Odds and ends

As the traditional anniversary date (Christmas day) for Sweyn's accession to the English throne approaches, it seems right to round up the few stray references to the man that have entered the public domain (and my consciousness) in the last six months.

I've already made reference to the events of the Illuminating York festival, in which the story of Sweyn, his father and his son provided the inspiration for the light and sound display at Clifford's Tower. The background to the project and the artists' thoughts on the source material are to be found here: http://karenmonid.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Triquetra

The generally disreputable Sweyn was cast in a more positive light in the JORVIK Viking Centre's summer exhibition, Heroes, which told the stories of some of the big personalities of the Viking period. Although Sweyn's credentials as a hero are questionable, we should consider his company within the exhibition: Harald Hardrada and Erik Bloodaxe, who also featured, are scarcely more heroic in any conventional sense of the word.

The Sweyn Forkbeard panel in the Heroes exhibition