Lectures have a bad rep. In an academic setting, you’re probably imagining a rather old professor pontificating at the front of a very large room—but these lectures are different! While some have been given at universities and conferences, they also include silly performances with casual, easy-to-understand speech. It helps that most of these were originally written as podcast episodes, so they’re both educational and entertaining. You (probably) won’t fall asleep listening to these. Unless you want to.
I’ve arranged them thematically and chronologically, but please bear in mind that there is actually quite a bit of crossover. I’ve tried to place them in the category most folk would be looking for them in. For that reason, though, I’ve also included general tags for each lecture (i.e., “Material Matters” for anything focused on objects). I want to keep everything on one page, too, for ease of access both now and in the future.
Everything on this website—despite the years of study and mounting fees required to maintain it—is free. That’s hard on an independent scholar like myself, but that’s how education should be: accessible for all. Your optional support can help keep it all alive.
Norse Mythology
Topics include: Eddic mythology, pagan practices (i.e., land-spirits, elf-sacrifice, etc.), and legendary items associated (to varying degrees) with gods or spirits.
Land-Spirits in the Medieval North
2018
Tags: Environmental, Medieval Iceland, Norse Mythology, Saga Literature
Álfablót: Sacrificing to the Elves
2019
Tags: Environmental, Norse Mythology, Saga Literature
Remnants from the Void: Sources for Norse Mythology
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology
Norse Mythology in Eddic Poetry
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology, Poetry
Norse Mythology in Snorri and Saxo’s Salty Prose
2021
Tags: Christianity, Norse Mythology
Norse Mythology in Saga Literature
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology, Saga Literature
Creating the Norse Cosmos
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology
Fortify Thy Heart: Midgard and Asgard
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology
Yggdrasil: The Heart of the Norse Cosmos
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology
The War of the Norse Gods
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology
The Major Gods and Goddesses of the Æsir
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology
The Major Vanir and Other Deities
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology
Giants in Norse Mythology
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology
Dwarves in Norse Mythology
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology
Elves in Norse Mythology
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology
Valkyries
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology, Women’s History
The Norns
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology
Spirits in Norse Mythology
2021
Tags: Norse Mythology
Viking History
Topics include: Vikings (of course), overviews of geography and ethnicities, pre-Viking Age periods, activities aboard, conversion to Christianity, etc.
The Vikings
2021
Tags: Viking History
Northmen, Danes, and Swedes
2021
Tags: Environmental, Viking History
Wends, Balts, and Finnar
2021
Tags: Environmental, Viking History
The Migration Period (c. 400-550 CE)
2021
Tags: Viking History
The Vendel Period (c. 550-750 CE)
2021
Tags: Viking History
The Viking Age (c. 750-1050 CE)
2021
Tags: Viking History
Defining a Viking Raid
2021
Tags: Viking History
Winding Down the Viking Age
2021
Tags: Christianity, Viking History
Norse Society
Topics include: Calendar systems, feuding, gift giving, social roles, women’s history, legal practices, medicine, etc.. Most focus heavily on medieval Iceland, where the majority of written source material comes from.
Unn or Aud? The Saga(s) of a Remarkable Viking Age Woman
2018
Tags: Saga Literature, Viking Age, Women’s History
A ‘Viking’ Gift: A Beautiful Polar Bear for a Norse King
2018
Tags: Material Matters, Medieval Iceland, Saga Literature
What is Feud? Solving Problems with an Axe (ft. Beowulf)
2019
Tags: Beowulf, Medieval Iceland
The Old Norse-Icelandic Calendar
2020
Tags: Astronomy, Environmental, Medieval Iceland
Farmsteads and Agriculture in the Medieval North
2020
Tags: Environmental, Medieval Iceland
Healing in the Medieval North
2020
Tags: Environmental, Healing, Medieval Iceland
Saga Literature
Topics include: medieval Icelandic literature (i.e., Njal’s Saga, Egil’s Saga, etc.), epic poetry (i.e., Beowulf), and thematic collections of stories from various sources.
Legendary Swords in Norse Mythology and Saga Literature
2018
Tags: Material Matters, Norse Mythology, Saga Literature
Njal’s Saga: A Medieval Best-Seller Most People Haven’t Heard of
2019
Tags: Saga Literature, Medieval Iceland
‘Viking’ Love Stories
2019
Tags: Medieval Iceland, Norse Mythology, Saga Literature
Beowulf, Part 1: “Poetically Recreating the Past.”
2020
Tags: Beowulf
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