The Greatest Living Bronze Sword Smith

Neil Burridge is an accomplished sword smith and widely considered the greatest living smith of historical replica cast bronze swords and daggers. He has cast and forged hundreds of replica blades from Ancient Greek Mycenaean, to Nordic Bronze Age and Celtic style weapons. I visited him in his workshop to collect a special replica of the Huntshaw dagger he made for me and we chatted about his work and the history of bronze working.

Jive Talk: Neoplatonism and ethnicity with Aarvol

 

Eric Orwoll is an American Christian Platonist known for his YouTube channel. Eric's beliefs are more compatible with those of pagans than those of typical Christians are. I asked him about how a Platonic view of the One and objective good is compatible with a scientific view of evolution or a pagan view of tribal loyalty. We also discussed transhumanism and the anti-Platonist philosophies of Karl Popper and Friedrich Nietzsche.

Jive Book Review: The Culture of the Teutons

A review of Vilhelm Grønbech's seminal work on the religion and culture of ancient Germanic peoples. Grønbech, professor of the history of religion at the University of Copenhagen, looks at Norse, Lombardic, Anglo-Saxon, Gothic and Roman sources to identify a common Teutonic culture focused on luck, honour, shame, kinship, and a unique perspective on the afterlife and the soul. My review includes favourite quotes from volume 1 of the two part book republished by Antelope Hill.

Jive Book Review: HOLY EUROPE by AKi Cederberg

 

Pagan Finnish author ‪Aki Cederberg joins me as we discuss his latest book Holy Europe (PYHÄ EUROOPPA), published in English in 2024 by Arcana Europa. The book is a travelogue in which Aki invites the reader to join him on a spiritual exploration of the continent, looking at ancient pagan holy sites, as well as places relevant to artists and esotericists who have sought the holy within Europe in various ways. He addresses the spiritual crisis of Western man by showing how the sacred is still accessible in Europe today.

Documentary: LOST GODS: The Future of Christianity and Paganism in The North

 

While I was filming “Sagas of the Raven Land” my colleague Matt Eng of North Hugr was making his own film called Lost Gods. It’s truly brilliant. It includes interviews with me as well as a Danish Lutheran theologian and the TikTok influencer Ian Byington. 

It's is a philosophical exploration of the problem of disenchantment in the West, with a focus on Icelandic and Norwegian nature to tell the tale. Highly recommended viewing!

Sagas of the Raven Land: Viking History Documentary

To gain a deeper understanding of medieval Icelandic stories called sagas, historian Tom Rowsell journeys to Iceland, immersing himself in the landscapes that inspired these tales. He rides native horses across the fells, bathes in hot springs, and traces the footsteps of legendary Viking heroes like Eirik the Red and Egill Skallagrimsson.

Interview with Illegitmate Scholar: Uncovering European Origins

Interview and painting of Survive the Jive by Rory Paints

 

 

This is a fun interview with me in a Celtic roundhouse while the interviewer, Rory, paints a humorous caricature of me. Watch to the end to see the hilarious art.

Middle Aged Werewolf: Paul Waggener

 

 

Fitness guru, life reform advocate and Heathen community leader Paul Waggener of the Wolves of Vinland joins me on JIVE TALK to discuss how to handle burnout, enduring hardship over time and staying true to your principles as you face the challenges of different stages of life. 

 

Paul's stuff is at OperationWerewolf.com

Ancient Germanic Swastika: Documentary

I have collected tons of archaeological to support my theory of what the fylfot really means. I hope you will agree with my conclusion and that you will find these artefacts and charming and intriguing as I do.

The swastika was used by ancient Germanic peoples such as the Goths, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. But what did it mean? Some say it was a symbol of the sun, some think it was borrowed from the Romans. In this video I explain how the swastika aka fylfot was actually connected to the cult of the god Wotan aka Odin.

Sources

•  Behrens, F. 2023. Der Tierstil II im Merowingerreich. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110981247 
• Behr, C., ‘Die Beizeichen auf den völkerwanderungszeitlichen Goldbrakteaten.’ Frankfurt a. M. [u.a.] (1991) 
• Burillo-Cuadrado, Ma & Burillo, Francisco. (2014). The swastika as representation of the sun of helios and mithras. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry. 14. 29-36. 
• Carus. P., “FYLFOT AND SWASTIKA” in The Open court (1887) 
• Cheesman. C., THE HERALDS’ SWASTIKA (2019) 
• Godfrey-Faussett, T.G., ‘The Saxon cemetery at Bifrons’ (Kent Archaeology 1876) 
• Haseloff, Eine ‘jütländische Fibelgruppe und ihre Verwandten’ in “Die germanische Tierornamentik der Völkerwanderungszeit” 1981 
• Hauck. K., Die Goldbrakteaten der Völkerwanderungszeit (1985) -Helm. R., ‘Germanischer Schmuck’ (1957) -MacLeod and Mees 'Runic Amulets and Magic Objects' (2006) 
• Pennick. N., ‘Woden’s Swastika’ in Journal of Geomancy vol. 3 no. 4, July 1979 
• Sansoni, U., ‘Alpine and Scandinavian rock art in the Bronze Age, a common cultural matrix in a web of continental influences’ In Picturing Bronze Age ( Swedish Rock Art Series: volume 3 2015)
• Renner-Volbach, D., ‘Die durchbrochenen Zierscheiben der Merowingerzeit’ Dorothee Renner. Rom.-German. Zentralmuseum zu Mainz, (1970) 
• Toreld. A., Andersson. T., hallristning Field report (2012) 
• Theune-Grosskopf, B., & Nedoma, R. (2008). Chairs in graves of the Migration and Merovingian period mirrored by a new find with rune inscription from Trossingen, Lkr. Tuttlingen. Archaologisches Korrespondenzblatt. 38. 423-436.