1
00:00:10,847 --> 00:00:14,550
I'm fascinated by the Viking mindset
and the Viking world.
2
00:00:15,902 --> 00:00:20,556
__
3
00:00:21,357 --> 00:00:26,028
I love digging into the raw
material and waiting for stories
4
00:00:26,029 --> 00:00:27,628
and characters to emerge.
5
00:00:29,198 --> 00:00:30,831
Hail Earl Ragnar.
6
00:00:30,832 --> 00:00:33,935
I'm not making a documentary,
but I do want authenticity.
7
00:00:33,936 --> 00:00:37,205
And I want to get as
near to the truth as I can.
8
00:00:37,206 --> 00:00:40,608
Ragnar Lothbrok,
I've heard that name before.
9
00:00:40,609 --> 00:00:42,510
Hail Earl Ragnar!
10
00:00:44,179 --> 00:00:48,716
Hail Earl Ragnar!
11
00:00:48,717 --> 00:00:51,251
Well, clearly I needed
a hero for the series.
12
00:00:51,252 --> 00:00:52,920
I needed a lead character.
13
00:00:52,921 --> 00:00:55,790
And so I was looking for
an important Viking.
14
00:00:55,791 --> 00:00:58,258
I was looking for a Viking
who made a difference.
15
00:00:58,259 --> 00:01:03,527
__
16
00:01:03,765 --> 00:01:05,599
But with the Vikings, obviously,
17
00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:09,736
there is plenty of debate about
who is who and what was what
18
00:01:09,737 --> 00:01:11,071
and what happened,
19
00:01:11,072 --> 00:01:13,407
because the Vikings
were a non-literate culture.
20
00:01:13,408 --> 00:01:16,042
they didn't write
anything down themselves.
21
00:01:16,043 --> 00:01:20,840
__
22
00:01:21,618 --> 00:01:26,317
__
23
00:01:26,318 --> 00:01:29,455
This is a real cultural treasure,
24
00:01:29,456 --> 00:01:31,124
this manuscript.
25
00:01:31,125 --> 00:01:33,559
It's written around 1400.
26
00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,061
It was given as a
gift to the Danish King.
27
00:01:36,062 --> 00:01:38,131
What is special about
this manuscript is
28
00:01:38,132 --> 00:01:40,899
this is the only complete
manuscript of Ragnar saga
29
00:01:40,900 --> 00:01:42,502
that we have.
30
00:01:42,503 --> 00:01:45,638
The saga tells about Ragnar as
a young man going on raids
31
00:01:45,639 --> 00:01:48,407
and acting in wars,
what he has achieved,
32
00:01:48,408 --> 00:01:50,175
how many people he has killed,
33
00:01:50,176 --> 00:01:53,445
how young he was when he
went to war for the first time.
34
00:01:53,446 --> 00:01:55,014
And his fearlessness.
35
00:01:56,116 --> 00:01:58,416
The historicity of Ragnar Lothbrok,
36
00:01:58,417 --> 00:02:00,485
did he exist or not,
37
00:02:00,486 --> 00:02:04,422
is also one of the endearing puzzles
of Viking's culture.
38
00:02:04,423 --> 00:02:07,492
A big part of Ragnar's story is
the story of his sons
39
00:02:07,493 --> 00:02:10,232
and people like
Bjorn Ironside were real,
40
00:02:10,233 --> 00:02:11,296
they were absolutely real.
41
00:02:11,297 --> 00:02:12,697
We know this.
42
00:02:12,698 --> 00:02:16,000
We know of the things they did,
the adventures they had.
43
00:02:16,001 --> 00:02:18,970
Your father is Ragnar Lothbrok.
44
00:02:18,971 --> 00:02:21,539
__
45
00:02:21,540 --> 00:02:26,477
For so many known real Vikings to
have claimed the same person
46
00:02:26,478 --> 00:02:30,815
as their literal father, that's
not going back very far in time.
47
00:02:30,816 --> 00:02:33,584
Your father is a person
that people would have met,
48
00:02:33,585 --> 00:02:37,388
that to me argues that
he has a basis in fact.
49
00:02:37,389 --> 00:02:38,722
Ha!
50
00:02:38,723 --> 00:02:41,091
Do I think Ragnar existed?
51
00:02:41,092 --> 00:02:45,596
Yes, I think he did, but I don't
think that we are able to know
52
00:02:45,597 --> 00:02:47,764
much for certain about him.
53
00:02:48,733 --> 00:02:51,001
One of the central
characters in the TV series
54
00:02:51,002 --> 00:02:52,903
is Lagertha, Ragnar's wife.
