Author Archives: ruarigh

About ruarigh

Historical consultant, archaeologist and peripatetic berserkerologist. My PhD was a cognitive analysis and textual archaeology of the Old Norse berserkr in popular culture from the early medieval period to the present day.

The rewards of teaching about #Vikings

Posted on November 16, 2014 by ruarigh

I ran a small workshop for Year 5 at Burford Primary School in Nottingham a week ago and found it very rewarding. The reward of which I write is not the beer they gave me as thanks for my efforts … Continue reading →

Posted in Blatant Self-Promotion, Vikings, Workshop | Tagged , | 1 Comment

#Berserker: Hell’s Warrior – A #movie review

Posted on October 16, 2014 by ruarigh

Not my movie review, I should add. When I came across this movie review for Berserker: Hell’s Warrior, I realised how deeply it cut to the core of the movie and realised that I had not reviewed it yet. I … Continue reading →

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Did #Viking berserkers go #berserk?

Posted on September 1, 2014 by ruarigh

This is a slightly modified and shortened extract from a paper I gave at the Unlocking the Vikings 2014 conference. One question I am almost invariably asked when I mention my thesis topic to people is, “How did berserkers go … Continue reading →

Posted in Berserkir, Vikings | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Movie Monday: The Viking (1928)

Posted on August 22, 2014 by ruarigh

Originally posted on The Gonzo History Project:
? This week’s film is kind of an oddity. It’s silent — one of the last big silent films — but it’s in colour. In fact, just as it was one of the…

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Vikingdom : The Blood Eclipse

Posted on July 19, 2014 by ruarigh

Things I learnt about Vikings from watching this film: Thor dyes his hair. Is he going grey under that terrible red hairdo? And what about those red contact lenses? Thor takes fashion advice from Games Workshop Elves. Check that helmet … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Vikings | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Happy 200th Birthday, Norway.

Posted on May 17, 2014 by ruarigh

Today is the Norwegian Constitution Day (Nasjonaldagen or Grunnlovsdagen). It is a national holiday in Norway and is marked with parades, national dress wearing and flag waving. I remember it being particularly fun back in the eighties when I lived … Continue reading →

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How the Viking got his horns

Posted on April 30, 2014 by ruarigh

Roberta Frank has shown how the ‘traditional’ horned helmet came to be associated with the Vikings. Carl Doepler was the costume designer for Wagner’s first Bayreuth production of Ring des Nibelungen in 1876, and he created a simple horned helmet … Continue reading →

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The Viking Experience by Marjolein Stern and Roderick Dale

Posted on March 13, 2014 by ruarigh

The Viking Experience is a general history of the Vikings by Dr Marjolein Stern and yours truly, and I am excited that it is now available through Amazon. Far be it from me to praise this book overmuch but I am … Continue reading →

Posted in Blatant Self-Promotion, Books, Vikings | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Hammer of the Gods – Some Thoughts

Posted on March 9, 2014 by ruarigh

Hammer of the Gods dir. by Farren Blackburn (Vertigo Films, 2013) The plot Steinar must travel to find the macguffin (his brother) and return to his dying father with it. In doing so he loses his humanity and becomes a … Continue reading →

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Ragnarok: A new beginning

Posted on February 24, 2014 by ruarigh

Out of the leaves of Yggdrasill this blog emerges reborn after the turmoil of last weekend’s fight between the gods and the giants. Well, assuming that anything in Old Norse writings actually stated that Ragnarok would take place on 22nd … Continue reading →

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