Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. David Nikel is a travel writer covering cruising and Scandinavia. The recent sensational discoveries of Viking ship graves in ...

Vikings. The word evokes ferocious warriors, swords, battleaxes, and bloodthirsty raids. Most of what we know about the Vikings, however, are exaggerations written by people who encountered them.

Runic inscriptions from the Viking Age still turn up in Sweden 1,000 years after they were written – revealing fascinating stories of love, loss and epic battles. A few years ago, Magnus Källström, a ...