Traces of the old gods are very much alive in Stockholm. The city bears their marks in a number of ways, not least in some of the place names of its urban geography. Most of the major gods and goddesses have lent their names to a street: Torsgatan (“Thor’s Street”), […]
Succumb to Bram Stoker’s Swedish Dracula
Mörkrets makter is actually—at least in part—by Bram Stoker himself and was originally released in serialized format by the Stockholm newspaper, Dagen, from 1899 to 1900.
Larger Than Life Adventure with the Littlest Viking
Beorn: The Littlest Viking Saga is a ton of fun—sort of like if you transported Bill Watterson’s famous Calvin character to a fantasy medieval world inspired by the Norse myths and let him run loose.
Tending the Sheep: Re-Imaginings of Ancient Scandinavian Stories
This meager, little post is simply about my new list of The Best Re-imaginings of Ancient Scandinavian Stories which is now available at Shepherd. Shepherd is a hip, young site that features lists of favorite books arranged according to a theme as chosen by individual writers themselves. It’s an interesting, […]
Of Norseisism and Happy Scorn-Poles
«Hei Oslo! Dette er en blidstang.Jeg vender denne blidstang motdeg, fordi jeg haper du har en findag! Og jeg haper alle folka sombor her har en fin dag! Og jeg haperalle nissene, landvettene og andreander som bor her har en ekstraspesielt fin dag, sa de kan hjelperesten av oss med […]
Trollywood, Sweden is the Place to be
Trollhättan: the City of Trolls. Or more aptly, the City of Troll Hats, since that’s what its name actually means. It’s a hilly, craggy place, with a mighty river running through it, and in the olden days the rocks that protruded from the riverbed reminded the locals of the headgear […]
The Folkloric Nordic Art of J.Z. Blackstadius
Good old Johan Zacharias Blackstadius; he just doesn’t get the credit that he deserves. It probably doesn’t help that his name doesn’t quite roll off the tongue with the same grace and ease of, say, a “John Bauer,” a “Gustaf Tenggren,” or a “Jenny Nyström.” Nor does it help that […]
Drink Beer and Listen to Ambient Norse Music at Idle Hands
On October 24th, Matt Smith and I will be commiserating, consuming beer, and listening to ambient Norse music at Idle Hands Craft Ales in Malden, Mass. We’ll also be peddling our wares (because that’s the kind of people we are). This event was originally scheduled for March of 2020, but […]
True Norwegian Rådhus Ragnarök
It turns out I achieved one of my very few life goals this summer by getting my sorry self published in the one and only Viking Magazine, which is unfamiliar to most people, but nonetheless exists—primarily as a benefit to members of the Sons of Norway fraternal organization here in […]
Beavis and Butt-Head Starring Odin and Thor
ODIN: Huh huh. Huh huh. THOR: Heh heh. ODIN: Huh huh. Huh huh. Vikings are cool. Johan Hegg looks like a viking. Huh huh. THOR: Heh heh heh. This song rules. Heh heh. ODIN: Huh huh huh. Of course you like it, it’s like, all about you, and how you, […]
Heroes of Norse Proliferation: Eirik Storesund
Once again, the sun rises high in the heavens as the sky-wolf chases her across the atmosphere in the eternal quest to fill his belly with photon fodder. In other words, the summer heat is here and the weavers have dictated that I should retreat back into the cool, dark […]
Palm Beach Finland is the Place to be
“First a mysterious death, then the sauna burns down. There was always something very clear and explicit about burning down a sauna. If you want to get a Finn’s attention, if you want to tell your compatriot something vital and important, you burn down his sauna. Then he’ll get the […]
Get Strathclydian with The Hogback Saga
There aren’t many contemporary creative works out there that take their inspiration directly from Norse activity in the old Kingdom of Strathclyde; usually the focus lies on Wessex or York when it concerns Britain (and Mercia often receives a special, blood-spattered nod). The territory that comprises current Scotland in general, […]
Heroes of Norse Proliferation: H.R. Ellis Davidson
She wrote the hard-hitters (if not necessarily best-sellers) such as Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, Pagan Scandinavia, Scandinavian Mythology, and Roles of the Northern Goddess.
Geatland Forever
So, the idea for this post came about through a brief, recent Twitter interaction in which I blabbered a bit about the Land of the Eastern Geats within the Kingdom of Sweden and someone responded, basically asking, “Hey, whatever happened to Geatland?” The relevance, of course, is that Beowulf was […]