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This is a story about the people whocame sailing across the ocean.
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It's a story about a long andperilous journey of upheaval.
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Which came to change populations, and
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influence politics, trade, culture,religion and entire societies.
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It's a story about the Vikings...and how they transformed the world.
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For most people, the Vikings are seenonly as plunderers and pirates.
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But is that the whole truth?
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The process of converting Scandinavia
to Christianity is a long story.
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They were skilled tradesmen, in part
because of their ability to travel.
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They're going abroad
to take what they seek.
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In this series, we will dig deeperand gain more insight
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into who the Vikings really were.
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And the truth turns outto be surprising.
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THE LAST JOURNEY OF THE VIKINGS
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In the late eighth century,
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the Vikings started appearingalong the coast of Europe.
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With their longboats adornedwith dragon heads
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and loaded with well-armed warriors,
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the Vikings soon became infamous fortheir swift and brutal raids.
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Initially, they mainly targetedmonasteries,
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pillaging them for gold and silver.
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The monks whose only weaponwas their Christian faith,
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were an easy prey, and would seldombe spared the wrath of the Norsemen.
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Over the years,the Vikings' strategy changed.
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They weren't only brutal warriors,but also skilled diplomats.
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Not afraid to mixwith powerful rulers
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who wanted to create a new Europe.
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In fact, the Vikings would reshapeseveral European countries.
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One of these was Francia.
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A kingdom that we will come backto over the course of this series.
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But why didthe Scandinavians set sail
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across the seas and become pirates?
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In order to answer this,
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we must go back to a time beforethe Vikings' journey into Europe...
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to sixth century Scandinavia.
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THE EMIGRANTS
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The sixth century is
a really interesting time.
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Not just for the Nordic countries,
for the whole of Europe in general.
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00:04:07,980 --> 00:04:12,020
It's the period following the
collapse of the Roman Western Empire.
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00:04:14,620 --> 00:04:18,740
And characterised to a great extent
by political instability and turmoil,
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00:04:18,820 --> 00:04:23,180
conflict, and also large scale
human migrations, and
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00:04:23,260 --> 00:04:25,540
it's that aspect of the period
that lends its name
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to how we characterise this time,
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which is often as
the migration period.
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00:04:46,020 --> 00:04:50,220
We need to keep in mind that
Scandinavia at the time
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was an essentially rural region where
communities lived
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from the exploitation of natural
resources and agriculture.
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00:05:01,180 --> 00:05:04,500
The resources needed forsurvival existed.
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00:05:04,580 --> 00:05:10,540
But still, for some reason, thepeople of Scandinavia migrated.
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00:05:10,620 --> 00:05:14,180
There are very many
various political, social
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00:05:14,260 --> 00:05:16,820
factors that would contribute
to all of this, but
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there is a suggestion now that
part of this might be linked to
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some kind of climatic event
that takes place around
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the mid sixth century.
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00:05:37,140 --> 00:05:41,980
What has been suggested is that,
either in the 530s, around 536,
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or over a slightly longer period of
time, between the 530s and the 550s,
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00:05:46,500 --> 00:05:50,820
what we're looking at is a series of
one or more volcanic events.
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These eruptions spewed out ash
into the atmosphere
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and the ash lingered
for several years.
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00:05:57,140 --> 00:06:00,100
This led to a dimmed sun,
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00:06:00,180 --> 00:06:03,820
colder summers,
or frost in the middle of summer.
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00:06:03,900 --> 00:06:08,580
This caused crop failures
several years of bad harvests.
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00:06:16,700 --> 00:06:18,540
And in the early medieval world,
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00:06:18,620 --> 00:06:20,860
a couple of bad years of harvest
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would be enough to really enforce
some quite dramatic changes.
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00:06:27,460 --> 00:06:32,220
First, the animals die for lack of
food, and then the people die.
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00:06:32,300 --> 00:06:35,380
And in 541 and
a few years afterwards,
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we don't really know how many died,
but we assume
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00:06:38,740 --> 00:06:42,140
maybe between a third of,
or half of the population,
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00:06:42,220 --> 00:06:45,220
both down in Europe and
up here in Scandinavia.
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00:06:45,300 --> 00:06:50,620
This creates terrible change
for those who survive it.
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How do we know that the climatecrisis actually happened?
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What evidence do we have?
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That climate disaster is rather
well documented
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in contemporary written sources
in the Mediterranean
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and other regions of
the northern hemisphere.
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We have descriptions of a veil of
dust that was covering
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the sky and the sun.
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00:07:26,220 --> 00:07:28,780
They couldn't see the sun
for a few months.
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00:07:28,860 --> 00:07:33,100
It's there, but it's dim.
It's not giving out heat.
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00:07:33,180 --> 00:07:36,180
It's not even creating shadows
during the day.
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00:07:40,220 --> 00:07:44,420
The sun, essentially, isn't doing
what it's supposed to do.
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00:07:46,940 --> 00:07:49,940
Now, we also have
scientific evidence.
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00:07:50,020 --> 00:07:52,740
For example, in ice cores
from Greenland.
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We can see a
layer of volcanic dust that we
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00:07:58,020 --> 00:08:01,220
can link to that event.
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00:08:01,300 --> 00:08:06,460
We can also see it in the way
trees grew during that time.
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00:08:06,540 --> 00:08:09,060
The research was
conducted in Ireland.
