WEBVTT - How the Vikings Worked

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm editor Candice Gibson, joined by staff writer Jane mc

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<v Speaker 1>grath Pagans. I think that Vikings are some of the

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<v Speaker 1>coolest people and all of history. They really are. They're

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<v Speaker 1>like pirates um at times ten and they're just like,

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<v Speaker 1>they're so awesome. And I think that one of the

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<v Speaker 1>best things about Vikings is that their religion. They were pagan,

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<v Speaker 1>so they had a pandeon of gods, and their foes

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<v Speaker 1>in the universe were evil giants and dwarves and dark elves,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's just like a storybook come to life. I

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<v Speaker 1>think it's just so fascinating. It is original. Their religion, sorry,

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<v Speaker 1>is very fascinating in that. Um. I guess everybody's heard

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<v Speaker 1>of thor uh. Yeah, they got a thunder at the hammer.

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<v Speaker 1>He was actually he was really strong. Obviously, he's also

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<v Speaker 1>known as being kind of stupid. Um, but he wasn't.

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<v Speaker 1>What I found is shying is that he wasn't their

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<v Speaker 1>ultimate god. They had a for an ultimate god. There

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<v Speaker 1>there's Zeus so to speak, was named Odin and he

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<v Speaker 1>was the main god and they had this whole drawn

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<v Speaker 1>out like mythology about Yeah, like you said, the giants

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<v Speaker 1>and this battle would happen. I think it's called reg Norak.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure how that's pronounced, but um, yeah, this

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<v Speaker 1>they had this whole idea of this battle would happen

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<v Speaker 1>between their gods and the and the enemy giants, and

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<v Speaker 1>that the world would be consumed in this fire and

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<v Speaker 1>everything like that, and and just in the world would uh,

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<v Speaker 1>there'd be enough members of both races to just barely

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<v Speaker 1>survive a new world after that. And they just had

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<v Speaker 1>this all mapped out for the future. Yeah, And it

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<v Speaker 1>was sort of strange in the context that it was

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<v Speaker 1>a very self defeatist sort of religion because they thought

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<v Speaker 1>that evil would triumph over good, and so Vikings and

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<v Speaker 1>warriors would continue to fight alongside Odin even in their afterlives,

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<v Speaker 1>but evil would ultimately overcome the good and the universe

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<v Speaker 1>would be plunged into darkness and chaos. Who wants to

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<v Speaker 1>we wants to make up a story like that? Like, well,

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<v Speaker 1>it got me thinking, Jane, because we know that Vikings

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<v Speaker 1>have this reputation as being pillagers and raiders, and I

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<v Speaker 1>thought maybe they were living for the here and now,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, steal from all the good people and enjoy

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<v Speaker 1>the money and the resources while you have them. And

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<v Speaker 1>so we may be getting a little bit ahead of ourselves.

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<v Speaker 1>So let's start back at square one. Viking itself as

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<v Speaker 1>a term that the origins of which are are pretty nebulous.

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<v Speaker 1>It's sort of lost in the annals of history. And

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<v Speaker 1>Viking history itself is is also pretty nebulous because most

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<v Speaker 1>of the written record about Vikings come from Christians because

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<v Speaker 1>they were literate at the time, and when Vikings came,

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<v Speaker 1>monasteries and churches were hotspots for them to raid because

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<v Speaker 1>there were so many riches contained within. So of course,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, the monks and the other religious authorities there

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't have written very complimentary things about the Vikings, so

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<v Speaker 1>that's why they have such a predominantly negative reputation. On

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<v Speaker 1>the other hand, the Viking side of the story has

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<v Speaker 1>been handed down through epic poems and saga's. It's all

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<v Speaker 1>oral history, and you know very well that oral history

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<v Speaker 1>changes as it goes through the year, so don't know

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<v Speaker 1>a lot about them. That's true, and it's interesting comparing

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<v Speaker 1>it to like stories like Beowulf and stuff like that.

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<v Speaker 1>Those were also stories told in in similar time periods

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<v Speaker 1>by these these poets and for Vikings, those Scandinavian peoples

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<v Speaker 1>at least, uh, they were told by these people named skalds,

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<v Speaker 1>and they would just recite these very intricate, detailed stories

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<v Speaker 1>um and some of which were eventually written down after

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<v Speaker 1>the people were assimilated with with the Europeans, but a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of them have been lost to history exactly. So

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<v Speaker 1>we don't know what the term Viking itself means, but

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<v Speaker 1>we have some guesses, and those guesses range from pirate

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<v Speaker 1>to ports an even body of water. And the raids

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<v Speaker 1>that Vikings would go on were known as I Viking

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<v Speaker 1>sort of like iPod different words right right now. It's

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<v Speaker 1>interesting because our article on our site actually makes a

