Episode Details

Eleanor Barraclough explores the hidden histories of the Viking Age by focusing on the real lives of Norse individuals through everyday objects rather than modern myths. A primary example is a 1200 AD runic message discovered on a sliver of wood in Bergen, Norway, from a woman named Gytha who writes "Gytha says that you should go home" to her husband while he was drinking in a tavern. While Gytha's message is clear, her husband's attempt at a response on the other side is completely unintelligible, likely due to his inebriated state. These spiky runes were often carved into hard surfaces like wood, stone, or even bone to serve as private, personal communications. Barraclough, who has a background in Old Norse language and literature, derived the title of her book, "Embers of the Hands," from an Old Norse kenning for gold which she repurposed to symbolize precious human stories found in historical ephemera. The Viking Age itself is traditionally marked by the shocking 793 AD raid on the rich monastery at Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, which sent terror-filled shockwaves across Europe. This era is characterized by a vast diaspora reaching from Arctic Scandinavia to the North Atlantic and eastward down Eurasian waterways to the Islamic Caliphate. 1/8
1600 SCANDANAVIA