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00:08:09,140 --> 00:08:14,100
They managed to measure the growth
of the trees for those years.
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Trees normally grow each year.
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00:08:18,340 --> 00:08:23,100
For the years 536 and 537,
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we can see that the growth was
negligible or even non-existent.
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00:08:32,460 --> 00:08:35,140
We can also see the
archaeological remains,
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as many villages were abandoned.
Large farms that people left behind,
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00:08:40,380 --> 00:08:42,300
no one lived there anymore.
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00:08:47,620 --> 00:08:49,780
It also seems that large areas
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of agricultural land
are returning to forest
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and, on top of this, there is some
quite dramatic evidence
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for violence.
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00:08:58,500 --> 00:09:00,700
As we can tell from the
archaeological evidence,
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00:09:00,780 --> 00:09:04,180
we see certain settlements that
seem to have been attacked.
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Sometimes burnt down.
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00:09:19,580 --> 00:09:23,540
And the main, key bit of evidence
that leads us to believe that
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00:09:23,620 --> 00:09:26,660
these were attacks, not accidents,
is that in some of these places,
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00:09:26,740 --> 00:09:29,580
people are left unburied
within the burnt houses.
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00:09:31,860 --> 00:09:35,060
It is believed that,around the year 580,
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more than one million people may havelived in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
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00:09:39,540 --> 00:09:43,020
Of these, perhaps 300,000 or 400,000
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would suffer an early deathbecause of the climate crisis.
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It seems that powerful landowners
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used the climate crisis to brutallyseize even more land and resources
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00:09:56,580 --> 00:09:59,100
from rival villages and families.
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00:09:59,180 --> 00:10:02,460
It could be said that the powerstruggles that took place
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00:10:02,540 --> 00:10:07,100
during these years transformedthe society's ruling class.
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00:10:08,460 --> 00:10:10,540
After the immediate crisis,
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00:10:10,620 --> 00:10:14,740
it's more then 50 years beforethe dust in the atmosphere clears,
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and the temperaturereturns to normal.
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00:10:18,340 --> 00:10:22,700
Soon the population startsto grow again, however,
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00:10:22,780 --> 00:10:26,780
Scandinavian society has changed.
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00:10:26,860 --> 00:10:30,900
So, of course if such a climate
disaster happened,
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00:10:30,980 --> 00:10:36,260
the agricultural production was
limited for several years,
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00:10:36,340 --> 00:10:41,260
which caused famines that
affected those populations.
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00:10:41,340 --> 00:10:43,340
It doesn't necessarily
mean that populations
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in their entirety disappeared.
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00:10:45,460 --> 00:10:47,900
But they were deeply
affected when it came to
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having access to natural resources.
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This is what we connect to
that new organisation of territories
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00:10:58,220 --> 00:11:01,220
with abandoned villages.
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00:11:01,300 --> 00:11:06,820
That's where most of the
agricultural production was set.
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00:11:22,660 --> 00:11:28,860
The survivors of these catastrophes
grew up in a brand new world
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00:11:28,940 --> 00:11:33,060
that was less crowded,
there weren't as many people.
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00:11:33,140 --> 00:11:35,580
There were plenty of abandoned
farms and villages.
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00:11:35,660 --> 00:11:40,380
Basically, you have large tracts of
land that can then be snapped up,
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00:11:40,460 --> 00:11:46,620
essentially by those who are seeking
to preserve their lives and status.
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00:11:53,060 --> 00:11:56,140
It was fairly crowded prior to
these natural disasters.
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00:11:56,220 --> 00:12:01,460
All arable land was already
held by someone.
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00:12:01,540 --> 00:12:07,300
Suddenly there was
room to grow again.
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00:12:14,460 --> 00:12:16,780
It seems to be
much more hierarchical,
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00:12:16,860 --> 00:12:19,540
in which power is, to a great extent,
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00:12:19,620 --> 00:12:23,020
based on the ownership of land
and territory.
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00:12:23,100 --> 00:12:25,140
So, if we are looking at a time where
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00:12:25,220 --> 00:12:27,700
we're seeing increased
social stratification,
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00:12:27,780 --> 00:12:31,660
that's going to make the social
and economic differences
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00:12:31,740 --> 00:12:36,460
between different social classes,
if you want, become more apparent.
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00:12:36,540 --> 00:12:41,140
It may be time where we see an
intensification of slavery or
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00:12:41,220 --> 00:12:44,020
dependency of the lower classes
on the aristocracy,
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00:12:44,100 --> 00:12:48,820
and, as a result, that gives the
aristocracy the means and the power
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00:12:48,900 --> 00:12:51,700
to consolidate their hold
on the landscape.
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00:12:58,340 --> 00:13:02,820
But, as well as this, we also have
increasingly stratified societies,
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00:13:02,900 --> 00:13:06,300
and people's roles might
become more defined. Of course,
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00:13:06,380 --> 00:13:09,940
Scandinavia,
like other medieval societies,
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they're essentially
subsistence societies, they...
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people need to produce what they need
to live, so agricultural practices
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00:13:18,100 --> 00:13:23,220
are incredibly important, as are all
kinds of production processes
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that take place within the household
to produce what people need
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to live out their daily lives.
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The warrior ideal became more
important during this time.
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00:13:55,460 --> 00:14:00,020
So the ideal man was
a strong warrior.
