The Viking Diaspora: a monograph

The early medieval migrations of people, language and culture from mainland Scandinavia to new homes in the British Isles, the North Atlantic, the Baltic and the East, in the period known as the Viking Age, have traditionally been conceptualised as an 'expansion' or 'migration', a straightforward one-way process. This research will explore the ways in which these migrations can instead be interpreted as a form of 'diaspora', a more productive understanding of the migration process which focuses on the connectedness between migrants and both their homelands and other regions within the diaspora. In the case of the Viking diaspora, this connectedness is particularly clearly expressed in language, in naming customs, and in traditional stories and poems, but is also found in aspects of material culture. The aim of the research is to use the concept of diaspora to integrate these linguistic and cultural phenomena with the most recent results from the molecular sciences, particularly genetics (modern and ancient DNA) and stable isotope analysis, and scientifica and environmental archaeology, all of which are used to track the historical movements of people of Scandinavian origin around the globe.

Most general surveys of the Viking Age and its aftermath are written from an archaeological or broadly historical point of view. A notable feature of the proposed research is its foregrounding of the medieval Icelandic sagas, traditionally viewed as, at best, an unreliable source for the Viking Age. Yet when the period is seen in terms of diaspora, then the position of Iceland and the Icelanders within this diaspora becomes crucial. Geographically peripheral yet culturally central, Iceland illustrates the complex give-and-take between the homelands and the colonies that is characteristic of diaspora. Thus the sagas, and other Old Icelandic texts, both exemplify and explain the Viking diaspora, alongside the archaeological and historical evidence more commonly used to study the period.

Diaspora is primarily about people, but it is also about people in new contexts and particularly new landscapes. A second distinctive feature of this research will be its focus on the geography of the Viking diaspora, and the interesting ways in which the linguistic and cultural unity of this diaspora transcended its wide geographical range and varied landscapes, an aspect that is inevitably given short shrift in the historical/archaeological treatments. The research will, for instance, explore in some detail the ways in which the place-names of the diaspora express this unity while also responding to this variety.

The interdisciplinary study of gender, family, religion and identities is more firmly established, but my research will go further than previous studies in integrating results from the latest scientific research (especially genetics and isotope analysis), and current archaeological thinking, into the analysis.

What is new in this research is the dialogue of the interdisciplinary study of the Viking Age with theories of migration and diaspora. Such theories have been little applied in Viking Age studies; conversely, the migrations of the Viking Age, with their great impact on human history, have rarely been considered by theorists of migration and diaspora. The contribution of the research will thus be to bring new approaches and understandings to Viking Studies and to highlight the Viking Age as an illuminating case study for the development of theories of migration and diaspora.

Who will benefit from this research?

In addition to the academic beneficiaries listed separately, I anticipate that my book will be of great interest to that substantial segment of the general population, both in the UK and around the world, who is interested in all things Viking. I know from the emails I get and other contacts I have made, that some of my publications, and notably Women in the Viking Age (1991), are read around the world by secondary school pupils, teachers in both primary and secondary schools, historical novelists, poets and re-enactors.

While much of this audience will find its own way to the research as represented in the monograph, I will also seek out audiences who may not have thought of reading the book, or may indeed not wish or be able to read the book. Thus, I will particularly seek to disseminate the results of the research in local schools doing Vikings at Key Stage 2, as outlined in the Pathways to Impact document. I will also continue to provide summary versions of my research to interested adults at the Midlands Viking Symposium, and other local historical and archaeological fora. In my experience, the audiences at such events enjoy listening to lectures but are less likely to read books.

I have excellent contacts with museum and heritage professionals in both the UK and Scandinavia, and anticipate that they will also benefit from this research as they revise their displays and educational programmes.


How will they benefit from this research?

I believe very strongly that it is possible to combine the introduction of new ideas and approaches with sound scholarship based on a range of evidence, and to present it all in a form that is both engaging and clearly written. Thus, both the monograph and other dissemination activities will help to counteract many of the preconceptions and prejudices that the general public have about 'Vikings' by presenting current and accurate research in a palatable form. (For examples of misconceptions about Vikings, simply look at the viewers' comments on the TV channels' websites after any programme about the Vikings).

Teachers, historical novelists and re-enactors will be able to incorporate the results of the research in their professional or leisure activities.

An early example of the impact of my idea of 'the Viking diaspora' was when this phrase was used as the main theme of a new display opened at the Jorvik Viking Centre in York in 2007, based on material written by myself and a colleague. A book-length account of the phenomenon will have even wider impact among heritage professionals.