Medieval Sweden

The consequences of not keeping it in your pants – a medieval morality

Once upon a time there was a king named Valdemar. Okay, we might need to slow down as there have been quite a few kings named Valdemar, especially in Denmark. Not so much in Sweden, though, and this particular king was Swedish. Sweden in the 13th century was not Sweden as it is today. Huge …

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A surfeit of brothers doth a spicy soup make

Back in the good old days, men wanted sons. Well, OK: back in the really, really old good old days, mothers wanted daughters as most early societies seem to have been matrilineal—but that all changed when our nomadic ancestors settled down and started amassing belongings. Once you have things that belong to you, it becomes …

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Not every Christmas is a good Christmas – a story of treachery, vengeance and death

So, it is Christmas. Well, not quite, we are still some days away, but all the same, the holiday season is upon us. A season of love and peace, of happy family reunions and the joyful sound of children laughing in the snow. Ha! Sometimes, Christmas is much, much grimmer. Like in the year 1317, …

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