May 2, 2016
In this episode Matt and I
discuss the Vikings with Jack Bouchard, a returning guest and
graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh. As we drink three
delicious beers, we discuss the question I asked the students in my
survey class – were the Vikings unusually violent? We look at how
their image changes dramatically after WWII, with less focus on
their military talent and more on their meticulous grooming. We
also discuss their impact on the English language, their presence
in pop culture (Valhalla Rising and The Thirteenth Warrior and
Vikings), our favorite Vikings (including GVSU’s Charles Johnson!),
the sport of knattleikr, the Reykjavik Police Department Instagram
account, and ways to teach Ibn Fadlan. Key sources addressing the
Vikings’ violence relative to their contemporaries are Winroth, The
Age of the Vikings and Bisson, Tormented Voices. Recommendations
are:
Matt – Abu-Lughod, Before European
Hegemony
Dave
– Somerville and McDonald, The Vikings and Their
Age
Jack
– Fitzhugh and Ward, Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga and Wickham,
The Inheritance of Rome