1 00:00:02,875 --> 00:00:04,250 Born... 2 00:00:04,417 --> 00:00:07,208 into a world of brutality. 3 00:00:07,375 --> 00:00:10,417 Viking combat is gory, it's gritty, it's real, 4 00:00:10,583 --> 00:00:12,333 it's raw, it's loud. 5 00:00:12,500 --> 00:00:15,625 Trained to attack with no mercy... 6 00:00:15,792 --> 00:00:17,250 He's swinging around his great ax, 7 00:00:17,458 --> 00:00:19,750 cutting down people left, right, and center. 8 00:00:19,917 --> 00:00:23,125 This graphic shock and awe encounter. 9 00:00:23,250 --> 00:00:25,833 Built into a fighter without fear... 10 00:00:25,958 --> 00:00:27,458 The Viking warrior psychology 11 00:00:27,625 --> 00:00:29,417 is to run towards death. 12 00:00:29,542 --> 00:00:32,875 The warrior from the north becomes a conqueror. 13 00:00:33,042 --> 00:00:35,833 This is an absolute fear of the Northman. 14 00:00:35,958 --> 00:00:38,542 This is terrorism of its day. 15 00:00:46,667 --> 00:00:48,750 Warriors aren't born... 16 00:00:48,875 --> 00:00:50,708 They're built. 17 00:00:52,917 --> 00:00:54,333 Understanding how 18 00:00:54,500 --> 00:00:58,875 reveals the true nature of their greatness... 19 00:00:59,042 --> 00:01:01,000 From the cradle to the grave, 20 00:01:01,208 --> 00:01:03,667 these are the steps to creating... 21 00:01:03,833 --> 00:01:07,167 History's Greatest Warriors. 22 00:01:18,708 --> 00:01:20,750 The Viking, 23 00:01:20,875 --> 00:01:23,667 a fearsome warrior like no other. 24 00:01:25,542 --> 00:01:28,667 A force to be reckoned with on land and on sea... 25 00:01:28,875 --> 00:01:32,250 the Viking's strategic skills and technical prowess 26 00:01:32,375 --> 00:01:37,207 are matched only by his brutality on the battlefield. 27 00:01:37,208 --> 00:01:39,333 The people that we commonly call the Vikings now, 28 00:01:39,542 --> 00:01:40,917 otherwise known as the Norse, 29 00:01:41,083 --> 00:01:42,667 they're people from Scandinavia. 30 00:01:42,875 --> 00:01:46,375 They are a great naval force who know exactly how to 31 00:01:46,542 --> 00:01:49,000 raid coastal settlements and attack places that are 32 00:01:49,167 --> 00:01:53,125 vulnerable because of their access to water. 33 00:01:53,250 --> 00:01:56,833 But the Vikings best known for being the most savage 34 00:01:57,042 --> 00:01:59,375 and brutal warriors of the Middle Ages. 35 00:01:59,542 --> 00:02:03,333 The Viking Age is a period in history where Scandinavia, 36 00:02:03,542 --> 00:02:05,000 for one of only a few times, 37 00:02:05,167 --> 00:02:08,000 steps into the spotlight of history. 38 00:02:08,208 --> 00:02:11,875 The Vikings make their way much further afield than 39 00:02:12,042 --> 00:02:13,458 so many other people before them, 40 00:02:13,583 --> 00:02:15,958 and have a disproportionate impact 41 00:02:16,125 --> 00:02:19,083 on the history of Europe. 42 00:02:19,208 --> 00:02:21,917 Expansion beyond Scandinavia 43 00:02:22,042 --> 00:02:24,875 will require an elite warrior as fierce... 44 00:02:25,042 --> 00:02:28,000 as any other in the Middle Ages. 45 00:02:28,167 --> 00:02:30,583 His path to becoming a warrior 46 00:02:30,750 --> 00:02:34,125 will require him to endure years of training. ... 47 00:02:34,333 --> 00:02:37,708 Master the Viking weapons of war... 48 00:02:37,875 --> 00:02:41,083 And defeat his enemy through brutal tactics 49 00:02:41,208 --> 00:02:43,500 that terrorize the Christian world. 50 00:02:44,875 --> 00:02:47,125 It is a path to greatness 51 00:02:47,292 --> 00:02:49,792 first carved out centuries ago. 52 00:02:52,958 --> 00:02:55,750 The Viking Age is approximately understood in 53 00:02:55,917 --> 00:03:00,167 scholarship to be 8th century to the 11th century A.D. 54 00:03:00,333 --> 00:03:02,167 The countries of Norway, Sweden, 55 00:03:02,375 --> 00:03:05,625 and Denmark don't exist at this time. 56 00:03:05,750 --> 00:03:08,833 The Viking's greatest foes lie to the west. 57 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,167 The Anglo-Saxons are Christians, 58 00:03:11,375 --> 00:03:13,875 ruling over medieval Britain. 59 00:03:14,042 --> 00:03:17,125 And the Frankish Empire is an alliance of Germanic tribes 60 00:03:17,333 --> 00:03:20,292 living in what will become Northern France, 61 00:03:20,458 --> 00:03:22,917 Western Germany, and Belgium. 62 00:03:23,083 --> 00:03:25,125 Both maintain standing armies 63 00:03:25,250 --> 00:03:28,458 that dwarf those of the north. 64 00:03:28,625 --> 00:03:30,542 Scandinavia itself is made up into 65 00:03:30,708 --> 00:03:34,958 small independent communities of farmsteads, 66 00:03:35,125 --> 00:03:38,500 usually the members of a very large family. 67 00:03:38,667 --> 00:03:40,625 In the very early society, you've got clans, 68 00:03:40,792 --> 00:03:43,000 and as the clans develop into chieftainships, 69 00:03:43,167 --> 00:03:45,208 it means that you have people who are no longer 70 00:03:45,375 --> 00:03:47,000 blood related that are trying to 71 00:03:47,125 --> 00:03:48,667 organize themselves together, 72 00:03:48,875 --> 00:03:51,250 and there isn't always enough land to go around. 73 00:03:51,458 --> 00:03:52,708 Just simply to survive, 74 00:03:52,875 --> 00:03:55,125 you might take advantage of a less capable 75 00:03:55,292 --> 00:03:58,125 Viking farmstead or Viking community. 76 00:03:58,333 --> 00:04:01,708 Even if you do have land, you may decide that 77 00:04:01,875 --> 00:04:05,542 subsistence level living isn't good enough. 78 00:04:05,708 --> 00:04:08,167 There's a population boom in Scandinavia at this time, 79 00:04:08,375 --> 00:04:10,250 and they want to go abroad to look for 80 00:04:10,417 --> 00:04:13,500 more riches and more opportunities. 81 00:04:13,667 --> 00:04:15,833 If he is to become a conqueror- 82 00:04:16,042 --> 00:04:17,333 one that can strike fear 83 00:04:17,542 --> 00:04:19,750 into the hearts of his enemies- 84 00:04:19,875 --> 00:04:22,042 a young warrior must learn to live... 85 00:04:22,208 --> 00:04:25,500 and die by the sword. 86 00:04:25,708 --> 00:04:28,500 It is a code of honor that is instilled in him 87 00:04:28,667 --> 00:04:31,874 as soon as he enters the world. 88 00:04:31,875 --> 00:04:33,667 The Arabic explorer and chronicler, 89 00:04:33,833 --> 00:04:36,708 Ahmad ibn Rustah, of the 10th century, 90 00:04:36,833 --> 00:04:39,292 he is traveling throughout the eastern reaches of 91 00:04:39,458 --> 00:04:40,667 the Viking world, 92 00:04:40,833 --> 00:04:42,792 and he observes this Viking father 93 00:04:42,958 --> 00:04:44,833 throw his sword on the ground. 94 00:04:45,042 --> 00:04:47,541 He says to his son, "I leave you no inheritance. 95 00:04:47,542 --> 00:04:51,500 All you possess is what you can gain with this sword." 96 00:04:51,667 --> 00:04:54,667 The promise of greatness within the young Viking can 97 00:04:54,875 --> 00:04:58,042 only be fulfilled through the strict discipline that has 98 00:04:58,208 --> 00:05:01,167 created countless warriors before him. 99 00:05:01,333 --> 00:05:03,625 His first step on the path to glory... 100 00:05:03,750 --> 00:05:06,375 will be learning how to survive. 101 00:05:14,542 --> 00:05:17,708 You need to be able to live in sub-zero degree 102 00:05:17,833 --> 00:05:21,167 temperatures and those harsh Scandinavian winters. 103 00:05:21,375 --> 00:05:23,083 You're also learning how to make things. 104 00:05:23,292 --> 00:05:24,708 You have to learn how to make houses. 105 00:05:24,875 --> 00:05:26,833 Learn how to make boats. 