A slide show presentation by

William L. Sullivan

Were the Vikings barbarians? Historical novelist William L. Sullivan discusses recent archeological evidence that reveals a very different interpretation of the Viking Age in Denmark and England. While researching his latest book, “The Ship in the Sand,” Sullivan undertook more than a dozen trips to Northern Europe examining Viking burial ships, rune stones, and treasure troves. Join him for an illustrated tour of the history and archeology of the Vikings.

Sullivan  is the author of six novels and 15 nonfiction books. His first Viking novel, “The Ship in Hill,” examined the beginnings of the Viking Age in Norway, alternating chapters between Queen Asa of Agthir and the excavation of her burial ship in Norway in 1904. “The Ship in the Sand” deals with the next era of the Viking Age, when Harald Bluetooth united Denmark, setting the stage for the conquest of England. Alternating chapters in this book are set in World War II, when Danish archeologists set out to undermine the Nazi occupation of Denmark.

With a bit of Danish ancestry himself, Sullivan speaks Danish and reads in nine languages. His book “Listening for Coyote” was chosen by the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission as one of Oregon’s “100 Books,” the most significant books in the state’s history. He lives in Eugene but does most of his writing at a log cabin, far from roads or electricity, on a river in Oregon's Coast Range.

<photo>Author William L. Sullivan

<photo>Coin minted in Hedeby in the age of Danish King Harald Bluetooth.

<photo>Viking ship prow.

<photo>Rune stone with beast pattern found in Denmark.