In An Arena for Higher Powers Olof Sundqvist investigates ceremonial buildings and religious ruler strategies in Late Iron Age Scandinavia (i.e. AD 550-1050/1100). The author offers here an account of the role played by religion in political undertakings among the pre-Christian ruling elites at halls and cultic buildings. Sundqvist applies a regional approach, so as to be able to account for the specific historical, cultural and social contexts. The focus is mainly on three regions, the Lake Mälaren area in Sweden, Trøndelag in Norway, and Iceland. Since the political structure and other contextual aspects partly differed in the three regions, the religious strategies for gaining legitimacy and authorization at the sanctuaries also varied to some extent in these areas.

The End of the World in Scandinavian Mythology is a detailed study of the Scandinavian myth on the end of the world, the Ragnarök, and its comparative background. The Old Norse texts on Ragnarök, in the first place the 'Prophecy of the Seeress' and the Prose Edda of the Icelander Snorri Sturluson, are well known and much discussed. However, Anders Hultgård suggests that it is worthwhile to reconsider the Ragnarök myth and shed new light on it using new comparative evidence, and presenting texts in translation that otherwise are available only to specialists. The intricate question of Christian influence on Ragnarök is addressed in detail, with the author arriving at the conclusion of an independent pre-Christian myth with the closest analogies in ancient Iran. People in modern society are concerned with the future of our world, and we can see these same fears and hopes expressed in many ancient religions, transformed into myths of the future including both cosmic destruction and cosmic renewal. The Ragnarök myth can be said to be the classical instance of such myths, making it more relevant today than ever before.

Old Norse literature abounds with descriptions of magic acts that allow ritual specialists of various kinds to manipulate the world around them, see into the future or the distant past, change weather conditions, influence the outcomes of battles, and more. While magic practitioners are known under myriad terms, the most iconic of them is the völva. As the central figure of the famous mythological poem Völuspá (The Prophecy of the Völva), the völva commands both respect and fear. In non-mythological texts similar women are portrayed as crucial albeit somewhat peculiar members of society. Always veiled in mystery, the völur and their kind have captured the academic and popular imagination for centuries. Bringing together scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds, this volume aims to provide new insights into the reality of magic and its agents in the Viking world, beyond the pages of medieval texts. It explores new trajectories for the study of past mentalities, beliefs, and rituals as well as the tools employed in these practices and the individuals who wielded them. In doing so, the volume engages with several topical issues of Viking Age research, including the complex entanglements of mind and materiality, the cultural attitudes to animals and the natural world, and the cultural constructions of gender and sexuality. By addressing these complex themes, it offers a nuanced image of the völva and related magic workers in their cultural context. The volume is intended for a broad, diverse, and international audience, including experts in the field of Viking and Old Norse studies but also various non-professional history enthusiasts. The Norse Sorceress: Mind and Materiality in the Viking World is a key output of the project Tanken bag Tingene (Thoughts behind Things) conducted at the National Museum of Denmark from 2020 to 2023 and funded by the Krogager Foundation.

The Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, Germanic tribes, Goths, and other Germanic-speaking tribes are renowned today in myth, legend, and popular culture. But how did they live? What did they wear? How did they worship? What did they eat? And how did their traditional ways of life reflect their spiritual beliefs? Heathen Garb and Gear takes you on a tour of the world that our forebears knew. More importantly, it shows you how their ways of dressing and living-from weaving woolen cloth and cooking food, to making music and taking steam baths-are reflected in the myths and traditions that have come down to us. Anyone who's ever wanted to wear Viking clothing, or serve authentic Viking feasts, will find plenty of practical tips here. But even if you're not interested in re-enacting the old ways, you'll find much vital information and inspiration for the practice of Heathenry as a living religious tradition.