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00:14:00,100 --> 00:14:05,020
He needed to be honourable. He had to
honour his family and his lineage.
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00:14:05,100 --> 00:14:10,540
He had to be a strong fighter and
take care of the weak in society.
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00:14:13,060 --> 00:14:19,260
And now, when the warrior ideal isupheld to an even greater extent...
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powerful leaders start to emerge.
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Leaders who will play important rolesin what lies ahead.
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00:14:47,060 --> 00:14:50,220
Societies are becoming
increasingly militarised.
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00:14:50,300 --> 00:14:53,220
Warfare becomes
a really prominent theme
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in material culture of the period.
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Leading to a time where we have the
highest status of boat burials
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in places like Vadstena in Sweden.
These beautiful, ornate pieces
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of arms and armour speaking to
a militarised aristocracy
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who are engaging in endemic,
perhaps smaller scale conflict.
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But this becomes an essential aspect
of elite power at the time.
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00:15:47,020 --> 00:15:50,900
The women of the time
lived relatively good lives.
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It's easy to believe that women
were viewed as inferior
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because men held
such dominant positions,
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but their society had clearly defined
roles for men and women.
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Women were essential for
society to function.
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00:16:10,380 --> 00:16:13,620
Marriages were a large part of
it. When a couple married,
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00:16:13,700 --> 00:16:15,140
their lands were merged,
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00:16:15,220 --> 00:16:20,300
but women's main responsibility was
to ensure that homes and households,
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00:16:20,380 --> 00:16:25,180
fields, cattle and so on
were taken care of,
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especially when the men weren't home.
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00:16:42,620 --> 00:16:47,340
When a man and a woman married, the
woman was given a large dowry.
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00:16:47,420 --> 00:16:50,900
If they divorced,
which was possible at the time,
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00:16:50,980 --> 00:16:54,980
the woman was granted the dowry
as her own property.
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So even if they divorced,
she would have been fine.
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00:16:59,340 --> 00:17:04,740
And if she remarried, even more
assets would have been merged.
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Women served a particularly important
role as crafts specialists,
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especially in the process
of textile production,
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which, during the Viking age, would
have ranged from producing everything
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00:17:43,020 --> 00:17:46,660
from, in addition to the everyday
items the family needed
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00:17:46,740 --> 00:17:50,980
to survive, their clothes, for
example, but also travelling clothes.
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00:17:51,060 --> 00:17:56,580
So in this, they're in a very
important place in the organisation
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00:17:56,660 --> 00:18:01,140
and the ability of communities to
engage in travel and warfare.
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00:18:12,940 --> 00:18:18,060
It's an issue about the Middle Ages
that has been debated.
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00:18:18,140 --> 00:18:22,620
Did they have a concept of childhood
that was similar to ours?
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00:18:25,620 --> 00:18:28,140
At what age did they become adults?
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00:18:28,220 --> 00:18:30,700
And what were the children's roles?
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00:18:38,100 --> 00:18:40,340
I think that in the Viking society,
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00:18:40,420 --> 00:18:44,460
based on the very few pieces of
information we have,
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00:18:44,540 --> 00:18:49,340
the concept was rather different from
ours when it comes to childhood.
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00:18:56,220 --> 00:19:00,660
We have found toys from
the Viking Age, wooden toys.
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00:19:00,740 --> 00:19:05,940
Little horses and boats,
wooden swords and the like.
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00:19:06,020 --> 00:19:11,580
So there was of course
a time for playing,
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00:19:11,660 --> 00:19:14,740
but it was also a society
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00:19:14,820 --> 00:19:20,020
where learning happened
as part of domestic life.
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00:19:27,300 --> 00:19:32,220
It's quite possible that in many
ways, they were simply perceived
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00:19:32,300 --> 00:19:35,100
from quite an early age
as just small adults.
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00:19:35,180 --> 00:19:38,300
In that they would
take on the same roles
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00:19:38,380 --> 00:19:41,860
as their family members before them,
their extended kinship networks,
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00:19:41,940 --> 00:19:46,420
and the communities that they lived
within, so they would take part in
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00:19:46,500 --> 00:19:52,180
agricultural practices, in cleaning
and learning to cook and produce
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00:19:52,260 --> 00:19:53,980
certain craft items.
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00:19:54,060 --> 00:19:56,620
These roles, as they were learned,
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00:19:56,700 --> 00:20:00,020
would probably vary across society.
Especially for higher status children
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00:20:00,100 --> 00:20:02,660
there might have been an element
of training in warfare,
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00:20:02,740 --> 00:20:07,340
to become a professional or at least
semi-professional fighter.
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00:20:07,420 --> 00:20:09,780
And looking at what's
happening in the period,
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00:20:09,860 --> 00:20:12,620
that would be
quite an important skill.
219
00:20:19,780 --> 00:20:24,060
And, of course, we can expect that
a lot of parents were
220
00:20:24,140 --> 00:20:25,580
deeply attached to their kids,
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00:20:25,660 --> 00:20:28,820
but I also believe that in many cases
there was a sort of detachment,
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00:20:28,900 --> 00:20:30,700
especially during the first years.
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00:20:30,780 --> 00:20:34,900
This is what we notice
in the burial grounds.
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00:20:34,980 --> 00:20:39,300
Children burials were relatively rare
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00:20:39,380 --> 00:20:43,580
from early childhood to adolescence.
