Old Norse

Det svenska sammandraget (1½ sida) och den svenska resumén (20 sidor) av min doktorsavhandling, som behandlar frågor kring de skandinaviska språkens ljudhistoria från 200-talet till 1200-talet e.Kr., belysta delvis av deras kontakter med samtida förstadier till finska och av gamla ortnamn från kontaktzonen, och delvis av teoretisk ljudhistorisk rekonstruktion. I två uppsatser granskas etymologier för ortnamn i södra och sydvästra Finland som belyser tidig språkkontakt. I etymologiska fallstudier behandlas namnen Kjulo och Tavastland. Namnet Karis jämförs med isländska sagornas Herdalar och förklaringen av hur fi. ruotsi 'svensk' hör ihop med ~ fsv. rōþ-och rȳtzẹr 'ryss' problematiseras. Flera farledsnamn diskuteras som är upptagna i det s.k. " Danska itinerariet " liksom ett större urval namn som kunde vara gamla i en Åländsk kontext: Eckerö, Geta, Jomala och Lemland, och därtill Järsö, Skedholm, Styrsö, Slemmern och Lemböte. De allra äldsta förhistoriska alternativen för att förklara namnen Åland och Ahvenanmaa problematiseras och ett nytt förslag framförs. I den första uppsatsen undersöks ett urval av lånord bevarade i finskan och dess närmaste släktspråk och särskilt vad deras ljuddräkter kan avslöja om förändringar i urnordiskans ljudsystem. T.ex. ordet fi. leikata 'att klippa, skära' återförs på en urfinsk form *lɤikka-med bakvokaliskt uttal, som har lånats tidigt från ett urnordiskt original *blaikijan 'göra blek, avhugga en bläcka', innan *blaik-frontades till *blaeik-. En tillrättalagd analys av många etymologier tidsbestämmer de granskade lånen till tiden före det nordiska i-omljudet. De två sista uppsatserna föreslår en ny ljudhistorisk beskrivning av 500/600-talens övergångsnordiska då de flesta omljudda vokalerna, såsom t.ex. nusvenskt y och ö, uppkom, vilket medförde växlingar illustrerade av svenska dölja/döljer/dolde, mat/mätt och duga/dygd. Generationer av ljudhistoriker har allt sedan Rasmus Rask och Jacob Grimm under nästan 200 år gäckats av ett otal problem som gäller när, hur och med vilka slutresultat omljuden från början verkade. I den fjärde uppsatsen visas att de senaste förklaringarna som erbjudits beträffande frontningsomljudet inte är hållbara. Ett nytt förslag presenteras för att förklara en större mängd ohanterliga data med färre allmängiltiga antagen. Problemet som den sista uppsatsen siktar på att lösa är hur frontningsomljudet, vokaliskt framkallad brytning (som t.ex. i svenska mjöd) och rundningsomljud (som t.ex. i svenska dugg av dagg) kan förklaras inom en och samma analys.

The (unedited and error-ridden) manuscript for the paper I gave at the 2016 Nordic Mythology Conference at Berkeley, October 29-30, "Paganism Past". The paper addresses Paganism Past and Ideas of Authenticity, and argues that any ideas of authenticity in the representation of Nordic mythology in Snorri's texts should be abandoned for another approach. My suggestion for an alternative approach is the concept of cultural complexity, in the sense that all sources available to the student of Nordic mythology, be they textual or part of the material culture, should be approached as expressions of the cultural phenomenon 'Nordic mythology', and variation should be addressed through the lens of social or cognitive differences and variations. With this perspective, we can abandon ideas of an authentic version of Nordic mythology; chronological and geographical variation become less essential, and distortions of the material brought about by the conversion process must be considered less interesting than the possibility of the available sources to Nordic mythology representing a plausible and viable system of thought and culture.

This volume is the first book-length study of masculinities in the Sagas of Icelanders. Spanning the entire corpus of the Sagas of Icelanders—and taking into account a number of little-studied sagas as well as the more well-known works—it comprehensively interrogates the construction, operation, and problematization of masculinities in this genre.

