Presentations
The Vikings and a Turbulent Anglo-Scandinavian World
Presenter:
On August 14, 2007, Denmark apologized for her part in the ninth-century invasions of Ireland. As far as we know, she has not yet apologized to England. This talk will track the Vikings' impact on medieval England, an impact whose effects are still evident today. We will meet, among others, Ragnar Hairy Breeches, who ended his days in a snake pit; his son, Ivar the Boneless, reputedly nine feet tall; Eric Bloodaxe, the last Viking king of York; Olaf Tryggvason, who rammed Christianity down unwilling Scandinavian throats; Svein Forkbeard, who absorbed England into a Denmark-centered empire; and the last of the great Vikings, Harald Hardrada.
