MetaFilter posts tagged with vikings

Those feet of a wench in her wimple...

msalt — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:14:46 -0800

Viking love poems (not to be confused with Vogon poetry). 200 years before medieval troubadours "created" romantic poetry, skalds such as Gunnlaug Snaketongue, Hallfred the Troublesome Poet and Kormak Ogmundarson told of their hearts' ecstasies and despairs. Other Viking poets such as the mighty Egil Skallagrimsson (prev 1 2) cover more predictable subjects, such as killing ("the ugly music of the spears" -- "I carved the wolf's carrion/And killed them all") and vomiting ("Many a guest's gift/Is even more gushing;/Now the ale has ended up/All over Armod"). Here's a poem he wrote at age 6 about killing a playmate with an axe after a ball game. (SMI audio file, in Old Norse). Eddaic Norse poetry is simpler in language and meter; Skaldic verse is distinguished by alliteration and kenning, the use of riddle-like indirect allusions. Meters used.

Podcast about the history of the Normans

Kattullus — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:24:17 -0800

Norman Centuries is a new podcast by Lars Brownworth, best known for his podcast series 12 Byzantine Rulers (previously). Norman Centuries, as the name suggests, recounts the history of the Normans, those literal vikings who gained Normandy and then England, Sicily, Malta, Antioch and, well, a whole heck of a lot of other places too. They were a conquering bunch. First two episodes are out with more to follow. [iTunes link]

Take THAT, Cheese Heads!

jadayne — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:10:19 -0800

After ending the 2007 season for Green Bay with pretty much every passing record in the NFL and a Super Bowl win under his belt, Brett Favre announced his retirement in a tearful press conference. He later rescinded his retirement to play for the Jets in 2008. Citing an aging body unable to stand up to the rigors of another season, he retired again after last season. Despite rumors of moving to the Minnesota, he was still officially retired as late as July. Well, not anymore. He’s back, and playing for the rival Vikings. Needless to say, the move has made him an arch- villain in the town that built him into a legend. I’m wondering if anyone else shares the opinion that this is some sort of deep insecurity of not being able to face up to a life of not being the ‘star quarterback’ anymore. At 39, with all of those records, a Super Bowl win, and a guaranteed spot in the hall of fame, what else could he be playing for?

Wait... No Pirate Vs. Ninja?!

Bageena — Tue, 05 May 2009 03:09:13 -0800

Haven't you always secretly wondered what would happen if a ninja accidentally stumbled into, say, Bill and Ted's time traveling Phone Booth and ended up somewhere around 7th century BC, only to come face-to-face with a feisty Spartan? Have you not pondered what would happen if you locked up an Apache with a Gladiator inside some sort of 21st century battle dome? Are you frustrated because you feel like there's nobody doing proper scientific studies to see what would happen when you pit two historically violent warriors that could have never actually met in real life? Worry no more people - I present to you Spike TV's newest offering - Deadliest Warrior! The show basically goes like this; you take two crazy fighters who, previous to the show, have only been pitted against one another in heated debates between young men in line for the midnight showing of the newest X-Men movie (or really awesome drunk people). The show's 'Host, Simulation Consultant, and Blogger', Max Geiger brings in experts representing each warrior. The experts bring in weapons that are historically accurate which are then tested on a variety of dummies that are stuffed with SCIENCE! The data from said SCIENCE! all goes into a computer simulation based on an unreleased commercial game engine by these guys. Not just the SCIENCE!, which is actually pretty cool (ballistics gel, pig carcasses, high speed photography), but also, as Max aptly put it: "The simulation's inputs include real world scientific data gathered by one of my co-hosts, Geoff Desmoulin, who is getting his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. Our number crunching is balanced out by Dr. Armand Dorian, an ER doctor who keeps our work firmly grounded in the actual trauma our tests cause." The reviews are in! Variety seems to feel it might be possibly the stupidest show ever, appealing only to the lowest common denominator! Newsarama was a little nicer, pointing out that there are some people on the show trying to make it as scientific as it can possibly be, while also having a great time. Either way, do you care? Don't you want to watch a Viking fight a Samurai? Or a Pirate against a Knight? You can apparently only watch the latest episode on the website, here. Also, looking forward on the Wikipedia, it does look like the show might slip-slide from whatever tenuous grasp they have on ideas for fights as they start doing shows about William Wallace versus Shaka Zulu or finally, the IRA versus the Taliban. I have only one thought. How could they have NOT had a Pirate versus Ninja episode? FAIL!

