Candidate Profile

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EXPERTISE
Vikings & Scandinavia
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE WITH:
BIOGRAPHY
Dr Fenella Bazin is an award-winning author and broadcaster and was a university lecturer for over 45 years. She recently retired as an accredited lecturer for the Arts Society.

Since 2002 she has enthused cruise ship audiences with presentations on aspects of the Scandinavian world, ranging from the Viking Age to the modern day. She has sailed the Norwegian coast between 35 and 40 times in all seasons, and is familiar with the Baltic. Her voyages have also taken her to Svalbard, Iceland, Greenland and the east coast of North America. More recently, she has also frequently travelled the length of the Mediterranean since 2015.

Viking Age subjects include art and crafts, trade and travel, the impact of the Scandinavians on the British Isles, Iceland, Greenland and the brief settlement in Newfoundland. Women tend to have been ignored in history but during this period they played a major role in all aspects of everyday life, with rights unimagined in later centuries.

Norway virtually disappeared from history after the vibrant Middle Ages. The rediscovery of its past and the story of the restoration of the Kingdom in 1905 is a fascinating story, encompassing the extraordinary arctic explorations undertaken by Nansen and Amundsen, and the rebirth of Norwegian literature, music and art through figures such as Ibsen, Grieg and Munch.

Her university career was as a musician, publishing on both sides of the Atlantic on the music of amateur music-makers who composed dance and songs for country entertainment, and hymns and anthems for use in local churches and chapels. She studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London and enjoys presenting a talk on Grieg’s piano music, illustrated at the piano and with paintings by nineteenth-century Norwegian artists.

In spite of a busy career and retirement, she has also continued her interest in music, particularly enjoying singing Evensong at a number of cathedrals across England, as well as performing chamber music on the island of her birth.
TALKS ON THE VIKING AGE & MODERN NORWAY

SCANDINAVIA AND THE VIKING WORLD

1. Norway reborn: the impact of Viking history on Norway's identity today
How does a country with fewer than 5 million inhabitants establish itself on the international stage? This is the fascinating story of how Norway became a nation again after centuries of domination by Denmark and Sweden, through art, literature, music, science and polar explorations of navigation, and the glass-making technology they imported from the Middle East was an important element in the building of cathedrals and monasteries.
(Shorter version) Norway reborn: the impact of Viking history on Norway's identity today
Discover how this small nation of 5 million people regained its independence in 1905 after centuries of domination by Denmark and Sweden, taking its place on the world stage through art, literature, music, science and polar explorations.

2. The Shetland Bus: a hazardous Norwegian lifeline between Norway and Britain in the Second World War
Marvel at the courage of men and women risking their lives on small fishing boats in dangerous winter storms, to carry refugees, agents and ammunition to support the Norwegian Resistance. Includes some unpublished personal accounts.

3a. The last days of the Tirpitz: a daring operation
Meticulous planning by the RAF was essential for the attack in late 1944 on Hitler’s apparently indestructible battleship, by now moored near Alta in Arctic Norway. Two Squadrons, IX and 617, were chosen to drop Tallboy bombs from between 14,000’ and 16,000’. My father-in-law, Jim Bazin, was Commanding Officer of IX Squadron. Our research for a forthcoming book has enabled a fresh approach to the three attacks, drawing on official documents as well as personal memories of some of the men he led.

3b. (Shorter version)
The last days of the Tirpitz, Hitler’s indestructible’ battleship in the Altafjord and Tromsø in 1944 (86)
Learn how two élite RAF Squadrons, IX and 617, sank the ‘unsinkable’ battleship. IX Squadron was led by my father-in-law James Bazin. A book by my husband and I draws on official documents & personal memories offers a fresh look at the attacks. (201)

4. Norway under siege
The aftermath of the Nazi invasion of a neutral country; the extraordinary courage of the men and women who were involved with the Shetland Bus; the total devastation of northern Norway in late 1944 and early 1945; and story of the re-building of towns in Finnmark.

5. Norway Today
An introduction to Norway: to the system of government, the economy, and everyday life.

6a. Man and the Arctic: artists of northern Norway
The dramatic landscapes of Arctic Norway have attracted tourists since the 19th century, when wars and revolutions made it impossible to enjoy the Grand Tour. The century also saw two other developments: the appreciation of the Sublime and the rise of national awareness. Artists revelled in painting the clarity of the northern light, celebrated folklife and recorded some of the challenges of surviving the harsh climate of the far north.

