Viking costumes on display at the Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger, Norway (Wolfmann/CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Vikings have fascinated people for centuries, but new discoveries have transformed the view of the Viking world. Historian Jennifer Paxton traces how archaeology and modern scientific techniques have revealed that the Vikings were just as good at trading as they were at raiding, though the trade they engaged in—human trafficking—was anything but benign. Learn how the Vikings were pioneers in creating an economic empire that reached from the far western Atlantic Ocean to the markets of Constantinople and Baghdad.
10–11 a.m. The Vikings in the East
Why did Scandinavians suddenly leave their homelands in large numbers to plunder and trade in distant territories? Paxton covers the social and economic forces that drove the Vikings to undertake arduous voyages to the east in search of movable wealth to bring home, in the process founding trading centers that became the nuclei of some of the major cities in eastern Europe today.
11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. The Vikings in the West
The Viking threat to northwestern Europe started in the late 8th century as small but devastating smash-and-grab raids and ended with full-scale invasions led by powerful kings. Follow the story of how the Vikings transformed the maps of England, Ireland, and France, and how archeology and DNA now reveal close links between Vikings in the east and west.
12:15–12:45 p.m. Break
12:45–1:45 p.m. The Vikings in the North Atlantic
Vikings ventured far out into the North Atlantic in search of new land to settle and new trading networks to exploit. Learn about recent research on the Vikings in the New World and the rise and fall of the Viking settlement in Greenland.
2–3 p.m. Viking Women and Society
New discoveries have transformed the view of women’s roles in Viking society. Paxton reveals how archaeology and DNA studies show that women may have taken a more active part in trading, warfare, and settlement than previous scholars believed.
Paxton teaches Irish and British history at the Catholic University of America where she is an associate professor in the department of history and director of the university honors program.
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