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00:20:43,660 --> 00:20:46,140
They are not very present.
227
00:20:46,220 --> 00:20:53,180
Much less present than they should be
considering the infant mortality
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00:20:53,260 --> 00:20:57,300
estimations we can expect for a
society like this one.
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00:20:57,380 --> 00:21:00,780
So it's possible that child deaths
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00:21:00,860 --> 00:21:05,900
were treated in a different way.
231
00:21:05,980 --> 00:21:10,900
Maybe they were buried
in a different way,
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00:21:10,980 --> 00:21:12,940
not necessarily with the adults.
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00:21:13,020 --> 00:21:16,420
Apart from this,
I think we can expect,
234
00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:21,020
as in many societies
in Europe at the time,
235
00:21:21,100 --> 00:21:24,100
that childhood was
a time for learning.
236
00:21:28,300 --> 00:21:30,500
And from quite,
what we would call a young age,
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00:21:30,580 --> 00:21:36,220
perhaps in the mid-teens, children
living in the Viking age might have
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00:21:36,300 --> 00:21:40,460
actually started to participate
in overseas travel
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00:21:40,540 --> 00:21:42,140
and, perhaps, raiding.
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00:21:42,220 --> 00:21:46,020
And this would be part of their
continuing education, as it were,
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00:21:46,100 --> 00:21:49,380
in warfare and travel.
242
00:21:56,780 --> 00:22:00,460
After the climate crisis,in this new society,
243
00:22:00,540 --> 00:22:04,380
the role of the sea becomesincreasingly important,
244
00:22:04,460 --> 00:22:09,420
and the people of Scandinavia striveto travel further and further out,
245
00:22:09,500 --> 00:22:12,260
in search of a better life.
246
00:22:12,340 --> 00:22:18,460
To do this, they need shipssuitable for long journeys.
247
00:22:18,540 --> 00:22:20,540
The Scandinavian peoplehave known about
248
00:22:20,620 --> 00:22:23,020
shipbuilding techniquesfor a long time,
249
00:22:23,100 --> 00:22:26,580
but in the past they havemainly built rowing boats.
250
00:22:26,660 --> 00:22:30,420
In the 600s, however, in the wakeof the climate crisis,
251
00:22:30,500 --> 00:22:35,620
they learn how to build a newtype of ship. Sailing vessels.
252
00:22:35,700 --> 00:22:41,740
You needed three things to cross
the sea in these large ships:
253
00:22:41,820 --> 00:22:44,980
You had to master the technology
to construct the ships,
254
00:22:45,060 --> 00:22:50,420
a social structure that enabled
the construction of ships,
255
00:22:50,500 --> 00:22:53,380
and you needed people
to crew the ships.
256
00:22:58,100 --> 00:23:00,900
Despite having known aboutsailing vessels earlier,
257
00:23:00,980 --> 00:23:03,580
through their contacts withthe Roman Empire,
258
00:23:03,660 --> 00:23:06,460
the Scandinavians didn't copy this,
259
00:23:06,540 --> 00:23:12,620
but, instead, built their own type ofship, one more suited to their needs.
260
00:23:12,700 --> 00:23:15,820
It was a ship that couldbe operated by a small crew,
261
00:23:15,900 --> 00:23:20,940
and had a keel that allowedbeating to windward.
262
00:23:21,020 --> 00:23:24,820
This would prove to be very usefulto the Vikings in the future.
263
00:24:06,860 --> 00:24:10,220
Even though the men builtthe actual ships,
264
00:24:10,300 --> 00:24:15,460
the women in Scandinavian societyalso played a vital part.
265
00:24:15,540 --> 00:24:19,540
One of the most important elements in
navigation during the Viking Age
266
00:24:19,620 --> 00:24:20,620
is the sail.
267
00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:26,500
The fabrication of the sail itself
requires a lot of work.
268
00:24:31,420 --> 00:24:35,740
The women were tasked
with creating the sails.
269
00:24:35,820 --> 00:24:39,740
From harvesting the wool,
combing the wool,
270
00:24:39,820 --> 00:24:43,420
spinning the wool, and finally
weaving it together.
271
00:24:43,500 --> 00:24:47,540
The sails could also
have contained linen.
272
00:24:54,380 --> 00:24:57,860
It's hundreds of hours of work
for several people.
273
00:24:57,940 --> 00:25:02,620
So the sail in itself is probably one
of the most expensive products
274
00:25:02,700 --> 00:25:07,540
when it comes to building a boat.
275
00:25:07,620 --> 00:25:11,500
Each ship would go through a
number of sails during its lifespan.
276
00:25:11,580 --> 00:25:14,820
Eventually they wore out.
277
00:25:14,900 --> 00:25:18,460
Experimental archaeology is showing
that just to produce or to spin
278
00:25:18,540 --> 00:25:22,580
and weave the wool needed for a
single sail would take someone
279
00:25:22,660 --> 00:25:25,180
working on their own years
of full time work.
280
00:25:25,260 --> 00:25:29,220
What this implies is that there had
to be a level of production
281
00:25:29,300 --> 00:25:34,020
among these societies that actually
in all likelihood far exceeded
282
00:25:34,100 --> 00:25:37,100
the kind of standard
subsistence demands
283
00:25:37,180 --> 00:25:40,180
that were made on them during
everyday life.