6b. (Shorter version)
Man and the Arctic: how artists portray the dramatic landscapes and harsh lives of Arctic Norway (81)
Appreciate how artists from all over Europe revelled in capturing the clarity of the northern light, were inspired by the landscape, folklife and folklore, and recorded the challenges of surviving the harsh conditions of the far north. (199)

7. How to furnish a palace from scratch: a challenge faced by the Norwegians in 1905
After the Norwegians gained their independence from Sweden in 1905, they found themselves not only with a new royal family but also an empty palace that had been recently vacated by the Swedish king. This is the intriguing story of how virtually every community in the united to furnish the royal residence.

8. Managers, servants and slaves: women and society in the Viking Age
Explore the lives of some of the high-status Viking women who left their Scandinavian homeland to make their mark in the west of the British Isles and Iceland. Using evidence from excavations, contemporary images and the Icelandic sagas, a picture emerges of the lives of Viking women, their responsibilities and the powerful role they had in their family and society in general.

9. The Vikings at home
How people lived in the medieval period; houses, food, clothes, shipbuilding; travel over land and sea; the adoption of Christianity. A Viking’s wealth was visible everywhere: in the jewellery worn by his wife and daughters, his ornately-decorated house, and his ships. Wooden stave churches were heavily carved, and the stone memorial slabs carried pagan as well as the Christian stories.

10. The powerful Norse Sea-Kings of Western Isles: 1066-1275
Discover the little-known history of the Kingdoms of the Hebrides and the Isle of, when powerful Norse rulers wielded political influence across the Scandinavian world and as far afield as Rome and when Viking art flourished in this western archipelago. (214)

11. Trade, travel and innovation in the Viking Age
Powered by a totally new concept of ship design, Vikings were able to travel further and faster than their contemporaries. Their journeys took them to new lands and cultures, where they observed and absorbed new technologies and ideas, further consolidating their position in the known world. They adopted these new methods and techniques, leading to their domination of northern Europe and the North Atlantic during the Viking Age.

12. Life on the Fram: an imaginative breakthrough in Arctic ship design
Nansen and Colin Archer completely re-thought the qualities and design of a ship built specifically to explore the Arctic. The Fram crewed by only a dozen men was comfortable and warm and with her own electricity generator. Nansen’s scientific approach to a balanced diet meant that the men stayed healthy; many put on weight during the voyage. There was a good library and musical instruments for entertainment. Life onboard during the three Arctic winters of 1893-1896 was remarkably comfortable.

13. Fridjof Nansen: a remarkable life
This is the story of an extraordinary man. Fridjof Nansen (1861-1930) was a champion skier, the first to cross the Greenland ice-cap on skis, proving that they were more effective for Arctic exploration than man-hauling sledges. He was a brilliant neuroscientist, and an Arctic explorer who became a role model for later expeditions. He developed oceanography and was a key figure in Norway’s move to independence in 1905. After WW1 he introduced the Nansen passport, enabling those who found themselves stateless to emigrate to North America. For this, he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.

14. Vikings in the Arctic
It is clear that the Vikings had a thorough knowledge of the Arctic seas, from Scandinavia to Greenland and north to Svalbard. New ship technology enabled long sea journeys over dangerous waters. Their navigational skills were transmitted through the generations, depending on their knowledge of ocean currents and the migrations on birds and sea mammals. They flourisjed in apparently hostile environments, developing economies based on local farming and valuable exports. Many who settled in Iceland and Greenland were political refugees from Norway who gradually established proto-democracy, a new form of government.

15. Nansen and Amundsen: putting Norway on the international stage
Along with other scientists and explorers, Fridjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen played major roles in the development of arctic research. Both were very aware that it was an important way in which Norway could take a place on the international stage after centuries of rule by Denmark and Sweden. Birkeland, often described as the first space scientist, was another important figure whose work on the aurora borealis opened up new research in the understanding of earth’s relationship to space. These men were important in studies that continue to be a vital importance today.

16. Gods, dragons and the natural world: the art of the Vikings
Ornate silver, wood and stone carvings and beautiful personal ornaments including brooches and glass and amber beads often give a vivid insight to the world of the Viking Age, including trading routes, occupations and domestic lives.

