a ma…

This book provides an in-depth study of depictions of England in the Saga of Icelanders (Íslendingasögur), examining their utility as sources for the history of

When it comes to ‘primary’ source material about Norse mythology, few are better than the Prose Edda—but everyone hates on its 13th-century Icelandic author, the infamous Snorri Sturluson. There’s plenty of good reasons for that, but I think people take for granted that he was much less salty than his Danish contemporary, Saxo Grammaticus. This raid is about their salty source material, how it helps us understand Norse mythology, and how later authors remembered/rewrote old lore for their own times. Reminder: this raid is originally a YouTube video! If you want visual aids, wander here: …

The Tale of Fëor and Ërna (Ongoing) Fëor isn’t a fighter. He’s an herb-loving homebody who enjoys stories about questing but prefers a quaint life. He assumed that wouldn’t change—until a strange “…

With any hoard, some of the most common questions are about who buried it, and why. Usually, Viking-age hoards of silver are a mix of anonymous ornaments,

Some of us dream of studying at a prestigious university to gain the wisdom of the world, while others hang suspiciously from world-trees and wander under equally-suspicious names seeking said wisd…