Topic description and stories

Volcanic eruption influenced Iceland’s conversion to Christianity

19 Mar 2018

Memories of the largest lava flood in the history of Iceland, recorded in an apocalyptic medieval poem, were used to drive the island’s conversion to...

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Tree rings pinpoint eruption of Icelandic volcano to half a century before human settlement

29 Jun 2017

An international group of researchers has dated a large volcanic eruption in Iceland to within a few months. The eruption, which is the oldest...

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Chasing the volcano

01 Jul 2016

In 2014, Cambridge researchers monitored a series of seismic shocks which preceded Iceland’s biggest volcanic eruption in 200 years. The dramatic...

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Manuscript of Beowulf, in the British Library

Outlaws, trolls and beserkers: meet the hero-monsters of the Icelandic sagas

22 Oct 2015

Rebecca Merkelbach (Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic) discusses the monstrous heroes of Scandinavian mythology and literature.

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Luck and lava

06 Oct 2014

A team of researchers from Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences have recently returned from Iceland where, thanks to a bit of luck, they have...

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Emily Lethbridge

Journey to the Icelandic 'saga-steads'

20 Jun 2011

Now mid-way through a year-long 21st-century pilgrimage to the settings of Iceland’s famous medieval Íslendingasögur (‘sagas of Icelanders’), Dr...

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Land Rover ambulance

Research road trip to uncover Iceland’s literary and cultural heritage

10 Jan 2011

A decommissioned Land Rover ambulance will be home to Cambridge University’s Dr Emily Lethbridge from December – as she begins an epic year-long...

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