284
00:25:57,180 --> 00:26:02,500
After months of hard work,the new vessels are finished.
285
00:26:02,580 --> 00:26:07,860
Sails have been made, and the firstexpeditions are being organised.
286
00:26:16,380 --> 00:26:22,020
We don't have much textual evidence
from the beginning of the Viking Age,
287
00:26:22,100 --> 00:26:24,500
we know more about the end of
the Viking Age.
288
00:26:24,580 --> 00:26:30,180
We see that these expeditions
were prepared collectively.
289
00:26:30,260 --> 00:26:34,820
It was often a group of people,
290
00:26:34,900 --> 00:26:37,700
partners in their undertaking.
291
00:26:37,780 --> 00:26:41,140
We often see it in runic
inscriptions.
292
00:26:41,220 --> 00:26:48,180
Particularly in Sweden, where those
men, who pooled resources
293
00:26:48,260 --> 00:26:53,340
to prepare an expedition or
often to build a ship,
294
00:26:53,420 --> 00:26:57,340
used to call each other "fellag".
295
00:26:57,420 --> 00:27:01,580
It is a word we know in
English as "fellow",
296
00:27:01,660 --> 00:27:05,780
so the partner in this expedition.
297
00:27:08,580 --> 00:27:13,020
And also in those runic inscriptions,
we find the expression,
298
00:27:13,100 --> 00:27:16,060
"to leave for a Viking",
299
00:27:16,140 --> 00:27:22,420
which means going on
an expedition by sea.
300
00:27:27,980 --> 00:27:30,340
It can have different
characteristics,
301
00:27:30,420 --> 00:27:34,460
it can be a commercial or
military expedition.
302
00:27:34,540 --> 00:27:39,980
They don't necessarily differentiate
between the two in the language.
303
00:27:40,060 --> 00:27:46,300
But, generally speaking, this is what
they focus on. It's a group decision
304
00:27:46,380 --> 00:27:52,700
to gather resources to build a ship
and to go on an expedition together.
305
00:27:55,460 --> 00:27:59,020
In order for this structure to
function and for people to have
306
00:27:59,100 --> 00:28:04,180
enough free time to work exclusively
on the construction of ships,
307
00:28:04,260 --> 00:28:09,940
their society must have had an
abundance of resources to ensure that
308
00:28:10,020 --> 00:28:13,220
workers were given food and
housing during construction.
309
00:28:13,300 --> 00:28:16,020
This required a large structure,
310
00:28:16,100 --> 00:28:19,380
perhaps a chieftain,
a wealthy farmer,
311
00:28:19,460 --> 00:28:24,700
or a king that made sure
the ships were built.
312
00:28:40,220 --> 00:28:41,980
But as well as this, you need a crew.
313
00:28:42,060 --> 00:28:45,180
You need someone to operate these
vessels and, when you reach your
314
00:28:45,260 --> 00:28:48,940
destination, to do
what it is you need to do.
315
00:29:01,540 --> 00:29:06,100
We're not quite sure exactly who
participated in these raids.
316
00:29:06,180 --> 00:29:09,780
It could have been almost anyone,
to some extent.
317
00:29:09,860 --> 00:29:13,900
Certainly, I think it's possible that
members of the aristocracy,
318
00:29:13,980 --> 00:29:17,060
for whom an element
of their power depended
319
00:29:17,140 --> 00:29:20,700
on being able to project
a kind of marshal identity.
320
00:29:20,780 --> 00:29:25,420
They might have certainly chosen
to undertake raiding,
321
00:29:25,500 --> 00:29:30,780
taking with them the professional
warriors of their household.
322
00:29:35,940 --> 00:29:38,580
But in addition to this,
if you need to think about
323
00:29:38,660 --> 00:29:43,020
equipping a ship with thirty to forty
or perhaps more individuals,
324
00:29:43,100 --> 00:29:45,740
you might take members of
the local farming community,
325
00:29:45,820 --> 00:29:49,980
so, essentially, we might refer to
them as part time Vikings,
326
00:29:50,060 --> 00:29:53,980
for whom their daily life was
consumed by agricultural work
327
00:29:54,060 --> 00:29:56,020
and, again, subsistence.
328
00:29:59,380 --> 00:30:02,780
But during certain seasons of the
year, there might be the opportunity
329
00:30:02,860 --> 00:30:05,740
to increase your status
and your wealth
330
00:30:05,820 --> 00:30:08,780
by joining one of these expeditions.
331
00:30:08,860 --> 00:30:11,700
And, especially during the early
Viking age, the period where
332
00:30:11,780 --> 00:30:15,580
we see the first raids, I think it's
likely that these ventures were
333
00:30:15,660 --> 00:30:18,060
organised probably more at a
community level.
334
00:30:18,140 --> 00:30:22,380
With relatively small numbers of
people and small numbers of ships,
335
00:30:22,460 --> 00:30:26,700
which is why we see them generally
attacking quite small targets.
336
00:30:29,900 --> 00:30:34,140
With their new ships, theScandinavians could finally set sail
337
00:30:34,220 --> 00:30:38,500
across the seas in searchof fortune and a better life.
338
00:30:42,140 --> 00:30:47,140
They were now able to reach moredistant places than ever before.
339
00:31:28,380 --> 00:31:31,620
The first Viking attacks
to be referenced
340
00:31:31,700 --> 00:31:35,420
took place in Western Europe,
341
00:31:35,500 --> 00:31:38,500
in the late eighth century.