106 00:05:27,042 --> 00:05:28,917 The young Viking strengthens his body 107 00:05:29,125 --> 00:05:30,500 by working the land, 108 00:05:30,667 --> 00:05:34,667 conditioning him for a brutal and merciless life. 109 00:05:34,833 --> 00:05:38,083 Oral histories of heroes and violent conquests 110 00:05:38,208 --> 00:05:39,792 also shape his understanding of 111 00:05:39,958 --> 00:05:42,917 the ways of the Viking warrior. 112 00:05:43,083 --> 00:05:46,375 We can picture a Viking father sitting around 113 00:05:46,542 --> 00:05:49,167 a campfire in his hall, telling his boy about 114 00:05:49,375 --> 00:05:51,875 Egill Skallagrimsson. 115 00:05:52,042 --> 00:05:55,417 Egill is playing a game with various children 116 00:05:55,583 --> 00:05:58,458 of his village, and he feels cheated by 117 00:05:58,625 --> 00:06:01,000 one of the other children, a boy called Grimm. 118 00:06:01,125 --> 00:06:03,375 So he leaves the match, goes home, 119 00:06:03,542 --> 00:06:06,707 produces an ax, returns to his game and then 120 00:06:06,708 --> 00:06:09,500 casually splits the brain of the boy 121 00:06:09,708 --> 00:06:11,583 who had cheated against him. 122 00:06:15,458 --> 00:06:17,000 And so, already at the age of seven, 123 00:06:17,167 --> 00:06:19,083 he's killed his first person. 124 00:06:19,250 --> 00:06:20,792 But his mother looks at him and says, 125 00:06:20,958 --> 00:06:24,417 "Egill, you have the makings of a great Viking." 126 00:06:24,583 --> 00:06:27,667 So, really, violence is celebrated 127 00:06:27,833 --> 00:06:30,542 in the childhood of Vikings. 128 00:06:30,750 --> 00:06:34,167 The ambitious youth also gains practical skills 129 00:06:34,292 --> 00:06:36,958 through a competition known as "Glima". 130 00:06:42,667 --> 00:06:46,625 Glima is the only sport that survives the Viking Age. 131 00:06:46,750 --> 00:06:50,417 It's the national sport of Iceland to this day. 132 00:06:50,583 --> 00:06:53,000 It's a kind of wrestling or grappling, 133 00:06:53,208 --> 00:06:56,542 not unlike Brazilian jiu jitsu. 134 00:06:56,708 --> 00:07:00,500 And part of the sport is that you grip your opponent, 135 00:07:00,667 --> 00:07:03,750 and then you try to flip your opponent and 136 00:07:03,958 --> 00:07:06,083 slam him to the ground. 137 00:07:12,375 --> 00:07:14,583 Glima is a way for Viking youth 138 00:07:14,708 --> 00:07:16,625 to impress the elders- 139 00:07:16,792 --> 00:07:19,042 Those who are looking for the next generation 140 00:07:19,208 --> 00:07:22,292 of elite Viking warriors. 141 00:07:22,500 --> 00:07:24,958 There's an old Norse word, "drengskapr", 142 00:07:25,125 --> 00:07:27,333 and that is the highest compliment one could 143 00:07:27,500 --> 00:07:29,583 receive during the Viking Age. 144 00:07:29,750 --> 00:07:32,500 To say that he demonstrates drengskapr means that 145 00:07:32,667 --> 00:07:35,375 he demonstrates this sort of reckless courage 146 00:07:35,542 --> 00:07:37,375 with an element of fair play. 147 00:07:37,500 --> 00:07:39,500 That's one thing a Viking is not born with, 148 00:07:39,667 --> 00:07:41,042 and what he needs to spend his youth 149 00:07:41,208 --> 00:07:44,583 striving and building. 150 00:07:44,792 --> 00:07:47,416 Shaped by an unforgiving land, 151 00:07:47,417 --> 00:07:49,667 and honed by fierce competition, 152 00:07:49,833 --> 00:07:52,583 the young Viking has a singular goal- 153 00:07:52,750 --> 00:07:55,000 join the war band setting sail 154 00:07:55,125 --> 00:07:56,708 to conquer new lands. 155 00:07:56,875 --> 00:07:59,667 The word "Viking" is less a people and 156 00:07:59,792 --> 00:08:01,458 more of a job description. 157 00:08:01,625 --> 00:08:03,792 So, the Old Norse word, "vikingur", 158 00:08:03,958 --> 00:08:06,250 means sort of a pirate or a raider, 159 00:08:06,458 --> 00:08:08,000 a medieval Scandinavian that goes off 160 00:08:08,167 --> 00:08:10,417 raiding and plundering. 161 00:08:10,583 --> 00:08:12,583 The Norse first arrive on enemy shores 162 00:08:12,750 --> 00:08:14,625 at the end of the 700s, 163 00:08:14,792 --> 00:08:17,875 setting off centuries of carnage known as... 164 00:08:18,083 --> 00:08:20,625 the Viking Age. 165 00:08:22,708 --> 00:08:24,583 The Viking raid of the monastic island of 166 00:08:24,750 --> 00:08:27,042 Lindisfarne, which is off the coast of northern England, 167 00:08:27,208 --> 00:08:30,000 is kind of the shot heard round the medieval world 168 00:08:30,208 --> 00:08:31,875 when it comes to the Vikings. 169 00:08:32,042 --> 00:08:35,333 This is kind of the first recorded raid of the Vikings 170 00:08:35,500 --> 00:08:37,417 in the Middle Ages. 171 00:08:37,625 --> 00:08:39,667 Monasteries during the Middle Ages 172 00:08:39,833 --> 00:08:41,667 are sources of immense wealth. 173 00:08:41,875 --> 00:08:44,583 You have chalices of gold. Gold and silver coinage. 174 00:08:44,708 --> 00:08:47,000 The monks of Lindisfarne see these longships 175 00:08:47,208 --> 00:08:49,000 on the horizon. 176 00:08:49,167 --> 00:08:52,542 The Vikings come out seemingly out of nowhere. 177 00:08:56,625 --> 00:08:58,167 The Vikings notice these men have 178 00:08:58,292 --> 00:08:59,958 no weapons whatsoever. 179 00:09:00,167 --> 00:09:02,458 This is gonna be a cakewalk. 180 00:09:06,083 --> 00:09:08,208 The Vikings immediately slaughter 181 00:09:08,333 --> 00:09:09,958 several of the monks. 182 00:09:18,958 --> 00:09:22,250 Vikings absolutely desecrate all of the religious relics. 183 00:09:22,417 --> 00:09:24,042 They trample upon the altar of God 184 00:09:24,208 --> 00:09:27,375 like dung in the street. 185 00:09:27,542 --> 00:09:29,542 They kidnap several monks, 186 00:09:29,708 --> 00:09:31,833 certainly to be sold into slavery. 187 00:09:32,042 --> 00:09:34,000 They strip several monks of their clothing to 188 00:09:34,208 --> 00:09:36,708 humiliate them, and then actually drowned them 189 00:09:36,875 --> 00:09:38,833 in the sea as well, so it's this graphic, 190 00:09:39,042 --> 00:09:43,000 devastating shock and awe encounter. 191 00:09:46,125 --> 00:09:47,667 All that is left is a 192 00:09:47,875 --> 00:09:49,625 handful of monks bleeding out 193 00:09:49,792 --> 00:09:52,833 in the smoking ruins of the monastery... 194 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,125 and rumors of fearsome raiders from the north. 195 00:09:56,292 --> 00:09:59,792 The Christians see this attack on Lindisfarne 196 00:09:59,958 --> 00:10:03,542 by this heathen horde as an act of God, 197 00:10:03,708 --> 00:10:06,250 that God is sending them to... 198 00:10:06,458 --> 00:10:08,833 punish them for their sins. 199 00:10:08,958 --> 00:10:12,000 And it embeds itself in the British Christian psyche 200 00:10:12,167 --> 00:10:15,667 for generations. 201 00:10:15,792 --> 00:10:18,707 One of the things that the Vikings specifically do in 202 00:10:18,708 --> 00:10:22,250 battle to put fear into the hearts of their enemies 203 00:10:22,375 --> 00:10:24,583 is the Rite of the Blood Eagle. 204 00:10:24,750 --> 00:10:27,042 This involves hacking open 205 00:10:27,208 --> 00:10:29,375 a high status opponent. 206 00:10:29,542 --> 00:10:31,500 You pin them down, you hack them open, 207 00:10:31,667 --> 00:10:33,500 and you open out their rib cage, 208 00:10:33,708 --> 00:10:35,750 you spread out their internal organs 209 00:10:35,917 --> 00:10:37,833 in the pattern of an eagle. 210 00:10:37,958 --> 00:10:40,333 This is terrorism of its day. 211 00:10:44,125 --> 00:10:46,333 To join the ranks of the elite warriors 212 00:10:46,542 --> 00:10:49,000 wreaking havoc abroad, the young Viking 213 00:10:49,167 --> 00:10:51,833 must first demonstrate his worth. 