The Browser - Goodbye Polygamy

Goodbye To The Vikings

Alex Woolf | History Today | 2nd June 2022

The word wicing in Old English meant something like "pirate". It was a job description, not an ethnicity. "Viking" re-entered modern English in the 19th century (via the Old Icelandic víkingr) as a label for any medieval Scandinavian warrior. Soon "Viking" was believed to define a distinct people. We speak now of "Viking names" and "Viking villages". There were no such things (1,550 words)

Why Not Polygamy?

Cheryl Mendelson | Quillette | 28th May 2022

It is hard for supporters of marriage equality to find arguments in principle against polygamy. But academic research summarised here contends that any individual gains from polygamy are vastly outweighed by the harm done to society in general. It may well be that findings cited here are partial and contestable in their selection and presentation; still, this is serious and thought-provoking stuff (4,800 words)

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