Author Archives: Jules William Press

1,200-year-old pagan temple to Thor and Odin unearthed in Norway

By Tom Metcalfe The god house (shown here in a digital reconstruction) was strongly built of beams and walls of wood; some lasted for hundreds of years. It included a central tower, patterned on Christian churches seen in lands further south.(Image: © University Museum of Bergen) The remains of a 1,200-year-old pagan temple to the OldContinue reading “1,200-year-old pagan temple to Thor and Odin unearthed in Norway”

For the want of Emma: What if the Vikings had won the Battle of Stamford Bridge?

By Ian Stuart Sharpe For want of a nail, the shoe was lost;For want of the shoe, the horse was lost;For want of the horse, the rider was lost;For want of the rider, the battle was lost;For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost;And all from the want of a horseshoe nail. If you couldContinue reading “For the want of Emma: What if the Vikings had won the Battle of Stamford Bridge?”

Viking Age Iceland: A Story of Contradictions

This is Part 1 of our ongoing series about Viking Age Iceland. For centuries, this island country, unique in Medieval Europe, operated with no king, no great lords, no foreign policy, and no defense forces but which developed legal and judicial systems to limit the violence of bloodfeud and protect the rights of freemen. FarContinue reading “Viking Age Iceland: A Story of Contradictions”