Asbjørnsen, Peter Christen and Jørgen Moe.
Norwegian Folk Tales. Trans. Pat Shaw Iversen and Carl Norman.
Oslo: Dreyers Forlag, 1960.
Cotterell, Arthur. The Encyclopedia of Mythology. New York: Lorenz
Books, 1999.
Davidson, H.R. Ellis. Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe. Syracuse: Syracuse Univsity Press, 1988.
Derry, T.K. A History of Scandinavia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1979.
DuBois, Thomas A. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age. Philadelphia: University of Philadelphia Press, 1999.
Fitzhugh, William W. and Elisabeth I. Ward ed. Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2000.
Ingulstad, Frid. Troll: The Norwegian Trolls, Its Terrifying Life and History. Oslo: Gyldenal Norsk Forlag, 1993.
Jones, Gwyn. A History of the Vikings. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984.
Kvideland, Reimund and Henning K. Sehmsdorf, eds. Scandinavian
Folk Belief and Legend. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press,
1988.
Lunge-Larsen, Lise. The Troll With No Heart in his Body and Other
Tales of Trolls, from Norway. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,
1999.
Pennick, Nigel. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Runes. Boston: Element Books, Inc, 1999
Roesdahl, Else. The Vikings. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 1998.
Sawyer, Peter. ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Simpson, Jacqueline. Everyday Life in the Viking Age. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1967.
Simpson, Jacqueline. The Northmen Talk: A Choice of Tales from Iceland. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1965.
The Seventh
Seal
Set in the years the Black Death ravaged Europe, The Seventh Seal follows
a Swedish knight as he returns home from the Crusades. During his journey
home, he plays an ongoing game of chess with Death, hoping to win his
own life. At the same time, he and his squire encounter those dealing
with the epidemic around them, struggling to find answers or some scrap
of meaning within the devastation of the disease. Aside from being an
excellent film, The Seventh Seal gives a sense of the events the occurred
around the Shattering in the Changeling world
Pathfinder
One of the few movies in Saami, this film chronicles the attack of a
northern settlement by a violent nomadic group. Whereas most big budget
films have us accustomed to theatric brutality, the violence in this
film is disturbingly realistic. Heroic actions don’t come from
any outside savior, but from ordinary people making sacrifices and pushing
themselves beyond their limits for the survival of the community.
The Vikings
Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis together in a movie from Old Hollywood,
playing half brothers competing for the throne of England. Accurate?
Who cares, sometimes you just need to sit on the couch with a huge bowl
of popcorn and watch a good story.
The 13th Warrior
The movie that made Vikings fashionable again, The 13th Warrior has
all the modern action-adventure elements with enough blood and gore
to keep the average movie-goer happy. It is also fairly accurate in
its “feel” for the period (the biggest exception being the
washing-up scene in the beginning). Apart from the action scenes, it
has its more subtle moments as well, the best one the scene in which
Fahdlan learns Old Norse.
Erik the Viking
In his usual style, a la Baron Munchausen,Terry Jones takes on
the Vikings. A subtle comedy about Erik, who doesn’t quite get
the pillaging and raping bit and who decides to try and do something
more productive, like stopping Ragnarok. When you watch it, pay attention
to what the Christian missionary experiences during their journey. Also,
don’t miss John Cleese as Halfdan the Black.
Either for inspiration or to create a particular mood while playing, music seems integral to many individuals role-play experience. This list consists of a few suggestions, many of which were used while writing this text. All of these artists are on the NorthSide label, which specifically represents Scandinavian artists in the US. You can hear most of this music there, and they have two ‘sampler’ CDs out as well, for a very low price, on which you can hear almost all of their artists.
There are some instruments that are unique to the Scandinavian
countries and give a distinctive sound to the music:
| In Finland it is the kantele, which is similar to a zither or lap dulcimer. |
 |
 |
In Norway it is the Hardanger fiddle, which is very similar to a violin, except that it has 4 to 5 drone strings. |
| In Sweden it is the nyckelharpa, or Swedish keyed fiddle. Appearing to be a long and thin violin, it is worn like a guitar over the shoulder and then played with a bow. Like the Hardanger fiddle, it also has drone strings. |  |
Annbjørg Lien
Lien plays the Hardanger fiddle, but don’t expect either American
or Celtic fiddle music from this unique instrument.
Garmarna
A Swedish group with 1 woman and 4 men, this is one of the more striking
and unusual sounds you can hear these days. They often re-work traditional
lyrics and music, producing a dark tone to often violent or dismal lyrics.
Hedningarna
Hedningarna consists of two Finns and two Swedes who sing in both languages,
they move between the darker sounds of Garmarna and a more celebratory
sound. Their songs come with translations most of the time, take the
time to read them, you’ll enjoy them even more.
Olov Johansson
Johansson is the nyckelharpa player from Väsen. His solo work has
a much more traditional sound and is excellent.
Ranarim
Another Swedish group, 2 women singing with 2 men playing guitar and
nyckelharpa. A much lighter feel than Garmarna, they also use traditional
pieces for inspiration.
Väsen
An instrumental group and a personal favorite, which happens to be very
addictive.
Wimme
Wimme Saari sings in the yoik style, which almost everyone at first
takes to be Native American, but is Saami. He has taken this style in
a very different direction however, and anyone who likes ambient music
will enjoy his work.
There are many internet sites devoted to the Vikings or Norse culture. To say that they vary widely in quality is something of an understatement. Many just do not have any relation at all to reality, so when searching for information on the internet, have a large grain of salt handy. A few very good links have been selected for this section.
The Viking Answer Lady
http://www.vikinganswerlady.org/
Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga
http://www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/index.html
The Rus Project
http://www.qnet.fi/rus-project/
Jorvik Viking Center
http://www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/
© 1999 White Wolf Publishing, Inc.
No challenge to their copyright is intended with this page. See Author's
Note for details.