The Viking Age is a perennial subject for many, a period of about three-and-a-half centuries where the fortunes of various countries across northern Europe were forged out of fire, fury, bloodshed, economic growth, expansion, and all that jazz. Or at least, that is how it first seems; a constant ‘ramping up’ of scale and scope from an isolated raid on Lindisfarne in 793 to the final showdown at Stamford Bridge in 1066. This narrative, moving from raiders to invaders to crusaders, is one of the key tenets of modern storytelling about the Viking Age, covering such famous figures like Erik Bloodaxe, Harald Fairhair, Hardrada, Cnut the Great; some real, many not. But it is such famous figures - Viking Age celebrities - that overshadow and obscure some of the more interesting elements of the period. You’ve all likely heard of Mr. Bloodaxe, right? What about Knutr and Sigfrodr of York? Two kings who ruled about fifty years before him and were some of the first to implement Anglo-Scandinavian coinage in the capital. What about Bjorn Ironside and Ivarr the Boneless? Huge names. A-listers of the Viking Age. People will know who they are either through their perceived pseudo-historical impact or their enduring legacy throughout pop culture. But what about their contemporaries and like-minded kin? What about Sitriuc Silkbeard, Rorik of Dorestad, Bjorn of the Broadwickers? Characters large and small from sagas and chronicles, some ripped straight out of fiction and others embroidered into real political narratives of the ninth and tenth centuries. Read moreSection: Ancient WritingsNewsGeneralHistory & ArchaeologyAncient PlacesEuropeAmericasUnexplained PhenomenaWeird FactsHistoryAncient TraditionsFamous PeoplePremiumPreviewRead Later