Kapor argues that explanations of international relations in Asia in the post-Second World War period have relied too much on the Cold War as a key explanatory factor, and have not given enough emphasis to the useful concepts of 'regional power formation', 'conflict formation' and 'conflict resolution'. The author outlines these concepts and goes on to elaborate on them, and to apply them to three key Asian regions - northeast, southeast, and south Asia - discussing practical strategic issues in an historical perspective and arguing that these concepts, and other concepts which he discusses, are extremely helpful in making sense of the complex pattern of international relations in Asia.

Electrical Engineering High-Power Microwave Sources and Technologies A volume in the IEEE Press Series on RF and Microwave Technology Roger D. Pollard and Richard Booton, Series Editors Written by a prolific group of leading researchers, High-Power Microwave Sources and Technologies focuses primarily on the high-power microwave (HPM) technology most appropriate for military applications. It highlights the advances achieved from 1995 to 2000 as the result of a US Department of Defense (DoD) funded, $15 million Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program. The grant created a synergy between researchers in the DoD laboratories and the academic community, and established links with the microwave vacuum electronics industry, which has led to unprecedented collaborations that transcend laboratory and disciplinary boundaries. This essential reference provides the history, state-of-the-art, and possible future of HPM source research and technologies. The first alternative to the multiplicity of detailed applications-based HPM books and journal articles, this book familiarizes the reader with recent advances in this rapidly changing field. It presents a compendium of valuable information on HPM sources, representing significant enabling technologies, including beam and rf control, cathodes, windows, and computational techniques. The era of utilizing computational techniques to electronically design an HPM source prior to actually building the hardware has arrived. Gain insight into proven techniques and solutions that will enhance your source design. High-Power Microwave Sources and Technologies is an invaluable resource to researchers active in the field, faculty, graduate and post-graduate students. Special Note: All royalties realized from the sale of this book will fund the future research and publications activities of graduate students in the HPM field.

Adam of Bremen’s Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum is one of the most important accounts documenting the history, geography and ethnology of Northern and Central-Eastern Europe in the period between the ninth and eleventh centuries. Its author, a canon of the archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen, remains an almost anonymous figure but his text is an essential source for the study of the early medieval Baltic. However, despite its undisputed status, past scholarship has tended to treat Adam of Bremen’s account as, on the one hand, an historically accurate document, or, alternatively, a literary artefact containing few, if any, reliable historical facts. The studies collected in this volume investigate the origins and context of the Gesta and will enable researchers to better understand and evaluate the historical veracity of the text.

This collection presents fresh evidence and new perspectives on the diverse ways in which women created and interacted with cultures of song between c. 600 and c. 1500.

All our lives, we are told tales of heroes; heroes from far-off lands battling mystical creatures and braving unknown perils. They face the odds at whatever cost to rescue the beautiful princess. We are told of villains so dark and powerful that the last of our hope is placed in the hands of the gods. But on the world called Hajun, the fairytale doesn't have a happy ending. But then, with the vast universe itself being threatened; how many heroes are there that really could bring a happily ever?

Franks and Northmen explores the full spectrum of Franco-Scandinavian interaction, examining not just violence but also less well-known relationships centered on acts of diplomacy, commerce, and mission and demonstrating the transformative nature of cross-cultural encounter during the Viking Age. In the year 777, the Frankish sources mention the Northmen, better known to most as the Vikings, for the first time. By the tenth century these Northmen, once a mysterious people on the borders of the Carolingian Empire, would be a familiar presence in the Frankish world. As raiders and pillagers, the Vikings would fill the pages of Frankish authors, leaving a legacy that continues to fascinate even to the twenty-first century. But a closer look at sources, both textual and material, reveals that the relationships between Franks and Northmen were far more complex and multifaceted than a rigid focus on Viking violence might suggest. Merchants carried goods across the North Sea, missionaries encouraged new ways of understanding the world, and Franks and Northmen formed relationships and bonds even amidst conflict and violence. This study is a useful resource for both students and specialists of central and northern Europe in the early medieval period.