A mans world: life in the Viking age

PA 84/10 The macho world of the male Viking will be brought to life at an event taking place at The University of Nottingham later this month. The Midlands Viking Symposium 2010, taking place on Saturday April 24, will bring together some of the country's leading experts to present the latest research findings on Viking culture and history. This year's theme Viking Masculinities will focus on what it meant to be a man in the Viking age and the programme of talks will cover some of the most recognisable symbols of Norse culture, including runestones, burial rituals and the passage of warriors into Valhalla. Professor Judith Jesch, Professor of Viking Studies in the School of English Studies at The University of Nottingham, said: "We're all familiar with the Viking stereotype and the theme of the symposium this year is looking at how, as with many stereotypes, there is often a strong grounding in the truth. "Women played an important role in Viking society — after all, every Viking warrior must have had a mother, most had a wife or a sister too. Despite that, in many aspects such as religion and warfare, it was still very much a man's world." Among the highlights of this year's programme will be a lecture by Professor James Graham-Campbell of the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, one of the UK's leading authorities on Viking archaeology. His talk entitled Dead Men Walking will focus on the archaeology of Viking burials, in which warriors were interred with a full set of armour and weaponry to enable them to take their place in Valhalla and fight among the army of the Norse god Odin.