Christian Cooijmans
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ccooijmans.bsky.social
Christian Cooijmans
@ccooijmans.bsky.social
6.4K followers 530 following 290 posts
Viking Historian | Research Fellow @uio.no | Assoc. Researcher @livunihss.bsky.social | vikings in continental Europe | medieval(ism) | histor(iograph)y

https://hcommons.org/members/ccooijmans
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ccooijmans.bsky.social
Patron: Okay, for this scene, I need a fiery chariot carrying Elijah up to heaven. Can you do that?

Printmaker: You bet! I think I've seen a chariot once - they're like little soapbox cars, right? Four wheels? Self-driving?

Patron: I mean, not usually.

Printmaker: Cool, just leave it with me.
A page from a so-called Biblia pauperum, (here) a fifteenth-century printed block-book bible, representing, somewhat poorly, a scene from 2 Kings 2:11-12, in which Elijah 'went up by a whirlwind into heaven' by means of a 'chariot of fire, and horses of fire'. The scene on this page, however, contains neither chariot, horses, or fire, but sees Elijah ascend in what appears to a crude wooden box on wheels with no apparent means of propulsion. A detail from a so-called Biblia pauperum, representing, somewhat poorly, a scene from 2 Kings 2:11-12, in which Elijah 'went up by a whirlwind into heaven' by means of a 'chariot of fire, and horses of fire'. The scene on this page, however, contains neither chariot, horses, or fire, but sees Elijah ascend in what appears to a crude wooden box on wheels with no apparent means of propulsion.
November 11, 2025 at 11:53 AM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
Wintry road trip through Iceland (in four parts) ⛰️
A road cutting through a wintry, sunny landscape in northern Iceland - the sea and distant mountains visible. A road cutting through a wintry landscape in northern Iceland, with a dramatic sky and distant mountains. A road cutting through a wintry landscape in northern Iceland, with the sun shining on a nearby mountain. A photo of an Icelandic landscape seen through the side mirror of a car, with mountains visible and the sun setting.
November 6, 2025 at 10:45 AM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
📹 George Alexis Pantos
October 29, 2025 at 5:15 PM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
Breaking with a 15-year tradition of falling asleep and missing the northern lights to actually see them this time around, in Vatnsnes, Iceland 🌌
The green glow of the northern lights over Miðfjörður, near Hvammstangi, Iceland The green glow of the northern lights over Miðfjörður, near Hvammstangi, Iceland The green glow of the northern lights over Miðfjörður, near Hvammstangi, Iceland
October 29, 2025 at 4:07 PM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
The Gokstad Ship in its rig, making its way into the new museum through the (opened) wall of the old building.
October 29, 2025 at 1:01 PM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
📷 Mårten Teigen (Museum of the Viking Age)
The new museum space, with floor outline marked, awaiting the arrival of the Gokstad Ship. The Gokstad Ship rig being inspected and attached to the crane lift.
October 29, 2025 at 12:11 PM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
In the wake of its older sibling last month, the 23-meter Gokstad Ship will also be making its 94-meter journey into the new Viking Ship museum today!

www.vikingtidsmuseet.no/english/relo...
The Gokstad viking ship in a protective metal case, with supports and rigging in place, before being lifted up for transport along a suspension rail into the new museum. The Gokstad viking ship in a protective metal case, with supports and rigging in place, before being lifted up for transport along a suspension rail into the new museum.
October 29, 2025 at 11:40 AM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
Checking up on an old friend over lunch
Close-up of a Pictish stone slab, containing an armed horseman drinking from a horn - from Bullion, Invergowrie, Angus (first half tenth century) - now in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh (X.IB 229)
October 17, 2025 at 12:53 PM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
Checking out the Viking-Age hall reconstruction in Lejre, Denmark
A 60m-long Viking-Age wooden hall reconstruction in Lejre, in green surroundings A 60m-long Viking-Age wooden hall reconstruction in Lejre, in green surroundings A decorated internal archway in the Viking-Age wooden hall reconstruction in Lejre The main internal space in the Viking-Age wooden hall reconstruction in Lejre, with various furnishing surrounding a central firepit.
October 13, 2025 at 5:03 PM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
Yes, they are all lovely! 😊 Such a shame most of the MS has been lost.
A medieval manuscript page from the tenth century, on vellum. Text outlined in tables using black ink and red rubrication, written in Carolingian miniscule. A medieval manuscript page from the tenth century, on vellum. Text outlined in tables using black ink and red rubrication, written in Carolingian miniscule.
October 10, 2025 at 11:48 AM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
Very happy to finally see this in the flesh today: the remains of an early tenth-century calendar from Landévennec, Brittany, whose entry for the year 913 contains an annotation that the local coastal monastery of Winwaloe was attacked by vikings during that year.