55
00:02:52,904 --> 00:02:56,306
Ida, is your mother teaching
you how to use a shield?
56
00:03:01,345 --> 00:03:03,847
Yes, I know how to use a shield.
57
00:03:03,848 --> 00:03:06,016
Your mother
was a famous shield maiden.
58
00:03:06,017 --> 00:03:07,617
- Was?
- Is.
59
00:03:08,986 --> 00:03:12,488
I discovered that there was a
certain amount of ambivalence
60
00:03:12,489 --> 00:03:14,924
in the books I was reading
about shield maidens,
61
00:03:14,925 --> 00:03:17,393
and whether they really existed.
62
00:03:17,394 --> 00:03:19,862
Vikings society's
attitude towards women
63
00:03:19,863 --> 00:03:23,032
was far more enlightened than
the Francs or the Saxons.
64
00:03:23,033 --> 00:03:25,901
You bear a strong
resemblance to my ex-wife.
65
00:03:25,902 --> 00:03:28,337
Women could own property,
divorce their husbands,
66
00:03:28,338 --> 00:03:30,806
fight, rule sometimes.
67
00:03:30,807 --> 00:03:33,876
It seemed perfectly logical,
therefore, that they had to fight.
68
00:03:35,278 --> 00:03:37,813
So, I was quite
determined, from the start,
69
00:03:37,814 --> 00:03:40,182
not only to have a
major female character,
70
00:03:40,183 --> 00:03:42,251
who wasn't just
going to be a housewife,
71
00:03:42,252 --> 00:03:45,554
but to have women
fighting alongside men.
72
00:03:46,505 --> 00:03:48,490
Shield wall!
73
00:03:48,491 --> 00:03:49,991
There was some pushback on that.
74
00:03:49,992 --> 00:03:52,961
There was some
resistance to that idea.
75
00:03:52,962 --> 00:03:55,930
It's always been a source of
great controversy in Viking studies
76
00:03:55,931 --> 00:03:59,368
that is, whether these women,
these warrior women, were real
77
00:03:59,369 --> 00:04:01,369
or a part of the mythology.
78
00:04:01,370 --> 00:04:04,672
These are great warrior
heroines doing brave things,
79
00:04:04,673 --> 00:04:07,441
and sacrificing themselves
for the sake of their lovers
80
00:04:07,442 --> 00:04:09,710
or taking power in their own right.
81
00:04:09,711 --> 00:04:12,814
The gods are always
smiling at brave women.
82
00:04:12,815 --> 00:04:18,252
Like the Valkyries, those
furies who men fear and desire.
83
00:04:18,253 --> 00:04:21,589
I know that you prefer her
because she's a shield maiden,
84
00:04:21,590 --> 00:04:22,890
a warrior.
85
00:04:22,891 --> 00:04:24,659
The classic image of
the shield maiden
86
00:04:24,660 --> 00:04:27,762
is very much one that derives
from the written sources.
87
00:04:27,763 --> 00:04:29,797
So these are after the Viking age.
88
00:04:29,798 --> 00:04:32,433
The key question is
how valid are they
89
00:04:32,434 --> 00:04:34,201
for the Viking age itself?
90
00:04:34,202 --> 00:04:37,704
And from those texts, quite frankly,
we can't really say.
91
00:04:37,705 --> 00:04:41,074
They might go back to real
living people who did this.
92
00:04:41,075 --> 00:04:43,210
They might be heroic embellishments.
93
00:04:43,211 --> 00:04:45,478
But the way to try and
nuance that picture,
94
00:04:45,479 --> 00:04:47,480
to go back to the real Viking age,
95
00:04:47,481 --> 00:04:49,283
is to look at the archeology.
96
00:04:49,813 --> 00:04:57,564
__
97
00:05:00,541 --> 00:05:03,196
Now, we find a lot of these.
98
00:05:03,197 --> 00:05:05,465
They're all from the
late 9th and 10th century.
99
00:05:05,466 --> 00:05:09,235
The design is of a figure on a horse,
100
00:05:09,236 --> 00:05:11,704
with a standing figure
in front of the horse.
101
00:05:11,705 --> 00:05:14,173
And both of them
appear to be female.
102
00:05:14,174 --> 00:05:15,975
And the really
crucial thing about these
103
00:05:15,976 --> 00:05:19,011
is that both of them are armed.
104
00:05:19,012 --> 00:05:21,780
And just from these alone,
we can start to make tentative
105
00:05:21,781 --> 00:05:24,516
reconstructions of
what these kinds of figures
106
00:05:24,517 --> 00:05:27,052
would have looked like
if they were real.
