Articles written by DARC folk & friends

Additional information is available through our Projects pages. Some of these links will send you to the author's home website.

Bencard, Mogens (tr. Michaela Gibbion) Viking Age crafts in Ribe - A summary

This article (original in German) goes into some depth about the various finds at Ribe and the crafts performed there.  It was translated by Michaela for us and is posted here with her gracious permission.

Markewitz, Darrell Presenting the Past, 1995

This short article discusses hisotrical interpretation in a public setting. Presented at Forward Into The Past XV in Kitchener, ON.

Markewitz, Darrell Norstead - a physical description of the site , 2000

This short article constists of a physical description of the ground of the 'Norstead' site. This is the location of the major re-encator's activities planned for the summer of 2000. This information was compiled that spring (April / June).

Markewitz, Darrell Knives from the Viking Age, 2007

A brief overview of what is known of norse knives.

Markewitz, Darrell A Mainlander's Guide to Newfoundland and L'Anse aux Meadows (Offsite link) - Darrell Markewitz

If you are planning a trip out to 'the Rock' to visit the L'Anse aux Meaodws NHS, or to take part in any of the special events planned to mark the Viking Millennium - take a look at this guide. Covers travel to and within Newfoundland and provides some information sources. As well there is some personal advise on what the situation in the area is like, and some 'best of' recommendations.

Markewitz, Darrell Aunt Marthas and Damnthings, 2003

This was an older article written for a re-enactor's newsletter. It was the first time I put to paper some particular lessons on evaluating artefacts suggested by years of working at living history museums. I would later formalize these ideas as part of an academic paper.

Markewitz, Darrell Lessons from the Viking Age, 1998

This academic paper was written in early 1998 about various aspects of the Interpretive program developed for L'Anse aux Meadows NHS. Two versions of the same basic paper were created, suited to different audiences. The first version was presented at the 33rd International Medieval Congress at Western Michigan University. The second paper, (the one available here) was given at the 27th Annual Association for Living Historical Farms & Agricultural Museums (ALHFAM) Conference at University of Waterloo. This version deals with more of the practical aspects of the creation and operation of the Viking Encampment program.

Markewitz, Darrell Rough Notes on Iron forging, 1999

Some rough notes on iron, useful information but not organized as an article.

Markewitz, Darrell Forging Norse Trefoil Arrowheads, 2015

A background article with artefact support for a project to forge Viking era trefoil arrowheads.

Peterson, Neil Hnefatafl, an Experimental Reconstruction, 1999

A research paper I wrote for an archaeology class. In desparate need of an update.

Peterson, Neil A Basic Introduction to Tafl, 2001

A 4 page newsletter article in MS Word. You are welcome to re-print this in your newsletter all I ask is that you send me a copy of your newsletter in exchange.

Peterson, Neil A VERY Basic Introduction to Tafl, 2001

A 2 page newsletter article in MSWord. You are welcome to re-print this in your newsletter all I ask is that you send me a copy of your newsletter in exchange.

Peterson, Neil A Concordance to Alcohol in the Sagas, 1998

A collection (still quite incomplete) of references to alcohol in the sagas. Some saga text is included to provide context for each citation.

Peterson, Neil Extending Callmer's Typology, 2009

A very simple article written for a second year archaeology class that provided an excuse to look at a number of new articles I had not yet read. The article provides a background on typologies, especially Callmer's typology. The rest of the article reviews a number of beads not included in Callmer's original work in an effort to fit them within the typology or extend the typology as required.

Peterson, Neil Report on Gotland field school, 2011

A review and summary of my experience at the archaeological fieldschool on Gotland.

Peterson, Neil Stone Beads, 2007

A summary of the types/sizes/materials of beads made from rocks known in the viking world.

Peterson, Neil Types of wood used by Vikings, 1999

This is (another) on-going project. It is a list of the wooden artefacts mentioned in several viking reference books including the object type, wood type (if known) and date of the artefact

Peterson, Neil Viking Era Arrow Heads, 2007

A quick collection of info about some viking era arrow heads. Just enough basics to get me started making some.

Peterson, Neil Viking Era Bead Production, 2007

A look at some of the archaeology supporting bead production in the viking era. This is underlying research for the bead production experiments.

Peterson, Neil Viking Era Beads, 2007

A quick collection of info viking era beads. A look at the number from Callmer's Trade Beads.

