Clik here to view.
Danish Castle Road Trip
I spent last week in Denmark at a friendly, informative and rather unusual conference. The thirteenth Castella Maris Baltici conference (“castles of the Baltic Sea”) was a moveable feast. In five days...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hagbard’s Scaffold
Sweden’s bedrock has been entirely abraded by the inland ice. It sanded down the country like a big wood planer, leaving smooth lovely outcrops known as hällar all over the place. This is the main...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Metal Detectorist Tattoo #2
Two strap ends from the eponymous Borre ship grave. Image from Oluf Rygh’s 1885 Norske Oldsager. Metal detectorist Steffen Hansen has kindly given me permission to show you his tattoo sleeve. He found...
View ArticleMy Relativism
Like Romanticism, Post-Modernism is a poorly defined term that means different things in different contexts. But in academe, pomo can pretty much be equated with relativism. This term also means...
View ArticleBoardgaming Retreat
This past weekend saw my seventh annual boardgaming retreat: 43 hours in good company at a small hotel (in Nynäshamn for the first time), all meals included. My buddy Oscar organises everything. This...
View ArticleClik here to view.
July Pieces Of My Mind #3
“Ways of knowing” = alternative facts. I am on a WorldCon panel about the Medieval mind and fantasy literature. I just had the (unoriginal) idea to say that the High and Late Medieval aristocracy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
August Pieces Of My Mind #1
Reading Matt Ruff’s new novel about black Americans in the 50s. Annoyed to find that nothing in the dialogue would sound out of place if spoken by a white American sci-fi fan in 2017. Feared 45 would...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ceci Est Une Pipe
To help people understand that this is a coffee cup, we have decided to decorate it with instructive pictures of coffee cups. As my buddy Marcus Widengren commented, “Now they only have to add the...
View ArticleFornvännen’s Winter Issue On-Line
Fornvännen 2013:4 is now on-line on Open Access. Ulf Ragnesten on an ornate late-1st millenium BC bronze chain belt from a cremation grave in a Gothenburg suburb. Lars Larsson and Bengt Söderberg on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fornvännen’s Autumn Issue On-line
The Archangel Raphael. Recently uncovered mural in Kil church, Närke. C. 1250. Today’s my 16th anniversary as editor of Fornvännen! Issue 2014:3 is now on-line on Open Access. Ole Thirup Kastholm on...
View Article