Copenhagen, KB Thott 239 2°, f.10r
A medieval manuscript page from the tenth century, on vellum. Text in black ink and red rubrication using Carolingian miniscule. A marginal annotation on a manuscript, containing the (abbreviated) Latin sentence: 'Eodem anno destructum est monasterium sancti winualoei a normannis' (translation: 'In the same year, the monastery of saint Winwaloe was destroyed by Northmen').
October 9, 2025 at 10:42 AM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
I've never really used LinkedIn, as it was always a very privacy-averse place, but they'll now also be hoovering up your personal data to train GenAI models (as per their new T&Cs). The fact that this is opt-out rather than opt-in speaks volumes.
A paragraph from the new T&C from Linkedin: 'Generative AI Model Training: We are now including these regions in the locations where we use and share member data and content to train generative AI models that create content. Starting on November 3, 2025, we’ll start to use some data from members in these regions to train these content-generating AI models that enhance your experience and better connect our members to opportunities. Our GenAI features can help hirers find and reach you more easily, and assist members in creating content such as profile updates, messages, and posts. This may include data like details from your profile, and public content you post on LinkedIn; it does not include your private messages.'
September 19, 2025 at 11:08 AM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
Wouldn't mind a garden like this for every library 🌼📚

(Royal Danish Library Garden, Copenhagen)
A verdant, sunny scene in the Royal Library Garden in Copenhagen, with various trees and rose hedges among historical buildings.
September 15, 2025 at 8:30 AM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
I was wondering when the vikingisms would start turning up in this story.
A text taken from a CNN story on a news conference about the murder of Charlie Kirk. 'FBI Director Kash Patel delivered a message to his slain friend Charlie Kirk during an ongoing news conference: "To my friend, Charlie Kirk: Rest now, brother. We have the watch. And I'll see you in Valhalla," he said.'
September 12, 2025 at 3:41 PM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
September 1, 2025 at 8:40 AM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
The misinformation train has left the station:
A Google search results page containing various links to news outlets misreporting a story about an early reference to the Shroud of Turin.
August 29, 2025 at 10:30 AM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
Alongside my article on the 'Dane saga' of Breda in MLC, I wrote a little companion piece for the Royal Historical Society (@royalhistsoc.org) blog, introducing this capricious, clumsy, and charming work of premodern imagination.

#medievalsky

blog.royalhistsoc.org/2025/08/12/d...
The medieval manuscript containing the Dane saga of Breda.
August 12, 2025 at 7:53 AM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
It's a bit of a climb up to the Iron Age hillfort of Tre'r Ceiri ('Town of the Giants') on the Llŷn Peninsula, but so very worth it to walk along its intact ramparts and round houses.
Low stone walls of round houses on a hill against a cloudy backdrop The stone rampart of a hillfort against a cloudy backdrop Low stone walls of round houses on a hill against a cloudy backdrop
July 30, 2025 at 12:24 PM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
A picturesque little stopover at Eglwys Beuno Sant or St Beuno's Church in Clynnog Fawr, Gwynedd. Current building C15/16 (much tinkered with since), standing atop an earlier (C7) ecclesiastical foundation, which was allegedly attacked by Hywel ap Ieuaf in 978 (with either English or viking aid).
The fifteenth/sixteenth-century Eglwys Beuno Sant or St Beuno's Church in Clynnog Fawr, Gwynedd, with surrounding graveyard. Figurative decorations on woodwork benches in Bueno's church. The wooden ceiling in the nave of Bueno's church An early stone sundial of C10/C12-century date
July 29, 2025 at 11:17 AM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
He certainly seems to think so!
A Border Terrier hiding in purple heather, staring at the camera with head tilted.
July 28, 2025 at 6:54 PM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
Tato managed to spot some Viking Age sculptured stones in northern Wales last week, and Maen Achwyfan might be his favourite!
A small Border Terrier in front of the tenth/eleventh-century wheel cross of Maen Achwyfan, standing at 3.4 metres tall in a field in Flintshire, Wales (presumably its original location).
July 28, 2025 at 8:59 AM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
Brilliant to see so much engagement with the viking and Nordic past by students at Hankuk University (HUFS) in Seoul, South Korea, and glad to have been able to contribute to the event in a small way.