107
00:05:27,053 --> 00:05:28,687
What does it mean?
108
00:05:28,688 --> 00:05:31,189
Because it quite clearly meant
something in the Viking age.
109
00:05:31,190 --> 00:05:33,459
The first thing that
we can say about this
110
00:05:33,460 --> 00:05:36,328
is that the idea of the armed women,
111
00:05:36,329 --> 00:05:39,665
is absolutely there
in the Viking mind.
112
00:05:39,666 --> 00:05:41,299
But that still doesn't tell us
113
00:05:41,300 --> 00:05:44,802
whether or not these
depict supernatural women
114
00:05:44,803 --> 00:05:47,672
or whether there really
were female warriors
115
00:05:47,673 --> 00:05:49,007
in the Viking age.
116
00:05:51,543 --> 00:05:54,412
Now we come to another new find,
117
00:05:54,413 --> 00:05:58,082
that was actually dug
out of a block of frozen soil,
118
00:05:58,083 --> 00:06:00,485
in new year 2012.
119
00:06:00,486 --> 00:06:05,189
So a very recent find at a
place called Hornby in Denmark.
120
00:06:05,190 --> 00:06:08,092
And for the first time,
instead of these two dimensional,
121
00:06:08,093 --> 00:06:11,562
flat pendants,
we find a three dimensional
122
00:06:11,563 --> 00:06:14,464
actual model of a warrior woman.
123
00:06:14,465 --> 00:06:17,634
She has the same facial
features of other pendants
124
00:06:17,635 --> 00:06:20,037
that we find with female faces.
125
00:06:20,038 --> 00:06:23,740
She's holding a shield with the
same swirling patterns
126
00:06:23,741 --> 00:06:26,977
that we find on these flat
ones, and a sword.
127
00:06:26,978 --> 00:06:29,079
What archeology is
now starting to show
128
00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:33,049
is that there are images of
armed women from the Viking age.
129
00:06:33,050 --> 00:06:34,591
Shield wall!
130
00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:49,665
__
131
00:06:49,666 --> 00:06:52,635
For a long time, we've known that
there are occasional finds
132
00:06:52,636 --> 00:06:55,638
of the burials of women
with weapons in the grave.
133
00:06:55,639 --> 00:07:00,810
But we haven't been finding what
we would call warrior burials of women.
134
00:07:00,811 --> 00:07:05,948
Until relatively recently,
when a grave from a site called Birka,
135
00:07:05,949 --> 00:07:08,551
a grave excavated
actually in the 1870's,
136
00:07:08,552 --> 00:07:12,120
so a long time ago,
absolutely packed with weapons.
137
00:07:12,121 --> 00:07:15,424
We can see it here,
two shields, a sword,
138
00:07:15,425 --> 00:07:18,661
two spears, an ax,
a fighting knife.
139
00:07:18,662 --> 00:07:22,297
And for a long time this has
been reconstructed in the books
140
00:07:22,298 --> 00:07:26,001
and exhibitions, as one of the
absolute classic warrior graves
141
00:07:26,002 --> 00:07:27,102
of the Viking age.
142
00:07:28,071 --> 00:07:29,404
Fine.
143
00:07:29,405 --> 00:07:32,707
But, recently, a team of osteologists,
144
00:07:32,708 --> 00:07:35,743
these are archeologists
specializing in the study of bones,
145
00:07:35,744 --> 00:07:38,346
lead by a very talented
Stockholm researcher,
146
00:07:38,347 --> 00:07:39,848
called Anna Shelstrom,
147
00:07:39,849 --> 00:07:42,383
has been looking at
the skeleton from this grave.
148
00:07:42,384 --> 00:07:44,886
And I'm sure you can
guess what I'm gonna say.
149
00:07:44,887 --> 00:07:46,921
It's the body of a woman.
150
00:07:46,922 --> 00:07:52,726
So, this is a woman buried
with this massive collection of weapons,
151
00:07:52,727 --> 00:07:56,330
on the same basis as we
tend to interpret most graves.
152
00:07:56,331 --> 00:07:59,467
This would be the
burial of a shield maiden.
153
00:08:00,835 --> 00:08:02,836
When we take the two
dimensional figures,
154
00:08:02,837 --> 00:08:05,739
the new three dimensional
figures from Hornby,
155
00:08:05,740 --> 00:08:07,508
and the grave from Birka,
156
00:08:07,509 --> 00:08:10,744
that adds up to a pretty
compelling picture
157
00:08:10,745 --> 00:08:13,814
of what these warrior women
may actually have looked like.
158
00:08:13,815 --> 00:08:17,183
And the really important part of
this is that all these finds
159
00:08:17,184 --> 00:08:19,520
are from the Viking age itself.
