Dear Viking blogger! On Saturday May 9th 4pm we are having a mini-launch of In Search of Vikings, at the Grosvenor Museum, Grosvenor Museum, 27 Grosvenor Street, Chester, CH1 2DD UK. 01244 972197 (or International +44 1244 972197), shortly after a lecture at 2.30 to the Chester Archaeological Society by Dr. David Griffiths. (If you wish to attend the lecture beforehand, please see: http://www.chesterarchaeolsoc.org.uk/lectures.html - there is a nominal fee). There is a re-enactment display planned by the Wirhalh Skip Felag.
Copies of the book will be available for sale at a special low price. It contains contributions from David Griffiths, Steve Harding, Judith Jesch, Christina Lee (in the news recently over the Anglo Saxon "cure" for MRSA), John Quanrud, Paul Cavill, Rob Philpott, Mike McCarthy, Caroline Paterson, Janet Montgomery, Ceilidh Lerwick, Jo Buckberry, Jane Kershaw, Roger White and Turi King (in the news over Richard III's DNA).
If you would like to attend the launch (and also the lecture) please contact Liz Royles at the above telephone number or send an email to steve.harding@nottingham.ac.uk - or just reply to the message below!
Best parking is probably at the Little Roodee CH1 3EQ, 5 minutes walk away. The Grosvenor is also approximately 15-20 minute walk from Chester Rail station, 10 minutes from the Bus station.
In addition, coming up soon are the Wirral-Chester St. Olav’s walks on Sunday 26th July (West Kirby to Neston) and on St. Olav’s Day -Wednesday 29th July (Ellesmere Port to St. Olave’s, Chester – with Viking Chester): - keep an eye out on www.nottingham.ac.uk/-sczsteve where details will be posted shortly.
Best wishes and we looking forward to seeing you at Chester and the following events!.
Synopsis: The Viking Age lasted a little over three centuries, but has left a lasting legacy across Europe. These dynamic warrior-traders from Scandinavia, who fought and interacted with peoples as far apart as North America, Russia, and Central Asia, are some of the most recognizable historical figures in the western world. In the modern imagination they represent ruthlessness, heroism, adventurousness, and a unique prestige embellished by the wondrous tales and poetry of the sagas. Yet the sum of evidence for the Viking presence is far less clear than their reputation implies.
In Search of Vikings presents a collection of papers from experts in a broad range of disciplines, including history, archaeology, genetics, and linguistics, to provide a detailed understanding of the Vikings in peace and in war. This book focuses on one particularly exciting area of the Viking world, namely the north-west region of England, where they are known to have settled in large numbers. North-west England was the crossroads between Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, and the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. It was a battleground for distant powers and dynasties, and its Irish Sea coastline created opportunities for trading and settlement. Silver hoards, burials, and Old Norse place-names attest to the Viking presence, and Scandinavian DNA is detectable amongst the modern population. The 12 integrated studies in this book are designed to reinvigorate the search for Vikings in this crucial region and to provide must-reading for anyone interested in Viking history.
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Steve Harding
NCMH Laboratory
University of Nottingham
LE12 5RD
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/-sczsteve