17. Two Viking colonies: comparing Iceland and the Isle of Man
Using accounts from sagas, chronicles and archaeological evidence, we compare the integration with the existing Celtic culture in the Kingdom of Man and the Isles with the new proto-democratic society that was established by the Viking settlers in the previously uninhabited Iceland. We also look at elements and influences that have survived into modern times, including parliamentary systems, attitudes and language.

18. The World of the Icelandic Sagas
Love and jealousy, murder and revenge, bold adventures and dangerous voyages: all these and other great stories are found in the medieval sagas of Iceland and Greenland.

19. The Secret World of Edvard Grieg: an illustrated lecture/piano recital
Most people are familiar with Grieg's Piano Concerto and the music of the Peer Gynt Suites. His piano music is a store of wonderful musical ideas, influenced by and responding to the Norwegian landscape and the folk culture of his beloved West Coast of Norway. Both are illustrated with paintings by Norwegian artists.

OTHER REGIONS: the Irish Sea, the English Channel and North America
20. The Dark Ages? Not in the early Celtic world of Ireland, Scotland and north-east England
Discover the wonderful illuminated manuscripts of the 6th-9th centuries, created by monks in Ireland, the Abbey of Iona in Scotland and later at Lindisfarne. Learn how works by the Venerable Bede in the 700s influenced ideas across Europe.

(Also Nos. 8 and 12)

21. The English Channel: a vital highway from prehistoric times for ideas, beliefs and invasions (79)
Discover how the English Channel has been a vital route linking northern Europe to the wider world. Trade, invasion, innovation and emigration have all played a part in the development of the countries whose coastlines border this busy seaway. (205)

22. From Greenland to Vinland: the Vikings discover North America
Intrepid Viking explorers sailed west from Greenland to discover a new world with wild wheat, grapes and butternuts. They encountered 'skraelings', initially trading with them but eventually retreating to their base in northern Newfoundland. Why did the attempt at colonisation fail? And why were the Greenland settlements abandoned by the 15th century?

23. 'New Norway' in Pennsylvania: Ole Bull's Utopian dream
The story of a remarkable Norwegian musician, whose love of America led to the establishment of a Norwegian colony in the middle of the 19th century. We examine the conditions encountered by the emigrants on their dangerous Atlantic crossings, journeys that could last 13 or 14 weeks, and look at the lives that they shaped for themselves in the New World.
CRUISE HISTORY / EXPERIENCE
A lecturer for the Universities of Birmingham and Liverpool since 1971, Dr Fenella Bazin has also enhanced the cruise experience for passengers of a total of 31 voyages, including 15 since 2003 for Hurtigruten (formerly Norwegian Coastal Voyages) and since 2011 for Fred. Olsen (5), Voyages of Discovery (1) and Saga (1). Since 2015 she has completed nine cruises for Viking Ocean Cruises and in April was delighted to be the first Resident Historian on Viking Star.

Specialising in Scandinavian and Viking subjects, she is constantly updating, developing and widening her lectures, building on her familiarity with Western Norway and her growing understanding of the North Atlantic and Baltic regions.