Men and Masculinities in the Sagas of Icelanders elucidates the dominant model of masculinity that operates in the sagas, demonstrates how masculinities and masculine characters function within these texts, and investigates the means by which the sagas, and saga characters, may subvert masculine dominance. Combining close literary analysis with insights drawn from sociological theories of hegemonic and subordinated masculinities, notions of homosociality and performative gender, and psychoanalytic frameworks, the book brings to men and masculinities in saga literature the same scrutiny traditionally brought to the study of women and femininities. Ultimately, the volume demonstrates that masculinity is not simply glorified in the sagas, but is represented as being both inherently fragile and a burden to all characters, masculine and non-masculine alike.

Guido von List (1848-1919) è stato uno studioso, poeta, giornalista, scrittore e alpinista tedesco. Il suo lavoro di ricerca sulle origini delle religioni pagane dell'antica Europa, e in particolar modo le sue intuizioni volte a decifrare i significati più esoterici dell'intero complesso mitico degli antichi popoli germanici, costituisce tuttora un'occasione imprescindibile per chiunque volesse approfondire l'argomento, al punto che  Marcello De Martino lo definisce "l'antesignano della teoria duméziliana" della tripartizione indoeuropea, nonché "l'esatto omologo di George Dumézil in ambito occultistico".

The study of Old Norse religion is a truly multidisciplinary and international field of research. The rituals, myths, and narratives of pre-Christian Scandinavia have been studied and interpreted in detail by a vast number of scholars. They have long relied on the rich and varied Christian Icelandic literature from the Middle Ages, but a growing body of material culture from pagan Scandinavia has recently started to have an impact on current research.

In Tracing Old Norse Cosmology, Anders Andrén argues that the fundamental ideas of an ordered universe and notions of time and space in Old Norse religion can be studied in a dialogue between archaeology and the Icelandic narrative tradition. Ideas about the world tree, middle earth, and the sun can be traced in images and material culture from different parts of Scandinavian prehistory.

By combining these prehistoric representations with the later written record, Andrén offers a long view on Old Norse cosmology, including the periods of fundamental change. This fascinating and nuanced study is essential reading for all researchers in the field - archaeologists, art historians, and scholars of literature and religion - as well as anyone with an interest in Old Norse history.

Under Fly of Victory. King Sverrir and his Standard
Battle flag of the Norwegian King Sverrir, under which his supporters fought many times, was called ‘Fly of Victory’ (Sigrfluga), looking – to put it mildly – exotic even against the nontrivial names of weapons, ships and other military artefacts, known to us from sagas. The paper deals with the question of what could have been depicted on the banner with such an obscure name and the reasons of this choice for the insignia. Traditionally, the term Sigrfluga was considered by scholars as but a kenning of raven or eagle, but this explanation seems not entirely convincing. We attempt to provide an alternative interpretation of the its meaning and origin.

Although it is commonplace in scholarship today to talk about a ‘system’ of kennings or ‘kenning system’, critical discussion has tended to take the qualification ‘system’ for granted and left this topic unexplored. The present paper presents a study of extended kennings which reveals that the systemic network of kennings have different referents. It shows that kennings for MAN/WARRIOR are at the center of this network.

Theory of mind, the theory that humans attribute mental states to others, has become increasingly influential in the Cognitive Science of Religion in recent years, due to several papers which posit that supernatural agents, like gods, demons, and the dead, are accredited greater than normal knowledge and awareness. Using Old Norse mythology and literary accounts of Old Norse religion, supported by archaeological evidence, I examine the extent to which this modern perspective on religious theory of mind is reflected in religious traditions from the Viking Age. I focus especially on the extent to which superperception and superknowledge were attributed to Old Norse supernatural agents and the impact of this on expressions of religion; how the attribution of theory of mind varied with circumstances and the agents to which it was being attributed; and the extent to which features of religious theory of mind common in other societies were present in the historical North. On this basis, I also evaluate the usefulness of Old Norse historiography to Cognitive Science of Religion and vice versa.

