Viking Christmas List
A Holiday Primer for Vikings
And the Shieldmaidens Who Love Them
Books.
Vikings need books. Most notably, Vikings need to know their Heimskringla
inside and out—the legendary early kings of Sweden and Norway as recorded by
the equally legendary Snorri Sturluson. You’ll also want the Eddas, which come
in two flavors: The Prose
Edda and the Poetic/Elder
Edda, just released in a new translation. That’ll catch you up on the Norse
gods and all that good stuff.
You’re also going to want to stock up on Icelandic Sagas. The best introductory collection for your money is Penguin’s Sagas of the Icelanders: it has Egil’s Saga, Laxdaela Saga, the Greenlanders, Erik the Red, all the classics. You’ll also want the Orkneyinga Saga, Saga of Hrolf Kraki, Islendingabok, and Landnamabok. Little Vikings and their parents will love Leif the Lucky, the world’s most hardcore children’s book. Of course, there are also a lot of modern Viking histories, like these two.
You’re also going to want to stock up on Icelandic Sagas. The best introductory collection for your money is Penguin’s Sagas of the Icelanders: it has Egil’s Saga, Laxdaela Saga, the Greenlanders, Erik the Red, all the classics. You’ll also want the Orkneyinga Saga, Saga of Hrolf Kraki, Islendingabok, and Landnamabok. Little Vikings and their parents will love Leif the Lucky, the world’s most hardcore children’s book. Of course, there are also a lot of modern Viking histories, like these two.
Blades.
Vikings need blades. Axes, knives, you name it. Decorative
axes. Freakishly
functional axes. A Norwegian
philosophy of chopping things with axes. Everyday knives. Germanic facial knives. Saxon
knives.
Beards.
Vikings need beards. Beard Commander
Wonder Balm will help you with a strong and healthy beard. So will Grimfrost of Sweden,
and the Old Familiar Comb Company.
Booze.
Vikings need booze. Vikings especially need medieval
Scandinavian mead, Finnish lakka, Orkney Ale, and Icelandic
Brennivin—you know, for Thorrablot.
What else do Vikings need? Well, they
like wooden pagan idols and wooden Christian churches. Maybe a
nice longship or shieldwall
to defend the Christmas tree. Highly effective woolen hats and related attire are good for
those long Fimbulvinters in Niflheim. And savory salty salmiakki is pretty
great. Oh, and perhaps a nice Julebukk
or his more modern equivalent, Don’t
Cuddle the Krampus. After all, one should always let one’s freak
flag fly. That should get you started, methinks.
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Ah, Penguin paperbacks. Proof that God loves us.
ReplyDeleteI should throw in plugs for the Norwegian American Weekly and Logberg-Heimskringla.
ReplyDeleteAnd there's a story behind that raven banner, because of course there is. You can even see a version of it in the Bayeux Tapestry, reproductions of which can be bought in hardcover.
Hello RDGStout! This is Eric at http://Kingsblade.com and would like to thank you for including us in your list and linking to the Axe of Ragnar from the Vikings TV show. Much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteGreat Post Admin!
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