A selection of gaming pieces on display in the Museum of Cultural History, Oslo. These pieces were probably used for hnefatafl. The photographs include some dice that would have been used for various dice games.
1988 LP album Kramgoa Låtar 16 [Lit. 'Cuddly Tracks 16'] seen in second-hand shop, Frederikshavn, Denmark 2016. Artists: Vikingarna. Swedish dance band formed 1958, dissolved 2004, comeback 2016. (Different members along the way.) 11 million records…
Participants at Tønsberg Viking Festival were invited to learn the art of Viking wrestling. This is a recreation, although we know very little about how Vikings went about formal wrestling contests.
A hnefatafl set at the Tønsberg Viking Festival. Although the board has been printed, the pieces are just stones that have been found. Hnefatafl could be very easily played in this way, by scratching a board onto a convenient flat surface and using…
"Royal Danish Theatre and Moesgaard Museum, Aarhus 2017 will present Red Serpent – a spectacular outdoor performance of a captivating tale of a hero from the Viking Age. The show is one of four MEGA events in the Capital of Culture year and will be…
”Are you a Viking? Be an extra in MoMu’s ’Red Serpent’ spectatular.”
Article in Danish regional newspaper Århus Stiftstidende (26/9/16) about Moesgaard Museum’s call for extras for a performance based on Frans G. Bengtsson’s novel…
Part of a wooden gaming board for playing tafl. One piece is displayed on it to indicate its function. In the foreground is the remains of a cup and a wooden dish.
The Lewis chessmen were found in 1831 at Uig on Lewis in the Hebrides. They were probably made in Trondheim, Norway in the late 12th or early 13th century. They are on display at the National Museum of Scotland
Iron Tides is a Viking-based game combining survival, tactics and resource management. Players command a band of Vikings sailing through stormy seas in search of battle, loot and glory. The loot is then used to upgrade the players' home town, so that…
Gordarike in Hallingdal has traces of Viking Age and medieval history. You can visit Gol stave church, King Hadding's grave mound and learn about the Vikings here.
In the first episode of our new video series, we play 'Vikings', a tile-placement strategy game designed by Michael Kiesling in 2007, in which Dr. Rory Naismith and Dr. Kate Wiles dispel the myth of horned Norsemen and uncover the secrets of buried…
Horse-fights are depicted in the Icelandic sagas as a form of entertainment. This article examines how horse-fights were conducted and what their cultural significance was.
In "Średniowiecze Polski i Powszechne" 5 (9), Katowice 2014, pp. 17-32
This contribution explores an aspect of boat burials in the second half of the first millennium ad across Northern Europe, specifically boat burials that included equipment for board games (surviving variously as boards and playing pieces, playing…