This doctoral thesis analyses the occurrence and context of human sacrifice in Old Norse religion. The aim of this study is to investigate the written sources that mention human sacrifices in the Late Iron Age Scandinavian cultures and discuss the interpretation of these sources. An analysis of the archaeological sources from Sweden, dated to the Late Iron Age, which have previously been interpreted as traces of human sacrifices have also been conducted and discussed in comparison with the written sources. The contextualisation of the human sacrifice in Old Norse religion is in focus and a structural categorisation of the social and religious contexts where human sacrifice occurred, as well as how this theoretical structure entails new interpretations of the phenomenon of human sacrifice in Old Norse religion is conducted.
One question in focus in the study is how to interpret and use the term human sacrifice in Old Norse religion. This includes a discussion of the definition of the term sacrifice and human sacrifice and their potential application in the study of Old Norse religion. An overview of previous research about the topic of human sacrifice in each discipline, from the first beginning of the disciplines in the early 19th century to this day is presented. The study also includes a discussion of whether human sacrifice was a living practice in Old Norse societies, in which contexts it appears, which conceptions are connected to the practice, and how it was reflected in the Old Norse myths. The contextualisation of the human sacrifices in the sources includes a discussion of who sacrificed, where and when the sacrifices were performed, which divinities were the intended receivers, who the victims were, as well as the potential results of the sacrifice within the society, what conceptions the sacrifice was connected with, and how the sacrifice is mirrored in the Old Norse mythology.
The primary source material has been given a prominent position in the analysis and the conclusion of the study is that the occurrence of human sacrifice as a living tradition in Old Norse religion up until the end of the Viking Age is confirmed. From a social perspective, human sacrifices have been useful to consolidate and confirm a prevailing or new power hegemony in the martial contexts where the victorious part use the vanquished enemy as a sacrificial gift to, prominently, the god Óðinn. Besides the religious experience, the sacrifice has also been able to confirm the political structure as the warlord affirms his claim and right to his social position. It concludes with the result that human sacrifices have been useful to maintain and confirm an older social order, when this has been exposed to pressure. A political development, connected to the Christianisation, occurs during the Viking Age and finally leads to the extinction of the human sacrifices as a living practice in the North.

Åbo: Åbo Akademi University Press. ISBN 978-951-765-977-2

This article discusses the account of the settlement of Þórsnes by Þórólfr Mostrarskegg as it is presented in Eyrbyggja saga, relating it to the question of the applicability of current thinking on landscape to the interpretation of Old Norse literature. While current approaches both to landscape in general and to the construction of the landscape of Þórsnes in Eyrbyggja saga in particular tend to emphasise the function of ‘landscape’ as a medium conveying existential ‘meanings’, a close reading of the literary landscape of Þórsnes in Eyrbyggja saga rather suggests that much of the literary construction of this landscape should be seen as consciously grotesque and intended to be understood as  such by the saga’s contemporary audience. Central for this reading is an interpretation of the place-name Dritsker as meaning “Guano Skerry”. This translation is suggested by the lexical evidence but has been avoided by previous critics, who chose to adapt their interpretations
of the place-name to the story told about it in the saga and thus missed an arguably central clue for the interpretation of the saga episode. Some thoughts are also offered on the reasons for why a thirteenth-century author, perhaps working in the monastery at Helgafell, might have chosen to present the past of this area in a purposefully grotesque fashion.

This essay seeks to root the poem Genesis B’s well-known divergence from doctrine within the pre-Christian folktales of Continental Saxony. First it is argued by comparison with Old Icelandic poetry and prose mythography that the devil in the Garden of Eden is modelled on a Saxon version of Loki. I extend the argument to include the devil’s scene with Adam which is attributed to a Saxon version of Loki’s dealings with Þórr. Then I argue that the secondary devil’s temptation of Eve is enabled by a Saxon version of Loki’s interaction with the goddess Iðunn. Loki’s former friendship with Óðinn is thereafter taken to furnish the type-scene for this devil’s volunteering to help his chained master Satan in hell. Finally, I suggest that this reconfiguration of old gods into good and bad biblical roles, humans versus demons, was undertaken as part of a recasting of biblical history in local form, the better to bring the still heathen-inclined Saxons of Carolingian Germany back into the arms of the church.
To come out in 'Between the Worlds', ed. Wilhelm Heizmann and Matthias Egeler

Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader is now available with a limited-time offer. The reader immerses the learner in the legends, folklore, and myths of the Vikings. The readings are drawn from sagas, runes and eddas. They take the student into the world of Old Norse heroes, gods, and goddesses. There is a separate chapter on the ‘Creation of the World’ and another on ‘The Battle at the World’s End,’ where the gods meet their doom. Other readings and maps focus on Viking Age Iceland, Greenland, and Vínland. A series of chapters tackles eddic and skaldic verse with their ancient stories from the old Scandinavian past. Runic inscriptions and explanations of how to read runes form a major component of the book. Where there are exercises, the answers are given at the end of the chapter. Both Viking Language 1 and 2 are structured as workbooks. Students learns quickly and interactively. More information on our website: vikinglanguage.com

This article seeks to explore the significance of weapons in legal rituals mentioned in sources, such as sagas and laws. Similarities in the phrasing of various types of sources give reason to believe that it is possible to determine certain uses of weapons in Viking Age legal rituals. Such rituals, which shared essential features with legal procedure, consisted of sequences of activities involving phrasing, objects, and gestures to mark a transition from one legal status to another, and they could also convey, and act as preservers of, legal meaning. Examples show that oaths were sworn on weapons, and  that they conferred legal validity at the assembly (vápnatak). Old Norse mythology explained and legitimised key values in society, and through it everyday people found a template for how to use weapons in legal rituals. Rituals are however dynamic, and hence the ritual objects may change over time. In the Viking Age weapons were objects laden with meaning, and it was probably the in...

Imitative verse-translation (into ljóðaháttr and fornyrðislag in Modern English; I am also keen on the stylistic questions of rendering the ON prose).
This is a draft for a projected book of ON Eddic and Skaldic verse-translations, wherein each text should be presented furnished with an introduction and finished notes (the apparatus here is clearly far from finished; and I confess to being a compulsive reviser of all my efforts). I have, thus far, also made metricostylistically imitative translations of Vǫluspá, Hávamál, Hervararkviða, Alvíssmál, Vǫlundarkviða, Sigrdrífumál, and the Old Icelandic Rune Poem (with acrophony!), and hope to finish more in due course if I can.
These translations are commissioned and owned by Reaktion Books.

This article examines the constitutive features of the Old Norse dróttkvætt metre as it is used in poetry from the 9th to the 13th century by stating some basic rules. The rules – fifteen in all – are arranged both according to the features they address and in accordance with their specificity, beginning with stanzaic and alliterative rules that are valid for most Old Norse metres, before turning to the more specific rules of the dróttkvætt metre: position counting, different stress-patterns, internal rhyme, and finally the rather complicated rules for filling the positions. In an excursus on syllabic quantity it is concluded that bimoraic syllables in Old Norse should be regarded as metrically short.

This article examines potential textual sources for the animal fylgja in fornaldarsögur and íslendingasögur. It compares fylgja-scenes in such sagas with possible analogues in scripture, bestiaries and the so-called Pseudo-Daniel in order to discern what influence these foreign texts might have exerted upon the nature of animal fylgja as we encounter them in the sagas. The article will also examine the notion that especially amongst the fornaldarsögur, foreign influences constitute a primarily ornamental rather than substantive aspect of these texts.

The Viking Age is conventionally seen as a tumultuous time when hordes of fierce warriors from Scandinavia wreaked havoc across the European continent and Norse merchants travelled to distant corners of the world in pursuit of riches. Until recently, archaeologists and textual scholars tended to weave a male-dominated image of this pivotal period in world history, dismissing or substantially downplaying women's roles in Norse society. Today, however, there is ample evidence to suggest that many of the most spectacular achievements of Viking Age Scandinavians would not have been possiblewithout women.

This pioneering and beautifully illustrated monograph provides an in-depth exploration of women's associations with the martial sphere of life in the Viking Age. The motivations and circumstances thatled women to engage in armed conflict or other activities are illuminated and interpreted through an interdisciplinary approach to medieval literature and archaeological evidence from the Viking world. Additional cross-cultural excursions into the lives and legends of female warriors in other past and present cultural milieus - from the Asiatic steppes to the savannas of Africa and European battlefields –lead to a nuanced understanding of the idea of the armed woman and its embodiments in Norse literature, myth and archaeological reality.