342
00:31:43,980 --> 00:31:49,660
Those first Viking attacks take place
mostly on the British islands,
343
00:31:49,740 --> 00:31:56,180
on the coastal areas and tend to
mostly target monasteries.
344
00:32:07,540 --> 00:32:12,300
The monks are blissfully unaware ofwhat's about to happen.
345
00:32:12,380 --> 00:32:16,740
As the sailing vessels swiftlyapproach from the sea.
346
00:32:22,420 --> 00:32:27,940
Raiding the shores, the Vikings provejust how efficient their ships are.
347
00:33:03,580 --> 00:33:09,820
This is where the ingenious Viking
ships came into use.
348
00:33:09,900 --> 00:33:14,100
They were easily
manoeuvred and fast.
349
00:33:14,180 --> 00:33:19,340
Perhaps they arrived at night and
rowed rapidly and silently.
350
00:33:19,420 --> 00:33:22,540
They could pull the ships onto the
shore, which meant they could
351
00:33:22,620 --> 00:33:28,380
disembark practically anywhere
and then quickly withdraw.
352
00:33:28,460 --> 00:33:34,460
Obviously, monasteries are quite
exposed to this kind of attacks
353
00:33:34,540 --> 00:33:41,380
since they are defenceless and they
hold a lot of portable wealth.
354
00:33:41,460 --> 00:33:48,220
Liturgical objects, books, etc.
355
00:33:48,300 --> 00:33:53,060
Those were made out
of valuable materials,
356
00:33:53,140 --> 00:33:55,500
noble metals, such as silver or gold.
357
00:33:55,580 --> 00:33:57,180
Those are easy to steal.
358
00:33:57,260 --> 00:34:00,180
And they are also easy to turn
into something else.
359
00:34:06,020 --> 00:34:11,660
The most famous Viking raid was
the raid of Lindisfarne,
360
00:34:11,740 --> 00:34:17,180
off the eastern coast of England
in June 793.
361
00:34:38,500 --> 00:34:42,700
A large number of ships practically
sneaked up to the island.
362
00:35:04,580 --> 00:35:07,900
There was a monastery on the
island and the monks believed
363
00:35:07,980 --> 00:35:12,540
themselves to be safe because
they lived on an island that could
364
00:35:12,620 --> 00:35:19,420
only be reached for a brief period
of the day when the tide was low.
365
00:35:32,980 --> 00:35:35,660
Suddenly these Vikings appeared.
366
00:35:36,980 --> 00:35:42,020
They came running with their axes,
hair flowing in the wind, shouting.
367
00:35:42,100 --> 00:35:47,220
The poor monks were completely caught
off guard and many were killed.
368
00:35:49,860 --> 00:35:53,020
The monastery's treasures
were looted.
369
00:36:12,260 --> 00:36:16,100
It is said that they managed to hide
some of the important items,
370
00:36:16,180 --> 00:36:20,020
but most of the monastery
was plundered.
371
00:36:20,100 --> 00:36:24,500
The Vikings brought the loot to their
ships and considered it a success.
372
00:36:24,580 --> 00:36:28,180
This particular raid is so famous
because it was documented
373
00:36:28,260 --> 00:36:32,900
shortly after by one of the surviving
monks who could tell their tale.
374
00:36:32,980 --> 00:36:38,980
He described these terrifying
heathens that came by sea,
375
00:36:39,060 --> 00:36:42,820
almost like monsters, and just looted
and plundered without any respect
376
00:36:42,900 --> 00:36:49,500
for the holy church, or the monks,
or Christianity as a whole.
377
00:36:49,580 --> 00:36:52,700
They simply helped themselves
to things, killed and then withdrew.
378
00:36:52,780 --> 00:36:55,620
The Anglo-Saxon chronicle
especially is quite silent
379
00:36:55,700 --> 00:36:57,980
on what's taking place at this time.
380
00:36:58,060 --> 00:37:01,860
In fact, it was believed for many
years that there was a kind of
381
00:37:01,940 --> 00:37:06,540
pause after the initial raids before
we move into the later ninth century.
382
00:37:06,620 --> 00:37:10,980
But there has been some, what I feel
is really quite convincing,
383
00:37:11,060 --> 00:37:15,220
recent research which has taken into
account a number of charters
384
00:37:15,300 --> 00:37:20,380
concerning Anglo-Saxon Kent,
the southeast of England.
385
00:37:20,460 --> 00:37:23,980
an area where we don't read of
any early Viking attacks.
386
00:37:24,060 --> 00:37:26,500
And, actually, what this research has
shown is that
387
00:37:26,580 --> 00:37:30,380
even in the 790s and early 800s,
the aristocracy and
388
00:37:30,460 --> 00:37:34,060
monasteries are being tasked with
insuring that
389
00:37:34,140 --> 00:37:37,340
they are properly prepared
against people described
390
00:37:37,420 --> 00:37:40,740
as pagans. And in this period,
I'm not sure who else
391
00:37:40,820 --> 00:37:45,860
we would think these people are,
aside from Viking raiders.
392
00:37:46,900 --> 00:37:49,620
And they are told, for example, to
make sure that they
393
00:37:49,700 --> 00:37:55,700
continue to maintain fortifications,
to construct and maintain bridges...