160
00:08:19,521 --> 00:08:23,924
These are not from the literary
text world of the saga's.
161
00:08:23,925 --> 00:08:26,726
This is the Viking
age as it really was.
162
00:08:26,727 --> 00:08:28,161
Shield wall!
163
00:08:28,162 --> 00:08:31,898
I have to be clear that there's
a range of scholarly opinions on this.
164
00:08:31,899 --> 00:08:33,699
But certainly I think it's quite probable
165
00:08:33,700 --> 00:08:35,502
that these women were real.
166
00:08:35,503 --> 00:08:37,103
Halt!
167
00:08:37,104 --> 00:08:40,473
You must be the famous
shield maiden Lagertha.
168
00:08:40,474 --> 00:08:43,910
And they say that you are
now an earl in your own right.
169
00:08:43,911 --> 00:08:45,878
How did it happen?
170
00:08:45,879 --> 00:08:48,080
I killed my husband
when he invaded me.
171
00:08:58,977 --> 00:09:02,046
The great hall was central
to Viking society.
172
00:09:02,047 --> 00:09:05,783
I remember when this great hall
was always full of laughter.
173
00:09:07,119 --> 00:09:09,020
In some ways it's a
metaphorical place,
174
00:09:09,021 --> 00:09:10,988
and it's a symbolic place.
175
00:09:12,557 --> 00:09:16,194
It's a metaphor for a lot of
the politics that goes on,
176
00:09:16,195 --> 00:09:19,563
the conspiracy,
the murders, and these raids.
177
00:09:20,665 --> 00:09:23,033
And it's symbolic because, you know,
178
00:09:23,034 --> 00:09:25,869
it symbolizes a lot of Vikings values.
179
00:09:25,870 --> 00:09:28,205
It is our custom to
celebrate such an alliance
180
00:09:28,206 --> 00:09:29,640
as the gods celebrated theirs.
181
00:09:29,641 --> 00:09:31,108
Skol!
182
00:09:31,109 --> 00:09:32,443
We're feasting and with pledges.
183
00:09:34,479 --> 00:09:36,012
Skol!
184
00:09:36,013 --> 00:09:39,649
The bonds of loyalty,
of obligation, of hospitality,
185
00:09:39,650 --> 00:09:42,886
are the cement that holds
Viking society together.
186
00:09:42,887 --> 00:09:45,455
And the great hall is the arena
187
00:09:45,456 --> 00:09:48,558
where all those things were
played out and displayed
188
00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:50,861
and spoken of and demonstrated.
189
00:09:52,096 --> 00:09:55,878
__
190
00:09:55,879 --> 00:10:00,829
__
191
00:10:00,830 --> 00:10:03,740
And here we are in Lejre,
where we have some
192
00:10:03,741 --> 00:10:07,109
of the largest Viking
age holes ever found.
193
00:10:07,110 --> 00:10:08,611
What we've just stepped into here
194
00:10:08,612 --> 00:10:11,481
is truly a residence fit for a king.
195
00:10:11,482 --> 00:10:12,848
Definitely.
196
00:10:12,849 --> 00:10:15,851
So, we're looking at what,
five meters of timber
197
00:10:15,852 --> 00:10:16,852
above us here?
198
00:10:16,853 --> 00:10:18,187
Yeah.
199
00:10:18,188 --> 00:10:20,790
With roof supporting
posts in the middle.
200
00:10:20,791 --> 00:10:22,958
And these posts, they're
almost tree's aren't they?
201
00:10:22,959 --> 00:10:25,494
- Yep.
- I mean they're huge things, like this...
202
00:10:25,495 --> 00:10:28,963
There probably would have been
a kind of partition wall here or something.
203
00:10:28,964 --> 00:10:30,565
You don't walk
directly into the hall,
204
00:10:30,566 --> 00:10:33,067
which I think is very important
in these houses,
205
00:10:33,068 --> 00:10:36,571
also that they show that
access is controlled.
206
00:10:36,572 --> 00:10:38,840
The king had his
own seat in the hall.
207
00:10:38,841 --> 00:10:41,009
- The high seat.
- The high seat, yeah.
208
00:10:41,010 --> 00:10:42,911
You would probably have
benches along the walls.
209
00:10:42,912 --> 00:10:45,379
I've probably just
walked through the fire.
210
00:10:45,380 --> 00:10:46,414
It's not very wise.
211
00:10:47,783 --> 00:10:49,517
So you have a big
rectangular fireplace
212
00:10:49,518 --> 00:10:51,052
in the middle of the structure
213
00:10:51,053 --> 00:10:53,321
and this isn't just like a
small wood fire,
214
00:10:53,322 --> 00:10:54,823
these are big, big things.
