CURRENT RESEARCH

Cultural Continuity and Differentiation in Bear Rites and Stories of Eurasia and North America.

This study compiles multiple lines of evidence presented in recent specialized studies, including paleontological, archaeological, literary, historical, ethnographic and biological studies, to address long-standing questions in historical scientific discourse on ancestral bear ceremonialism in cultures of the northern hemisphere.

Multimedia Image 

(Copyright Rick Rulf, 2022)

Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Stories of Animals. 

This research applies anthropological and ecological theoretical frameworks in analyses of behavioral relationships among humans, non-human animals, plants and places evident in archaeological records and story-telling traditions of Indigenous and other traditional cultures of North America and Eurasia. 

Photo by Edward Curtis

(Public Domain)

 Traditional Origin Stories Elucidate Cultural Heritage, Worldview, Identity, & Ethos.

Illustration by Olaf Gelein

 (Copyright Rick Rulf, 2012)

Humanity and the Night Sky. 

This educational video series establishes a foundation for framing questions about the cultural significance of darkness and the night sky in sciences, humanities, and in emulation of the cosmos evident in behaviors and artistic achievements of ancient cultures. Current research involves compiling traditional origin stories, as told by living Native American storytellers, that attest to the emergence of humanity from darkness, and stories on how celestial bodies, including the sun, moon, planets, stars, and constellations, came into being.

(Photo Copyright Rick Rulf)

Stories from the Confluence.

Experts share professional and inspirational experiences addressing social and environmental issues.  

(Photo Copyright Rick Rulf, 2019)

Transmission of Ethos In the Saga of King Hrolf. 

In Hrolf's Saga, tales of virtue are vividly articulated. Characters in the legendary epic personify ethics as conflicts unfold in an epic of honor & treachery, valor & cowardice, generosity & greed. The tales elucidate ancestral Norse cultural ethos within the context of its own warrior-poet story-telling tradition. 

Illustration: a bear fights beside King Hrolf  during his last battle, by Louis Moe, 1857-1945

(Public Domain)

Attestations of Seidr in Medieval  Literature and Archaeology . 

This database compiles ancient literary attestations and archaeological data that significantly inform comprehensive analysis of seidr. 

Photo: National Museum of Denmark

Compilation and Analysis of Attestations of Beserkers in Medieval  Literature. 

This compilation of attestations of berserkers in primary sources is designed to inform, enrich and support analyses of berserkers in Norse cultural traditions, to investigate theories about them, and to dispel common misconceptions echoed by popular sources.

(Painting & Image Copyright Rick Rulf, 2011)

Educational Program. 

Hrolf’s Hall is an independently operated online educational program that applies traditional learning pedagogies, namely story-telling and discussion, for learning about all aspects of medieval Scandinavian and Germanic cultures. Centering on the transmission of knowledge in the legendary epic, Hrolf’s Saga Kraki (Saga of King Hrolf), this program is designed to engage participants in dynamic discussions on popular subjects of interest, especially history, archaeology, social organization, ethos, sorcery, zoomorphism, and warrior-poet storytelling traditions of medieval Europe. 

Illustration: King Hrolf spreads gold on the ground to evade the Swedes, by Jenny Nystrom, 1895.

(Public Domain)