Did the Scots visit Iceland? New research reveals island inhabited 70 years before Vikings thought to have arrived. This appears to be the first physical evidence that confirms the stories of celitc monks being on the island when the Norse arrived.
posted by novenator on Dec 26, 2010 - 41 comments

Health, Grooming, and Medicine in the Viking Age. "John of Wallingford, the abbot of St. Albans Abbey wrote in his chronicles that the Norse invaders in England were far more attractive to Anglo-Saxon women since, unlike Anglo-Saxon men, they combed their hair daily, took baths weekly, and laundered their clothing regularly."
posted by rodgerd on Aug 19, 2010 - 48 comments

Tattúínárdælasaga (The Saga of the People of the Tattooine River Valley) is the Icelandic saga Star Wars was based on. So far five chapters have been transcribed.
posted by Kattullus on Mar 12, 2010 - 44 comments

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga is a Smithsonian webpage (with a pretty cool Flash intro) about the Norse in North America. Along with highlights of the exhibit, there's also an interactive map of the Viking voyages. (Although L'Anse aux Meadows, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the only confirmed Viking colony in N.A.). The Saga of Eric the Red contains the story of the voyages and discovery, but there are other primary sources as well. The Viking Ship Museum has information on the famous longboats that made the voyages, which were as much a matter of luck as navigation. To mark the millenium, some crazy Icelanders sailed a longboat back to Norway (NPR story).
posted by OmieWise on Jun 6, 2006 - 27 comments

Vikings with ... issues. And for complete amusement, check the google ads on the right. Big swords, baby, big, really big.
posted by Wulfgar! on Feb 25, 2005 - 14 comments

Iceland moves to become the first country to replace fossil fuels with hydrogen for all its energy needs. I find it fitting that a society descended from Vikings will become the world's first hydrogen society.
posted by homunculus on Dec 27, 2001 - 32 comments