Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2019 April 17

= April 17 =

The Historical Vikings
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen

I was wondering if there are first hand accounts of people who interacted with the vikings. I have seen much literature on the subject, but most of these stories seem from either second-hand sources, archeological findings or even flat-out rumors. I would like to read about them in a first hand account from the time when they still existed as vikings. Sources in other languages are okay: I speak German, Greek, Latin, some Spanish, a bit French and some Arabic (although I have to admit that I have not spoken it in years).

Thank you very much for yours answers!--2A02:120B:2C17:3CA0:D43D:F270:18DE:3724 (talk) 09:52, 17 April 2019 (UTC)


 * First hand accounts are going to present a bit of a language issue unless you're actually fluent in the medieval versions of those languages, though I guess Latin is fine then. Coming in at the very tail end of the Viking age there is Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum, which includes an extensive first-hand account of contemporary Scandinavian culture. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also contains contemporary accounts of Viking interactions with England. I would recommend looking through Category:Sources on Germanic paganism, Category:Danish chronicles, and similar Scandinavian chronicle categories. These categories are not limited to the Vikings or the Viking age, but some of articles within are about documents written by historians who might have directly interacted with Vikings. Someguy1221 (talk) 14:17, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Awesome, thank you very much, Someguy1221!--2A02:120B:2C17:3CA0:7443:7455:66DD:2543 (talk) 18:04, 17 April 2019 (UTC)


 * There are lots of sources from medieval France about interacting with Vikings (they wandered all over France almost as much as they did in England). They're all in Latin because no one wrote in French at the time. Abbo Cernuus is one example, he was present at the Viking Siege of Paris. The Chronicle of Nantes also talks a lot about Viking raids in Brittany. Adam Bishop (talk) 18:50, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Thanks, Adam Bishop! I am going to take a look at them!--2A02:120B:2C17:3CA0:7443:7455:66DD:2543 (talk) 19:22, 17 April 2019 (UTC)


 * Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 20:33, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

Cool, thank you!--2A02:120B:2C17:3CA0:8CD2:348A:D4A6:48C2 (talk) 15:24, 18 April 2019 (UTC)


 * That is cool, they even made a (not very good) movie out of it, The 13th Warrior. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 23:01, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Hegesias of Cyrene
Good Day

I have read the wiki article about Hegesias of Cyrene and was wondering if it is possible to read contemporary comments from his peers or students about him and his works. I have also heard that a bishop in the later Roman period tried to find parts of his works but was apparently only able to find parts of it through other sources. If you have the name of the bishop and the name of his work about Hegesias, please let me now, because I have not found his name so far.

Thank you most kindly--2A02:120B:2C17:3CA0:D43D:F270:18DE:3724 (talk) 10:00, 17 April 2019 (UTC)


 * Per this source, no writings of Hegesias of Cyrene (c. 290 BC) or his fellow philosophers of the Cyrenaic school have survived, so what you are looking for no longer exists. Everything we know about them is from people writing centuries later, but unfortunately the sources those people used have not survived. The three main such sources are:
 * Sextus Empiricus (c. 180 AD) in Against the Professors VII. Greek and Latin versions are available at archive.org . (NB for your search: The overall book is sometimes also called Against the Mathematicians and part VII is sometimes also called Against the Logicians.)
 * Plutarch (c. 100 AD) in Against Colotes. I can't find this online but maybe a library?
 * Diogenes Laertius (c. 250 AD) in Lives of the Philosophers, Book 2 (available at Wikisource.).
 * 70.67.193.176 (talk) 17:13, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

This is amazing! Thank you most kindly!--2A02:120B:2C17:3CA0:7443:7455:66DD:2543 (talk) 18:05, 17 April 2019 (UTC)
 * You are very welcome! and I hope you enjoy your reading. 70.67.193.176 (talk) 21:44, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

I will, thank you!--2A02:120B:2C17:3CA0:8CD2:348A:D4A6:48C2 (talk) 15:24, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Which Bruce Henderson??
Look at a recent edit to Daryl Bem. It mentions someone named Bruce Henderson. Wikipedia has an article titled Bruce Henderson, but then it has links to 2 other people with that name at a dis-ambiguation header. Which Bruce Henderson does the Daryl Bem article refer to?? Georgia guy (talk) 13:01, 17 April 2019 (UTC)
 * None of them. The article Daryl Bem says that particular Bruce Henderson is an "Ithaca College professor of communication studies, performance studies, and queer studies".  Wikipedia has three articles on people named Bruce Henderson.  The article titled Bruce Henderson is about a person who died in 1992, so could not have married Mr. Bem in 2015.  Bruce Henderson (author) is not an "Ithaca College professor of communication studies, performance studies, and queer studies", but is instead a journalist and author out of California, so obviously not the same person.  Bruce Ronald Henderson is a New Zealand-based person who seems to have founded a few putative micronations.  Also not the same person.  So, your Bruce Henderson is an entirely different person.  Namely This Bruce Henderson.  -- Jayron 32 13:49, 17 April 2019 (UTC)