394
00:37:55,780 --> 00:37:58,460
Also actively engage these people
395
00:37:58,540 --> 00:38:00,900
when they encounter them
in the field.
396
00:38:00,980 --> 00:38:03,380
It's quite striking that we
read of none of this
397
00:38:03,460 --> 00:38:05,340
in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
398
00:38:07,420 --> 00:38:08,900
And it's been suggested that,
399
00:38:08,980 --> 00:38:11,580
actually the historical record has
essentially been,
400
00:38:11,660 --> 00:38:13,460
for want of a better word,
whitewashed.
401
00:38:13,540 --> 00:38:16,820
'Cause it's not until slightly later
into the second quarter
402
00:38:16,900 --> 00:38:23,260
of the ninth century that we start to
see a real surge in Viking raiding.
403
00:38:33,420 --> 00:38:37,020
The Vikings had often beendescribed as pirates.
404
00:38:37,100 --> 00:38:39,860
Violent pillagers whospread fear and terror
405
00:38:39,940 --> 00:38:44,620
as they set out along the coastsof Europe in their long ships.
406
00:38:49,980 --> 00:38:53,780
But is the word "pirate" a fittingdescription for the Vikings?
407
00:39:03,900 --> 00:39:06,540
When we look at the available
sources from Western Europe,
408
00:39:06,620 --> 00:39:09,100
we see Viking raiders and
raiding parties being
409
00:39:09,180 --> 00:39:12,300
portrayed as incredibly brutal
410
00:39:12,380 --> 00:39:13,900
and unsophisticated groups.
411
00:39:18,300 --> 00:39:23,740
All the clichés of burning
monasteries and killing monks...
412
00:39:23,820 --> 00:39:25,540
But it's quite clear that
413
00:39:25,620 --> 00:39:28,860
even to engage in
this kind of overseas raiding,
414
00:39:28,940 --> 00:39:34,340
a great deal of organisation is
needed both of materials and people.
415
00:39:41,020 --> 00:39:47,340
Pirates are marauders living on their
ships and are considered lawless.
416
00:39:47,420 --> 00:39:51,380
They do not belong to any
social structure.
417
00:39:51,460 --> 00:39:54,980
They do not abide by
any social norms.
418
00:39:55,060 --> 00:39:59,380
The Vikings, on the other hand,
came from a solid social cohesion.
419
00:39:59,460 --> 00:40:04,260
They had their homeland,
their farms, their chieftains.
420
00:40:04,340 --> 00:40:07,660
They were backed by a
strong social structure.
421
00:40:07,740 --> 00:40:12,820
There are quite important
differences,
422
00:40:12,900 --> 00:40:16,900
since Viking expeditions
423
00:40:16,980 --> 00:40:20,700
weren't only about attacking
and plundering others.
424
00:40:20,780 --> 00:40:26,420
They could also be
trade-oriented expeditions.
425
00:40:26,500 --> 00:40:30,900
What is also included in
the Viking phenomenon
426
00:40:30,980 --> 00:40:36,180
is an expansion in a
colonising goal.
427
00:40:36,260 --> 00:40:38,660
Their final goal is to settle.
428
00:40:38,740 --> 00:40:41,540
It's not only about
plundering in the short term.
429
00:40:41,620 --> 00:40:47,140
They simply found a new way
to build wealth.
430
00:40:47,220 --> 00:40:53,780
Plunder by disembarking, looting, and
withdrawing using their ships.
431
00:40:53,860 --> 00:40:58,660
This was considered to be
432
00:40:58,740 --> 00:41:01,620
part of the social
norms for them.
433
00:41:01,700 --> 00:41:05,180
They may have been considered outlaws
in the countries they attacked,
434
00:41:05,260 --> 00:41:11,260
but the Vikings themselves
viewed it as completely normal.
435
00:41:30,220 --> 00:41:34,980
It all depends on how we
define the term "pirate".
436
00:41:35,060 --> 00:41:39,540
If we define it as an armed gang in
possession of a ship
437
00:41:39,620 --> 00:41:46,140
and using it to attack and plunder
other people, cities or other ships,
438
00:41:46,220 --> 00:41:53,100
in this case, yes,
the term fits quite well.
439
00:41:53,180 --> 00:41:58,940
If the Viking phenomenon is
defined in a very simplistic way.
440
00:42:05,780 --> 00:42:09,700
So I think when we're talking about
the early Viking raids,
441
00:42:09,780 --> 00:42:12,900
the term "piracy" is
actually quite apt.
442
00:42:12,980 --> 00:42:16,740
But perhaps not quite in the way
we would understand it today.
443
00:42:16,820 --> 00:42:20,460
I think certainly in Scandinavia
these people would not have been
444
00:42:20,540 --> 00:42:23,540
perceived as acting outside
of the law in any way.
445
00:42:23,620 --> 00:42:26,420
They're not committing violence
among their home communities.
446
00:42:26,500 --> 00:42:29,180
They're going abroad
to take what they seek.
447
00:42:33,580 --> 00:42:37,700
What we're looking at here is fairly
indiscriminate seaborne raiding.
448
00:42:37,780 --> 00:42:41,500
These are groups that are
operating independently,
449
00:42:41,580 --> 00:42:45,420
engaging in opportunistic raiding
in search of plunder
450
00:42:45,500 --> 00:42:49,460
without a sense of
overall strategy.
