University College Cork (UCC) researcher Dr Tom Birkett has been awarded a €2m European Research Council (ERC) grant to investigate how ideas, misinformation and extremist narratives about the Vikings evolved.
It will feature an unique crowd-sourced map, NorseMap, which will track how the famous Scandinavian sailors, warriors and traders changed the face of Europe. Between the 8th and 11th centuries, the Vikings transformed the continent – and had an enormous impact on Ireland where their activities led to the creation of modern cities such as Waterford, Dublin, Cork and Limerick.
The Vikings operated as slavers but also traded in everything from hides to jewellery, clothing and spices across Europe. Dr Birkett said the project offers an exciting opportunity to critically analyse the legacy of the Vikings.
“The Vikings are everywhere we look in the modern world, used to entertain, sell products, promote tourism, underpin political movements and support diverse identities. NorseMap asks how is the Viking past used today? How has the public understanding of the Vikings evolved over time,” he said.
“I am excited to lead a project that takes on such a big challenge and that hopes to get people involved in mapping the Vikings across Europe.
“The Vikings are popular for a reason and this project hopes to find out why, and what impact this period of history has on our politics, our culture and our European identity.
“It has the potential to not only change the way that we carry out reception studies, but also how we think about history and the role we all play in creating it.”
Originally branded the last barbarian invaders of Europe, their legacy is now understood to be more complex
UCC’s Prof John Cryan said it was a singular honour for an Irish academic to secure such a research project grant.
“I welcome the opportunities that this award will offer Tom to expand his research team and further develop the international impact of his work. I look forward to following the progress of the NorseMap project, and in particular, the citizen science aspect to it.”
The Vikings have been an object of fascination for centuries given how they transformed Europe – and had an impact vastly outweighing their numbers.
Originally branded as the last barbarian invaders of Europe, their legacy is now understood to be more complex given their trade networks, commitment to exploration and societal structure.
A key aim of the research project will be to map how Vikings are understood across Europe today – and to track how our perception of them has changed over the decades and centuries. The five-year project will explore how perceptions of the Vikings have developed to reflect the politics, identities and cultural memories of different communities across Europe.
It will take the model of app-based geographic information system (GIS) mapping used for large-scale citizen science documentation projects and adapt it to the humanities.
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Publish date : 2024-12-03 17:30:00
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