Alicia Maddalena and Matt Townend to give BBC History Magazine talk on ‘Poetry in the Viking World’
Posted on 17 May 2024
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Alicia Maddalena and Matt Townend will be speaking on ‘Skaldskapr: Poetry in the Viking
World’ at the York Festival of Ideas on Monday 10th June. In the Viking period, poets were
both celebrated and feared, and poetry was used to praise rulers, shame enemies, and
commemorate the dead. In their talk, Alicia and Matt will explore the nature and history of
Viking Age skaldskapr or poetry, and will combine an account of its power with a sample of
readings.
Every year BBC History Magazine, the best-selling history magazine in Britain, chooses to
sponsor an event at the York Festival of Ideas. This year Alicia and Matt’s event has been
chosen, and they have written an accompanying article for the magazine on ‘How the Vikings
viewed the world’ – available now in the June issue!
https://www.historyextra.com/magazine/current-issue-bbc-history-magazine/