What's Arktikronika?
Arktikronika is a portmanteau of Arktik and Kronika, that is to say "Arctic" - meaning the Arctic region and "Chronica" - Latin for chronicles, put through a Finnish rally-English filter. Imagine Kimi Räikkönen is pronouncing it. This is a blog mainly (but not exclusively) about the history and culture of the medieval North. That means posts on subjects ranging from real sagas to viking folklore, how our understanding of the medieval North is evolving, and where old misconceptions and outdated ideas still hold sway. Most of the content will be related to the Nordic region, however you can also expect attention to be paid of the rest of the Arctic Circle - its peoples and histories. In addition, you may come across the occasional blog post discussing art, music, literature and history not from the Arctic Circle and not from the Middle Ages, depending on the author's mood.
About the Blogger
Arktikronika is run by me, Matias Vanhanen, an enthusiast of early medieval Northern European history and languages from Finland. I have a Bachelors Degree (Hons.) from Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic from the University of Cambridge, and am currently studying Transnational Governance at the European University Institute. Feel free to follow me for the thoughts that aren't long enough to warrant blog posts and to learn a little more about me. I am passionate about Medieval history and making it a little more accessible to the general public - this is my personal push to further that effort. Of particular interest to me are the evolution of institutions, the ways in which Medievalism shapes modern national identities (for better or for worse), and cultural exchange and interplay in the Middle Ages.