The Viking Age in Denmark represented an eventful period of time that saw the rise of the Danish Vikings as an important military force in northwestern Europe. So it is that during the Early Middle Ages the Danish Vikings voyaged across the North Sea to Britain and established the Danelaw, a historical regional in eastern…
Mr Claus Grube, the Danish Ambassador to the United Kingdom, claims that the sarcastic, self-deprecating, and understatement types of humour that popular in Britain might trace their roots back to the Viking Age, highlighting thus a common cultural heritage between the British and the Scandinavians. According to him, it was ultimately the Norsemen that brought sarcastic humour…
The Northumbrian dialect is an extinct dialect of the English language. During the early Middle Ages it was a dialect of Old English that was spoken in the former Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria (currently divided between northern England and southern Scotland). During the late part of the 8th century, the Northumbrian dialect came in contact with…
Æthelstan is one of the main characters in the Irish-Canadian TV series ‘Vikings’. Of all of the main characters (i.e. Rollo, Ragnar Lothbrok, or Lagertha), Æthelstan might be the most inaccurately portrayed from the historical point of view. While in the show he is depicted as a monk at the monastery of Lindisfarne when the…
Nottingham Castle was built on the site of a promontory known as the ‘Castle Rock’ in 1067 by William the Conqueror. Ever since, the fortress has been increasingly known as one of the most important medieval landmarks in England. Although some sources claim that it was built by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest…