214 00:10:56,958 --> 00:10:58,750 The Viking youth has been inspired with tales 215 00:10:58,917 --> 00:11:01,625 of greatness and groomed for violence. 216 00:11:01,792 --> 00:11:04,625 Now, he must be hand-selected for 217 00:11:04,792 --> 00:11:07,333 the next stage of his journey. 218 00:11:13,625 --> 00:11:14,875 If you're a young Scandinavian, 219 00:11:15,042 --> 00:11:18,167 you want the jarl or chieftain to invite you 220 00:11:18,292 --> 00:11:21,792 into his "hirth" or "hird." 221 00:11:21,958 --> 00:11:24,375 These are the Viking raiding parties. 222 00:11:24,542 --> 00:11:27,750 And these hirths might contain 30 warriors, 223 00:11:27,917 --> 00:11:31,167 50 warriors, sometimes 100 warriors. 224 00:11:31,375 --> 00:11:34,750 Viking chieftains are ultimately the tacticians 225 00:11:34,875 --> 00:11:36,625 who lead the raiding parties. 226 00:11:36,792 --> 00:11:39,542 They're the ones that determine the targets. 227 00:11:39,708 --> 00:11:41,917 Whenever a chieftain decides that 228 00:11:42,125 --> 00:11:44,417 he's going to set out to go raiding, 229 00:11:44,583 --> 00:11:46,042 this would be something that occurs in the 230 00:11:46,208 --> 00:11:48,583 great longhouse, the biggest longhouse- 231 00:11:48,750 --> 00:11:51,583 the jarl's longhouse- and he pledges that 232 00:11:51,750 --> 00:11:55,167 he's going to raid such and such village... 233 00:11:55,375 --> 00:11:58,167 that he's going to select certain men within the 234 00:11:58,333 --> 00:12:01,458 community to come along. 235 00:12:01,667 --> 00:12:04,833 The chief end of any Viking raid is to obtain plunder and 236 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:08,041 great movable wealth so that a chieftain can reward 237 00:12:08,042 --> 00:12:11,292 his followers and keep them in his service. 238 00:12:11,500 --> 00:12:14,125 And you could return with material wealth that 239 00:12:14,292 --> 00:12:17,917 could change the course of your destiny. 240 00:12:18,083 --> 00:12:20,500 The chieftain will judge whether or not 241 00:12:20,667 --> 00:12:23,333 a young warrior is ready for battle. 242 00:12:23,458 --> 00:12:25,750 The skills and traits that are instilled into a young 243 00:12:25,917 --> 00:12:29,458 Norseman at a very young age are the very skills that 244 00:12:29,583 --> 00:12:32,208 would propel them forward as warriors. 245 00:12:32,375 --> 00:12:33,500 You need to be tough. 246 00:12:33,917 --> 00:12:36,292 Those who exhibit the skills of a warrior 247 00:12:36,417 --> 00:12:38,500 are invited by the chieftain 248 00:12:38,667 --> 00:12:42,250 to a sacred ceremony. 249 00:12:42,417 --> 00:12:46,625 At the chieftain's great hall he swears allegiances 250 00:12:46,792 --> 00:12:49,292 and blood oaths to his followers. 251 00:12:49,500 --> 00:12:52,917 The chieftain is giving you great gifts of gold and silver, 252 00:12:53,042 --> 00:12:56,125 and ornate weapons, gem-encrusted sword hilts, 253 00:12:56,292 --> 00:12:59,500 you know, and, and weapons inlaid with silver and gold, 254 00:12:59,667 --> 00:13:02,667 and armbands of great precious metals. 255 00:13:02,833 --> 00:13:05,917 In exchange, his followers pledge to him loyalty. 256 00:13:06,125 --> 00:13:08,000 You're pledging your life, really, 257 00:13:08,208 --> 00:13:12,583 to the chieftain or jarl that's sponsoring you. 258 00:13:12,708 --> 00:13:14,792 To join the hird is to 259 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,333 embrace the Viking mindset, 260 00:13:17,458 --> 00:13:21,458 giving the young Norseman a terrifying advantage. 261 00:13:21,625 --> 00:13:24,167 You have to die sword in hand 262 00:13:24,375 --> 00:13:26,667 in order to make it to Valhalla, 263 00:13:26,875 --> 00:13:31,000 which is Odin's realm- a warrior's paradise. 264 00:13:31,167 --> 00:13:33,667 And those of them who are slain in battle are then 265 00:13:33,833 --> 00:13:36,500 resurrected to enjoy a feast 266 00:13:36,667 --> 00:13:39,083 of roast pork and alcohol and 267 00:13:39,250 --> 00:13:42,333 the companionship of Odin's warrior maidens, 268 00:13:42,500 --> 00:13:44,375 known as the Valkyries. 269 00:13:44,542 --> 00:13:47,333 What allows the Vikings to be so successful and the 270 00:13:47,542 --> 00:13:51,667 scourge of Europe for over 300 years is the hope 271 00:13:51,875 --> 00:13:53,958 every Viking warrior has that 272 00:13:54,125 --> 00:13:57,917 he will die a heroic death. 273 00:13:58,125 --> 00:14:00,250 We do know about a few different rituals and rites. 274 00:14:00,417 --> 00:14:03,042 One can almost imagine- there's a group of men that 275 00:14:03,208 --> 00:14:05,250 are about to go on a Viking expedition. 276 00:14:05,417 --> 00:14:08,875 A priestess comes in, and she looks and says, "Listen, 277 00:14:09,042 --> 00:14:11,833 all of you, you're now going to go 278 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:13,833 on a Viking venture. 279 00:14:14,042 --> 00:14:15,750 You're now going to go on an expedition. 280 00:14:15,875 --> 00:14:17,708 And yes, you may die. 281 00:14:17,875 --> 00:14:19,125 But you know you're going to die anyway. 282 00:14:19,292 --> 00:14:21,917 We, at the end of the day, are all fated to die. 283 00:14:22,083 --> 00:14:24,667 So, live life and gain honor- 284 00:14:24,792 --> 00:14:26,042 that's what it's about." 285 00:14:26,250 --> 00:14:29,333 The carpe diem of the Vikings. 286 00:14:29,542 --> 00:14:32,583 Being chosen by the chieftain is a critical step 287 00:14:32,708 --> 00:14:36,000 on his path to becoming a warrior. 288 00:14:36,167 --> 00:14:38,542 Now, he will learn from the hird's 289 00:14:38,708 --> 00:14:41,458 most seasoned soldiers. 290 00:14:41,625 --> 00:14:43,833 There's the trained warriors, warriors that are 291 00:14:44,042 --> 00:14:46,167 just going on like a raid for one year. 292 00:14:46,333 --> 00:14:48,333 And then there's the berserker. 293 00:14:51,417 --> 00:14:53,041 Trained to be the most 294 00:14:53,042 --> 00:14:55,167 extreme warriors in the hird, 295 00:14:55,375 --> 00:14:58,000 the berserkers and their violent tactics will be 296 00:14:58,208 --> 00:15:00,500 studied by the young warrior. 297 00:15:02,208 --> 00:15:05,167 A group of berserkers is this terrifying spectacle of 298 00:15:05,375 --> 00:15:08,333 wild men howling like a wolf or like a bear, 299 00:15:08,542 --> 00:15:10,667 causing themselves to froth at the mouth, 300 00:15:10,792 --> 00:15:12,583 biting the rims of their shields, 301 00:15:12,708 --> 00:15:14,917 flailing their arms like mad men. 302 00:15:15,083 --> 00:15:17,417 And this is something which would have been terrifying. 303 00:15:19,042 --> 00:15:21,958 They are brutal in warfare. 304 00:15:22,083 --> 00:15:24,833 There is a debate about what their name means. 305 00:15:25,042 --> 00:15:27,500 Some people think that their name comes from bear, 306 00:15:27,708 --> 00:15:30,833 or like the bear skin that they would potentially wear. 307 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,167 But other people say that it comes from the fact that 308 00:15:33,333 --> 00:15:35,208 they would attack people bare, 309 00:15:35,375 --> 00:15:37,167 they would attack people naked. 310 00:15:37,292 --> 00:15:39,208 And this was part of their shock value. 311 00:15:41,083 --> 00:15:43,667 The Vikings are showing their victims that 312 00:15:43,875 --> 00:15:46,083 they're so vicious and so powerful that 313 00:15:46,292 --> 00:15:48,125 they don't even need armor. 