Research Spotlight: The Vikings and Us

UCC has recently launched NorseMap, a major research project that is inviting you to help map the enduring legacy of the Vikings across Europe, investigating how the Vikings have been remembered, reimagined and reinvented across Europe over the past millennium.

Through the iViking App, now available to download, members of the public are invited to capture and upload photographs of Viking and Norse heritage encountered in everyday life, from souvenirs, sport, books, and artworks to advertising, marketing campaigns and other contemporary uses of Viking imagery and culture.

Professor Tom Birkett, Principal Investigator of NorseMap and Professor in Old English and Old Norse at UCC, said: "The Vikings are everywhere we look in the modern world. They are used to entertain, promote tourism, underpin political movements, support diverse identities and sell products. NorseMap asks how the Viking past is used today, how public understanding of the Vikings has evolved over time, and what that tells us about our politics, culture and European identity.”

"The Vikings are everywhere we look in the modern world."

Through digital mapping and citizen participation, the project asks not only who the Vikings were, but why they still matter. It explores how the Viking past has been remembered, reimagined and sometimes manipulated over the last thousand years, shaping identities, inspiring cultural and political movements across Europe.

Read the full story on ucc.ie