215
00:10:54,824 --> 00:10:57,192
We're talking about something
that would have been this wide
216
00:10:57,193 --> 00:10:59,060
and really long.
217
00:10:59,061 --> 00:11:01,729
A big blaze of light in the middle.
218
00:11:01,730 --> 00:11:05,866
So the hall is the absolute
centre of Viking life.
219
00:11:07,602 --> 00:11:10,671
Here we are
in a very wet and tough walk.
220
00:11:10,672 --> 00:11:12,673
Can you tell me what
we're seeing here?
221
00:11:12,674 --> 00:11:14,942
Ya, I mean it might
not look like much,
222
00:11:14,943 --> 00:11:18,312
but we're right in the middle
of a huge Viking age settlement.
223
00:11:18,313 --> 00:11:21,315
It's going all the way up to
the green barn over there.
224
00:11:21,316 --> 00:11:24,351
There's a small dip where
the settlement stops,
225
00:11:24,352 --> 00:11:27,354
and it goes all the way
into the next field as well.
226
00:11:27,355 --> 00:11:30,958
This is not a culture that
left behind enormous monuments
227
00:11:30,959 --> 00:11:33,727
like The Coliseum or the Taj Mahal.
228
00:11:33,728 --> 00:11:36,929
This is a culture that built in
wood, leather things like that.
229
00:11:36,930 --> 00:11:38,931
And these are all things
that rot away.
230
00:11:38,932 --> 00:11:42,034
So our knowledge of the Vikings
comes from excavations
231
00:11:42,035 --> 00:11:44,738
of their settlements
and their graves.
232
00:11:44,739 --> 00:11:48,140
So Anna, this is material from
your excavations at Toftegaard.
233
00:11:48,141 --> 00:11:49,308
It is, it is.
234
00:11:49,309 --> 00:11:50,910
This is quite high end stuff.
235
00:11:50,911 --> 00:11:53,179
Not every family would
have had something like this.
236
00:11:53,180 --> 00:11:55,228
You dip this into the pot
237
00:11:55,229 --> 00:11:56,682
and bring out your
big chunk of meat.
238
00:11:56,683 --> 00:11:59,451
It's finds like this that,
apart from anything else, tells us
239
00:11:59,452 --> 00:12:00,953
about the status of this place.
240
00:12:00,954 --> 00:12:02,721
Because, of course,
everybody has to eat,
241
00:12:02,722 --> 00:12:05,925
- but not using utensils like this.
- No, no, no, no.
242
00:12:05,926 --> 00:12:07,926
So you can see how
finely made this is.
243
00:12:07,927 --> 00:12:10,696
You can see the traces of
decoration in the centre there.
244
00:12:10,697 --> 00:12:11,697
This twisted band.
245
00:12:13,099 --> 00:12:14,533
The feast.
246
00:12:14,534 --> 00:12:18,404
Feasting is a big component
as to what goes on in these buildings.
247
00:12:18,405 --> 00:12:21,172
You would receive the hospitality
of the lord of the hall.
248
00:12:21,173 --> 00:12:22,574
Skol.
249
00:12:22,575 --> 00:12:24,709
But, in return, you would
pledge a loyalty to him,
250
00:12:24,710 --> 00:12:26,978
either in terms of,
contributing to the upkeep
251
00:12:26,979 --> 00:12:30,382
of his community
or, more particularly, in war.
252
00:12:30,383 --> 00:12:33,118
Now, who will be the first
to drink in celebration?
253
00:12:34,887 --> 00:12:36,221
It's better without the bag.
254
00:12:37,656 --> 00:12:39,157
This is really interesting.
255
00:12:39,158 --> 00:12:40,825
Oh, wow!
256
00:12:40,826 --> 00:12:42,527
- Heavy, too.
- Ya!
257
00:12:42,528 --> 00:12:44,094
It was guilded.
258
00:12:44,095 --> 00:12:47,598
So this originally would have
been shiny and bright like gold.
259
00:12:47,599 --> 00:12:51,803
When we're talking about the halls,
they are very dim environments.
260
00:12:51,804 --> 00:12:55,205
They're lit by the fire,
and this kind of jewellery...
261
00:12:55,206 --> 00:12:57,174
The firelight would reflect off it.
262
00:12:57,175 --> 00:13:00,477
So people are walking about and
they'd shimmer as they moved.
263
00:13:00,478 --> 00:13:03,013
I wanna show you this bit.
