Today was a big day—it was the day I got a link on Instapundit.

I’d noticed that people (usually publishers) send Glenn Reynolds books—often in the Fantasy and Science Fiction fields—and he posts an Amazon link. So I sent him a book, along with a short note mentioning my blogging credentials, and crossed my fingers. Today it paid off.

We sold off our entire Amazon stock within a very short time. Unfortunately, our Amazon stock wasn’t very large. But still it’s something. Maybe I’ll acquire another influential fan or two.

What’s that you say? Not enough Viking content in this post? Well, we can’t have that.

Here’s a video of a couple Scandinavian musicians doing a song called “Ormen Lange,” which I’ve liked for a long time. I first heard it done by a Norwegian folk group called “Vandrerne,” but their version doesn’t seem to be online. The Vandrerne arrangement was a little more processed, and I frankly prefer it, but this isn’t bad.

The song is a “ring dance” song from the Faeroe Islands. The title, “Ormen Lange,” means “The Long Serpent,” and it refers to King Olaf Trygvesson’s great war ship, which I believe I mention in The Year Of the Warrior. In the tradition of Faeroese ring dance songs, this seems to be a very long one. Only the first few verses are here—they tell how King Olaf calls his men to join him in a voyage in his ship, and his men enthusiastically respond that they’ll willingly follow him “into war or peace.” Then they launch the ship and set sail, with the king at the helm. I assume the full version goes on to tell about Olaf’s death at the Battle of Svold.

The chorus goes:

“The dance glimmers in the hall, and we dance in a ring.

Gladly ride Norwegian men to battle (the assembly of Hild).”