Vikingmania! Why We Love the Vikings

The Vikings have continued to capture imaginations in culture, entertainment, identity, and even branding - but what makes them so popular, and why? Viking expert and museum curator Adam Bierstedt (Museum of Danish America) joins us this week to discuss the cultural transmission of the Vikings in history, and how we can continue to tell cool stories about these sea-faring warriors.

Join our discord community!

Support us on patreon! 

Get your copy of Marginal Worlds, a deck of 50 magic items pulled directly from medieval manuscripts, built for any TTRPG system here!

Socials: 

Tumblr

Website

Bluesky

Instagram

Facebook

Citations & References:

Primary Sources (Medieval)

• Ælfric of Eynsham. “Letter to Brother Edward: A Student Edition.” Edited by Mary Clayton, Old English Newsletter , vol. 40, no. 3, Spring 2007, pp. 31-43.
• Ælfric of Eynsham. “Letter to Brother Edward.” Translated by @unsnyttru, Tumblr , 20 Jun. 2015, Link .
• “Eirik the Red’s Saga.” Translated by Keneva Kunz. The Sagas of Icelanders: A Selection , Viking Penguin / Leifur Eiriksson Publishing, 2000, pp. 653-74.
• Huld .  ÍB 383 4to, Landsbókasafn Íslands — Háskólabókasafn, 1860 [manuscript].
• John of Wallingford. “The Chronicles of John Wallingford.” The Church Historians of England , edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, vol. 2.2, London, 1854, pp. 521-64.
• “The Saga of the Greenlanders.” Translated by Keneva Kunz. The Sagas of Icelanders: A Selection , Viking Penguin / Leifur Eiriksson Publishing, 2000, pp. 636-52.
• The Saga of the Volsungs: The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok: Together with the Lay of Kraka. Translated by Margaret Schlauch, American-Scandinavian Foundation, 1930.
• Sturleson, Snorre. The Younger Edda: Also Called Snorre’s Edda, or the Prose Edda . Translated by Rasmus B. Anderson, Chicago, 1879. Link .
• Sturluson, Snorri. Edda . Translated by Anthony Faulkes. Everyman, 1995.

Primary Sources (Modern)

• Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. “The Skeleton in Armour.” Ballads and Other Poems , 2nd ed., Cambridge, 1842, pp. 29-41.
• Die Nibelungen . Directed by Fritz Lang, screenplay by Thea von Harbou and Fritz Lang, Decla-Bioscop, 1924.
• “What's Opera, Doc?” Merrie Melodies , written by Michael Maltese, directed by Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1957.

Secondary Sources

• Jansson, Sven B. F. Runes in Sweden . Gidlunds / Royal Academy of Letters, History, and Antiquities / Central Board of National Antiquities, 1987.
• Langer, Johnni. “Horned, Barbarian, Hero: The Visual Invention of The Viking Through European Art (1824-1851)”. Scandia Journal of Medieval Norse Studies , vol. 1, no. 4, Nov. 2021, pp. 131-80, DOI .
• Lusk, Becky. “Cultural Connections: Lars Kinsarvik and the Development of the National Style.” YouTube , uploaded by Vesterheim Museum, 15 Sept. 2025, Link .
• von Schnurbein, Stefanie. Norse Revival: Transformations of Germanic Neopaganism . Brill, 2016.
• Williams, Henrik. “The Kensington Runestone: Fact and Fiction.” The Swedish-American Historical Quarterly , vol. 63, no. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. 3-22.
• Williams, Henrik. “The Leif Eriksson Statue in Boston and Its Runic Inscription.” Migration, Modernity, and Meaning: Studies of  Sweden and America in Honor of Dag Blanck , edited by Philip J. Anderson et al., Swedish-American Historical Society, 2025, pp. 217-22.
• Williamson, Jonathan. “Did the Myth of Quetzalcoatl Originate with a Norse Trip to Mesoamerica During Medieval Times?” The Viking Herald , 26 Feb. 2024, Link . [Caution: conspiracy theory].

Artifacts / Museum Holdings

• Amalie Materna as Brünnhilde . 1876, Boston Public Library. Digital Commonwealth , Link .
• Antoni, Ib. Vikings in New York Version 1 . 20th century. Antoni Legacy , Link . [Example of viking with lur.]
• The Benty Grange Helmet . Circa 650. Weston Park Museum, Link .
• Browne, Dik. Hagar on the Value of Literacy . 1984. Museum of Danish America, Link .
• Cane Axe (Käppyxa) . Circa 1700. American Swedish Historical Museum, Link .
• Ciumești Helmet . Circa 200 BCE. Photograph by Jona Lendering, Livius, 25 Aug. 2020, Link .
• “Coiful de la Ciumești — Exponatul Lunii Mai [Ciumești Helmet — May Monthly Exhibit].” Muzeul Național de Istorie a României , Link .
• “Ethnological Collection.” Gustavianum Uppsala Universitetsmuseum , 26 May 2025, Link .
• Farnham, Paulding. Viking Punch Bowl . 1893. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Link .
• “The Five Viking Ships — the Skuldelev Ships.” Vikingeskibsmuseet , Link .
• “The Jelling Stone.” Nationalmuseet i København , Link .
• Prakthjälm . Circa 700. Statens Historiska Museer, Link .
• Print [untitled]. Circa 1900. Museum of Danish America, Link .
• Royal Armories. Replica of the Sutton Hoo Helmet. 1973. The British Museum, Link .
• Schioler, Grete. Runer . 1951. Museum of Danish America, Link .
• Smidt, Jes. Carving [untitled]. 1931. Museum of Danish America, Link .
• The Sutton Hoo Helmet . Circa 700. The British Museum, Link .
• Torslundaplåtarna . Circa 550-800. Statens Historiska Museer, Link .

Shout-Out to Other Scholars in this Field:

• Merrill Kaplan
• Zachary Melton
• Verena Höfig
• Stefanie von Schnurbein

Terminology & Spelling for Reference:

• carnyx
• futhark
• galdrastafir
• lur