That's where I play tower defense games!

EarBucket — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:47:10 -0800

Viking Defense. Another tower defense game, with a few interesting twists. And, of course, Vikings.

Aaayyyy!

maggieb — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 19:26:04 -0800

Belated Flash Friday | Funny Viking strategery game. It makes me so happy I finished the levels and go back to do better... Full screen link

What caused the Viking Age?

stbalbach — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:36:24 -0800

What caused the Viking Age? It has long been a source of, er, conflict among Nordic scholars. A new study ($ub-only) suggests the Viking Age was triggered by a shortage of women (lack of).

Viking invasion ends

homunculus — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:25:37 -0800

Viking invasion ends as longship sails home. The Sea Stallion From Glendalough, a replica Viking longboat (previously), is returning to Denmark.

Think SCA, only more specific

owhydididoit — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:22:43 -0800

Hurstwic is a loosely affiliated group based in New England with an interest in the societies and peoples who lived in Northern Europe during the Viking age. While no longer formally organized, they still have events, frequently at the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester MA. Photos from past events.

People with a History

Kattullus — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:20:31 -0800

People with a History is "an online guide to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans history." Ranging from the first stirrings of civilization to the modern day, People with a History gathers together original sources and academic articles dealing with queerness throughout history. To give you a feel for the wealth of material on the site, here are a few pages that caught my interest: The Vikings and Homosexuality, Coptic Spell: Spell for a Man to Obtain a Male Lover, an acount of a gay marriage ceremony described by Michel de Montaigne, But Among Our Own Selves (an 18th Century gay ballad), a chapter from The Life of St. Theodore of Sykeon, a 7th Century Byzantine monk and bishop, which mentions adelphopoiesis, or the rite of brothermaking, Wu Tsao, 19th Century Chinese lesbian poet, and finally Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men.

The Viking horned helmet myth

goodnewsfortheinsane — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 13:05:46 -0800

Contrary to popular belief, Vikings did not wear horned helmets, if the Viking Answer Lady is to be believed. Apparently, the whole kerfuffle was instigated at least in part by these guys.

It's cold and wet and it isn't a dog's nose.

OmieWise — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 08:38:59 -0800

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).

Vikings Rrrrrr-ock!

maryh — Fri, 14 Oct 2005 10:28:32 -0800

War Photographer is an awesome, viking-filled flash animated music video directed by Joel Trussell for musician Jason Forrest. (quicktime) via

I see your schwartz is as big as mine!

Wulfgar! — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 17:09:25 -0800

Vikings with ... issues. And for complete amusement, check the google ads on the right. Big swords, baby, big, really big.

Whatever floats your boat...

sharksandwich — Sat, 06 Sep 2003 19:31:53 -0800

"Viking's is an all inclusive erotic adult fantasy resort located in the Caribbean with a full staff of the world's most beautiful and exotic escorts."

homunculus — Thu, 27 Dec 2001 11:04:24 -0800

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.

lagado — Sun, 15 Apr 2001 06:24:51 -0800

IF THE VIKINGS HAD FOUNDED New York (and they damn well nearly did), they probably would have called it New Jorvik after their own city of Jorvik (now called York) on the coast of Britain. Despite their reputation as marauders, Viking York was a densely populated and bustling port city which boasted a skyline of high rise buildings. It was the New York of it's day and here's a sense of what it was like.