Stratford Library Hosts 2-Part Vikings Series
by Tom Holehan
Public Relations & Programming
Stratford Public Library
Stratford Library will present a special 2-part series about the Vikings as part of “Sunday Afternoon Talks”, its monthly series of informative and entertaining talks featuring prominent local guest speakers. The series, which will be presented on the Zoom format May 2nd and 9th beginning at 2 pm, features guest speaker Hamish Lutris.
Sunday, May 2, 2021: Terrible Portents Appeared Over Northumbria: The Vikings
In the 700s AD, a group of marauding merchants from the north began to roam at will across the seas and rivers of Europe and northern Africa at will, establishing trading and raiding posts wherever they went, trading in copper, iron, gold, and humans. They explored much of the northern Atlantic as well, sailing as far as the eastern reaches of Labrador and possibly even the United States. This presentation will examine the movements, achievements, and atrocities, of the people who sailed out of the narrow farmlands and fjords of Scandinavia to terrorize, explore, and settle. No matter what they are called- Vikings, Northmen, or Danes- their effect on Europe is unmistakable, remarkably broad, and at times, surprisingly advanced.
Sunday, May 9, 2021: Burned by the Heathens: The Vikings in Ireland
The people of western Scandinavia expanded fiercely outward in the 700s, trading, raiding, pillaging, and finally settling all over the European map between the 8th and 11th centuries AD. In doing so, they brought both fear and innovation to the territories they plundered and conquered. They helped form the people that we know of today as Irish, and caused the Irish Celts to create a more unified government and armed force to withstand them. This talk will center not only on the destruction wrought by the Vikings, but also on the social and genetic influence they had on Ireland, as well as their commercial and political effects on the government and people there.
Hamish Lutris is an Associate Professor of History, Political Science, and Geography at Capital Community College in Hartford. He has worked in some of America’s premier natural and historical sites, leading hiking and historical programs. He has also lectured extensively in the United States, Europe, and Canada, presenting programs on wide-ranging historical topics, including Native American history, the Civil War, Scientific, Social and cultural history, World Wars I and II, and the American West.
The “Sunday Afternoon Talks” series, hosted by Charles Lautier, is held from 2-3:30 pm on the Zoom platform. To register online and receive a Zoom invitation for the programs visit:
https://stratfordlibrary.libcal.com/event/7495527
and https://stratfordlibrary.libcal.com/event/7495532.
For further information call the Stratford Library at: 203-385-4162