314 00:15:48,333 --> 00:15:51,292 To those who face them, the berserker appears 315 00:15:51,458 --> 00:15:54,875 to be possessed by some unnatural power. 316 00:15:55,042 --> 00:15:56,750 There is great debate- 317 00:15:56,875 --> 00:15:59,375 Why did berserkers go berserk? 318 00:16:01,458 --> 00:16:03,583 For a long time, scholars have believed that Vikings 319 00:16:03,750 --> 00:16:06,917 are actually doing a form of hallucinogenic mushroom, 320 00:16:07,042 --> 00:16:09,958 and it's causing them to lose sense of 321 00:16:10,125 --> 00:16:11,792 where they are and what they're doing. 322 00:16:11,958 --> 00:16:13,750 This might help describe 323 00:16:13,875 --> 00:16:17,000 why they're acting so brutally. 324 00:16:17,208 --> 00:16:19,667 Christians describe the experience of 325 00:16:19,833 --> 00:16:21,583 facing a Viking horde 326 00:16:21,750 --> 00:16:23,875 as being like the wrath of God, 327 00:16:24,042 --> 00:16:27,125 that this is something that is so horrific that 328 00:16:27,292 --> 00:16:29,708 there's no way humans could be responsible for it. 329 00:16:32,083 --> 00:16:34,375 The berserker dominates the battlefield, 330 00:16:34,542 --> 00:16:36,958 but for the young Viking warrior looking to earn 331 00:16:37,167 --> 00:16:40,833 his place alongside him, he must first master 332 00:16:41,042 --> 00:16:43,625 the chieftain's arsenal of weapons. 333 00:16:49,208 --> 00:16:51,500 The Viking warrior must be equipped with 334 00:16:51,667 --> 00:16:54,042 all the instruments of war. 335 00:17:01,583 --> 00:17:04,000 Knowledge of the Vikings' weapons is embedded in 336 00:17:04,167 --> 00:17:06,125 a source that chronicles the victory at the 337 00:17:06,292 --> 00:17:09,500 Battle Of Hastings by William The Conqueror, 338 00:17:09,667 --> 00:17:12,167 a Viking descendent. 339 00:17:12,375 --> 00:17:14,417 The Bayeux Tapestry, which was made in England 340 00:17:14,583 --> 00:17:17,917 around 1066 is a super important source for 341 00:17:18,083 --> 00:17:20,542 the study of late Viking era weapons. 342 00:17:20,708 --> 00:17:24,042 The Bayeux Tapestry shows lots and lots of helmets, 343 00:17:24,208 --> 00:17:27,125 and mail shirts, and swords, and spears, and shields. 344 00:17:27,250 --> 00:17:28,958 So, it gives us a huge amount of evidence 345 00:17:29,083 --> 00:17:30,292 about the arms and armor. 346 00:17:30,667 --> 00:17:33,333 The first weapon a Viking warrior reaches for 347 00:17:33,542 --> 00:17:36,167 is the one that is most familiar... 348 00:17:36,333 --> 00:17:38,625 and the quickest to master. 349 00:17:41,375 --> 00:17:44,333 The advantage that Vikings have in using the ax 350 00:17:44,542 --> 00:17:47,125 as a weapon is that they've been using axes 351 00:17:47,250 --> 00:17:49,417 almost their whole lives growing up. 352 00:17:49,542 --> 00:17:51,250 There's cutting wood with an ax, 353 00:17:51,458 --> 00:17:54,500 and there's using an ax as a vicious weapon of war. 354 00:17:54,667 --> 00:17:57,750 It is, in many ways, the Viking's primary weapon. 355 00:17:57,917 --> 00:18:01,333 A simple flesh wound that might be incurred through 356 00:18:01,500 --> 00:18:03,792 an ax or something like that could have 357 00:18:03,958 --> 00:18:06,542 life-altering consequences. 358 00:18:09,417 --> 00:18:11,375 There are some big advantages to axes. 359 00:18:11,542 --> 00:18:13,500 Axes break shields more easily than 360 00:18:13,708 --> 00:18:16,000 spears or swords do. 361 00:18:16,167 --> 00:18:18,000 Additionally, axes are more effective against 362 00:18:18,167 --> 00:18:19,833 people wearing armor, people like 363 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:21,917 the Anglo-Saxons and the Franks. 364 00:18:22,042 --> 00:18:25,208 With each new opponent comes new challenges, 365 00:18:25,375 --> 00:18:29,125 so the Viking warrior must learn to adapt. 366 00:18:29,292 --> 00:18:31,083 It's clear to us that the Vikings 367 00:18:31,250 --> 00:18:33,708 evolve their axes over time. 368 00:18:33,833 --> 00:18:35,917 There are great, long, 369 00:18:36,083 --> 00:18:38,292 what are called Dane axes. 370 00:18:38,458 --> 00:18:40,167 And these are two-handed weapons that 371 00:18:40,375 --> 00:18:44,250 the Vikings develop, particularly to respond to 372 00:18:44,417 --> 00:18:47,667 the threat of Frankish cavalry. 373 00:18:47,875 --> 00:18:49,500 The head of the ax, 374 00:18:49,667 --> 00:18:52,250 it hooks down in such a way where a warrior, 375 00:18:52,375 --> 00:18:55,167 in a single swipe, could obliterate a 376 00:18:55,292 --> 00:18:58,458 Frankish cavalryman along with his horse. 377 00:18:58,667 --> 00:19:01,625 In the hands of the Viking's most ferocious warrior, 378 00:19:01,792 --> 00:19:05,042 the Dane ax unleashes devastation and mayhem 379 00:19:05,208 --> 00:19:07,708 against a powerful foe. 380 00:19:16,167 --> 00:19:17,875 The Battle of Stamford Bridge, 381 00:19:18,042 --> 00:19:20,917 September 25th, 1066. 382 00:19:21,083 --> 00:19:24,458 The English chronicler, Henry of Huntington, 383 00:19:24,583 --> 00:19:27,417 tells us that the Vikings are taken off-guard with 384 00:19:27,583 --> 00:19:30,833 English forces that are advancing. 385 00:19:31,042 --> 00:19:33,292 This certain hero positions himself 386 00:19:33,458 --> 00:19:34,792 on this bridge with an ax. 387 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:36,542 This means he can occupy the space and 388 00:19:36,750 --> 00:19:40,000 the width of the bridge, and nobody can get past him. 389 00:19:40,125 --> 00:19:42,125 And he's swinging around his great ax, 390 00:19:42,250 --> 00:19:45,500 cutting down people left, right, and center. 391 00:19:45,667 --> 00:19:48,042 If you're going to fight a large number of men, 392 00:19:48,167 --> 00:19:50,292 the way to do it is on a bridge because 393 00:19:50,458 --> 00:19:53,917 you funnel them all into a manageable number of people 394 00:19:54,083 --> 00:19:56,458 to fight at any given time. 395 00:19:56,625 --> 00:20:00,000 He slays 40 men, single-handedly. 396 00:20:00,167 --> 00:20:03,583 And it's only when one quick-witted Anglo-Saxon 397 00:20:03,708 --> 00:20:06,750 warrior sneaks beneath the bridge and stabs him from 398 00:20:06,917 --> 00:20:09,667 underneath with a spear that he is slain in battle. 399 00:20:12,542 --> 00:20:14,292 As the warrior is built into 400 00:20:14,458 --> 00:20:16,416 a more formidable fighter, 401 00:20:16,417 --> 00:20:19,750 he may prove himself worthy of the ultimate Viking weapon. 402 00:20:19,958 --> 00:20:22,542 The challenge is getting one. 403 00:20:22,750 --> 00:20:24,458 It's clear that the Vikings love swords, 404 00:20:24,667 --> 00:20:27,292 but they don't necessarily have access to 405 00:20:27,500 --> 00:20:29,250 as many swords as, for example, 406 00:20:29,417 --> 00:20:32,500 people in the Frankish Empire would do. 407 00:20:32,708 --> 00:20:35,167 The Franks have more developed centers for the 408 00:20:35,375 --> 00:20:37,333 manufacture of these things, and they also have more 409 00:20:37,542 --> 00:20:39,833 access to the mines producing iron ore. 410 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,500 We find out that the Vikings are interested in this 411 00:20:42,708 --> 00:20:45,333 one kind of sword that's being produced out of the 412 00:20:45,458 --> 00:20:47,417 region around the Rhine and, 413 00:20:47,542 --> 00:20:49,708 it's known as the ulfberht sword. 