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<v Speaker 1>good point in that, uh, we should differentiate between Vikings

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<v Speaker 1>as sort of an occupation of like they were really

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<v Speaker 1>just pirates, and they were part of these peoples from Scandinavia,

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<v Speaker 1>like Sweden and Norway and Denmark and these areas um

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<v Speaker 1>north of Europe um, and so we should differentiate when

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<v Speaker 1>we talk about them, definitely, And Vikings were such courageous people,

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<v Speaker 1>and I think that that's a fact that gets lost

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<v Speaker 1>in the more glamorous aspect of the Viking legend, which again,

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<v Speaker 1>as you know, the raping and pillaging and plundering, that's

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<v Speaker 1>the sort of juicy stuff we'd like to hear about.

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<v Speaker 1>But other scholars point out that they were also incredibly

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<v Speaker 1>well organized and very very sturdy men. And another important point,

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<v Speaker 1>all Vikings were men. Women didn't have a place and

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<v Speaker 1>that particular part of the culture. And we know that

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<v Speaker 1>they found a Dublin, they conquered Normandy, they ruled half

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<v Speaker 1>of England, They sailed to North America, they traded with

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<v Speaker 1>the Middle East and North Africa. We even have some

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<v Speaker 1>archaeological evidence that points to the fact that they traded

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<v Speaker 1>with Turkey and Russia. And we did an earlier podcast

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<v Speaker 1>um about a month or so ago about Easter Island,

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<v Speaker 1>and we talked about how the Easter Islanders left their

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<v Speaker 1>home and sailing in these you know, sturdy but rather

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<v Speaker 1>makeshift boats to who knows where they were going. And

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<v Speaker 1>the Vikings were kind of like that too. They had

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<v Speaker 1>these clinker built ships which were made of over overlapping

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<v Speaker 1>planks of wood, and some scholars wonder if Vikings knew

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<v Speaker 1>exactly where they were going, or if like the Easter Islanders.

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<v Speaker 1>They were just setting out sail hoping to find land somewhere.

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<v Speaker 1>So you have to think that these people who were

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<v Speaker 1>on these ships, these these crews were up against high

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<v Speaker 1>winds and stormy seas. There was very little opportunity to sleep.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes you know, they may have just landed just to

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<v Speaker 1>get some rest. That's right. And it is regardless of

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<v Speaker 1>like what motivated them or whether they knew where they

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<v Speaker 1>were going. UM, it is amazing how far they went.

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<v Speaker 1>Like if you look at a map of where they went,

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<v Speaker 1>it's just interesting. You never think of them going down

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<v Speaker 1>of the Mediterranean, but they did and um, and their

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<v Speaker 1>ships were amazing feet of technology at the time too.

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<v Speaker 1>They had uh square sales, but they also had or

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<v Speaker 1>so it's both stale and or um. And they're about

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<v Speaker 1>between forty five and seventy five ft long. Uh and

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<v Speaker 1>they were double ended, many of them, so that they

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<v Speaker 1>could basically go either way without turning around. And historians

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<v Speaker 1>speculate that it is actually motivated by the nature of

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<v Speaker 1>their land. Where they came from is very inhospitable. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>It was it's mountainous and it's cold, and and what's more,

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<v Speaker 1>when you think of Scandinavia. You also think of lots

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<v Speaker 1>of islands and peninsulas and smaller parcels of land, and

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<v Speaker 1>so the Vikings expanding their empire, they needed more land

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<v Speaker 1>or they needed to go to places that had resources

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<v Speaker 1>that they couldn't support on their soil and bring it back.

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<v Speaker 1>And you were referring to this this population boom in

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<v Speaker 1>the Scandinavians, and some historians think that there was a

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<v Speaker 1>warming trend and that contributed to the ability to grow

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<v Speaker 1>more food, which led to a bigger population and eventually

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<v Speaker 1>the clans that existed within the Vikings, you know, the

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<v Speaker 1>Scandinavians encompassed the Swedes and the Danes and um other

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<v Speaker 1>groups of Scandinavian tribes. They were they were fighting each

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<v Speaker 1>other so much they had to go out and strike

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<v Speaker 1>new territory, It's true. And we also contributed to this

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<v Speaker 1>because they were surrounded by water and so there was

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<v Speaker 1>a great source of food for them was to go fishing,

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<v Speaker 1>and they were lucky enough to have like plenty of

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<v Speaker 1>trees around and so they quickly developed good good ships,

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<v Speaker 1>as we mentioned, and this all came together and that

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<v Speaker 1>they wouldn't go raiding exactly. And another factor was that

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<v Speaker 1>whether you were in Norwegian or Swedish or Danish, it

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<v Speaker 1>was very much a matter of tradition to be a Viking.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe your father was maybe your father's father, father's father's father,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was considered, you know, very manly and very

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<v Speaker 1>virile to be a part of this culture. And some

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<v Speaker 1>of these men were so virile that they were called berserkers,

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<v Speaker 1>and they would fight with the intensity of beasts, even

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<v Speaker 1>drape animal pelts on themselves, and they acted as that

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<v Speaker 1>they were immune to pain. It's sort of wild, but

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<v Speaker 1>again part to this tradition, and other historians speculate that

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<v Speaker 1>Viking raids could have been carried out by exiled Scandinavians.

