Over a crucial 50-year period c.750-1050 AD, a few boatloads of opportunistic marauders became fleets numbering hundreds of ships, growing to armies of thousands that included both men and women. Price will look at the very first Viking raids and raiders, examine their motives and background, and explore their development in the early ninth century.
Using comparative studies of pirate groups from later times, it will be argued that these first Vikings created a unique form of maritime community, blending violence with political and social ambition. In so doing, they shaped new identities for themselves and left a historical legacy that can still be seen today.
Professor Price is a leading specialist on the Vikings and ancient religion, and has global interests in a wide range of archaeological subjects. He is currently researching Viking burials, historical piracy, World War II in the Pacific, and the opium trade.
Date: Tuesday, 6 March
Venue: Origins Centre
Time: 18:00 for 18:30
Cost: R45/R35 Wits students and staff
Bookings essential:
[email protected]