Sun Stone Saga

Two family’s passage from Norway to North America, during the Viking age is the framework of this story. More importantly, how the Vikings may have navigated, what foods they may have eaten, how they may have prayed, and traded form the heart of the story. It based on what might be true, or at least imagined possible. Stories told by the author’s father—and his father—are the basis of this narrative journey.

This volume contains seven papers relating to Norse history and literature. Two cover issues of saga genre, two explore the relationship between sagas and medieval hagiography, and three consider aspects of the Norse settlement in Scotland from an interdisciplinary perspective. With contributions by Svanhildur Oskarsdottir, Phil Cardew, Haki Antonsson, Gareth Williams, Barbara Crawford and Simon Taylor.

Using new archaeological, scientific, and documentary information this book confronts head-on many of the unanswered questions about early exploration and colonization along the shores of the Davis Strait.

The Vikings descended upon Europe at the close of the 8th century, invading the continent’s western seas and river systems, trading, raiding and spreading terror. In the north, they settled Iceland and Greenland and reached North America. In the east, Swedish Varangians established a river road to the Orient. With the collapse of the Viking commercial empire, Sweden and the other Scandinavian countries struggled to survive, their hardships exacerbated by internal strife, foreign domination and the Black Death. This book details the development of Scandinavia—Sweden in particular—from the end of the Ice Age, through a series of prehistoric cultures, the Bronze and Iron ages, to the Viking period and late Middle Ages. Recent research suggests a Swedish origin of the Goths, who helped dismember the Roman Empire, and evidence of Swedish participation in the western Viking expeditions. Special attention is given to Eastern Europe, where Sweden dominated commerce through the conquest of trade towns and the river systems of Russia.

'Olaf's Saga' is an historical novel chronicling one Norse man's life in the late 8th century . The story is told by Jon Loftsson a direct descendent of the protagonist, some four hundred years later to his adopted son Snorri. The tale descibes Olaf's background and his upbringing in the harsh Viking world. Olaf has life changing events thrust upon him and as a result he has to make his way in 'Midgard' - the world of men. As a young Norse man, Olaf sees the first brutal death of a Saxon by one of his kind. He takes part in the early raids on Christian monasteries located at remote sites around Britain; experiencing the joy of success and the despair of failure. The entire text is punctuated with references to the Norse pantheon, with characters at times speaking in their all but forgotten language (translations are provided). There are also many references to Norse technology of the time such as their boats - the drakkar and knarr, their weapons, as well as number systems, time telling and various religious festivals. 'Olaf's Saga' not only paints a full and detailed picture of the Norse World, but also tells an intriguing and spell-binding story."

For over 100 years, people have debated where Vinland is located. This book describes what sagas said, where Vikings landed, what interaction they had with Natives, and what legacy they left Indians and early European colonists. Fred Brown uses 33 years of studying Viking accounts of journeys to America, genetic information, archaeological evidence, Old Norse language remnants, and sailing experience to pinpoint yet another Viking incursion in New England. His detective work to find Vinland is brilliant and masterful. "While you and I play golf, Fred Brown spends his off-hours researching our past. After reading about possible areas visited by the Vikings and descriptions of America in Viking legends, in 1976 Fred ventured out by boat using Viking descriptions and archaeological finds in that theorized area. He investigated documents from English settlers in the 1600s about the light-skinned Indians, metal and smelting use by early Indians, odd linguistic similarities to northwestern Europeans, and a peculiar resistance to tuberculosis among Indians, genetically common to Europeans. He concluded, and is not the only researcher to do so, that the Narragansett and Wampanoag Indians of the region encountered by early English settlers were, in fact, descendants of mixed Indian/Viking populations." -Editor, Diane Holloway, Ph.D. .

Glossary of nicknames and names of weapons: volume 1, pages 449-455.

A comprehensive dictionary of sacred and magical gem lore that draws on the rarest source texts of Antiquity and the Middle Ages • Reveals the healing and magical virtues of familiar gemstones, such as amethyst, emerald, and diamond, as well as the lore surrounding exotic stones such as astrios, a stone celebrated by ancient magicians • Examines bezoars (stones formed in animals’ bodies) and “magnets” that attract materials other than metal • Based on ancient Arabic, Greek, Jewish, and European sources, ranging from the observations of Pliny the Elder to extremely rare texts such as the Picatrix and Damigeron’s Virtue of Stones Our ancestors believed stones were home to sacred beings of power, entities that if properly understood and cultivated could provide people protection from ill fortune, envy, and witchcraft; grant invisibility and other magical powers; improve memory; and heal the sick from a wide variety of diseases. These benefits could be obtained by wearing the stone on a ring, bracelet, or pendant; through massage treatments with the stone; or by reducing the gem into a powder and drinking it mixed with water or wine. Drawing from a wealth of ancient Arabic, Greek, Jewish, and European sources--from the observations of Pliny the Elder to extremely rare texts such as the Picatrix and Damigeron’s Virtue of Stones--Claude Lecouteux provides a synthesis of all known lore for more than 800 stones. He includes such common examples as the emerald, which when engraved with the figure of a harpy holding a lamprey in its claws will banish panic and nightmares, and beryl, which when appropriately carved can summon water spirits or win its owner high renown, as well as more exotic stones such as astrios, a stone celebrated by ancient magicians and whose center glows like a star. Lecouteux also examines bezoars--stones formed in animals’ bodies--as well as “magnets” that attract materials other than iron, such as gold, flesh, cotton, or scorpions. This comprehensive dictionary of sacred and magical gem lore, drawn from the rarest sources of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, represents a one-of-a-kind resource for gem enthusiasts and magical practitioners alike.