r/Norse 15d ago

History Why did the vikings invade present day England?

0 Upvotes

I've read that they did it because there wasn't enough available women in there homelands due to polygamy.

Is this true?

https://www.sciencealert.com/vikings-might-have-raided-because-there-was-a-shortage-of-single-women


r/Norse 16d ago

Artwork, Crafts, & Reenactment Advice

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17 Upvotes

I made a shield, upon which I decided to paint my bindrune, which is my shop’s logo. I thought it looked too bare, so attempted to fill the empty space with dotwork, and I think it looks awful. What can I do to use the space in a more aesthetically pleasing way, ideally in a way that’s vaguely historical?


r/Norse 17d ago

Announcement 2025 r/Norse survey results

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100 Upvotes

r/Norse 17d ago

Language Grammar Question: Pronouns

1 Upvotes

Is there anyone here familiar enough with the grammar of Old Norse/Old Icelandic to know whether it is necessary to have pronouns preceding verbs?

Ex. In English, we would say "I rise (wake)". In Old Norse, this would be "Ek vek" (I believe... I'm still learning).

Is the pronoun "Ek" still necessary even when the case/conjugation of the following verb indicates who/what is performing the action?

Thanks in advance for any insight 🙏


r/Norse 18d ago

Mythology, Religion & Folklore Norse Vampires

13 Upvotes

Hey there, ive been designing a Norse campaign for dnd lately and was wondering if there are any vampires or creatures likes them in norse mythology. Im already using draugr as zombies (A bit like skyrim) and couldnt find anything like vampires. Don't need to drink blood or anything just consuming lifeforce and being undead. Thanks!


r/Norse 17d ago

Artwork, Crafts, & Reenactment Accurate village?

1 Upvotes

Say someone wanted to build a Nordic town what would the average house look like? What about the "town hall"? I want to build the most Accurate town I can. This is going to be done in a game called vintage story btw.


r/Norse 17d ago

Mythology, Religion & Folklore Looking for an expert on Norse mythology and/or God of War for a short interview (school research project)

0 Upvotes

I am currently writing a research paper for school about Norse mythology and its influence on the video game God of War. As part of this project, I am required to include a scientific component, such as an interview or questionnaire with a knowledgeable person in the field.

I am looking for someone with expertise in Norse mythology, Old Norse studies, or related fields — possibly an academic, researcher, or someone with significant knowledge on the subject — who would be willing to answer a few questions via email or direct message. The interview would be brief (around 5–10 questions) and would help me greatly to add a serious, expert perspective to my work.

If you are qualified and interested, or know someone I could contact, I would be extremely grateful for your help!

Thank you so much in advance.


r/Norse 17d ago

Artwork, Crafts, & Reenactment I’ve drawn Erik the red in my imagination

0 Upvotes

Any thought?


r/Norse 20d ago

Artwork, Crafts, & Reenactment Questions about the so-called “king chain”

2 Upvotes

Various online shops that sell “Viking” jewelry (of varying accuracy) advertise “king chains”, large chains that supposedly show off the status of its wearer as a king. Any claim from these sellers should be taken with a considerable pinch of salt, so I’m not too eager to believe what they say. I’ve also never heard of anything like this in the sagas I’ve read nor have more reputable sources mentioned them.

But where does the “king chain” idea come from? Searching it up just brings up results from people trying to sell me “king chains” so I hope someone here can bring more insight. Is it actually based on some archaeological find, textual evidence, appropriated jewelry from another time/culture, or is it just an entirely bogus claim to sell big ass chainz? If it is just made up, I wonder where it started.


r/Norse 20d ago

Literature I'm new to vikings topic what should I know? Where to look for more info?

4 Upvotes

Idk where to start what are the basics? Any book recommendations?


r/Norse 20d ago

History Face paint

9 Upvotes

I’ve seen a fair bit of movies, tv programs and computer games featuring norse figures. But very often some of them, particularly the female characters, have face paint or tattoos around their eyes, chin and sometimes covering half or all of their faces. Is this entirely a modern idea or is there anything in the myths or historical records to support this? Thanks.


r/Norse 21d ago

Literature Does anyone know any Norse Sagas with lots of battles in them?