264
00:13:03,014 --> 00:13:05,015
It might not look of much,
265
00:13:05,016 --> 00:13:07,717
but I think it tells an
interesting story.
266
00:13:07,718 --> 00:13:11,255
It's probably a rim of a
bowl and it's probably looted.
267
00:13:11,256 --> 00:13:13,023
We can see that, from the art,
268
00:13:13,024 --> 00:13:14,858
that it comes from
the British Isles.
269
00:13:14,859 --> 00:13:17,427
This is quite possibly
a monastic object,
270
00:13:17,428 --> 00:13:19,262
actually from the monastery.
271
00:13:19,263 --> 00:13:21,297
And given the date of Toftegaard,
272
00:13:21,298 --> 00:13:23,633
which is the late 8th century.
273
00:13:23,634 --> 00:13:26,269
This is exactly the time of the raids
274
00:13:26,270 --> 00:13:28,638
on the British monasteries.
275
00:13:28,639 --> 00:13:30,073
So they're proper Vikings.
276
00:13:31,641 --> 00:13:33,309
Don't mess with them, no.
277
00:13:33,310 --> 00:13:35,445
The lord would
redistribute that wealth.
278
00:13:35,446 --> 00:13:38,214
You know, you helped me with
this raid, here are rings
279
00:13:38,215 --> 00:13:40,516
and bullion and all kinds of loot.
280
00:13:40,517 --> 00:13:43,953
And that would also then trickle
down into the rest of society.
281
00:13:43,954 --> 00:13:46,222
This is also what
makes it a bit unstable,
282
00:13:46,223 --> 00:13:47,422
a little bit dangerous.
283
00:13:47,423 --> 00:13:49,692
What a hoard is this.
284
00:13:49,693 --> 00:13:51,827
What a hoard it is!
285
00:13:51,828 --> 00:13:55,130
And the earls, they only
existed and survived
286
00:13:55,131 --> 00:13:57,900
as long as they provided for
their people, in other words,
287
00:13:57,901 --> 00:14:00,669
as long as the raiding
parties were successful,
288
00:14:00,670 --> 00:14:02,270
as long as they were strong.
289
00:14:02,271 --> 00:14:04,039
If they weren't,
they were just disposed.
290
00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,208
It was just as simple as that.
291
00:14:07,043 --> 00:14:10,145
The world is changing,
and we must change with it.
292
00:14:10,146 --> 00:14:14,016
People are ambitious and they
like to go up the social scale.
293
00:14:14,017 --> 00:14:17,785
So it's a society that's in a
constant kind of tension.
294
00:14:17,786 --> 00:14:19,721
I've even heard some people say
295
00:14:19,722 --> 00:14:23,525
that Earl Ragnar
is becoming like Earl Haraldson.
296
00:14:23,526 --> 00:14:25,960
People would rather
like to get up there,
297
00:14:25,961 --> 00:14:28,229
and the people up there
would rather they didn't.
298
00:14:28,230 --> 00:14:29,564
But they still need them
299
00:14:29,565 --> 00:14:31,566
in order to maintain
their own position.
300
00:14:34,269 --> 00:14:38,072
And all of this is being acted
out in the space of the hall.
301
00:14:38,073 --> 00:14:39,140
Ragnar Lothbrok.
302
00:14:46,151 --> 00:14:49,353
Do you imagine ships
such as dead things?
303
00:14:52,757 --> 00:14:54,858
We've blown miles off course.
304
00:14:54,859 --> 00:14:57,027
Who knows where we are.
305
00:14:57,028 --> 00:15:01,297
I joke about many things,
but never about ship building.
306
00:15:03,101 --> 00:15:06,870
It's my fault,
and the gods love my faults.
307
00:15:09,774 --> 00:15:14,044
The ship is like the
symbol of the Viking age.
308
00:15:14,045 --> 00:15:16,412
It's amazing to me that nobody else
309
00:15:16,413 --> 00:15:18,514
had boats anything like them.
310
00:15:18,515 --> 00:15:21,884
The Saxons had no way of
protecting the coastlines
311
00:15:21,885 --> 00:15:24,354
or rivers from Vikings.
312
00:15:26,549 --> 00:15:33,829
__
313
00:15:34,678 --> 00:15:38,819
__
314
00:15:39,970 --> 00:15:42,905
One fantastic thing about
the Skuldelev ships
315
00:15:42,906 --> 00:15:46,208
was that it represented
five different ship types.
316
00:15:48,211 --> 00:15:50,612
Finding these fantastic
Skuldelev ships
317
00:15:50,613 --> 00:15:54,015
allowed us to build reconstructions
318
00:15:54,016 --> 00:15:57,085
and then we could do
experimental archeology
319
00:15:57,086 --> 00:15:59,154
by building them, by sailing it.
