Vikings are getting a lot of attention these days thanks to contemporary portrayals of them in popular movies and television shows such as The Northman, Vikings: Valhalla, and The Last Kingdom. But who were the Vikings, really?

Learn surprising things about the medieval world and the Vikings who lived and moved in it with the help of Dr. Jill Fitzgerald, who teaches courses on medieval languages and literature at the U.S. Naval Academy.

To enhance our understanding of Vikings she’ll discuss the stories of three famous ones passed down to us through medieval Icelandic sagas.

To round out the talk, Professor Fitzgerald will talk about an exciting Viking artifact—produced in Norway during Egil’s lifetime—that found its way to Annapolis in the 1950s and is currently housed at the Naval Academy. The oldest weapon in the Academy’s collections, its past was a mystery until now.

You’ll emerge from this talk with a better understanding of the medieval world, our sources of knowledge concerning Vikings, and how sagas and archaeology occasionally intertwine. (Advance tickets: $12. Doors: $15, or $13 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later. Please allow yourself time to place any orders and get seated and settled in.)