Norse News

A weathered Viking Age runestone carved with interlace along its edges, lit low by firelight at dusk

Viking Bynames: The Brutal Nicknames That Repla...

A Viking byname was a public nickname that did the work a surname does today, and it was rarely kind. Haraldr hárfagri was Harald Fine-Hair. Eiríkr blóðøx was Eirik Blood-Axe....

Viking Bynames: The Brutal Nicknames That Repla...

A Viking byname was a public nickname that did the work a surname does today, and it was rarely kind. Haraldr hárfagri was Harald Fine-Hair. Eiríkr blóðøx was Eirik Blood-Axe....

A Viking Age turf longhouse settlement at dusk above a fjord, firelight glowing in the doorways and smoke rising from the roof vents

Nord Names: The Real Old Norse Behind the Fantasy

Nord names borrow the sound of Old Norse without usually being Old Norse. The consonant clusters, the -ir and -ulf endings and the general weight are right. The specific names...

Nord Names: The Real Old Norse Behind the Fantasy

Nord names borrow the sound of Old Norse without usually being Old Norse. The consonant clusters, the -ir and -ulf endings and the general weight are right. The specific names...

A Norse woman in a woollen apron dress with oval tortoise brooches and amber beads, standing at the door of a turf longhouse above a fjord

Viking Female Names: Real Norse Women's Names a...

Viking women's names were built from the same elements as men's, but they are not interchangeable. Old Norse names carry grammatical gender, and everything attached to them has to agree....

Viking Female Names: Real Norse Women's Names a...

Viking women's names were built from the same elements as men's, but they are not interchangeable. Old Norse names carry grammatical gender, and everything attached to them has to agree....

A Norwegian elkhound and a grey forest cat resting on sheepskins beside the hearth fire inside a Viking longhouse

Norse Names for Dogs and Cats, With Real Meanings

The Norse named their animals, and some of those names survive. Óláfr Tryggvason had a dog called Vígi. Odin kept two wolves, Geri and Freki. Freyja's chariot was pulled by...

Norse Names for Dogs and Cats, With Real Meanings

The Norse named their animals, and some of those names survive. Óláfr Tryggvason had a dog called Vígi. Odin kept two wolves, Geri and Freki. Freyja's chariot was pulled by...

Firelit interior of a Viking longhouse with hand hewn oak posts and woven wool blankets

Viking Last Names: Why the Norse Had No Surnames

Vikings did not have last names. They had a given name and a patronymic, and a patronymic is not a surname. It names your father, not your family, so it...

Viking Last Names: Why the Norse Had No Surnames

Vikings did not have last names. They had a given name and a patronymic, and a patronymic is not a surname. It names your father, not your family, so it...

Viking beer mug on a table

Viking Food and Drink: What the Norse Actually Ate

What did the brave Viking warriors and their families eat in those distant and scarce lands on their journeys? At what time did they have their meals? How did they...

Viking Food and Drink: What the Norse Actually Ate

What did the brave Viking warriors and their families eat in those distant and scarce lands on their journeys? At what time did they have their meals? How did they...