320
00:16:00,498 --> 00:16:05,141
__
321
00:16:05,427 --> 00:16:08,029
I've just noticed
some of the repairs.
322
00:16:08,030 --> 00:16:10,098
There is actually one right here.
323
00:16:10,099 --> 00:16:13,634
It's a bit difficult to see from
the outside, but we can try it.
324
00:16:13,635 --> 00:16:15,136
Here you can see the plank.
325
00:16:15,137 --> 00:16:16,905
It's one plank put
into another plank.
326
00:16:16,906 --> 00:16:18,572
There is a new overlap here.
327
00:16:18,573 --> 00:16:20,875
That is exactly how
we do our repairs.
328
00:16:23,745 --> 00:16:26,280
I can tell which trees would
make the best planks
329
00:16:26,281 --> 00:16:28,582
just by looking at them.
330
00:16:28,583 --> 00:16:32,320
I can look inside the tree.
331
00:16:32,321 --> 00:16:33,321
This is one.
332
00:16:35,155 --> 00:16:40,393
__
333
00:16:40,394 --> 00:16:43,163
When you cleave a plank out,
you make it very strong
334
00:16:43,164 --> 00:16:45,465
because you follow the
grain in the tree.
335
00:16:45,466 --> 00:16:47,234
And that's the
problem with the saw,
336
00:16:47,235 --> 00:16:48,869
it would just cut straight.
337
00:16:48,870 --> 00:16:51,571
So it would cut all
the fibers in the tree
338
00:16:51,572 --> 00:16:53,440
and that's not only the planks,
339
00:16:53,441 --> 00:16:55,975
that's also all the curved pieces.
340
00:16:55,976 --> 00:16:59,379
You have to go into the forest,
find the right piece of curve.
341
00:16:59,380 --> 00:17:00,913
You're not cutting over the fibers
342
00:17:00,914 --> 00:17:03,249
if you have the right
shape of piece.
343
00:17:03,250 --> 00:17:05,552
That's why it's so
important for boat builders
344
00:17:05,553 --> 00:17:08,988
if they find the right piece
in the forest of an oak tree,
345
00:17:08,989 --> 00:17:10,757
you have to bring it home.
346
00:17:10,758 --> 00:17:15,051
__
347
00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:18,654
__
348
00:17:18,655 --> 00:17:22,049
__
349
00:17:22,050 --> 00:17:26,271
__
350
00:17:26,272 --> 00:17:27,873
The advantages of
clinker build is that
351
00:17:27,874 --> 00:17:30,709
the two planks,
when they overlap,
352
00:17:30,710 --> 00:17:34,279
then the overlap it's
kind of a strength itself.
353
00:17:35,282 --> 00:17:38,650
It's not stiff,
the result is flexibility.
354
00:17:38,651 --> 00:17:40,886
And if you think
like in your modern head,
355
00:17:40,887 --> 00:17:43,188
that you have to
build strong and stiff,
356
00:17:43,189 --> 00:17:45,257
it will break when
you're going into sea.
357
00:17:46,525 --> 00:17:49,527
This means the boat won't butt
against the waves like a goat,
358
00:17:49,528 --> 00:17:51,539
but move over them like a ripple.
359
00:17:51,540 --> 00:17:54,042
__
360
00:17:55,129 --> 00:18:00,415
__
361
00:18:04,890 --> 00:18:09,366
__
362
00:18:13,741 --> 00:18:18,923
__
363
00:18:18,924 --> 00:18:21,076
__
364
00:18:21,077 --> 00:18:26,180
__
365
00:18:26,831 --> 00:18:30,434
It's not as if we can experience
exactly the same things
366
00:18:30,435 --> 00:18:33,037
as the Vikings did,
but you get an idea.
367
00:18:33,038 --> 00:18:36,807
And that is how we use
experiments here at the museum,
368
00:18:36,808 --> 00:18:38,809
because you go out and you
get an impression
369
00:18:38,810 --> 00:18:41,311
of what it is like
being on board the ship,
370
00:18:41,312 --> 00:18:43,547
instead of, you know,
sitting behind a desk
371
00:18:43,548 --> 00:18:44,915
and just reading about it.
372
00:18:54,637 --> 00:18:56,905
When I was on board
as a crew member
373
00:18:56,906 --> 00:18:58,473
I functioned as a mid-ship man,
374
00:18:58,474 --> 00:19:01,476
which means I was located here
in the middle of the ship,
375
00:19:01,477 --> 00:19:02,644
around the mast.