nissi0.wordpress.com/hankuk-unive...
Korean language poster for the NOHI (Nordic History) Media Fest in Seoul, whose design features a viking with a horned helmet. A page from the NOHI (Nordic History) Media Fest booklet, containing reflections on vikings and the Nordic world: 'The vikings and their world have long captured the public’s interest, enjoying a firm familiarity and appreciation with audiences all over the globe. In academic circles, too, many decades of dedicated research have unearthed the many kaleidoscopic ways in which these iconic mariners travelled and encountered other peoples across boundaries of community, culture, and continent. Gone are the days in which vikings were typecast for their rampant pillaging and plundering, with a much more nuanced picture having since emerged. Today, most scholars would frame the Viking Age as a ‘global’ phenomenon, reflecting not only the distant shores that these groups were able to reach themselves, but the much wider-reaching networks of communication and cultural exchange that they accessed as a result. This was an age in which Frankish steel, Arctic ivory, and Persian silk could all pass through the same Scandinavian hands, connecting peoples, places, and perceptions in an intricate web of interaction. Vikings were much more than warriors here – they were merchants, envoys, explorers, and settlers. Theirs was a world of untold diversity and opportunity. These days, in many ways, the legacy of the viking world remains a global one. Through every medium imaginable – film, literature, digital content, and well beyond – people around the world continue to discover, explore, and reinterpret this vibrant history. In this way, NOHI Media Fest is exemplary of the influence that the vikings, and the Nordic past more broadly, continue to hold on our collective imagination. - Dr Christian Cooijmans, Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Norway'
July 24, 2025 at 10:09 AM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
From last week's IMC paper, here is my handy general formula on the effects of vikings moving cattle by ship across long distances:
July 14, 2025 at 3:07 PM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
Oh hey, it's almost #IMC2025 time! Why not saunter over to our Thursday morning session on early medieval Flanders (organised by @ddefries.bsky.social), and hear me discuss/plead why we should pay more attention to the region in broader Viking Age scholarship?
Session description for International Medieval Congress Leeds 2025 Session 1647 - Early Medieval Flanders and the Vikings Organiser: David Defries, Kansas State University Moderator: Niall O'Súilleabháin, Université de Poitiers Paper 1: The Vikings as the Rod of God's Wrath in Early Medieval Flanders - David deFries, Kansas State University Paper 2: Labour and Authority in the Construction of Anti-Viking Defences in Early Medieval Flanders - David Bachrach, University of New Hampshire Paper 3: Stepping Stone or Cornerstone?: Redetermining the Role of Flanders in the Viking World - Christian Cooijmans, Universitetet i Oslo Title slide for a PowerPoint presentation, featuring a viking-style boat on a wooden dock in a forested coastal environment. The paper is called 'Stepping Stone or Cornerstone?: Redetermining the Role of Flanders in the Viking World'. The speaker is Christian Cooijmans (University of Oslo).
July 5, 2025 at 12:38 PM
ccooijmans.bsky.social
ResearchGate is equally for-profit, and has very similarly worded T&Cs (see below). I can't speak much to it being useful, but they don't seem to have gone down the AI bin chute (yet).
Extract from ResearchGate terms and conditions: '3.2 Your content If you are a Member, you can add Member Submissions to the Service. You retain all ownership rights in your Member Submissions. However, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable license to use your Member Submissions (including to host, reproduce, distribute, modify, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your Member Submissions for the sole purpose of making available and improving our Service.'
July 2, 2025 at 7:39 AM