History of the Vikings: Norse Culture, Religion, Seafaring and Famous Warriors

This documentary on the history of the Vikings covers the beginning of the Viking Age, the Norse and Viking Culture, Norse Mythology and Religion, Ships, Trade, Famous Vikings such as Ragnar Lothbrock, Ivar the Boneless, Bjorn Ironside and Lagertha, and the Legacy of the Vikings.

The Vikings were Scandinavians from Norway, Sweden and Denmark who took to the seas with the intention of raiding lands and gaining wealth during the period which is known as the Viking Age which is commonly dated between 793 and around 1100 CE. They were not only known as Vikings but also Norsemen, Rus, and Northmen among others. The Vikings were primarily agriculturalists who set off not only to raid lands for loot, but also to establish communities for farming and raising animals.

Norse mythology consisted of a cosmology or story of the beginning of the universe, the nine realms of the world tree Yggdrasil and the end of the world known as Ragnarok. What remains of textual sources of Norse mythology is only the very surface of the history, since, at the time, Scandinavia was primarily an oral society. Norse mythology, as an integral part of the everyday lives of the Scandinavian people, influenced the raids, because in doing so, the Vikings emulated the lives of their gods. The brave warriors went to battle against forces that they saw as chaotic and dangerous, since nothing about the Christian faith aligned with the Norse beliefs at all. The Norsemen showed no mercy to enemies once they perfected the art of shipbuilding and began to ‘go Viking.’

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— CHAPTERS —
0:00​ Introduction
0:41 Who were the Vikings?
2:51 Viking Culture
5:45 Norse Mythology and Religion
7:03 Viking Ships and Seafaring
9:11 Viking Sea and Land Trade
11:06 Famous Vikings
14:03 Legacy of the Vikings
17:00 Outro

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— ATTRIBUTIONS —

Music Used:
Ancient Ruins
Audio Hero
New Age Mix 2

— THUMBNAIL IMAGE —
Emil Doepler
Public domain

World History Encyclopedia

[WorldHistoryEncyclopedia]

Did any preconceptions you might have had about the Vikings get debunked in this video? Let us know what they were and why you may have had them!

[friedchicken]

Omg another history channel that I just discovered. Hope you guys upload more!! Xx

[shreyash]

The way she was explaining ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️…

[zizueru]

Thank you for introducing this to people all over the world

[jonathanbixler]

Interesting documentary. I still get confused about the events that took place within England during the Norman occupation.

[Christian_Bagger]

Yea, to Viking is in actuality a seasonal profession, but it’s a bit convoluted because it’s sort of piracy, but there’s also culture involved in it so it’s kind of its separate thing. Always help to simply and just saying Viking has become more of an umbrella term for the masses and it also does have a massive branding value today. It’s simply easier to just refer the norsemen as Vikings instead of giving the standard explanation.

[carstenlarsen]

Hi from Denmark, good video and thanks for the real depiction,
of the real World of scandinavia in the viking age
( sometimes one would Think,
We were all once berserkers
Up here)

[robkearns]

Rollo of Normandy (aka Hrolfr) was the great-great-great grandfather of William I of Normandy (William The Conqueror). I am a decedent of them and therefore I am very interested in Viking history, and Scandinavian history in general.

This is a good video.

[MikefromTexas]

Were all vikings Scandinavian?

How many of their slaves (of various ethnicities) were freed and joined society to become vikings?

[gdavid]

I like this channel 🥰always passionate about history of roman and Persians and so one
I need you help i need to read about
History of all of them and all what you talking about in channel the most honest books just based on true discovery
Thanks 😊 For this channel 💓😄

[MTB]

Interesting video! It’s great to learn about different cultures.

Why do you use Christian Era (CE) and Not Anno Domini (AD)?

[deadpool_ryder_]

Feel like I just watched 2 seasons of the Vikings on Netflix 🤣 mind you I'm actually loving it.. Great video thank you.
#liked and #subscribed 😉

[huckleberrybuttercup]

Oeselians or Osilians is a historical name for the people who prior to the Northern Crusades in the 13th century lived in the Estonian island of Saaremaa (Ösel)[a] – the Baltic Sea island was also referred as Oeselia or Osilia in written records dating from around that time.[1] In Viking Age literature, the inhabitants were often included under the name "Vikings from Estonia".[2], as written by Saxo Grammaticus in the late 12th century. 

A battle between Estonian and Icelandic Vikings off Saaremaa is described in Njál's saga as occurring in 972 AD

[User-wo]

Hi have you got a email address I have got a rare varse porcelain it's roman and loads of details to varse it got a leaf on the bottom of the varse

[ЄвгенійВеселка]

When the Vikings existed, there was no Russia. It just didn't exist. Then there was Rus with the center in Kyiv. This country is still called Kyivan Rus. Russians simply stole the name Rus, changed it in their own way and began to call their country Russia. Before that, their country was called the Principality of Moscow. But even the Moscow principality did not exist when the Vikings were there.

[ericembom]

Every scholar makes many mistakes about our culture with there assumptions they portray as fact.

[MyrddintheBard]

Not all Vikings were Scandinavians. Anglo Saxons, Normans and Slavs joined Viking Raiding Parties.