Carl Leif Torbjörn Hugo Erik Johan Erskine Thunberg, FSAScot (born 25 October 1963) is a Swedish

popular historian Popular history, also called pop history, is a broad genre of historiography that takes a popular approach, aims at a wide readership, and usually emphasizes narrative, personality and vivid detail over scholarly analysis. The term is used in con ...

active in cultural heritage protection, and was one of the founders of Blue Shield Sweden from 2023 to 2024, through which process Sweden established its own national committee within

Blue Shield International The Blue Shield, formerly the International Committee of the Blue Shield, is an international organization founded in 1996 to protect the world's cultural heritage from threats such as armed conflict and natural disasters. Originally intended as ...

in 2024. As a writer, he has primarily focused on subjects related to the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

and the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

Biography

Thunberg was a punk rock musician during his youth. In 1979 he co-founded the pioneering

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band Homy Hogs. In this context he became a recurring character in the early comics of Joakim Lindengren. He also appears in Stig Larsson's autobiographical novel '' När det känns att det håller på ta slut''. In the 1990s he ran the indie record label Burn Records with metal guitarist Fredrik Lindgren. He also made a guest appearance on Lindgren's punk band Loud Pipes' debut album ''The Downhill Blues'' in 1997. Thunberg was educated at the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg () is a List of universities in Sweden, university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current List of universities in Sweden#Public universities, S ...

and

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

. He has lectured on

didactic method A didactic method (from ''didáskein'', "to teach") is a teaching method that follows a consistent scientific approach or educational style to present information to students. The didactic method of instruction is often contrasted with dialecti ...

for history as a school subject. Thunberg became a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usu ...

in 2016. Thunberg has in particular worked in various ways in the field of cultural environment work and heritage protection. From 2010 to 2012 he took part in the policy struggle to preserve the archaeological reconstructions at

Gene fornby Gene Fornby is a reconstructed Iron Age settlement just outside Örnsköldsvik, in Västernorrland County, Sweden. History The earliest traces of human activity found in the area date back to the Nordic Bronze Age, but the settlement itself date ...

near

Örnsköldsvik Örnsköldsvik (; ), often shortened to just Ö-vik, is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden, with 32,953 inhabitants in 2017. Its natural harbour and archipelago is in th ...

in Sweden.

2020s

In 2021, Thunberg took part in evaluating two controversial findings presented by archaeologist

Sven Rosborn Sven Gunnar Rosborn (born 1949 in Malmö, Sweden) is a Swedish archaeologist, historian and writer best known for his contributions to the archaeology of the Viking Age in the province of Scania and for his leadership of archaeology and history r ...

: the

Curmsun Disc The Curmsun Disc is a convex-concave gold disc that gained scholarly attention in 2014 after an 11-year-old Polish girl in Sweden showed it to her history teacher. Some scholars have tentatively dated the disc to the 10th to 12th century, although ...

and a transcription of an alleged medieval manuscript. Thunberg's assessment was that extensive further research would be required to make a judgment on authenticity. In 2022 he was appointed chair of Västernorrlands Museum. In 2023 Thunberg became chair of the Swedish antiquities fund ''Stiftelsen Björkå AB Fornminnesfond'', a foundation for financial contributions to science within archaeological areas, and research grants for scholarly projects involving protected historic buildings, archaeological sites and ancient remains. In 2023 Thunberg joined the working group for Blue Shield Sweden's inclusion in

. In 2024 the Swedish National Committee was approved as Blue Shield's 34th national committee. Thunberg was then appointed to the newly formalized board of Blue Shield Sweden. In 2025, Thunberg was elected to the first duly constituted regular board of directors of Blue Shield Sweden, following the initial startup period, and was also appointed authorized signatory and treasurer.

Selected publications

*
Gene fornby: The Ancient Village of Gene
'(2013). In: EXARC Journal Digest 2013. ISSN 2212-523X. *
Slaget på Fyrisvallarna i ny tolkning
' (2012) 'The Battle of Fýrisvellir in a New Interpretation'', . * ''Att tolka Svitjod'' (2012) 'To interpret Svitjod'', . *
Särkland och dess källmaterial
' (2011) 'Serkland and its Source Material'', . * ''Ingvarståget och dess monument'' (2010) 'The Ingvar Expedition and its Monuments'', .

Distinctions

* The Royal Patriotic Society’s large medal in gold (PatrSstGM) (2008) * Knight of the Hungarian

Order of Vitéz The Order of Vitéz (; frequently spelled in English as 'Vitez') is a Hungary, Hungarian order of merit which was founded in 1920. It was awarded as a state honour from 1920 to 1944, and continues as a semi-independent order of chivalry under Cap ...

(2024)
Diploma of the Order of Vitéz. Recipient Carl L. Thunberg, 31 August 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thunberg, Carl L. 1963 births Living people 21st-century Swedish historians Medievalists University of Gothenburg alumni Uppsala University alumni