#MedievalTwitter. 8 authors on “oooh Vikings used crystals to navigate” story. No historians involved. Vikings particularly susceptible to having this kind of thing spread through MSM. https://t.co/JhU7rTniJD— David M. Perry (@Lollardfish) April 9, 2018
In the last year or two we’ve had numerous “oooh Vikings!” news stories hit national and international media, all of which have eroded when looked at closely by experts. There was the Viking women warrior (DNA PROVES VIKING WARRIOR WAS A WOMAN!) which turned out to be, yes, a woman, but unclear evidence of being a warrior one way or another. No relevant historians were consulted.
We had the VIKING SILK SAYS ALLAH! which then turned out not to say Allah according to actual textile experts who were not consulted.
Now we have VIKINGS USED CRYSTALS TO NAVIGATE! See above – they didn’t seem to read the sources.
We want the Vikings to be so much more than the evidence permits. The evidence is wonderful. Let them just be that.
More to come, I think, as I flesh this out over the next week.