No comments about Celebrating 150 years in "Amerika": The story of the Rye/Methus/Sanderson/Svensrud, Swenson/Johnson/Paulson families.

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2 comments about Far Northern Connections: Researching Your Sami (and Other) Ancestors in Northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.

1. 
   FAR NORTHERN CONNECTIONS: RESEARCHING YOUR SAMI AND OTHER ANCESTORS IN NORTHERN NORWAY, SWEDEN, FINLAND, AND RUSSIA is more than just listing of research methods for genealogists and collections catering to them: it includes charts, explanations of foreign terms, and insights into the web sites and places to begin a search. The author's years of research into her own family history lends to a fine expose of the special challenges involved in research far northern archives for genealogical data.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. Like Virginia, I have been interested in my Finnish family roots since my twenties. There had been a little talk about one line of my family having "Lapp" roots I remember in discussions from when I was very small. When I started mapping my family tree, I decided to look into that family line, but I only reached dead ends. Asking family elders helped very little, as that information was either forgotten--or, for various reasons, didn't want to be shared. Having Sami ancestry has been very stigmatized in the Finnish-American community. Virginia's book helped me overcome some of the obstacles. I eventually found out that I was more than just a "little bit" Sami. I probably have at least as much Sami heritage as I do Finnish...a little bit mind-boggling to me, considering that my family has taken so much pride in our Finnish heritage. I still take pride in my Finnish roots, but now I also take pride in my Sami! Virginia also does a good job explaining why Sami heritage has been so suppressed both in the United States and abroad in a way that does not diminish the contributions and sacrifices our immigrant ancestors made for us when they created a new home for us in the United States. A must-read for anyone who is interested in pursuing genealogy and suspects they may have Sami ancestry. Studies have shown there are at least 30,000 Americans with Sami ancestry, but only about 2% are aware of their Sami identity. If this might be you, Virginia's book is a great guide to get you to your destination!

5 comments about Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway.

1. I have never read a more hilarious piece of academic literature. The Norse Kings are so funny... you wouldn't believe how many of them died in drunken accidents. But that's not the book's focus. As a college junior, I found this book to be a great reference for my History and English papers and have included it in my necessary-reference-books collection. Sturluson is great! A very entertaining read.

   Word Ninja




2. First of all, a great translation! Fun and interesting (often very violent) reading. A good history also. Worth reading.



3. "The Heimskringla" was written around 1230 by Snorri Sturluson, a powerful Icelandic chief living in Norway. Snorri also wrote the "Prose (or Younger) Edda", a book about poetry that incidentally gives much valuable information on heathen Scandinavian mythology. While Snorri's contemporaries primarily regarded him as a politician and dangerous enemy, posterity remembers him as a writer and poet.
   
   "The Heimskringla" is a highly entertaining work, at least if you are a hard-core Viking or medievalist buff. The story starts in Sweden, at Old Uppsala, then moves on to Norway, with occasional landfalls in England, Spain, Constantinopel and even Jerusalem. Today, the earliest portion of "the Heimskringla", the saga of the Ynglings, is regarded as purely mythological. While Old Uppsala undoubtedly existed (the large burial mounds mentioned by Snorri still stands), it was hardly the capital of a powerful Swedish kingdom. The later parts of Snorri's work deal with real people: St. Olaf, Magnus the Good, Harald Hardruler, Sigurd the Crusader, and others. This part of "the Heimskringla" blends fact and fiction. Some has been confirmed by other medieval chronicles. For instance, Sigurd did sail all the way from Norway to Palestine around the year 1100! Much else sound like tall-tales, as when St.Olaf, still a young boy, attacks and plunders the heathen Estonians...
   
   Even so, this work tells us a lot about how at least some groups of Scandinavians saw themselves and their world during the 13th century. To a modern reader, much of it sounds shocking. That Muslims and heathens should be killed is taken for granted. Sigurd takes a dip in the Jordan river at the spot where Jesus was baptized. Then, he moves on to kill some infidels. He never sees any contradiction. Martial prowess, at as young an age as possible, is the ideal. Most wars are actually fought between different Christian factions. Part of the heroic exploit is to capture and enslave the womenfolk of your enemies. There are also constant supernatural occurances, as when an angel stops St.Olaf from sailing through the strait of Gibraltar, or when Harald Hardruler is saved by a supernaturally risen St.Olaf!
   
   Most of the people described in this remarkable chronicle are Christians, as was Snorri himself. Yet, it's as if the Viking Age never ended. Onward, Christian Vikings!



4. Don't be afraid to start this very, very long book. You can skip around and read the exciting histories of the kings of Norway. I loved the tale of how Norway's "1st King" Harald Fairhair conquered the kingdom for the sake of a gal he liked. The sections on St. Olaf are good too. Happy reading!



5. Any prospective reader should know that Snorri has not written a comprehensive history of ALL of the Norwegian kings. His account stops in 1177, so don't expect any juicy gossip about the current king, Harald V or his son, the crown prince Haakon. Still, if the prospective reader's interest is the medieval history of Norway, Snorri's sagas are a good primary source to read. In fact, the prospective reader should stongly consider this work if he or she has a strong interest in medieval history in general, or if he or she is interested in the Christianization of Northern Europe, or if he or she wants to learn more about Norwegian state formation, or if he or she likes to read gory stories about Norwegians killing Norwegians.