Stories

News Stories

Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir: Transatlantic Traveler of Viking Frontiers

During her lifetime Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir (Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir, 980-1050), the daughter of Icelandic chieftain, Thorbjorn of Laugarbrekka, Iceland, travelled to Greenland, North America, Norway, and perhaps even Rome as a pilgrim. Legend has it her father would not permit her to marry an early suitor because he was the son of a slave.

Read More
News Stories

The Southern Minnesota Sioux Uprising of 1862 and Tragic Fate of Jean LaRue

Nearby in the township of Owatonna, on a farm owned by Edward Gleek, worked a servant named Jean LaRue. LaRue had come from the Bouches-du-Rhone department of southern France and evidently left his home and mother Suzanne in search of a new life on the frontier prairie of southern Minnesota.

Read More
News Stories

‘Special Talents and Notorious PSYWAR’: Cold War Spy Tradecraft Behind The Iron Curtain

Although there weren’t high-tech gadgets like today, Cold War espionage was extremely efficient. In a geopolitical situation where the nuclear threat was constantly present, information was a key currency. As there were no smartphones, internet, or other benefits of the modern age, people were the most important.

Read More
News Stories

When the Ballista Changed Sieges: Ancient Origins of the Missile Weapon

The first ballista appeared with the invention of torsion spring bundle technology. They brought the three most important changes in the history of war: speed, effectiveness and success.

Read More
News Stories

Cnut the Great Reforges his Father’s North Sea Empire, 1014-1028 (Part II)

When King Sweyn Forkbeard suddenly died in early 1014 after becoming the first Danish King of England and first ruler of the North Sea Empire, his son Cnut (994-1035) had to overcome the forces working to dismantle what his father achieved through victory in battle and alliance with the Jomsvikings – a military order based on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea.

Read More