How Many Vikings Does It Take to Win a Kingdom?
Off the top, do let us address the word ‘Viking’. A whole article could, and has been written many times, about the origin of the word Viking; that originally it was ‘vikingr, a noun meaning, in [...]
Outward Bound
What was it that enabled Scandanavians to leave their countries and invade, trade and explore from the 9th to the 11 century? Shipbuilding The ship shown here is the Osberg Ship found in a [...]
When is a Viking not a Viking?
First of all, let’s get this straight: the word viking is a verb, not a noun. Somehow, over the centuries, the word viking has changed its meaning. The men we think of as pillaging and [...]
Medieval Musings
I found this description of a cruck house on woodlands.co.uk. A cruck house is medieval, typical of the houses the serfs lived in in ‘Tangle of Time’. We’ll go back to stories [...]
The Vikings
“From the fury of the Northmen, O Lord deliver us.” Although I would have hated to live in a small village near the coast in England in the 10th century when the Vikings came [...]
Medieval Musings
A Happy and Healthy New Year to you all! May you achieve your dreams. I just read an article in the New York Times that asks, “When did everyone become a witch?” and Publishers’ [...]
Medieval Musings.
Medieval Magic and Superstition Have you ever refused to walk under a ladder or spilled salt and thrown it over your left shoulder to ward off the devil? Or become upset upon breaking a [...]
Medieval Musings
M e d i e v a l R o m a n c e “I Do” In my historical novel, Tangle of Time, a very young woman marries her young man outside of the village church doors. Their village [...]
Medieval Musings
July (whoops!) August’s Medieval Musings Blog is about… cats. Cats. Our furry friends. Our pets who control us, love us, drive us crazy, eat our homework (mine did!) So, when [...]