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<v Speaker 1>They would have put criminals, convicted criminals on ships and

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<v Speaker 1>just told them to sail away, get out of dodge.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you are a hard up criminal on a

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<v Speaker 1>ship in the middle of nowhere, you would probably be

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<v Speaker 1>tempted to steal from the first percel of land that

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<v Speaker 1>you saw. You would take the resources. Sure, sure, And

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<v Speaker 1>that makes sense. That theory doesn't make sense if you

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<v Speaker 1>think about the story of how um some Vikings founded

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<v Speaker 1>Greenland Um, because you might know that the Vikings had

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<v Speaker 1>settled Iceland pretty early on, and uh there was this

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<v Speaker 1>one Viking named Eric the Red who actually committed murder,

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<v Speaker 1>and so the Vikings exiled him. And so he had

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<v Speaker 1>heard stories though there's land to the west um sort

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<v Speaker 1>of legendary stories, and so he um took his boat

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<v Speaker 1>and he had it out there with his people, his men,

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<v Speaker 1>and so he founded Greenland after that, and his son,

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<v Speaker 1>aptly named leaf Ericsson actually went west further after him

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<v Speaker 1>and founded um Land on North America. And it's interesting

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<v Speaker 1>to look at the type of government that Vikings had

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<v Speaker 1>in Scandinavia, because we've said before they were extremely well organized,

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<v Speaker 1>and while they may have been somewhat bloodthirsty, there was

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<v Speaker 1>a method to the madness. And we know that they

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<v Speaker 1>had a primitive democracy. They had assemblies called things, and

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<v Speaker 1>they met pretty regularly, and so it was very much

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<v Speaker 1>a controlled procedure whenever they went out. And the raiding

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<v Speaker 1>parties that settled at different ports in different countries eventually

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<v Speaker 1>evolved into armies, and so they would sometimes stay behind,

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<v Speaker 1>not all of them, but some of them and the

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<v Speaker 1>lands that they they rated, and they would either assimilate

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<v Speaker 1>among the people or they would strike deals with the

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<v Speaker 1>leaders to get part of the land. And one of

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<v Speaker 1>the most interesting stories about that is how they came

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<v Speaker 1>to acquire Normandy and one of the Viking rulers struck

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<v Speaker 1>a deal with the Frankish king Charles is simple and

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<v Speaker 1>it was. It was pretty civil deal. The deal was,

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<v Speaker 1>if you convert to Christianity, uh Viking leader, then I

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<v Speaker 1>will give you Normandy. And that's Vikings got Normandy and

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<v Speaker 1>France was appeased. And it was almost not exactly but

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<v Speaker 1>it was similar to your way of paying tribute, and

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<v Speaker 1>that was something that Vikings would demand of other lands.

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<v Speaker 1>And we've discussed tribute on another podcast before, but basically

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<v Speaker 1>the promise of having someone pay you money so you

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<v Speaker 1>don't bully them, sort of like, yeah, that the bully

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<v Speaker 1>taking your your lunch money and agreeing not to meet

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<v Speaker 1>you at exchange. Sure, and a similar story actually happened

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<v Speaker 1>in England. We were talking about Normandy. Um. England has

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<v Speaker 1>this famous Alfred the Great. He was like the only

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<v Speaker 1>English king. I think it was given that that's the

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<v Speaker 1>great title. But he is mostly famous for holding off

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<v Speaker 1>the Vikings and he did at one point make an

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<v Speaker 1>agreement like that one, and that the Viking leader this

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<v Speaker 1>one was called Gootherum, he promised to convert to Christianity

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<v Speaker 1>and Alfred actually ended up being his godfather. Um. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is an exchange. So he said, oh, you

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<v Speaker 1>convert to Christianity and you're gonna some of this land.