Peterson, Neil Viking Pastimes, 2000

A survey of the various pastimes known to the vikings

Peterson, Neil Where did the beer go? Shifting agricultural patterns in Viking Era Greenland, 2013

A paper for another university course reviewing many of the published articles on the environment of the Norse colony in Greenland.

Schweitzer, Richard Norse Music, 2007

A look at the music of the Norse world.

Simpson, Vandy Viking Foods, 2006

A brief look at the types of foods used by the Norse

In 2007 I had the privilidge of attending ML300D "The Vikings" at Wilfrid Laurier University taught by Marc Cels. As a part of that class we are asked to write two reviews of articles, and a major paper. I am attempting to get permission from the other students in the class to publish their papers here.

Henderson, Caitlin A Review of Andersson, Theodore M. "Demythologizing the Tradition: Njáls Saga." In The Growth of Medieval Icelandic Sagas (1180-1280), 183-203. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2006.

Traditionally, Njáls saga is seen as the greatest of the classical sagas. Andersson, however, presents the saga as a reaction to earlier saga-writing; it undermines and "consciously subverts" the conventions of previous authors.

Henderson, Caitlin A Review of Bauman, Richard. "Performance and Honor in 13th-Century Iceland." The Journal of American Folklore 99 (April-June 1986): 131-150.

Bauman's research analyses thirteenth-century Iceland by applying sociological and anthropological thought to Sturlunga saga, finding that honour and verbal art were part of a larger moral system centred on performance.

Henderson, Caitlin Njal's Saga

Njáls saga opens with the betrothal of Hrút to Unn, the daughter of Mord Fiddle, a well-respected chieftain. This marriage is soon split, and when Mord sues for the return of Unn's dowry, Hrút challenges the old man to single combat, illegally shaming the lawyer and retaining Unn's dowry. This sets the tone for the rest of the story, a 159-chapter-long masterpiece in which the law fails every test, eventually resulting in a pitched battle at the Althing.

Hurley, Christena The success of Viking combat techniques

Overview of combat techniques of the vikings.

Hurley, Christena Vikings in Ireland

This paper is a fast overview of a complex subject. Interested readers are encouraged to look further at the Recent archaeological evidence especially from town sites such as Woods Quay in Dublin. A more in depth look should also consider each wave of the Norse (settlement, invasion and mercenary hires) in their individual contexts.

Hurley, Christena A review of John, Eric. "War and Society in the Tenth Century: The Maldon Campaign." Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 5th Ser. 27 (1977): 173-195.

In this article Eric John seeks to place the Battle of Maldon, between the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons, into a greater social context.

Hurley, Christena A review of Siddon, J. Kim. "Sword." In Viking Weapons & Warfare. Charleston: Tempus Publishing Limited Inc., 2000

The goal of this chapter was to inform the reader about Viking swords; to show what swords meant to the Viking people, the styles used, process of their manufacture and what makes a good sword.

Peterson, Neil A review of Halewood C. and Hannam K. "Viking Heritage Tourism - Authenticity and Commodification." Annals of Tourism Research 28.3 (2001): 565-580

A look at two important concepts in Viking Era Tourism as seen in eight european locations between 1997 and 1999.

Peterson, Neil Fife W. "Penetrating Types: Conflating Modernist and Postmodernist Tourism on the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland." Journal of American Folklore 117(464) (2004): 147-167

An interesting view on the presentation styles involved in 2000 at the two sites in Newfoundland. Rather heavy reading but worth wading though.

Stevenson, M. Rhys A review of Marcus, G. J. "The Greenland Trade-Route" The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 7, No. 1. (1954), pp. 71-80

A look at the trade along the north Atlantic during the Viking Era

Stevenson, M. Rhys A review of McGovern, T. H. "The archaeology of the Norse North Atlantic." Annual Reviews of Anthropology 19: 331-51

A good overview article.

Stevenson, M. Rhys The Saga of Ref the Sly: Developing Views of Viking Ships and Shipping

A look at trade and ships from the focus of a single saga.

In 2009 we recieved a followup paper from one of the students in that class who had moved on to Graduate studies.

Hurley, Christena Archaeology and Social Organization

Archaeologists have looked for numerous ways to discern a culture's social organization from the archaeological record. One of the most popular techniques to achieve this, is to study evidence from funerary sites. This approach has been both applauded and criticized by various archaeologists, however, when done with these criticisms in mind, information about social organization can be ascertained. This paper seeks to prove the validity of burial sites as useful information for reconstructing social organization. To illustrate this, a selection of Viking burials from the British Isles will be discussed.