Unearthing Scotland's Nordic Troves

Carolingian lidded vessel, part of the trove. - ITV.com

"Found in the Galloway area, of the Dumfries and Galloway region in south-west Scotland in September 2014, the assemblage is believed to be of ninth or tenth century Viking culture. The principal finds in the Viking treasure comprise of a decorative gold bird pin, a silver Carolingian pot, a solid gold ring, and a solid silver cross with gold inlay and enamel decorations, over twenty solid gold and silver ingots and dozens of solid silver arm bands decorated with saltire*-type designs."

Read the full article at Coin Week.

How to build a Viking hut

How one man built a Viking style hut on his property, in six days, with step-by-step instructions. See it at Offgrid Quest.

Groundhog Day More Than A Weather Forecast For This Faith

"Some Pennsylvanians look forward with unusual intensity to Groundhog Day, but not for frivolity in Punxsutawney.
Adherents of Urglaawe, a recently founded religion based in Bristol, regard the day as one of the most important in a calendar crowded with festivals that connect them with natural cycles through practices honored by time, if not by monotheistic creeds that replaced old ways."

The complete article by Gwen Shrift may be read at The Intelligencer.

Fibula, Fabula, Fact - The Viking Age in Finland

"The chapters of Fibula, Fabula, Fact – The Viking Age in Finland are intended to provide essential foundations for approaching the important topic of the Viking Age in Finland. These chapters are oriented to provide introductions to the sources, methods and perspectives of diverse disciplines so that these resources and the history of discourse from which they emerge are accessible to specialists from other fields, specialists from outside Finland, and also to non-specialist readers and students who may be more generally interested in the topic. Rather than detailed case studies of specific aspects of the Viking Age in Finland, the contributors have sought to negotiate definitions of the Viking Age as a historical period in the cultural areas associated with modern-day Finland, and in areas associated with Finns, Karelians and other North Finnic linguistic-cultural groups more generally. Within the incredible diversity of data and disciplines represented here, attention tends to center on the identification of the Viking Age through differentiating it from earlier and later periods, and on contextualizing it geographically in an era long before the construction of modern nations with their fenced and guarded borders. Most significantly, the contributions lay emphasis on contextualizing the Viking Age within the complexities of defining cultural identities in the past through traces of cultural, linguistic or genetic features."

The full preface for this peer reviewed publication from the Finnish Literatue Society of Helsinki, edited by Joonas Ahola and Frog with Clive Tolley, may be read and also downloaded at Academia.edu.

Bárðar saga as a source for reconstruction of pre-Christian religion?

Bárðar saga as a source for reconstruction of pre-Christian religion? from eldahei on Vimeo.

Paper given 1 December 2012 at the 2nd meeting of the Old Norse Folklorist Network, University of Tartu. By Eldar Heide, eldar-heide.net/ A PDF of the last proof of the paper is available at academia.edu.

Urglaawe: Food for Groundhog Day

"Groundhog Day is actually the first day of an observance that we know by a few names: Entschtanning, Uffdredde, or Uffdredding (all of which mean "emergence") in Urglaawe parlance. ... In this post, we will cover the more common food traditions. The full article by Robert L. Schreiwer, which includes a recipe for Seimaage (stuffed hog's maw), may be found at the Urglaawe blog.

Margot Adler dies

Journalist, NPR commentator, and author Margot Adler, best known for her pivotal book on Neopaganism, Drawing Down the Moon, passed away on 28 July at the age of 68. Though she was Wiccan and not Heathen, for many the second edition of her most famous work, in which she included a chapter on Asatru and Odinism, was their first exposure to Northern Tradition. Her obituary in the New York Times may be read here. An elegiac piece by Jason Pitzl-Waters appears at the Wild Hunt.