2023
This story begins in Rogaland year 846 AD. One day a very special royal son is born- Geirmund Heljarskinn. But we know almost nothing about this personality, there is no saga about him, and posterity has done it´s best to forget him. Why?
We know that his mother was from Siberia, therefore, he was born with Asian features. Geirmund Heljarskinn becomes the “Black Viking” – the most powerful settler on Iceland through times. Dark-skinned and with Mongolian facial features he was a pioneer in international hunting economy. Heljarskinn had hundreds of slaves; Christians from Scotland and Ireland.
1100 years later a distant relative of Geirmund, author Bergsveinn Birgisson, addresses the question of Geirmund Heljarskinn´s life, and why he is forgotten. Old fragments, modern genetics and information collected on trips to faraway places is put together, creating a fascinating and shocking portrayal of a raw and poetic past.
Rarely, if ever, has the Viking Age been introduced to us in this way.
Birgisson is a fine combination of a poet and an exciting and original academic author. «The Black Viking» is a sensational work... Fascinating and innovative
A masterpiece!(...)This book presents priceless knowledge at a time when humanities tales supposedly not are worth publishing anymore(...)This book's wealth and excitement deserves respect. It should get a lot of readers. They will be surprised how history still has so much new to say.
With joyful storytelling and a wealth of detail the author manages uniting the author and researcher, making Geirmund a figure created of facts and spirit(...)Thorough review of historical findings and an attempt to interpret these from his own perspective(...)
Bergsveinn Birgisson