The reception of the Poetic Edda in Germany is as long as it is ambiguous. The remote connection of Germanic and Scandinavian culture and literature led to a distinctive, symptomatic identification with Nordic mythology and the Poetic Edda in particular. The actual, physical editions in German translation from roughly two hundred years document the interpretations, intentions, and approaches of editors, translators, and scholars who have aimed to make the Poetic Edda understandable to the German audience. This thesis is subjected to an analysis of the physical copies by means of Gérard Genette’s concept of paratexts that is applied as a major tool in order to reveal how the editing of a book is also a way of interpreting its content. The reader is taken on a journey through the Poetic Edda “from the inside out”. Each chapter is dedicated to a particular part of the paratext, such as questions of page construction, the ordering of the poems of Codex Regius, and the additional material the poems are equipped with. Later chapters deal with the outer parts of the editions, where obsolete, revised interpretations have survived in blurbs, titles, and on the cover. Thus, the author wishes to present the various, continuous, and changing ways of publishing the Poetic Edda in Germany that has led to a contradictory but nevertheless fascinating variety of editions.

Please note: This thesis is available as hard copy at the National and University Library of Iceland as well as online here at academia.edu and under the weblink above.

"This special issue of Comparative Literature Studies brings together talks, some extensively revised, others virtually unchanged, that were delivered at a conference entitled "What is Philology?" The gathering took place on Saturday, March 19, 1988 at Harvard University under the aegis of the Center for Literary and Cultural Studies. The depth and breadth of interest in the conference was deeply gratifying. I had not experienced another occasion when so many scholars from different language and literature departments gathered at Harvard, and I hope that publishing the proceedings will benefit a larger community outside the University.

By way of introduction I will describe how the event originated. My description will explore a few of the reasons why an interdisciplinary conference of a dozen speakers and respondents attracted an audience of more than two hundred, and why a topic that 'may sound rarefied drew participants whose main fields of research and teaching interests ran the gamut from the most ancient Indo-European languages to the most recent African American literature. In short, I will offer tentative explanations for the urgency of the topic to students, professors, and independent scholars who engage in philology, linguistics, literary history, literary criticism, and literary theory."

The topic of this paper is a whole complex of intertwined notions of soul, spirits, forerunners / premonitions and other types of long-distance influence from a person’s mind. I will try to lead you into this ‘jungle’ by looking at some terms from the Shetlandic dialect of English. The noun gander, inherited from Old Norse gandr, has some interesting meanings that have never before been discussed by scholars:
- ‘a high, roaring wind; strong gust of wind.’
- ‘a sudden feeling of powerlessness, nausea, sickness at heart’

Сучасний етап розвитку мовознавства позначений посиленимінтересом науковців до вивчення природи мовних явищ та їх витоків.Серед необхідних лінгвістичних дисциплін, які закладають основипідготовки філологів-германістів, особливе місце належить “Вступу догерманського мовознавства”. Головна мета курсу – сформувати у студентіввищих навчальних закладів ґрунтовні знання з германістики як важливоїскладової історичної лінгвістики.У посібнику розглянуті ключові поняття порівняльно-історичногометоду – потужного інструменту вивчення процесу еволюції мов та їхспорідненості. Студенти отримають відомості про побут та культурудавніх германців, їх писемність, релігію і міфологію. Висвітлені основніпринципи фонетичної та граматичної будови германських мов таособливості їх розвитку в різні історичні періоди. Вивчення лексичногоскладу германських мов супроводжується значною кількістю прикладів,зокрема семантичні процеси в англійській лексиці досліджуються на тлі розвитку номінативних одиниць на позначення інструментальності (зброя,знаряддя виробництва, медичні інструменти, засоби пересування тощо) вписемних пам’ятках VII–XVII ст.Матеріал посібника поділено на теоретичний і практичний блоки.Кожен з дев’яти теоретичних розділів містить тематику рефератів і списокосновної та додаткової літератури. Практичну частину посібникаскладають плани семи семінарських занять, тестові або практичні завданнядо кожної з тем семінарів. Посібник містить короткий готсько-українськийсловник, який студенти можуть використовувати для виконанняпрактичних завдань.

The Old Norse verbs of the type þrøngva / þręngia display a variety of forms. Their infinitives end either in -va or -ia. Consistent with these infinitive endings, their present indicative and subjunctive paradigms are characterized by stem-final gv/kv or palatalized g/k, to which the inflectional endings beginning with a vowel are added. The verbs of the former pattern usually have the root vowel ø caused by w-umlaut, while those of the latter pattern variously have ø or ę (or its continuant). This rather complex situation is the result of two main factors: regular sound change and different paradigm levelling. The choice between the stem alternants of the verbs under discussion was dialectically determined.