She finds that meeting guests on the ships is an integral part of the experience and often leads to permission from guests to include accounts and facts, particularly about wartime Norway, that have never before been published.
RECENT PAST CRUISES COMPLETED
The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.
SHIP REF CRUISE DESCRIPTION NIGHTS SAILING FROM DEPARTURE DATE
Viking Venus VE240312 In Search of the Northern Lights 12 Bergen Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Viking Venus VE240229 In Search of the Northern Lights 12 Tilbury Thursday, February 29, 2024
Viking Venus VE240217 In Search of the Northern Lights 12 Bergen Saturday, February 17, 2024
Viking Jupiter JU230823 British Isles Explorer 14 Greenwich, London Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Viking Jupiter JU230809 British Isles Explorer 14 Bergen Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Viking Mars MA220818 Iceland's Majestic Landscapes 12 Reykjavik Thursday, August 18, 2022
Viking Mars MA220806 Iceland's Majestic Landscapes 12 Bergen Saturday, August 6, 2022
Viking Jupiter JU220519 Viking Homelands 14 Bergen Thursday, May 19, 2022
Viking Jupiter JU220512 Viking Shores & Fjords 7 Amsterdam Thursday, May 12, 2022
Viking Jupiter JU220505 Viking Shores & Fjords 7 Bergen Thursday, May 5, 2022
Viking Sky SK220328 Mediterranean Odyssey 12 Venice Monday, March 28, 2022
Viking Sky SK220319 Empires of the Mediterranean 9 Piraeus (Athens) Saturday, March 19, 2022
Viking Sky SK220312 Venice, the Adriatic and Greece 7 Venice Saturday, March 12, 2022
Viking Sky SK220305 Italian Sojourn 7 Civitavecchia (for Rome) Saturday, March 5, 2022
Viking Sky SK220226 Iconic Western Mediterranean 7 Barcelona Saturday, February 26, 2022
Viking Sky SK220219 Iconic Western Mediterranean 7 Civitavecchia (for Rome) Saturday, February 19, 2022
Viking Sky SK220212 Journey to Antiquities 7 Piraeus (Athens) Saturday, February 12, 2022
Viking Venus VE220105 Iberian Explorer 7 Barcelona Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Viking Jupiter JU210817 Iceland's Natural Beauty 7 Reykjavik Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Viking Jupiter JU210810 Iceland's Natural Beauty 7 Reykjavik Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Viking Jupiter JU210803 Iceland's Natural Beauty 7 Reykjavik Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Viking Jupiter JU210727 Iceland's Natural Beauty 7 Reykjavik Tuesday, July 27, 2021
Viking Star ST200203 In Search of the Northern Lights 12 Tilbury Monday, February 3, 2020
Viking Star ST200122 In Search of the Northern Lights 12 Bergen Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Viking Sun SU190720 Into the Midnight Sun 14 Bergen Saturday, July 20, 2019
Viking Sun SU190706 British Isles Explorer 14 Greenwich, London Saturday, July 6, 2019
Viking Sky SK190406 Scandinavia & the Kiel Canal 10 Copenhagen Saturday, April 6, 2019
Viking Sky SK190327 Scandinavia & the Kiel Canal 10 Amsterdam Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Viking Sky SK190218 In Search of the Northern Lights 12 Bergen Monday, February 18, 2019
Viking Sky SK190206 In Search of the Northern Lights 12 Tilbury Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Viking Sky SK190125 In Search of the Northern Lights 12 Bergen Friday, January 25, 2019
Viking Sea SE180904 In the Wake of the Vikings 14 Bergen Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Viking Sea SE180612 Into the Midnight Sun 14 Bergen Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Viking Sea SE180529 Viking Homelands 14 Stockholm Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Viking Star ST180215 Southern Mediterranean Discovery 7 Civitavecchia (for Rome) Thursday, February 15, 2018
Viking Star ST180208 Iconic Cities of the Western Mediterranean 7 Barcelona Thursday, February 8, 2018
Viking Star ST180201 Southern Mediterranean Discovery 7 Civitavecchia (for Rome) Thursday, February 1, 2018
Viking Star ST180125 Iconic Western Mediterranean 7 Barcelona Thursday, January 25, 2018
Viking Star ST180118 Southern Mediterranean Discovery 7 Civitavecchia (for Rome) Thursday, January 18, 2018
Viking Star ST180111 Iconic Western Mediterranean 7 Barcelona Thursday, January 11, 2018
Viking Star ST180104 Southern Mediterranean Discovery 7 Civitavecchia (for Rome) Thursday, January 4, 2018
Viking Star ST170410 Mediterranean Odyssey 12 Venice Monday, April 10, 2017
Viking Star ST170401 Empires of the Mediterranean 9 Piraeus (Athens) Saturday, April 1, 2017
Viking Star ST161002 Eastern Seaboard Explorer 12 Montreal Sunday, October 2, 2016
Viking Star ST160918 In the Wake of the Vikings 14 Bergen Sunday, September 18, 2016
Viking Star ST160807 Viking Homelands 14 Stockholm Sunday, August 7, 2016
Saga Pearl 11 P2158 Fjordland Gems 7 Dover Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Viking Sea SE160605 Into the Midnight Sun 14 Bergen Sunday, June 5, 2016
Boudicca D1518 Exploring the Arctic 27 Newcastle Sunday, August 2, 2015
Viking Star ST150627 Viking Homelands 14 Stockholm Saturday, June 27, 2015