Bjorn Vernhardsson
Björn Vernharðsson
Independent researcher | Psychological-Historian | Symbolic Cartography & Material Culture
I am an independent scholar with a focus on early medieval material culture, symbolic cartography, and the interplay between narrative and object in historical memory. My work explores how artifacts—such as brooches, appliqués, and textiles—function as symbolic maps and carriers of meaning within their cultural and geographical contexts.
In this context my special interest have been regarding the Battle of Brunnanburh and movement of people in the North of England in the eighth to the tenth century
My current research engages with comparative interpretations of Early Medieval text as the Eddic Poems and Bayeux Tapestry, Roman itineraries, and Anglo-Scandinavian artifacts, with an emphasis on visual storytelling, allegory, and spatial logic in pre-modern art and literature.
I am particularly interested in interdisciplinary approaches that merge archaeology, semiotics, and historical geography, and I welcome collaboration with scholars in adjacent fields.
Feel free to explore my papers, and don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Phone: 00 354 8660149
Address: Skúlagata 20, flat 408, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
Independent researcher | Psychological-Historian | Symbolic Cartography & Material Culture
I am an independent scholar with a focus on early medieval material culture, symbolic cartography, and the interplay between narrative and object in historical memory. My work explores how artifacts—such as brooches, appliqués, and textiles—function as symbolic maps and carriers of meaning within their cultural and geographical contexts.
In this context my special interest have been regarding the Battle of Brunnanburh and movement of people in the North of England in the eighth to the tenth century
My current research engages with comparative interpretations of Early Medieval text as the Eddic Poems and Bayeux Tapestry, Roman itineraries, and Anglo-Scandinavian artifacts, with an emphasis on visual storytelling, allegory, and spatial logic in pre-modern art and literature.
I am particularly interested in interdisciplinary approaches that merge archaeology, semiotics, and historical geography, and I welcome collaboration with scholars in adjacent fields.
Feel free to explore my papers, and don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Phone: 00 354 8660149
Address: Skúlagata 20, flat 408, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
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Papers by Bjorn Vernhardsson
The brooch is design more like signs of heavenly bodies were drawn in ancient text. The supposed coast is streamlined but not shown in its diversity. Similarly, can be seen on the earliest maps by Parisi, but that is what the similarities between the brooch and the earliest paper maps can be counted for.
There are many elements missing that can be seen in later made maps. There is no text or no sign indicating that this is a map like the compass sign or any marking like coats of Arms or any other sign of authenticity .
Before people could take the advantage of the compass, they used geographical position and supplemented with the observation of the position of celestial bodies. This can be for instance seen in the Völuspá poem, that people relied on the Sun and the moon as well as other celestial bodies to navigate the land.
There have been found Roman brooches that are similar to the fish brooch. One thing is in common is that the Roman brooches are all except one found on sites on the map or close to it. Indicating that these early Roman brooches might have been used to navigate the southern part of England from the river Tamar to the river Thames and all the way to the east coast.
If the image of the brooch is laid over the South of England it becomes evident how well the design of the fish does relate to the land from Plymouth in the southwest and to Dorchester in Anglia. This becomes more evident when the brooch and the hills in question are compared.
The lines and dots in the brooch are in a relative regular pattern, but at the same time the pattern changes and evolves into new design depending on where it is on the fish. The design is either in strong lines or dots that are aligned, which indicates that the brooch was used as a navigational piece. Due to its complicated design that brooch was also of a map of an area, and therefore more complicated design rather than the simple carving in the bone.
Here the most important sites have been plotted into the design.
We focus on two known poems that describe the events in detail; that is the Brunanburh poem and the poems in Egil’s saga.
The Brunanburh poem is thought to be close to the primary source of the events and we refer to the Parker manuscript in Cambridge . The poems in the Egil’s saga are contemporary with the events as well, even though the saga was written in the 13th century, the poems are older and are thought to be the work of Egill Skallagrímsson himself. We also use other references that conform to elements in other known sources like the issue of silver in this time.
Drafts by Bjorn Vernhardsson
Books by Bjorn Vernhardsson
Bókin dregur fram dýpri merkingu textans, túlkar táknmál bókarinnar með einföldum hætti með tilvísun til mannlegra eiginleika í stað þjóðsagnakenndra útskýringa sem sýnir hvernig kvæðið endurspeglar hugmyndaheim til forna með nýjum spurningum og óvæntum svörum.
English translation can be found at: https://www.academia.edu/55713425/V%C3%B6lusp%C3%A1_set_in_Stone_in_Gosforth_The_Carvings_on_the_Gosforth_Stone_Cross_Explained
Geymd ljóðsins í stein í Englandi og sem skrifaður texti á Íslandi er mjög áþekkur og þurfti aðeins að endurraða tveimur erindum til að fá fullkomna samsvörun. Gömul ensk orð skýra betur torræð orð og setningar sem hafa verið Íslendingum óskiljanlegar verða ljóslifandi.
Það er ljóst að Völuspá er upprunnið frrá Norðaustur Englandi og á ljóðið allar sínar rætur að rekja þangað en ekki til Norðurlandanna.