The History of the Viking Congress

The history of the Viking Congress goes back to 1946 when the idea was conceived by Robert Bruce, when he was Area Officer in Aberdeen of the British Council. It was pursued by his successor Mr. A. C. Davis. The working title for the first congress was Scoto-Scandinavian Conference, which was changed to the Viking Congress at the suggestion of Eric Linklater.

The first Viking Congress was held at Lerwick, Shetland as a joint effort by the British Council and the University of Aberdeen.

The Viking Congresses are multinational, interdisciplinary conferences within Viking Age studies. Viking Congresses have been held on a three- to four-year basis since 1950, by turns in Scandinavia and the Britain/Ireland. The objective of the conferences is to create a common forum for the most current research and theories within Viking Age studies, and to enhance communication and collaboration between leading scholars within the field, crossing geographical and disciplinary borders. The main disciplines are archaeology, history, numismatics, philology, name-studies and runology. The official language of the conference is English (also Welsh for 2021).

Besides the academic emphasis an important part of the conference has always been to introduce the participants to the hosting country and its culture. Therefore, excursions to museums and significant cultural sites have played an important role.

The logo of the Viking Congress

…was adopted at the fifth congress in the Faroes. Known in the Faroes as a held (Icelandic: högld), it is a ring made of a locked loop of ram’s horn. It was, and still is, used for a number of purposes, but chiefly as a loop attached to a rope and used when carrying hay.

Earlier Congresses