This monograph traces the history of one of the most prominent types of geographical myths of the North-West Atlantic Ocean: transmarine otherworlds of blessedness and immortality. Taking the mythologization of the Viking Age discovery of North America in the earliest extant account of Vínland (‘Wine-Land’) and the Norse transmarine otherworlds of Hvítramannaland (‘The Land of White Men’) and the Ódáinsakr/Glæsisvellir (‘Field of the Not-Dead’/‘Shining Fields’) as its starting point, the book explores the historical entanglements of these imaginative places in a wider European context. It follows how these Norse otherworld myths adopt, adapt, and transform concepts from early Irish vernacular tradition and Medieval Latin geographical literature, and pursues their connection to the geographical mythology of classical antiquity. In doing so, it shows how myths as far distant in time and space as Homer’s Elysian Plain and the transmarine otherworlds of the Norse are connected by a continuous history of creative processes of adaptation and reinterpretation. Furthermore, viewing this material as a whole, the question arises as to whether the Norse mythologization of the North Atlantic might not only have accompanied the Norse westward expansion that led to the discovery of North America, but might even have been among the factors that induced it.
Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1: North-Western Europe: Scandinavia, Ireland, and the Land of the Living

Chapter 2: The Classical Mediterranean: Rome, Greece, and the Islands of the Blessed

Chapter 3: Eastern Roots?

Chapter 4: Continuity, Interaction – and Westward Expansion?

Appendix: Beyond History

Bibliography

Index

The tenth century travels of Ibn Fadlan to the lands of the Rūs are among the earliest known that account of pagan ritual in Slavic lands. Believed to have taken place some three hundred years before the events recorded in the Primary Chronicle, Ibn Fadlan offers us an unprecedented view into the culture and beliefs of these rugged northern raiders and tradesmen. In this paper, a case will be made for the women in this account as being living representations of the three Norns of Fate as known from pre-Christian Norse tradition. To establish this connection, a review of the translation of the title “Angel of Death” will be done from the original sources, and scrutinized to determine its original meaning.

This paper presents a case study on formula selection and variation in eddic poetry. It includes a general discussion of approaches to formulae in eddic poetry, problems with these, and offers a new model for addressing the relative fixity of formulaic expressions.  Although focused on Old Norse poetry, this discussion has a broad relevance to approaching other oral-poetic traditions through limited medieval sources or their relationships.

The paper analyzes the thirteen formulaic stanzas in Alvíssmál which ascribe poetic synonyms to different types of mythic being. The formula is approached through linguistics rather than directly from Oral-Formulaic Theory. Meter and alliteration are discussed as conditioning and determinant factors. The ‘alliterative rank’ of terms is correlated with their formulaic use to accomplish alliteration. An inclination to non-variation is demonstrated for the poem - i.e. variation in the use of formulae is avoided rather than tapping its potential.  The concentration on a single text takes this discussion into detail, including e.g. observing indicators of some form of interruption in the documentation process evident through changes in use of manuscript abbreviations correlated with peculiarities in formula use. Binary models of ‘improvization’–‘memorization’ are shown to be insufficient to describe actual variation. ‘Crystallization’ is proposed as an alternative. Comparison with stanzas quoted in Snorri Sturluson’s Edda suggest that a formula and its variable element were inclined to crystallize as a whole-line unit in memory, and that constraints of alliteration, semantics and syllabic rhythm within a line limited variation as a process of social negotiation in transmission. The hypothesis of whole-line crystallization is tested elsewhere in the eddic corpus, drawing examples from Vǫluspá, Skírnismál and Þrymskviða, where it offers an explanation for grammatical peculiarities or inconsistencies associated with repeating lines.

Throat Singing Vikings: A new translation of the account of Ibrâhîm ibn Ya`qûb al-Tartushi and his visit to the Schleswig area in the 9th century, and his observations of a form of singing that exhibited a 'Humming' sound from the throat that could possibly be a form of throat singing. This new translation is compared against various older translations in an attempt to gain a better understanding of Al-Tartushi's original account.