451
00:42:49,540 --> 00:42:53,060
These very much seem to be at this
time opportunistic seasonal raids.
452
00:42:53,140 --> 00:42:55,140
That doesn't mean they're not
well-organised
453
00:42:55,220 --> 00:42:57,060
and they're not well-planned.
454
00:42:57,140 --> 00:43:00,700
But I think what this kind of model
of seaborne raiding fits into,
455
00:43:00,780 --> 00:43:03,260
it does kind of fit very
well with what we would,
456
00:43:03,340 --> 00:43:05,180
in the modern day, call piracy.
457
00:43:05,260 --> 00:43:08,260
It's really quite interesting to look
at how these groups organise
458
00:43:08,340 --> 00:43:10,020
themselves and how they operate,
459
00:43:10,100 --> 00:43:13,060
especially as we move into
the later ninth century in Europe
460
00:43:13,140 --> 00:43:15,860
where we have lots of
individual Viking groups
461
00:43:15,940 --> 00:43:18,220
which range in size from
a single ship's crew
462
00:43:18,300 --> 00:43:22,500
to a much larger number of ships
coming together
463
00:43:22,580 --> 00:43:25,340
and operating together for
short periods of time
464
00:43:25,420 --> 00:43:28,540
in pursuit of mutual goals.
465
00:43:28,620 --> 00:43:32,380
Before quite suddenly splitting up
to literally sail off
466
00:43:32,460 --> 00:43:36,700
in opposite directions in
pursuit of plunder elsewhere.
467
00:43:41,980 --> 00:43:47,140
And so I think in doing this and
trying to not directly compare,
468
00:43:47,220 --> 00:43:49,740
but to construct analogies
between these groups,
469
00:43:49,820 --> 00:43:53,100
I think that offers quite a
lot to how we understand
470
00:43:53,180 --> 00:43:56,980
these Viking groups and
what they're doing overseas.
471
00:44:07,860 --> 00:44:11,300
It was not uncommon that men
failed to make it home.
472
00:44:32,700 --> 00:44:36,300
Widows raised stones to honour
their husbands
473
00:44:36,380 --> 00:44:40,580
who departed on raids
and never made it back.
474
00:44:57,220 --> 00:45:00,540
The widows would have inherited
their husbands' farms
475
00:45:00,620 --> 00:45:04,860
and possessions and emerged as
significant power-brokers
476
00:45:04,940 --> 00:45:06,500
in society.
477
00:45:14,980 --> 00:45:18,940
When the men were travelling, the
women took responsibility in society.
478
00:45:19,020 --> 00:45:22,420
This required a social structure
that's grounded by women,
479
00:45:22,500 --> 00:45:26,060
to ensure society could function
without the men.
480
00:46:46,380 --> 00:46:49,780
Early on, the Vikings had goodfortune as pillagers,
481
00:46:49,860 --> 00:46:53,820
and they were soon looking for newareas to plunder for wealth.
482
00:46:57,460 --> 00:47:00,860
But when they start attacking thecoasts of the Frankish Empire,
483
00:47:00,940 --> 00:47:05,860
they suddenly face resistance unlikeany found on the British Isles.
484
00:47:08,260 --> 00:47:11,780
For the ruling emperor here has noplans of surrendering
485
00:47:11,860 --> 00:47:14,860
his Christian landsto the pagan pirates.
486
00:47:18,540 --> 00:47:23,460
His name is Charlemagne.
487
00:48:07,460 --> 00:48:10,300
A great climate crisisin the 6th century
488
00:48:10,380 --> 00:48:13,540
was one factor thatchanged Scandinavia,
489
00:48:13,620 --> 00:48:18,260
leading to long-term transformationof societies and territories...
490
00:48:21,660 --> 00:48:25,140
which provided them theopportunity further out,
491
00:48:25,220 --> 00:48:29,380
and reach easily plunderedtargets, such as monasteries.
492
00:48:32,780 --> 00:48:36,420
They had now become Vikings.
493
00:48:42,060 --> 00:48:46,020
During the 9th century, the Vikingstry to advance into Francia,
494
00:48:46,100 --> 00:48:49,460
something that greatly increases theviolent conflicts between
495
00:48:49,540 --> 00:48:52,380
the Northern pagansand the Christian Francians,
496
00:48:52,460 --> 00:48:55,580
and sets off a rivalrybetween two kings.
497
00:48:56,340 --> 00:48:58,900
When the Vikings beginattacking Francia,
498
00:48:58,980 --> 00:49:02,300
Charlemagne is determinednot to let plundering pirates
499
00:49:02,380 --> 00:49:03,820
into his country.
500
00:49:03,900 --> 00:49:05,940
And the Francian defences work;
501
00:49:06,020 --> 00:49:11,740
the raiding Vikings are held back atthe coast. At least initially.
502
00:49:11,820 --> 00:49:15,300
But due to tumultuous andunexpected events in Denmark
503
00:49:15,380 --> 00:49:17,260
as well as in Francia,
504
00:49:17,340 --> 00:49:20,380
the Vikings will finally be able totravel up the rivers
505
00:49:20,460 --> 00:49:22,180
and further inland.
506
00:49:22,260 --> 00:49:25,780
And soon, great citieslike Paris are under attack.
507
00:49:40,340 --> 00:49:43,340
Subtitles: Lily Ray
www.plint.com
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