Author Archives: Jules William Press

Viking DNA and the pitfalls of genetic ancestry tests

To see Viking articles, click here. By Anna Källén and Daniel Strand A middle-aged white man raises his sword to the skies and roars to the gods. The results of his genetic ancestry test have just arrived in his suburban mailbox. His eyes fill with tears as he learns that he is “0.012% Viking”. TheseContinue reading “Viking DNA and the pitfalls of genetic ancestry tests”

Viking Age Iceland: Ocean Currents Surrounding Iceland

This is Part 14 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. Far out in the North Atlantic, Iceland was where theContinue reading “Viking Age Iceland: Ocean Currents Surrounding Iceland”

Viking Age Iceland: Resources and Subsistence: Life on a Northern Island

This is Part 13 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. Far out in the North Atlantic, Iceland was where theContinue reading “Viking Age Iceland: Resources and Subsistence: Life on a Northern Island”