Languages, Myths and Finds

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,900 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 7 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

While you can download PDF versions of our booklets for free from this website, you may wish to own your own hard copies of these beautifully-produced publications. They are available at £4 each or £15 for the set of 5 from the University of Nottingham’s online shop.

Sarah Weldon is going to row single-handedly around Britain in 2015, ‘retracing the oar strokes of Viking seafarers, warriors, and conquerors, to bring ocean literacy, environmental, and STEM education to life for students worldwide in the 21st century’. For more information on this wonderful project, see The Great British Viking Quest. Sarah came to the Languages, Myths and Finds closing conference ‘Unlocking the Vikings’ back in June. To hear a half-hour interview with Sarah on what she learned at the conference, listen to ‘The Vikings Got a Bad Rap’, or read her blog about it.

An important outcome of the Languages, Myths and Finds project was the recognition of a previously unknown Scandinavian runic inscription by the Cleveland team. Please visit the Cleveland page to find out more.

Check out this storify about the final conference of the Languages, Myths and Finds project.

As the Languages, Myths and Finds project draws to a close, we gather in Nottingham for the final conference. The booklets produced by the five teams will be launched at this conference, but you can also download them here:

Viking Myths and Rituals on the Isle of Man, ed. Leszek Gardeła and Carolyne Larrington

The Vikings in Lewis, ed. Brittany Schorn and Judy Quinn

The Vikings in Munster,ed. Tom Birkett and Christina Lee

The Vikings in Cleveland, ed. Heather O’Donoghue and Pragya Vohra

Viking Age Dublin: Walking Tour and Activity Book, by Rosalind Bonté, Eleanor Jackson, Maria Teresa Ramandi, Elizabeth Ashman Rowe, Rebecca Boyd and Erin Goeres.

The final conference of the Languages, Myths and Finds Project will take place on 28-29 June 2014 at Cavendish Hall, the University of Nottingham.

The conference will mark the conclusion of the cross-institution AHRC Collaborative Skills Development Programme known as Languages, Myths and Finds. This programme brings together graduate students and full-time researchers from across the UK and Ireland to explore the translation of Norse and Viking cultures into the modern day.

The closing conference in Nottingham seeks to foster a similar sense of communal interaction and will be open to all. The conference itself will be free of charge, however you will need to register for it so we have an idea of numbers. Registration information will be posted here shortly. Delegates who wish to attend both days will have the option of paying £25 for dinner, and/or £45 for bed and breakfast on Saturday the 28th June.

For further details, please go to the Results and Conference page

See a brief video of the project on YouTube.

Unlocking the Vikings: Norse and Viking Cultures in the Twenty-first Century

We are pleased to announce a CALL FOR PAPERS for an interdisciplinary conference to be held at the University of Nottingham on 28-29 June 2014.

 The conference will mark the conclusion of the cross-institution AHRC Collaborative Skills Development Programme known as Languages, Myths and Finds. This programme brings together graduate students and full-time researchers from across the UK and Ireland to explore the translation of Norse and Viking cultures into the modern day. Participants will be working with local partners in five communities with Norse heritage: the Isle of Lewis, Cleveland, the Isle of Man, Dublin and Munster (Cork and Waterford). By collaborating with local schools, museums, historical societies and tourist organisations, the scheme aims to inspire greater public engagement with the Viking heritage of various locales.

 Participants will also draw on the work of the British Museum and its upcoming ‘Vikings: Life and Legend’ exhibition as part of their engagement with local communities.

 The closing conference in Nottingham seeks to foster a similar sense of communal interaction and will be open to all. Papers are invited on any aspect of public engagement with Norse and Viking Cultures, and should be disseminated in appealing and accessible forms. Since the conference places emphasis on engagement and accessibility, compelling and interactive papers are actively encouraged. Presentations should not be restricted to academic commentary. We welcome alternative projects including posters, performances and workshops.  Do get in touch with any ideas for other activities that might be pursued.

Papers should be no more than 20 minutes long and are welcome from members of the public as well as students and full-time researchers.

Please send abstracts of 200 words to conference organiser Judith Jesch at judith.jesch@nottingham.ac.uk

Deadline for abstracts: 1 March 2014