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<v Speaker 1>And he also made deals, like you said, of of

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<v Speaker 1>paying them uh to for to stop fighting and it

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<v Speaker 1>worked for a while. And so we've been mentioning that

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<v Speaker 1>Vikings weren't just raiders but traders, and you may be asking, well,

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<v Speaker 1>where's the evidence for that? And if you look at

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<v Speaker 1>some of the sites that archaeologists have uncovered, you can

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<v Speaker 1>see that it reads like a variable map of where

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<v Speaker 1>have the Viking Vikings been. And we see that some

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<v Speaker 1>Vikings buried in Sweden are buried in um Chinese silk

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<v Speaker 1>garments made of Chinese silk, and then other Vikings who

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<v Speaker 1>were buried in burial ships are they're painted blue. And

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<v Speaker 1>whether it's Indian Indigo or it's Lapist from the Middle East,

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<v Speaker 1>we're not sure. But it's definitely evidence that they were

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<v Speaker 1>trading with these people. And we know for sure it

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<v Speaker 1>was a trade and not a raid because there were

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<v Speaker 1>these thin silver coins called Durham's and they were manufactured

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<v Speaker 1>in Bagdad. But it would have been a way of

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<v Speaker 1>of bartering and trading and giving commission for these goods

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<v Speaker 1>and paying back instead of just taking. That's true, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's interesting. I guess it would make sense that we

0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:06.200
<v Speaker 1>believe now that they set up trading posts in the

0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:09.480
<v Speaker 1>in the places where they did raid. Um. It's interesting

0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:13.160
<v Speaker 1>going back to how their ratings works. They're like when

0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:17.040
<v Speaker 1>they ended up raiding uh the coasts of Europe and such,

0:12:17.400 --> 0:12:22.679
<v Speaker 1>they would use very advanced uh technological weapons. UM that

0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:24.640
<v Speaker 1>would and they were so swift about it that people

0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:28.160
<v Speaker 1>could hardly muster their defenses when when the Vikings came

0:12:28.480 --> 0:12:32.160
<v Speaker 1>storming in and what they particularly used. They used longswords, javelins,

0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:34.120
<v Speaker 1>but especially the battle ax. They're known for using the

0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:38.400
<v Speaker 1>battle ax and throwing it um, but also bows and

0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:41.560
<v Speaker 1>arrows and stuff like that. And forum protection they used

0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:45.960
<v Speaker 1>up padded leather UM and breastpeed plate of iron often

0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:48.720
<v Speaker 1>and like the very rich could use a mail shirt,

0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:51.240
<v Speaker 1>which it was expensive and it took a while to make,

0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:54.400
<v Speaker 1>but um they had that technology and their helmets were

0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:56.520
<v Speaker 1>made of iron. Was interesting about their helmets. You you

0:12:56.559 --> 0:12:59.040
<v Speaker 1>may have an image in your mind of a Viking

0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:01.400
<v Speaker 1>helmet has like a metal piece down the middle for

0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:04.080
<v Speaker 1>the nose to protect the face. But if in your

0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:07.160
<v Speaker 1>mind you might also be picturing the famous horns on

0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:09.280
<v Speaker 1>a on a helmet. You see this in like Capital

0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:12.040
<v Speaker 1>one commercials, you know, like Vikings with their horns on

0:13:12.080 --> 0:13:14.679
<v Speaker 1>their helmets. And this is actually kind of uh not true,

0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:17.160
<v Speaker 1>or at least archaeologists believe now that they wouldn't have

0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:19.640
<v Speaker 1>warned these in battle, and then it would have added

0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:22.520
<v Speaker 1>extra weight. It would have been awkward. And it's true

0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:25.880
<v Speaker 1>that archaeologists have found some of like evidence that these existed,

0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:31.280
<v Speaker 1>but um, they believe it predated the Viking Age. And

0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:33.920
<v Speaker 1>if you're wondering what the other Scandinavians who were not

0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:36.440
<v Speaker 1>Vikings were doing, if we have an answer for you.

0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:40.199
<v Speaker 1>They were farmers, they were fishermen, uh, they were merchants.

0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:43.480
<v Speaker 1>And we know for sure that these professions existed because

0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:46.520
<v Speaker 1>there are different types of ships dating from around the

0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:49.199
<v Speaker 1>Viking era, and they're all different sizes, and they're built

0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:51.440
<v Speaker 1>in different ways for different functions, and we know that

0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:54.360
<v Speaker 1>there are separate ones that exist for carrying cargo, for

0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:58.560
<v Speaker 1>conducting war raids, and for fishing. So if you weren't

0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:01.360
<v Speaker 1>a Viking, you could still be involve from Scandinavia. All

0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:04.319
<v Speaker 1>hope is not lost and there's just so much more

0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:07.000
<v Speaker 1>for you to learn about Vikings and about Scandinavia and

0:14:07.360 --> 0:14:09.720
<v Speaker 1>that particular time period. So would be sure to check

0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:14.560
<v Speaker 1>out our articles on how stuff works dot com for

0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:17.000
<v Speaker 1>more on this and thousands of other topics. Is it

0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:20.320
<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot com? Let us know what you think.

0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:23.520
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0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:30.040
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