Blog Recommendation: Trolldom & Hoodoo

Thanks to Aluric for referring me to this blog. Trolldom and Hoodoo has many fascinating articles on the survival of Swedish folk magic and beliefs among immigrants to the U.S., including Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, with emphasis on their parallels with and possible influence on the practice of Hoodoo or "root" in those areas. Many of these beliefs and practices date to pre-Christian times. Article topics include trolls, use of dreambooks (or "Drommebogs"), and use of magical herbs. Some articles are in English, while others are in Swedish. The blog's URL is http://trolldomhoodoo.blogspot.se/

Wikipedia: Rus' Khaganate

Kälvesten Runestone 

"The Rus' Khaganate was a polity that flourished during a poorly documented period in the history of Eastern Europe, roughly the late 8th and early-to-mid-9th centuries AD. A predecessor to the Rurik Dynasty and the Kievan Rus', the Rus' Khaganate was a state, or a cluster of city-states, set up by a people called Rus', who might have been Norsemen in what is today northern Russia. The region's population at that time was composed of Baltic, Slavic, Finnic, Turkic and Norse peoples. The region was also a place of operations for Varangians, eastern Scandinavian adventurers, merchants and pirates."
Read the full Wikipedia article.