CMC- Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga

Musée canadien des civilisations

Canadian Museum of Civilization

MEDIA RELEASE For immediate release

The Vikings are coming!

Hull, Quebec, December 13, 2001 — On May 8, 2002, the Canadian Museum of Civilization will be the site of a new sort of Viking invasion with the opening of the exhibition Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga. Featuring more than 300 priceless artifacts gathered from nine institutions on both sides of the Atlantic, this major exhibition sheds new light on the Vikings’ culture and history — a thousand years after their first arrival in North America.

“We are pleased to be the only Canadian stop on this outstanding exhibition’s North American tour,” declares Dr. Victor Rabinovitch, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. “We are also proud to be able to introduce — for its presentation at the Canadian Museum of Civilization — the Helluland Archaeology Project: a new research initiative undertaken by one of our staff archaeologists, suggesting more extensive contact between the Norse and Native peoples than previously suspected.”

The Vikings have traditionally been viewed as violent marauders, invading foreign shores to loot and pillage. Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, mounted by the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, challenges this view and shows that the Vikings were skilled farmers, accomplished traders, intrepid explorers and masterful artisans. Although they did raid nearby settlements in search of loot and land, the Vikings often built towns, farming communities and cultural centres in the territories they conquered or settled. Based on sagas, historical documents and archaeology, Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga examines and celebrates the rich Viking legacy, as well as the Viking journey westward, which reached the North American coast 1,000 years ago.

The CMC is proud to have contributed more than 25 key pieces from it’s collections to this travelling exhibition. Among the highlights of the exhibition are four original manuscripts — including the Jònsbòk (The Book of Laws, circa thirteenth century) — Icelandic national treasures whose loan to this exhibit required an act of Parliament. Also to be seen is a famous piece of Viking “loot”: Ranvaig’s Shrine, a reliquary casket. The oldest object in the exhibition is the Gotland Picture Stone, dating AD 750, that depicts a fallen warrior’s voyage into the afterlife.

“The Viking expansion from their Scandinavian homelands and their arrival in North America was a truly historic event,” says head curator, Dr. William Fitzhugh of the Smithsonian Institution. “The arrival of the Vikings on North American shores marks the first meeting of two streams of humanity — European and Native American — on the northeastern shores of this continent.”

In support of Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, the Canadian Museum of Civilization is planning a number of outstanding programmes and events. The possibilities include a series of Norse musical and theatrical performances, a summer solstice festival, a ten-day Viking festival, educational programming and more.

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga has been made possible through the generous support of the Nordic Council of Ministers and Volvo, and is presented by the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, in partnership with the White House Millennium Council. Additional support has been provided by Husqvarna Viking Sewing Machines, the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation and Phillips Petroleum Company Norway.

The exhibition will be presented at the Canadian Museum of Civilization from May 8 to October 14, 2002.

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga

May 8 to October 14, 2002

Fact Sheet

As of May 8, 2002, the Canadian Museum of Civilization will be presenting Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, an exceptional exhibition shedding light on the most recent findings by scholars and archaeologists and showcasing some of the most spectacular artifacts of Viking civilization. This exhibition is a unique opportunity to learn about the first Europeans to reach North America and their contact with the natives of the New World.

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, a groundbreaking exhibition covering 750 square metres (8,000 sq. ft.), is the work of a team of no less than 15 curators from museums around the world, directed by Dr. William Fitzhugh, Director of the Arctic Studies Center at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. They have brought together national treasures and unique collections from nine different countries.

Artifacts:

More than 300 artifacts dating from A.D. 800 to the present will be presented, grouping some of the greatest treasures and recent archaeological discoveries from the Viking Age and the Mediaeval period which followed. They include a thirteenth- to fourteenth-century Inuit wooden figurine in European attire, striking evidence of face-to-face contact between Vikings and Native peoples. They also include elaborate swords inlaid with silver, a gilded harness bow, an elegant articulated Urnes-style brooch, an animal-style whalebone “ironing” board, and models of Viking ships — all artifacts of the Vikings’ everyday life. Other objects include agricultural tools, carvings in wood and stone, jewellery, clothing, armour, weaponry and more.

Interesting Facts about the Vikings:

· Iceland’s national assembly (named Althing), founded in A.D. 930, was Europe’s longest running parliament.

· The Viking deities Odin, Thor and Freya are remembered every week, lending their names to Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

· The Vikings created a vast trading network that stretched from Scandinavia as far as Spain and the Mediterranean to the south, Kiev and Baghdad to the East, and what is now Canada to the West.

· The Vikings had a complex social organization in which wealth was defined by position, alliances and connection, rather than by accumulated gold and silver.

· Contrary to popular belief, the Vikings did not have horns on their helmets, an image popularized by nineteenth-century opera singers.

· The Berserkers, literally “bear shirts,” were the most feared of the Vikings. They worked themselves into a frenzy before going into battle and fought on, regardless of pain.

· Skraelings is the somewhat derogatory name given by the Vikings to the Native peoples they encountered in North America and Greenland.

· Central to the Vikings’ religion was their belief in a large number of gods and goddesses, giants and dwarves, Valkyries, elves and a variety of spirits who were believed to play a role in nearly every aspect of life and death.

· The origin of the word “Viking” is unclear, but seems to derive from "Vik" meaning “a small harbour”. It refers to people who kept their seagoing ships in such harbours, from which they raided European coasts between AD 800 and 1000. Their Christianized descendants after AD 1000 are referred to as the mediaeval Norse.

Special Events:

A wide range of special events is planned in support of the exhibition, dependent on sponsorship. These include a Viking Fest, a summer solstice festival, musical and theatrical performances, lectures and educational programming.

Publication:

Vikings — The North Atlantic Saga, produced by the Smithsonian Institution (in English only) is available in the CMC Boutique. Includes colour photographs, drawing and maps; 416 pp., $57.95.

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga has been made possible through the generous support of the Nordic Council of Ministers and Volvo. Additional support has been provided by Husqvarna Viking Sewing Machines, Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, and Phillips Petroleum Company Norway. The exhibition has been organized by the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Presented in partnership with the White House Millennium Council.

Gotha ferth! (Viking for “Have a safe journey!”)