376
00:19:02,645 --> 00:19:04,112
What I experienced there was that
377
00:19:04,113 --> 00:19:06,447
I tried to get an idea of
the special conditions
378
00:19:06,448 --> 00:19:09,717
of being on board such a long
and narrow ship as this is.
379
00:19:09,718 --> 00:19:10,884
Crewed with 60 people.
380
00:19:10,885 --> 00:19:12,720
This is where you would
have the helmsman,
381
00:19:12,721 --> 00:19:16,357
and you would have
the skipper or the captain in that sense.
382
00:19:16,358 --> 00:19:19,360
The crew see's it here,
would work with the sheets,
383
00:19:19,361 --> 00:19:21,500
controlling the sheets of the sail.
384
00:19:22,998 --> 00:19:26,634
In front of the ship, the very front,
you have the lookout.
385
00:19:26,635 --> 00:19:29,103
Which has a very
important function on the ship.
386
00:19:29,104 --> 00:19:30,704
Hoist sails!
387
00:19:30,705 --> 00:19:32,806
You can imagine 60 people here
388
00:19:32,807 --> 00:19:35,009
in this very long and narrow ship.
389
00:19:35,010 --> 00:19:37,377
And you would have
a big square sail.
390
00:19:37,378 --> 00:19:39,912
And you would have
the elements out there
391
00:19:39,913 --> 00:19:41,581
when you're sailing the ship.
392
00:19:41,582 --> 00:19:45,485
Then it's basically impossible
for the lookout here to shout
393
00:19:45,486 --> 00:19:47,754
all the way to the aft of the ship.
394
00:19:47,755 --> 00:19:49,189
Jump ship!
395
00:19:49,190 --> 00:19:52,159
And the way that it has been
solved when we are sailing
396
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:56,062
with the Sea Stallion,
is that we have used a middle man.
397
00:19:59,900 --> 00:20:02,501
By direct orders from the
skipper and the helmsman,
398
00:20:02,502 --> 00:20:05,141
which need to be
known by the whole crew.
399
00:20:06,674 --> 00:20:08,520
Sail down!
400
00:20:10,210 --> 00:20:12,944
The whole experience
of being on board,
401
00:20:12,945 --> 00:20:14,764
being able to be
a part of that crew...
402
00:20:14,765 --> 00:20:16,057
Heave!
403
00:20:16,058 --> 00:20:21,561
...trains you into becoming
sort of a very coherent military unit.
404
00:20:22,289 --> 00:20:26,292
So, my theory is that being
on board these ships
405
00:20:26,293 --> 00:20:29,661
could be seen as a training camp.
406
00:20:29,662 --> 00:20:31,763
The ships are shaping the crew.
407
00:20:33,532 --> 00:20:35,300
It might be part of the success
408
00:20:35,301 --> 00:20:37,869
that the Viking has in
the military of raiding,
409
00:20:37,870 --> 00:20:40,772
was basically that they were sailing
on board these ships.
410
00:20:43,743 --> 00:20:45,643
This is a place of God!
411
00:20:45,644 --> 00:20:48,913
Viking raiders were very
real and very bad indeed.
412
00:20:48,914 --> 00:20:50,415
There should be treasure.
413
00:20:52,318 --> 00:20:55,986
But that's very much a tiny
fraction of the whole picture.
414
00:20:55,987 --> 00:20:59,357
Proper Vikings, real Vikings
they're quite special people.
415
00:20:59,358 --> 00:21:00,758
Quite unusual people.
416
00:21:00,759 --> 00:21:03,160
So this is very much
the top end of the scale,
417
00:21:03,161 --> 00:21:05,662
but, when you go down to the
ordinary farmers building,
418
00:21:05,663 --> 00:21:08,199
it's the same traditions of hospitality,
419
00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,268
and the importance of
the hearth and the home,
420
00:21:11,269 --> 00:21:13,104
but just at a different scale.
421
00:21:13,105 --> 00:21:15,672
To friends and freedom!
422
00:21:15,673 --> 00:21:19,976
The characters break the
mold of historical truths.
423
00:21:19,977 --> 00:21:23,012
I like that sense of getting a
character who clambers
424
00:21:23,013 --> 00:21:26,783
out of the coffin of historical
necessity and starts to be real.
425
00:21:26,784 --> 00:21:28,852
And starts to be plausible.
426
00:21:28,853 --> 00:21:33,022
It's the way into the Viking
mindset and the Viking world.
427
00:21:33,805 --> 00:21:36,157
Hail Earl Ragnar!
428
00:21:38,146 --> 00:21:40,225
Sync & corrections by Elderfel
www.addic7ed.com