IMC 2026: Sessions

This series of four panels seeks to offer a window onto the current state of research on the ‘Viking Diaspora’. We are currently in a vibrant and dynamic moment of interdisciplinary scholarship on the ‘Vikings’ and the global network they established. Scandinavian settlement across much of Northern Europe and beyond is increasingly understood as a ‘Viking Diaspora’ of communities linked through shared elements of history, culture, and language. What was life like for Vikings outside of Scandinavia and how did they impact the many peoples and polities they interacted with, peacefully or otherwise? One panel will interrogate trends across the entire diaspora, while three others will focus geographically on a more specific maritime zone, showcasing the multi-disciplinarity of new perspectives.

Expanding further, this panel explores the reaches of the North Atlantic. Firstly, Brittany Lee Nebiolini comparatively analyses the variation of hoard deposition and single finds across the Viking Age Irish Sea regions. Next, Jasmin Higgs re-evaluates the runic inscriptions of the Orkney Islands in light of recent fieldwork. Finally, Fredderikke Reimer examines the Bjarnarhellir cave inscriptions, to investigate the potentiality of medieval Icelandic graffiti practices.