Gods at the Margins: How European Paganism Survived
By the 14th century Christianity had swept many of Europe’s indigenous religions aside, but not all. At the continent’s peripheries paganism survived and, in some cases, thrived.
Scandinavia
Searching for the Soul of the Beaver
Are beavers beasts or fish? For medieval philosophers, this was an important question with implications for the dining table.
Who was Thorkell the Tall?
A viking mercenary who fought on three sides, who was Thorkell the Tall?
The Wreck of the Vrouw Maria
On 9 October 1771 masterpieces of Dutch art destined for Catherine the Great sank with the Vrouw Maria off the coast of Finland.
Gustav Vasa: The Father of Modern Sweden?
A bloody massacre in Stockholm’s city square set Sweden on a course for independence under the leadership of Gustav I Vasa. A master of the ethos of 16th-century monarchy, his legacy is complicated.
Orkney’s Saga: the Islands between Kingdoms
Is Orkney Scandinavian or Scottish? Having passed from the former to the latter during the Middle Ages, for centuries the Danish Crown sought to take the islands back.
The Finnish Club War
The Cudgel War broke out on 25 November 1596, in Kyrö, South Ostrobothnia.
The Army that Walked on Water
For the Swedish king Charles X Gustav, the freezing winter of 1658 provided a unique opportunity: to march across the ice and create a Scandinavian superkingdom.
Cnut’s Rivals
A new old take on the Danish succession, complete with tales of derring do.
Nansen of the Fram
Scientist and, later, international statesman, Nansen embarked upon his great polar voyage in 1893, writes Michael Langley.