Author: Noel Braucher

This seminar-workshop provided the basis for a book, which has now appeared: The Viking Age in Åland: Insights into Identity and Remnants of Culture, ed. Joonas Ahola, Frog & Jenni Lucenius (Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae Humaniora 372), Helsinki: Academia Scientiarum Fennica 2014 (427 pages).
http://www.academia.edu/11484572/The_Viking_Age_in_%C3%85land_Insights_into_Identity_and_Remnants_of_Culture_ed._Joonas_Ahola_Frog_and_Jenni_Lucenius_

Viikinkiaika Suomessa – The Viking Age in Finland is a collaborative interdisciplinary research project which undertakes to explore and assess the significance of the Viking Age for Finno-Karelian cultures and Finno-Karelian cultural areas.
The third seminar-workshop of the VAF project was organized in cooperation with the Åland Museum and focused on Åland as a neglected area of understanding and especially on identities and identity-construction in the Viking Age.
An volume on the Viking Age in Åland developed around selected papers from the this event is in preparation.

Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader immerses the learner in the legends, folklore, and myths of the Vikings. The readings are drawn from sagas, runes and eddas. They take the student into the world of Old Norse heroes, gods, and goddesses. There is a separate chapter on the ‘Creation of the World’ and another on ‘The Battle at the World’s End,’ where the gods meet their doom. Other readings and maps focus on Viking Age Iceland, Greenland, and Vínland. A series of chapters tackles eddic and skaldic verse with their ancient stories from the old Scandinavian past. Runic inscriptions and explanations of how to read runes form a major component of the book. Where there are exercises, the answers are given at the end of the chapter. Both Viking Language 1 and 2 are structured as workbooks. Students learns quickly and interactively. More information on our website: vikinglanguage.com

The BA Thesis, entitled "The Disquiet of Death: the Concept of the Afterlife in Norse Mythology", seeks to look into the Norse idea of Death through the analysis of Scandinavian burial customs as represented in Skaldic poetry and the sagas - both rich in references to beliefs concerning the dead - as well as through archaeological evidence.

In the first chapter, I give a brief overview of medieval Scandinavia and its customs, particularly focusing on the encounter of Norse Religion with Christianity. This encounter, which was also a collision between two sets of beliefs belonging to two different societies, led to a "contamination" of the Norse concept of Death with several Christian beliefs. The influence Christianity had on Norse Mythology may be seen, for example, in the widespread use of the title "Alfǫðr" ("Allfather"), in reference to Odin, as well as in the idea of a life after Ragnarök.
I then focus on the burial practices of cremation and inhumation. According to "Ynglinga saga", Scandinavia had a long tradition of cremating the dead until the arrival of Christianity: that is when the practice of burying the dead started. Archaeological evidence shows that ship burial as a custom first started in Sweden, and then spread to Norway and Anglo-Saxon England, as attested by the discovery of the Oseberg and the Gokstad ship burials.

The second chapter focuses on the places associated with the Afterlife: Valhǫll, Óðinn's golden hall, and Hel. Snorri Sturluson's "Edda" also mentions Fólkvangr, where the goddess Freyja welcomes half the dead warriors in her hall.
I then delve into the gods and goddesses associated with Death as mentioned in the sagas: Hel, who presides over the place that bears her name; Gefion, the goddess of dead virgin maidens; Rán, goddess of the drowned; the Valkyries, Odin's maidens, entrusted with collecting those who die on the battlefield; and finally Óðinn, protector of the worthy warriors who die in battle.
An interesting account of a burial ceremony is found in Snorri's "Edda", where the death of Baldr is described.
Finally, I address the custom of human and animal sacrifice in Norse societies: archaeological evidence supports the theory that people living in medieval Scandinavia did, indeed, sacrifice animals who were meant to follow their owners to the Afterlife, as the ship burials of Vendel, Gokstad and Oseberg indicate.

The third and final chapter analyses "Helgakviða Hundingsbana II" ("The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane"), taken from the Poetic Edda, from a narrative as well as from a linguistic perspective.
The lay contains several references to the concept of death as it was perceived in Scandinavia and to the figures associated with it, such as the Valkyries and "draugar" (the "undead"), thus making it a valuable source for investigating the concept of a Norse Afterlife from a literary perspective.