414 00:20:54,500 --> 00:20:56,250 It's far superior to the swords that 415 00:20:56,375 --> 00:20:58,333 the Vikings are producing. 416 00:20:58,500 --> 00:21:00,875 There's a lot of debate as to how it came to be 417 00:21:01,042 --> 00:21:02,417 in the hands of Vikings. 418 00:21:02,583 --> 00:21:04,083 One theory goes that they encounter it 419 00:21:04,208 --> 00:21:06,667 during their battles with Frankish troops, 420 00:21:06,875 --> 00:21:09,125 and then they start trading for it... 421 00:21:09,292 --> 00:21:11,167 and, they end up incorporating it 422 00:21:11,333 --> 00:21:12,958 more into their arsenal. 423 00:21:13,125 --> 00:21:15,542 In fact, the trade of weapons into Scandinavia has become 424 00:21:15,708 --> 00:21:17,542 such a problem that people like the Franks and the 425 00:21:17,708 --> 00:21:21,125 Anglo-Saxons actually prohibit trading weapons to 426 00:21:21,292 --> 00:21:22,958 their enemies because they're being raided 427 00:21:23,125 --> 00:21:25,125 so constantly by these Vikings that 428 00:21:25,333 --> 00:21:28,458 they don't want to keep arming them. 429 00:21:28,625 --> 00:21:31,167 But the Vikings will have these blades. 430 00:21:31,375 --> 00:21:33,417 What is no longer offered in trade 431 00:21:33,542 --> 00:21:36,333 will be taken on the battlefield. 432 00:21:36,458 --> 00:21:38,625 If a young Viking goes into battle against 433 00:21:38,833 --> 00:21:41,000 a contingent of Frankish warriors, 434 00:21:41,125 --> 00:21:44,292 all of them well-equipped with ulfberht swords, 435 00:21:44,417 --> 00:21:46,042 you know, he's thinking to himself, 436 00:21:46,167 --> 00:21:48,417 I am looking to exchange this ax 437 00:21:48,625 --> 00:21:50,500 and come home with a sword so that 438 00:21:50,625 --> 00:21:53,875 I can then be better equipped for the future. 439 00:21:54,042 --> 00:21:57,292 Armed with the finest steel in the land, 440 00:21:57,417 --> 00:21:59,708 the Viking is a menace. 441 00:21:59,875 --> 00:22:02,333 But it's the Norseman's technical ingenuity 442 00:22:02,542 --> 00:22:06,208 that will produce his most powerful weapon... 443 00:22:06,375 --> 00:22:08,500 the longship. 444 00:22:13,542 --> 00:22:15,292 The boat is the innovation that 445 00:22:15,417 --> 00:22:17,667 the Scandinavians have at this time 446 00:22:17,875 --> 00:22:19,708 that really is what causes them to 447 00:22:19,875 --> 00:22:23,667 become the fierce warriors that they are. 448 00:22:23,875 --> 00:22:26,500 Naval conflict is not well known during the Middle Ages, 449 00:22:26,708 --> 00:22:28,792 and all of a sudden, the Vikings come up 450 00:22:28,917 --> 00:22:31,125 out of Scandinavia, seemingly out of nowhere 451 00:22:31,250 --> 00:22:33,917 as this great naval superpower. 452 00:22:34,083 --> 00:22:36,500 One of the things that the Vikings love doing is 453 00:22:36,708 --> 00:22:38,875 going up a river and attacking a settlement, 454 00:22:39,042 --> 00:22:41,542 and in some cases, attacking fortified bridges. 455 00:22:41,708 --> 00:22:43,500 One of the most famous examples this happened 456 00:22:43,667 --> 00:22:44,875 was actually London Bridge. 457 00:22:45,083 --> 00:22:48,875 The Vikings have come up the Thames to attack London, 458 00:22:49,042 --> 00:22:51,542 But London Bridge is their great big wooden bridge 459 00:22:51,708 --> 00:22:53,875 that's been fortified, and they actually use 460 00:22:54,083 --> 00:22:57,042 grappling hooks to attach to the bridge and 461 00:22:57,208 --> 00:22:58,625 pull a section of it down. 462 00:22:58,792 --> 00:23:01,416 They attack the bridge in order to get access to 463 00:23:01,417 --> 00:23:03,042 the Port of London. 464 00:23:03,208 --> 00:23:04,167 Without the longships, 465 00:23:04,333 --> 00:23:06,875 the Viking Age doesn't happen. 466 00:23:07,042 --> 00:23:10,249 The Viking's boats will transform his warrior armies 467 00:23:10,250 --> 00:23:12,917 into an unstoppable naval battalion. 468 00:23:13,083 --> 00:23:16,000 Their imposing shape sends a terrifying warning 469 00:23:16,208 --> 00:23:18,667 to the enemy. 470 00:23:18,875 --> 00:23:21,625 The sails of Viking longships are very iconic. 471 00:23:21,750 --> 00:23:25,833 Viking longships are powered by both sails and oars. 472 00:23:26,042 --> 00:23:28,833 This combination of sails and oars is what 473 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,333 affords the Vikings mobility and speed. 474 00:23:32,458 --> 00:23:35,125 One can assume that a longship could carry 475 00:23:35,292 --> 00:23:37,417 about approximately 30 warriors. 476 00:23:37,583 --> 00:23:40,542 The hull of the Viking longship's streamlined design 477 00:23:40,708 --> 00:23:44,125 is what allows the Vikings to move swiftly, 478 00:23:44,292 --> 00:23:46,458 and easily venture into shallow waters, 479 00:23:46,625 --> 00:23:49,500 right into the heartland of enemy territory. 480 00:23:49,625 --> 00:23:51,292 That technology allows them 481 00:23:51,458 --> 00:23:53,750 to succeed in warfare 482 00:23:53,875 --> 00:23:57,583 in a way that is really very different 483 00:23:57,750 --> 00:24:00,833 from anybody else in that time period. 484 00:24:00,958 --> 00:24:03,583 Sailing towards enemy territory, 485 00:24:03,750 --> 00:24:05,958 the Viking is ready to meet his destiny. 486 00:24:08,125 --> 00:24:10,917 It is time for combat. 487 00:24:16,208 --> 00:24:18,333 The Viking has been trained, selected, 488 00:24:18,500 --> 00:24:19,625 and armed. 489 00:24:19,875 --> 00:24:23,167 Now, he must face off against his enemy. 490 00:24:37,542 --> 00:24:40,708 A true Viking's mettle is tested... 491 00:24:40,875 --> 00:24:42,917 in combat. 492 00:24:47,333 --> 00:24:51,000 Viking warrior psychology is to run towards danger, 493 00:24:51,167 --> 00:24:54,792 to run towards death, because your reward will be 494 00:24:54,958 --> 00:24:58,333 potentially gaining entrance to Valhalla. 495 00:25:00,042 --> 00:25:03,333 There's one particular example of Gisli Sursson, 496 00:25:03,500 --> 00:25:05,582 who's an outlaw in Iceland. 497 00:25:05,583 --> 00:25:07,792 He's moving up this cliff and he's, you know, 498 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,417 killing men who are pursuing him in the process, 499 00:25:10,542 --> 00:25:12,250 and he's stabbed with a spear and 500 00:25:12,375 --> 00:25:13,958 his guts are spilling out. 501 00:25:14,125 --> 00:25:16,333 And the saga tells us that he takes a cord, 502 00:25:16,458 --> 00:25:19,333 and he binds his internal organs up so that 503 00:25:19,542 --> 00:25:22,041 he's able to fight for a few more moments, 504 00:25:22,042 --> 00:25:25,667 and it's evident to him that this is not his day to win 505 00:25:25,792 --> 00:25:28,458 on the battlefield, and he dramatically jumps off 506 00:25:28,583 --> 00:25:31,292 the cliff, splitting a man with his sword 507 00:25:31,500 --> 00:25:33,458 as he plummets to his own death. 508 00:25:37,958 --> 00:25:39,833 With no fear of death, 509 00:25:40,042 --> 00:25:44,833 the Viking stands his ground and considers his attacker. 510 00:25:45,042 --> 00:25:46,667 They're looking to gain as much information 511 00:25:46,875 --> 00:25:49,167 about the opponent as they possibly can. 512 00:25:49,333 --> 00:25:50,667 Does this person look experienced? 513 00:25:50,833 --> 00:25:52,417 Do they look like a raw recruit? 514 00:25:52,583 --> 00:25:54,417 Eye contact is an interesting thing, 515 00:25:54,583 --> 00:25:56,292 There's a psychology to it, and obviously, 516 00:25:56,458 --> 00:25:58,625 staring with fury at your opponent can have 517 00:25:58,792 --> 00:26:01,125 a psychological effect on them. 518 00:26:24,875 --> 00:26:27,208 Viking combat is tough. 519 00:26:27,375 --> 00:26:29,750 It's aggressive, it's gritty. 520 00:26:29,958 --> 00:26:32,458 Your shields are banging into each other, 521 00:26:32,583 --> 00:26:34,708 and you're desperately trying to push somebody's 522 00:26:34,917 --> 00:26:36,292 shield out of the way with your own 523 00:26:36,417 --> 00:26:38,875 so that you can get a few hacks in. 524 00:26:39,042 --> 00:26:41,500 Using his own shield allows the Viking 525 00:26:41,708 --> 00:26:43,875 to dominate his enemy. 526 00:26:44,042 --> 00:26:45,708 The shield isn't just a passive thing that 527 00:26:45,875 --> 00:26:48,125 you hold there and receive blows on. 528 00:26:48,292 --> 00:26:50,292 It's something you can smash into the opponent's shield, 529 00:26:50,500 --> 00:26:51,916 smash into their face- 530 00:26:51,917 --> 00:26:54,333 below the level of their helmet, break their nose. 531 00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:59,500 The Viking shields have a distinct element 532 00:26:59,708 --> 00:27:00,833 called the boss. 533 00:27:01,042 --> 00:27:02,375 It's on the front of the shield. 534 00:27:02,542 --> 00:27:04,458 It almost acts like a brass knuckle, 535 00:27:04,625 --> 00:27:06,250 because your hand is positioned 536 00:27:06,375 --> 00:27:07,750 right behind the boss. 537 00:27:07,917 --> 00:27:10,416 The metal boss, in the middle of the shield, 538 00:27:10,417 --> 00:27:14,208 also serves a unique purpose in that it can catch blows. 539 00:27:14,333 --> 00:27:17,667 If an enemy comes down on you with an ax or a sword, 540 00:27:17,875 --> 00:27:20,417 you can catch their blow with your shield boss, 541 00:27:20,583 --> 00:27:22,250 and parry it away. 542 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,833 The weapon the young Viking learned to use as a boy... 543 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:36,833 proves to be his most versatile tool in combat. 544 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,208 One of the great advantages to axes is, 545 00:27:39,375 --> 00:27:41,250 apart from the fact that they hit really hard because 546 00:27:41,417 --> 00:27:43,667 you've got all of the mass concentrated at the top of 547 00:27:43,875 --> 00:27:46,583 the shaft- in addition to that, you can hook, because 548 00:27:46,708 --> 00:27:49,417 all axes have a natural T-junction to them. 549 00:27:52,375 --> 00:27:55,833 Being able to hook the shield forwards creates an opening 550 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,292 into which you can stab into or cut into 551 00:27:58,458 --> 00:28:01,125 behind the shield. 552 00:28:01,250 --> 00:28:03,583 The ax, because of the special hook that it has, 553 00:28:03,792 --> 00:28:05,958 you were also able to trap individuals, 554 00:28:06,083 --> 00:28:08,000 either grabbing their legs, pulling them down, 555 00:28:08,167 --> 00:28:10,750 taking them right down to the ground. 556 00:28:10,875 --> 00:28:12,875 In a life or death struggle, 557 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,000 the young Viking relies on his training 558 00:28:15,167 --> 00:28:17,500 to anticipate and respond to 559 00:28:17,625 --> 00:28:20,333 his opponent's every move. 560 00:28:26,542 --> 00:28:28,250 Vikings definitely use glima 561 00:28:28,417 --> 00:28:29,583 to take an enemy by force. 562 00:28:29,750 --> 00:28:32,250 Argh! 563 00:28:34,375 --> 00:28:36,667 With wrestling and glima you can actually do 564 00:28:36,875 --> 00:28:38,542 anything that gets the other person down. 565 00:28:38,708 --> 00:28:41,208 That's very practical in warfare, 566 00:28:41,375 --> 00:28:43,792 because they're really in some ways are no rules to 567 00:28:43,958 --> 00:28:45,833 warfare because basically of two sides that are 568 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:47,667 essentially trying to kill each other. 569 00:28:58,792 --> 00:29:00,250 Death can be swift for 570 00:29:00,458 --> 00:29:02,083 the Viking's adversary. 571 00:29:05,167 --> 00:29:08,541 Or, he may suffer a crueler fate... 572 00:29:11,167 --> 00:29:12,833 When a Viking sees an enemy, 573 00:29:12,958 --> 00:29:15,000 he doesn't see him just as an enemy. 574 00:29:15,208 --> 00:29:16,375 He sees him as... 575 00:29:16,542 --> 00:29:19,167 prosperity. 576 00:29:19,292 --> 00:29:21,208 They decide, why don't we take some of these people 577 00:29:21,375 --> 00:29:24,083 for slaves, and we can maybe take some as hostages 578 00:29:24,208 --> 00:29:27,292 and ransom them off later on. 579 00:29:27,458 --> 00:29:29,667 Slavery is an essential 580 00:29:29,792 --> 00:29:33,000 part of the Viking economy. 581 00:29:33,125 --> 00:29:36,417 Human capital, if one can even call it that, 582 00:29:36,542 --> 00:29:40,917 is something that the Vikings are very well aware of. 583 00:29:41,083 --> 00:29:42,833 If you can subdue the enemy 584 00:29:42,958 --> 00:29:47,208 he's worth far more alive than dead. 585 00:29:47,375 --> 00:29:49,375 The Viking has been built to overpower 586 00:29:49,542 --> 00:29:51,500 any enemy he faces. 587 00:29:53,375 --> 00:29:57,250 But, a daunting test lies ahead... 588 00:29:57,375 --> 00:29:59,750 war is upon him. 589 00:30:07,208 --> 00:30:10,458 The Viking has been molded into a deadly warrior. 590 00:30:12,333 --> 00:30:15,500 But to conquer enemy lands and enrich his people... 591 00:30:17,750 --> 00:30:20,083 he will need to show true courage 592 00:30:20,208 --> 00:30:23,458 fighting alongside thousands of his fellow warriors. 593 00:30:28,250 --> 00:30:30,250 One of the things that probably makes the Norse 594 00:30:30,417 --> 00:30:32,167 at this time quite different to a lot of the people 595 00:30:32,333 --> 00:30:35,083 they're fighting against, is that they are used to 596 00:30:35,250 --> 00:30:38,500 raiding and operating together as units. 597 00:30:41,417 --> 00:30:44,500 The Great Heathen Army is a coalition of 598 00:30:44,708 --> 00:30:47,750 multiple war bands of Vikings. 599 00:30:47,875 --> 00:30:50,167 By the middle of the 9th century, 600 00:30:50,333 --> 00:30:52,875 the Great Heathen Army has conquered all but one of the 601 00:30:53,042 --> 00:30:56,042 Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. 602 00:30:56,208 --> 00:30:58,750 Vikings have established, at this point, 603 00:30:58,917 --> 00:31:02,125 settlements in northern France, in Normandy, 604 00:31:02,292 --> 00:31:05,542 which is a particularly strategic location, 605 00:31:05,708 --> 00:31:08,375 as that estuary in Normandy 606 00:31:08,542 --> 00:31:09,750 leads to the Seine River, 607 00:31:09,917 --> 00:31:11,500 which takes you all the way to Paris. 608 00:31:14,292 --> 00:31:15,875 It is a city of riches, 609 00:31:16,042 --> 00:31:18,417 and the warrior's next target. 610 00:31:18,583 --> 00:31:22,458 An audacious attack on an unsuspecting foe. 611 00:31:22,583 --> 00:31:24,042 But to achieve victory, 612 00:31:24,208 --> 00:31:26,417 the Viking will call on all of the war tactics 613 00:31:26,583 --> 00:31:30,042 he has amassed over the course of his journey. 614 00:31:43,083 --> 00:31:45,000 The Vikings decide to besiege Paris 615 00:31:45,167 --> 00:31:47,667 on Easter Sunday in 845 616 00:31:47,833 --> 00:31:50,667 because it's on this day in the Christian calendar that 617 00:31:50,833 --> 00:31:52,625 the markets of Paris are overflowing with 618 00:31:52,750 --> 00:31:54,167 all sorts of wealth. 619 00:31:54,375 --> 00:31:56,500 People are celebrating this great holiday, 620 00:31:56,625 --> 00:31:58,500 and the Vikings know this. 621 00:32:01,583 --> 00:32:05,333 The Viking siege of Paris is led by the legendary figure, 622 00:32:05,542 --> 00:32:09,667 Ragnar Lothbrok- larger than life Viking warrior 623 00:32:09,875 --> 00:32:12,417 who is leading about 120 ships- 624 00:32:12,583 --> 00:32:13,875 the sources tell us- 625 00:32:14,042 --> 00:32:17,625 about roughly 5000 warriors into battle. 626 00:32:17,792 --> 00:32:20,708 The Viking warrior and his fleet appear on the horizon, 627 00:32:20,875 --> 00:32:24,000 without warning. 628 00:32:24,208 --> 00:32:26,833 In many cases, the Norse flee with their ships 629 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:29,083 before the enemy army can get there so, 630 00:32:29,292 --> 00:32:32,583 they're operating for minimal risk 631 00:32:32,750 --> 00:32:35,208 when possible, and maximum profit. 632 00:32:42,625 --> 00:32:45,333 The sails of his dreaded longships are designed to 633 00:32:45,458 --> 00:32:49,417 stir terror in the hearts and minds of his enemy. 634 00:32:49,583 --> 00:32:51,875 The first part of the Viking assault is 635 00:32:52,042 --> 00:32:53,625 kind of a propaganda assault. 636 00:32:53,833 --> 00:32:55,792 It's showing you the might. 637 00:32:55,917 --> 00:32:58,083 You can see this sail coming at you. 638 00:32:58,250 --> 00:32:59,917 You know that you don't have much time to 639 00:33:00,083 --> 00:33:04,000 prepare to defend where you are. 640 00:33:04,167 --> 00:33:06,000 The Vikings, under Ragnar Lothbrok, 641 00:33:06,167 --> 00:33:08,000 are sailing down the Seine River, 642 00:33:08,167 --> 00:33:09,917 and they come upon a group of 643 00:33:10,083 --> 00:33:12,458 Frankish warriors stationed on 644 00:33:12,625 --> 00:33:15,707 either side of the Seine River by Charles The Bald, 645 00:33:15,708 --> 00:33:17,833 who is king of West Frankia. 646 00:33:18,042 --> 00:33:20,667 He's the one in charge of Paris's defenses, 647 00:33:20,792 --> 00:33:22,167 so you have Frankish defenders 648 00:33:22,333 --> 00:33:23,833 on the right side of the river and 649 00:33:23,958 --> 00:33:25,000 Frankish defenders on the left. 650 00:33:25,167 --> 00:33:26,042 And the Franks, 651 00:33:26,208 --> 00:33:27,958 they don't have boats with which 652 00:33:28,083 --> 00:33:30,167 to meet the Vikings at sea. 653 00:33:33,333 --> 00:33:36,667 They simply attack one contingent of 654 00:33:36,875 --> 00:33:38,958 Frankish warriors, decimating them, 655 00:33:39,125 --> 00:33:42,417 and leaving the other one unable to help the defense. 656 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:51,500 And there are berserks, 657 00:33:51,667 --> 00:33:53,083 and the berserks roared. 658 00:33:53,292 --> 00:33:54,958 And now, imagine this- 659 00:33:55,125 --> 00:33:57,500 you're on the battlefield with a group of men, 660 00:33:57,708 --> 00:33:59,167 and they're standing there, 661 00:33:59,333 --> 00:34:01,708 and the terrifying sound that would make. 662 00:34:07,167 --> 00:34:11,208 The Vikings capture 111 Frankish warriors, 663 00:34:11,375 --> 00:34:14,000 load them on the Longships, and move further down 664 00:34:14,208 --> 00:34:16,542 the Seine closer to Paris. 665 00:34:17,708 --> 00:34:21,208 This is the next phase in the Viking's plan. 666 00:34:21,375 --> 00:34:24,792 He and his fellow warriors now hold the captives- 667 00:34:24,958 --> 00:34:28,125 and the city of Paris- for ransom. 668 00:34:30,708 --> 00:34:34,333 This ransom is the entire reason for the siege. 669 00:34:34,542 --> 00:34:37,042 The Vikings attacked the Franks to extract 670 00:34:37,208 --> 00:34:39,500 as much money from them as possible. 671 00:34:39,625 --> 00:34:42,375 Ragnar Lothbrok had been in touch with Charles The Bald, 672 00:34:42,542 --> 00:34:44,541 and had been undergoing these negotiations, 673 00:34:44,542 --> 00:34:46,250 saying, you know, "We'll leave Paris 674 00:34:46,417 --> 00:34:48,500 if only you pay us enough silver." 675 00:34:48,708 --> 00:34:51,125 In 845, the Franks defending Paris are 676 00:34:51,292 --> 00:34:52,500 probably asking themselves, 677 00:34:52,667 --> 00:34:55,167 "Well, can we hold off this Viking attack?" 678 00:34:55,292 --> 00:34:57,833 It looks to be about 120 longships, 679 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,417 but the Franks have ballista technology, 680 00:35:00,625 --> 00:35:03,458 they have great boiling vats of pitch. 681 00:35:03,667 --> 00:35:06,667 They have all sorts of like counter-defensive technology 682 00:35:06,833 --> 00:35:08,167 that they can use. 683 00:35:08,333 --> 00:35:10,500 But evidently, to Ragnar, the negotiations weren't 684 00:35:10,667 --> 00:35:14,542 happening quick enough so, those 111 captives that 685 00:35:14,708 --> 00:35:17,375 he had taken on one side of the Seine River, 686 00:35:17,542 --> 00:35:20,708 he brings to the island near Paris and hangs them. 687 00:35:34,458 --> 00:35:37,375 We can only imagine how terrified 688 00:35:37,542 --> 00:35:39,708 the defending Franks of Paris are 689 00:35:39,917 --> 00:35:42,833 to see their 111 fellow warriors 690 00:35:43,042 --> 00:35:45,375 hung open in plain sight. 691 00:35:45,583 --> 00:35:48,792 Hanging 111 men might have been seen as 692 00:35:48,958 --> 00:35:51,333 being very advantageous and strategic. 693 00:35:51,542 --> 00:35:54,833 By demonstrating that you are willing to do something that 694 00:35:54,958 --> 00:35:57,167 may seem to be barbaric, you may be, 695 00:35:57,333 --> 00:36:00,500 in the long run, saving lives on both sides. 696 00:36:00,625 --> 00:36:03,292 And it's only then that the Vikings are able to 697 00:36:03,458 --> 00:36:06,542 receive 7,000 pounds of silver. 698 00:36:06,708 --> 00:36:09,708 That's how much the Franks pay the Vikings to go away, 699 00:36:09,917 --> 00:36:13,042 although it doesn't seem to work because in the 850s 700 00:36:13,208 --> 00:36:15,958 and then again in 885, the Vikings, 701 00:36:16,083 --> 00:36:18,125 they're seeing Paris as sort of a, 702 00:36:18,250 --> 00:36:21,708 an ATM that they can come back to over and over again. 703 00:36:21,875 --> 00:36:24,500 The Viking has mastered the art of war through 704 00:36:24,708 --> 00:36:27,167 his unflinching embrace of bloodshed. 705 00:36:27,333 --> 00:36:30,667 His training, his weapons, and his dedication 706 00:36:30,833 --> 00:36:33,874 have made him feared across a continent. 707 00:36:35,667 --> 00:36:38,292 But every great warrior must fall, 708 00:36:38,458 --> 00:36:40,667 and the Viking's days are numbered. 709 00:36:46,917 --> 00:36:50,042 The Viking's success in battle earns him glory... 710 00:36:50,250 --> 00:36:54,458 and, a reputation for tactical brilliance. 711 00:36:54,625 --> 00:36:58,417 His brutal empire is growing. 712 00:36:58,583 --> 00:37:01,333 In their essence, the Vikings are seamen, 713 00:37:01,500 --> 00:37:04,333 and that is the absolute core of their success. 714 00:37:04,500 --> 00:37:06,000 However, as things move on, 715 00:37:06,167 --> 00:37:07,667 they start to change their goals. 716 00:37:07,833 --> 00:37:09,875 We see the Franks having to give them land 717 00:37:10,042 --> 00:37:11,667 because that's clearly what they want. 718 00:37:11,833 --> 00:37:13,500 And equally, in Anglo-Saxon England, 719 00:37:13,708 --> 00:37:17,000 they go for a full invasion in 865, 720 00:37:17,125 --> 00:37:19,167 and they are clearly not there to raid. 721 00:37:19,375 --> 00:37:20,917 They are there to stay. 722 00:37:21,083 --> 00:37:25,707 We start to see a transition from raiding to settling. 723 00:37:25,708 --> 00:37:27,333 But incredible gains 724 00:37:27,458 --> 00:37:29,833 give way to devastating losses. 725 00:37:31,792 --> 00:37:34,333 Over time, the Vikings' enemies begin to 726 00:37:34,458 --> 00:37:36,333 understand their attackers. 727 00:37:37,875 --> 00:37:39,542 And how to fight back. 728 00:37:42,958 --> 00:37:44,250 People like Charlemagne, 729 00:37:44,375 --> 00:37:46,500 one of the things that they do to try and 730 00:37:46,667 --> 00:37:50,333 combat this Viking threat is to build navies. 731 00:37:50,500 --> 00:37:53,333 Building bridges, putting large chains across rivers 732 00:37:53,458 --> 00:37:55,542 was something else which was done. 733 00:37:55,708 --> 00:37:57,167 The Anglo-Saxons in England, 734 00:37:57,375 --> 00:37:59,000 and the Slavs in Central Europe 735 00:37:59,125 --> 00:38:02,083 are increasingly using more cavalry. 736 00:38:02,250 --> 00:38:03,333 But, the Vikings themselves 737 00:38:03,500 --> 00:38:05,542 never actually had cavalry. 738 00:38:07,542 --> 00:38:09,125 Outmatched on land, 739 00:38:09,333 --> 00:38:11,582 and no longer dominant at sea, 740 00:38:11,583 --> 00:38:14,750 the Viking warrior loses his tactical advantage. 741 00:38:14,917 --> 00:38:17,417 By the year 1066, 742 00:38:17,583 --> 00:38:21,417 the Viking Age is no more. 743 00:38:21,542 --> 00:38:24,167 Near the end of the century, the Norseman controls 744 00:38:24,333 --> 00:38:26,833 nothing beyond Scandinavia. 745 00:38:26,958 --> 00:38:29,083 Warring clans headed by chieftains 746 00:38:29,208 --> 00:38:30,958 are dying out. 747 00:38:32,708 --> 00:38:36,292 You have the formation of the modern countries of 748 00:38:36,500 --> 00:38:38,583 Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. 749 00:38:38,750 --> 00:38:42,750 You have chieftains consolidating power and 750 00:38:42,917 --> 00:38:45,083 submitting to kings. 751 00:38:46,667 --> 00:38:47,875 Now you have a political organization, 752 00:38:48,042 --> 00:38:51,167 and a king who's basically not going to allow things 753 00:38:51,375 --> 00:38:53,375 like the Vikings because it's in that king's 754 00:38:53,542 --> 00:38:55,333 best interest to either 755 00:38:55,500 --> 00:38:57,167 hire them as part of his army 756 00:38:57,333 --> 00:38:59,250 or to get rid of them altogether, 757 00:38:59,417 --> 00:39:01,167 so that's a big piece of it. 758 00:39:01,292 --> 00:39:03,000 The second part is religion. 759 00:39:04,875 --> 00:39:07,374 Christianity really takes hold in these 760 00:39:07,375 --> 00:39:09,000 previously heathen places. 761 00:39:09,208 --> 00:39:11,083 So, you know, here we see a bit of the 762 00:39:11,250 --> 00:39:13,792 psychology of warfare is dying out. 763 00:39:13,958 --> 00:39:17,167 Christianity is the religion of kings 764 00:39:17,333 --> 00:39:18,833 throughout medieval Europe. 765 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,083 You know, you have the Pope in Rome as well, 766 00:39:21,208 --> 00:39:23,500 who bestows great privileges on kings 767 00:39:23,667 --> 00:39:24,917 who follow him and so forth. 768 00:39:25,083 --> 00:39:28,667 Christianity is the social club of medieval kings. 769 00:39:30,875 --> 00:39:33,333 But it's a Viking warrior who emerges to 770 00:39:33,542 --> 00:39:37,958 unify all of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. 771 00:39:38,125 --> 00:39:41,250 William the Conqueror, who the modern day 772 00:39:41,417 --> 00:39:43,958 royal family of England can trace their lineage to, 773 00:39:44,125 --> 00:39:47,458 the first King of England, is descended from Normans. 774 00:39:47,583 --> 00:39:49,917 He's descended from the Duchy of Normandy in 775 00:39:50,083 --> 00:39:52,875 Northern France, which was founded by Rollo, 776 00:39:53,042 --> 00:39:56,042 who was a ferocious Viking in the 10th century. 777 00:39:58,917 --> 00:40:00,458 By creating some of the most 778 00:40:00,667 --> 00:40:02,583 fearsome fighters of the era, 779 00:40:02,750 --> 00:40:06,542 the Vikings change western civilization forever. 780 00:40:10,917 --> 00:40:13,500 The Vikings are a warrior culture 781 00:40:13,667 --> 00:40:16,583 that is so larger than life. 782 00:40:16,708 --> 00:40:20,833 They leave their footprints throughout the world. 783 00:40:21,042 --> 00:40:23,667 The modern-day countries of England and France 784 00:40:23,833 --> 00:40:27,167 originate from Viking principalities. 785 00:40:27,333 --> 00:40:29,125 They start these marketplaces 786 00:40:29,292 --> 00:40:30,792 that then become towns 787 00:40:30,917 --> 00:40:33,542 that then become cities that still exist today. 788 00:40:33,750 --> 00:40:37,083 Dublin is an old Viking marketplace. 789 00:40:37,208 --> 00:40:40,833 York is an old Viking marketplace. 790 00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:45,125 Novgorod is an old Viking marketplace. 791 00:40:45,292 --> 00:40:46,833 If I were to say the word Viking, 792 00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:48,750 which has gone on to 793 00:40:48,875 --> 00:40:50,625 bear the name of football teams and 794 00:40:50,792 --> 00:40:53,583 clothing brands and ocean liners and so forth, 795 00:40:53,708 --> 00:40:57,417 the word Viking means bravery, it means courage, 796 00:40:57,583 --> 00:41:00,000 it means being larger than life. 797 00:41:00,208 --> 00:41:02,208 And, the mythology, 798 00:41:02,375 --> 00:41:04,582 the spirituality of the Vikings 799 00:41:04,583 --> 00:41:07,583 is very well understood by modern viewers as well. 800 00:41:07,750 --> 00:41:10,625 J.R.R. Tolkien's own mythological worlds, 801 00:41:10,833 --> 00:41:12,625 The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, 802 00:41:12,750 --> 00:41:15,750 are directly based upon Old Norse literature and 803 00:41:15,917 --> 00:41:18,458 given to us in the forms of sagas. 804 00:41:18,625 --> 00:41:20,458 The other reason why I think 805 00:41:20,667 --> 00:41:23,042 they loom large in our memory 806 00:41:23,208 --> 00:41:25,167 has to do with the 807 00:41:25,333 --> 00:41:27,875 freedom, individualism components of 808 00:41:28,042 --> 00:41:30,083 what we think of when we think of Vikings. 809 00:41:30,250 --> 00:41:33,083 I think we tend to either downplay the violence, 810 00:41:33,208 --> 00:41:35,042 or up play the violence, 811 00:41:35,208 --> 00:41:37,750 in our telling of these stories, 812 00:41:37,917 --> 00:41:40,333 but I think that there is something about 813 00:41:40,500 --> 00:41:42,333 a group of farmers 814 00:41:42,542 --> 00:41:45,917 that hold Europe at ransom 815 00:41:46,083 --> 00:41:47,582 for several hundred years 816 00:41:47,583 --> 00:41:50,042 that just is a little bit inspiring. 817 00:41:50,208 --> 00:41:53,875 Centuries after disappearing from the northern seas... 818 00:41:54,042 --> 00:41:57,417 the Viking warrior is still revered. 819 00:41:57,583 --> 00:41:59,333 His ferocious training, 820 00:41:59,500 --> 00:42:01,125 devastating fighting technique, 821 00:42:01,292 --> 00:42:05,917 and unique combination of strategy and brutality... 822 00:42:06,042 --> 00:42:08,708 earn him a rightful place among 823 00:42:08,875 --> 00:42:10,833 History's Greatest Warriors.