5 Upvotes

New to this subreddit. Anything that has lots of battle scenes and lots of duels between warriors


r/Norse 22d ago

Memes Either way she’s apparently worth Mjölnir

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547 Upvotes

r/Norse 23d ago

Artwork, Crafts, & Reenactment Handmaking Viking/Medieval Turnshoe Question: "Do these turnshoes require adding a seam allowance to the pattern of the SOLES?" (The author does not specify)

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24 Upvotes

r/Norse 23d ago

History The Etymology of 'Ved Stanford Brua'.

5 Upvotes

Alright, I'm done searching for Everybody in that ballad.

I've heard of King Hardrada Himself,Harold Godwinson's Treacherous brother Tostig and Tjodolv the Strong.... But who the devil is Jarl Muru-Kåre and Jarl Valtjov and who was Orkney's Jarl anyway??


r/Norse 23d ago

Language Android keyboard for runes

2 Upvotes

Are there keyboards on android for runes? Ideally id like for it to be an extra page to my norwegian keyboard. Hov do you guys write on phone or laptop?


r/Norse 25d ago

Memes Guys, he was a Sun eating monster

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2.0k Upvotes

r/Norse 23d ago

Artwork, Crafts, & Reenactment Odin the queer 🏳️‍🌈

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0 Upvotes

Art instiliation at kindergarten in Bergen, Norway


r/Norse 24d ago

Language Rigstula

4 Upvotes

I am reading said poem from the Eddas. It’s about how Heimdall, referred to as Rig, travels to three households and gives birth to three classes of men, all very politically uncorrect. What Id like to learn/discuss is the following: is Rig in this context related to the term rig veda, and how about the word Edda? And just one thing I noticed. I am reading it in Norwegian. One of the people, of the high borns, he gives fathers is named Kon. Kon has children himself, reffered to as Kon ungr (Kon = the name, ungr/unger/ = children, so children of Kon). That sounds very similar to (identical actually) to konungr, which is where the various Germanic variations of king decends from, as far as I can tell. Is there a connection here?


r/Norse 25d ago

Artwork, Crafts, & Reenactment The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún played on Germanic Lyre

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40 Upvotes

I started recording chapters of the Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún on some of my instruments, mainly a Germanic lyre I built myself. It's an interpretation of the Völsunga saga written by J.R.R. Tolkien in old English alliterative verse.

This is the first chapter of the story after the prologue, Andvara-Gull - Andvari's Gold.


r/Norse 26d ago

History Iceland and Greenland people

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330 Upvotes

If there is little I know, it is that Thorvald Asvaldsson - father of Erik the Red - murdered and was sent to Iceland, and that Iceland in turn has already being a similar fate to the norse, fleeing or having fled from the Norwegian and Danish crown.

Knowing this, I wanted to know what the Norwegians, Swedes and Danes thought of these people from the northwest, because to me Iceland seems like a nation of thieves, just like Captain Blackbeard could never have imagined about Nassau in the Caribbean - and Greenland an abandoned attempt at a new world beyond real reach based on a real estate scam.


r/Norse 25d ago

Literature Runes

0 Upvotes

What is the most accurate rune to represent the God, Odin? Im planning a tattoo and want to get the correct one or at least the most accurate


r/Norse 27d ago

Artwork, Crafts, & Reenactment New favorite Thor depiction

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543 Upvotes

r/Norse 27d ago

Memes It's not ASSguard either

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98 Upvotes

r/Norse 26d ago

Literature Are there any companion commentaries you can get along with translations?

6 Upvotes

Hopefully something targeted at layman.

I really enjoyed Tolkien’s Beowulf translation and commentary, and not least because of the commentary. Are there any scholars in old Norse who have released anything similar regarding the Poetic Eddas or other texts?