How Historically Accurate is Lego's Viking Village?

So. Lego has released a Viking Village set! I love Lego, we all love the Viking Age, but does this set of Lego bricks and figures bear any resemblance to the archaeology of Viking age villages and towns? Do these houses look like early medieval houses? Do the minifigs look like Viking Age people? Are the clothes anything like medieval clothing and fashion?
Let's find out and have a look at some of the good, the bad, and the ugly of Lego's surprisingly extensive Viking and Medieval range of figures and sets!

Play well, everyone!

Some of the ideas mentioned:

Find me elsewhere:
Insta: @littlewelshviking

Letters, parcels, packages?
The Welsh Viking,
PO Box 821,
YORK,
YO1 0PY,
UK

Editing software: DaVinci Resolve
Camera: Panasonic Lumix G7

[lunarmagpie]

Finally, some hard-hitting medieval investigations.

[primarch]

I watched a lego channel review this set and complain about the "Historical inaccuracies", by which they meant the blacksmith being female, and I remember thinking "No way that's even on the list for jimmy". Boy, its nice to be proven right!

[gracewenzel]

Thank you for the content warning at the beginning, Jimmy. This is a very serious subject and I’m thankful to you for handling it with such care.

[chrisball]

I wouldn't expect too much in terms of historical accuracy from a toy company. But Denmark's no.1 modern cultural export getting Denmark's no.1 historical export wrong seems inherently disappointing. C'mon Lego- do your ancestor's proud with an historically plausible Heorot set already!

[stellaluna]

they should sell mystery box archeological lego, where you get a bunch of pieces but have to guess how they go together based on a few pictures representing finds from other areas

[rin_okami]

"black leather viking" is a very nice little catch-all term for the fantasticized version of vikings vs the historical reality.

I just now realized this, but like, vikings and pirates have a lot in common in that they were both actual, historical, groups of people who got COMPLETELY mythologized and romanticized in the modern era to the point that they barely resemble their historical counterparts at all.

[danfocke]

I like that the 1st mini fig is wearing a blue cloak. Maybe he's off for some vengeance and violence. In the sagas someone wearing a blue cloak was often out for vengeance.

[master_illitrix]

This set is unfortunately missing the iconic shredded berserker, clad in a totally historically accurate leather speedo. Disappointing.

[katwitanruna]

Buy it. Build it. Sell it.

Add in an archeological critique in the box.

[CollinMcLean]

I got the set as a Solstice gift from my older sister because
1. I love vikings
2. I love legos
I absolutely freaking love it.

[legobrickhammer]

Hey man, BrickHammer here (the guy who submitted the original idea for the Viking village on the LEGO IDEAS website) 👋🏻 I really had a great time listening to your thoughts. Great video!

Having a master's degree in history myself, I am fully aware that the Viking Village is not accurate at all but I am still super happy with how the set turned out. It is very much inspired by pop culture depictions of Vikings and also fantasy cultures like Rohan which is more fitting for a children's toy. However, I made sure it included at least one authentic helmet (the one in the forge WITHOUT the horns 😅).

[Texaswesternwriter]

More accurate then most Viking shows or movies!

[fairygrove]

Now I want to see a video of Jimmy making his own lego Viking village...or at least house!

[rachelboersma-plug]

The Viking woman's horned helmet is giving off very strong Wagnerian opera vibes. The dress is pretty good, though.

There was a longship set released a few years back, with options for a (tiny) hall, Jormungandr and the Fenris wolf. I was quite impressed.

[eazy]

I love how this topic got started in the discord just kinda casually, and it snowballed from there into this video

[Jedihho]

Honestly, the historical inaccuracies were actually not as horribly bothersome as I thought they'd be when i purchased the set!
And upon reading the instructions, they actually offer a bit of a history lesson on the first few pages about vikings and medieval Scandinavia!

The original designer also admits that the goal was not for historical accuracy, but more so to recreate the feeling of the og lego viking sets, with the horned helmets and such lol.

Still, I will never complain about hearing you talk about legos and vikings, great video! And now I feel there's even more of a cause to make a historical accurate viking set! 💪

[kathrynronnenberg]

I happened to be on hand when someone I know had the LEGO Titanic model delivered. The finished ship will be around 4 feet long, and the box was so heavy I could barely lift it.
They could make a more authentic Viking settlement for the adult builder market, and I bet it would sell, especially if it was like that Swedish fort. And it would still be fun!
As for what to do with the finished model...for the Titanic, we were joking that they should hang it from the ceiling above their staircase, angled downward.

[hewhoadds]

if you have a few minutes, look at the instructions that come with the set, they are available online for free and it includes “artist statements” for lack of a better term that explain why they included horned helmets and the thor hammer (the hammer is a reference to the fan designer)

also, the fan designer is a historian

[katwitanruna]

I appreciate such serious, thoughtful deep dive research into important subjects.

[beagleissleeping]

You forgot another use for legos: weapons of mass destruction, at least upon bare feet in the dark😂