2020 Jorvik Viking Festival is all talk in York next month. Here come the experts

Viking reproduction gold rings at the Jorvik Viking Festival

HORDES of Norse academics will descend on York during the 36th Jorvik Viking Festival, armed with fresh news of the Viking world.

During the February 15 to 23 festival run, lectures and talks will explore the concept of a single common European-wide market enjoyed by the Vikings, the remarkable voyage of replica ship The Viking and the latest discoveries at Trondheim.

The programme of talks has been compiled by Dr Chris Tuckley, head of interpretation for York Archaeological Trust.  “Jorvik Viking Festival is attended by Norse enthusiasts from around the world, from children getting their first taste of Viking culture, to academics who have devoted their lives to learning more about our Scandinavian ancestors,” he says.

“So, alongside the colourful hands-on events and presentations, we always host a series of talks and lectures that are accessible to a wide range of people, from enthusiastic amateur historians to leading names in the worlds of archaeology and research.”

Talks for 2020 include:

  • Home & Away: Fashion and identity in the Viking Age, presented by Dr Gareth Williams, of the British Museum, on February 18 at 7pm at the Jorvik Viking Centre.

This talk will explore how fashion varied across the Viking world, including how it fused with other styles as the Vikings explored the globe.  Tickets cost £25.

Here come the Vikings
  • The Helen Thirza Addyman Lecture by Chris McLees, archaeologist and researcher at Trondheim, a 10th century Viking trading settlement, on February 19 at 7pm at Fountains Lecture Theatre, York St John University. 

 This lecture will present the archaeology of this important place on the northern periphery of the Viking and medieval worlds, including the results of excavations at sites associated with the renowned late-Viking kings Olav Haraldsson (St Olav) and Harald Hardrada. Tickets are £10 for adults, £8 for concessions.

  • Looking for Jet in A Dark Place,  by Sarah Steele, consultant geologist for Whitby Museum, who explores the trade in black jet around the Viking world at the Jorvik Viking Centre on February 20 at 7pm.

The mineral of jet, which requires extreme global warming to form, was traded as far afield as Greenland, yet remains notoriously difficult to identify in the archaeological record.  Attendees will learn how modern technology may soon appreciate fully  the scope of Whitby Jet’s trade during the medieval period.  Tickets cost £25.

All of these events build up to the Richard Hall Symposium, closing the festival on February 23 in the De Grey Lecture Theatre at York St John University.

The theme of that day’s talks will be A Single Market for Goods and Services? , Travel and Trade in the Viking World, with experts including Professor Lesley Abrams, of Oxford University, Dr Gareth Williams, from the British Museum, Dr Jane Kershaw, of the School of Archaeology at Oxford University, and Maria Nørgaard, project leader at Vikinger på Rejse, Denmark. 

For more details on all the talks and presentations at the 2020 Jorvik Viking Festival, visit jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk.