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00:11One stormy day, sometime in the second half of the 9th century, a Viking ship was blown
00:17off course. It finally beached up on an uninhabited, unexplored shore, here on Iceland. It must
00:27have presented a truly terrifying alien landscape, but its discovery meant that the Vikings were
00:36no longer just raiders and traders. From that moment onwards, they were explorers and adventurers.
00:53I'm retracing the steps of the Vikings.
00:58To discover the truth about their lives, and their mysterious world.
01:06Even now, this place feels like it's on the edge of everything.
01:13And, as an archaeologist, I'll be seeking out some of the most telling evidence of all,
01:18their very remains.
01:23This flamboyant hairstyle just adds to his allure.
01:32Last time, I travelled east to discover the far reaches of Viking trade.
01:39These dark lines etched into the marble are Viking runes, ancient Viking writing.
01:47Now, I'm heading west, to find out how the Vikings became explorers and kings, creators of an entire
01:57Viking empire of the north.
02:14By the end of the 9th century, the Viking age was in full swing, with their territories and influence spreading
02:21outwards from their Scandinavian homelands.
02:23The Swedes travelled east, down the great rivers of Russia, the Danes crossed the North Sea, raiding and colonising and
02:32establishing, at York, the hub of a trading network in the west.
02:36For the Norwegians, however, it was a different story.
02:47I'm starting in Bergen, Norway, to see how the people of the north, the Norsemen, carved out their own slice
02:56of the Viking world.
02:59In the wild, uncharted Atlantic Ocean.
03:05From up here, you can clearly see that between the mountains and the fjords, there's precious little in the way
03:11of available farming land.
03:13So, for an expanding population, many of them ambitious young men, that absence of available land could have only one
03:22outcome.
03:23The most adventurous of them would seek to change their circumstances and their opportunities.
03:29And to do that, they would up and leave.
03:38The secret of the Norsemen's success was their notorious longship.
03:49It's the icon of the entire Viking age.
03:54And here in Bergen, people have built a decent seagoing reconstruction of one.
04:00Rowing one of these, well, on a day like today, is actually quite pleasant.
04:05If you can get into the rhythm.
04:11Oh, hold on, hold on.
04:13It's all gone terrible.
04:18The Vikings were notorious for their fast and manoeuvrable warships.
04:24But to conquer the ocean, they also needed sturdier vessels.
04:32Shorter, wider and powered by sail, they were perfect to carry goods, animals, tools and people.
04:44Crewed by as few as six men, ships like these carried the Norse to the end of the known world
04:50and far beyond.
04:57Lina Beersen has spent months at sea, navigating without modern technology, to understand just how the Vikings did it.
05:08They were dependent on the sun.
05:11If they didn't find the sun, they were harv-vil.
05:13They got lost at sea.
05:15Harv-vil.
05:16Harv-vil.
05:16That's a word you don't want to hear on a Viking ship then.
05:18Right.
05:22From experiments at sea, Lina has discovered that being so dependent on an unreliable sun,
05:28the Vikings often had to be flexible about exactly where they ended up.
05:35If you don't end up in Shetland, you would end up in Orkney.
05:38And that's not bad, is it?
05:40Right.
05:41So you just have to be a bit more open-minded about where you're going.
05:44You've got it.
05:48Their epic voyages are a defining part of the Viking legend.
05:53From coast-hopping raids, it wasn't long before the Norwegian adventurers started to strike out into the open ocean
06:00in search of new lands to settle.
06:08Now, I'm following in their footsteps, travelling from Bergen to Shetland, one of their first stops.
06:31We know that large numbers of them arrived on Orkney and here in Shetland from around 800 AD onwards
06:37because virtually all of the place names are Norse in origin.
06:41No Pictish name survived.
06:43We don't know if the local population was enslaved or exterminated or just driven off,
06:49but knowing how badly the Vikings behaved elsewhere, it was probably all three.
07:06On Shetland, there'd already been raiding and pillaging,
07:10but some Vikings who arrived here came to stay.
07:20And relics of their farms still survive.
07:24This ancient site of human habitation is cheek-by-jowl with the airport,
07:30so if you hear a roaring sound in the background, that'll be the 345 Terbergen.
07:39Over here, there are the foundations for seven long rectangular buildings,
07:44and these were built and used by the Vikings.
07:46This would have been part of the main family quarters.
07:51Along here, there would have been wooden-topped benches for sitting on and sleeping on,
07:55on either side.
07:56A central hearth.
07:58That's one of those plains I was talking about.
08:02It would have been quite dark in here, quite smoky.
08:05Then at the far end, there's a corn-drying room,
08:08where there would have been heat that would have dried the crop for storage.
08:12And then at the far end, the archaeologists found burnt stone,
08:16so it suggests there may even have been a primitive sauna in use here.
08:25Often across the Viking world, we discover burials, treasure, or the remains of warriors.
08:34But on Shetland, there are relics of more ordinary lives,
08:38of Viking farmers and craftsmen.
08:43It's a fantastic piece, as you can see.
08:45It's lovely.
08:46It was found in a peat bug.
08:48You'll see there's a hook shape on the handle there.
08:53The reason for that is that the thing is used in a boat,
08:57and you're baling water.
08:59Ah, it's a baler, right.
09:01Yeah, that's right.
09:02It would be all too easy just to let the thing shoot out of your hand,
09:04and it might plop into the sea.
09:06So you want to have a little bit of a backstop on it to stop it shooting out.
09:10And you can see here that the wear pattern is on that side.
09:15It's a right-handed person.
09:16Right-handed person.
09:18Wow.
09:20This object was found in the 1970s in Shetland.
09:25It's so fine.
09:26Look at the tines.
09:27That's the little rivets.
09:29Because it's composite, isn't it?
09:30It's been made from multiple parts.
09:33That's gorgeous.
09:34Look at that.
09:36Look at the shine on it from being handled.
09:38You know, that patina there of being held and used.
09:42Exactly.
09:43That's what brings the past to life.
09:47Handling these simple objects
09:48took me right into the practicalities of Viking daily life.
09:53It's got this little depression there,
09:55and that's for your thumb, so you can carry it.
09:57Lamps, whetstones, loom weights and fishing tackle.
10:04But best of all was one very personal possession.
10:10And it's a piece of a glove or a mitten.
10:13That's for a thumb.
10:14That's her thumb.
10:14That's for a Viking thumb.
10:15Yes, yes, a Viking thumb.
10:17It's one thing to talk about Vikings,
10:18but that was worn by a Viking hand.
10:22Well, it's been carbon dated to 975 A.D.
10:26Oh, wow.
10:27How can that be a thousand years old?
10:29Is that knitted?
10:31It's woven, believe it or not.
10:34Oh, gosh.
10:35I think it's just absolutely electrifying
10:37to see an item like this
10:38where something as powerful as the human hand
10:41is there to be seen.
10:50Through the 10th and 11th centuries,
10:54Chetland supported a huge community
10:56of around 10,000 Vikings.
11:01But these island settlements
11:03were just the first stepping stones
11:05for even greater and far more daring journeys.
11:13While the Swedes were getting rich
11:15from trade in the east
11:16and the Danes were establishing
11:18a kingdom in England,
11:19the Vikings here plotted a route into the west
11:23and the lands they revealed
11:24were much more than just a day's sail away.
11:32From Chetland and continuing north and west
11:37to Iceland.
11:45Having braved the wild seas,
11:47the Vikings reached here
11:49in the late 9th century.
12:01I've been digging in this bank
12:03for a very good reason
12:04because I was told that
12:05if I went deep enough,
12:06I would find a very important,
12:08significant layer.
12:10Now, if you look down in here,
12:11first of all,
12:13ignore that very obvious
12:15thick grey band.
12:17Down into that deep section,
12:20do you see the quite narrow band
12:22of sandy coloured material
12:24in amongst much darker stuff?
12:27Now that, believe it or not,
12:29is debris from a volcanic eruption
12:31dated to 872 AD.
12:35Now, no evidence of human habitation
12:37has been found below that layer,
12:39meaning there was no one here
12:41before 872.
12:43Above that layer,
12:45after that date,
12:46you start to get evidence
12:47of Viking settlement.
12:50And that's how we know
12:51when they arrived.
12:59Iceland was some way north
13:00of the Viking homelands.
13:03And although the Norwegians here
13:04were well used to surviving
13:06long, dark, cold winters,
13:08this place was in a league
13:10of its own.
13:14The very first settlements here
13:16were on the coast,
13:18where there was easy prey
13:19in the water.
13:23Fish,
13:25walrus,
13:26seals,
13:28even whales.
13:31Today,
13:32just outside Reykjavik,
13:35there's a Viking-themed restaurant
13:37that recreates the delights
13:39of a unique diet.
13:43I remember it
13:45when I was five, six years old.
13:46My father told me,
13:47you will get strong
13:47if you eat it.
13:48And he'd tell me,
13:50keep telling me that.
13:52The local Viking speciality?
13:55Rotten shark.
13:57And you say rotten,
13:58do you mean rotten?
13:59What is that?
14:00It is actually rotten.
14:01They cut the best pieces
14:02of the shark
14:03and put it in a box.
14:04And they put the box
14:06into the sand.
14:07And let it be lying there
14:08for a couple of weeks.
14:11You just eat it slowly,
14:13just let it be in your mouth
14:15for a long time.
14:16Enjoy the taste.
14:19OK?
14:19It's a formidable scent.
14:30It's like a blue cheese,
14:35but a hundred times more.
14:38Wow.
14:40Give him snuffs.
14:41Fortunately,
14:42there was something on hand
14:43to take the taste away.
14:46That is Black Death.
14:47Black Death and Rotten Shark.
14:49Right.
14:49I can't remember
14:50the last time
14:50I had those two together.
14:56That's amazing.
14:57I like that.
14:58I like that.
15:07Natural maritime resources
15:09led to successful coastal settlements.
15:13But as the population grew on Iceland,
15:16new settlers had to forge lives elsewhere,
15:20building farmsteads inland.
15:26I'm standing inside the ruins of a buyer
15:28for keeping livestock.
15:29These upright stones mark the individual stalls.
15:34There'd maybe be seven or eight animals on this side
15:36and the same again on the other.
15:37So maybe 14, 16 head of cattle and maybe sheep.
15:42In other parts of the island,
15:44they would have had pigs and goats.
15:46They would have brought up seaweed from the coast
15:49to feed the animals
15:50and the animals would also have grazed
15:52on whatever naturally occurring grasses
15:54were all around.
15:59The introduction of domestic animals to Iceland
16:01brought a whole new diet,
16:04but not necessarily a better one.
16:09That is what they put in the air
16:12and let it be just...
16:14They put it in the air
16:15where the wind was blowing,
16:17the rain was coming in.
16:17It's not been cooked?
16:18Not been cooked at all.
16:20It smells awful,
16:21but it is okay to eat.
16:23If you eat this, then...
16:24Is this a challenge?
16:25Then I think that you are born in Iceland,
16:28and have been a Viking in the past.
16:33There's something almost...
16:34There's something almost like the, um...
16:37Well, to be honest,
16:38flowers or fruit that has turned...
16:41Yeah.
16:41..and gone bad.
16:44To survive the winter,
16:46the Vikings preserved every single body part.
16:49Nothing went to waste.
16:52These will be the first testicles
16:54I've ever had in my mouth.
16:55Really?
16:56As far as I remember.
16:57Okay.
17:01That's a challenging flavour.
17:06That is a taste sensation.
17:10Blood pudding.
17:12Sheep's brain.
17:14Even the head were all consumed.
17:17That is my favourite.
17:19Let's try that.
17:22But that is the tongue.
17:24Okay.
17:25And that is the best muscle
17:26of the whole lamb.
17:28That comes from the meat,
17:30what they try in the wind.
17:33You like it?
17:35That's lovely, yeah.
17:35Yeah.
17:36It's very soft.
17:37And, yeah.
17:43I'm always saying to my kids
17:44that you've got to try things.
17:47And that don't tell me you don't like it
17:50till you've tried it.
17:51So I felt on that basis
17:53I had to really give these things a go.
17:57I could easily understand
17:59why someone like Johannes,
18:01who's actually got a connection to this stuff,
18:03why you become addicted to it.
18:05And every now and again
18:06you would want to remind yourself
18:08about the past.
18:10And you get it
18:12from something as strong.
18:13You know,
18:14the past is strong here.
18:16You can smell it
18:17and you can taste it.
18:18And I get that.
18:22If unreliable summers
18:23and freezing winters
18:25weren't bad enough,
18:26the Viking settlers
18:27had to contend with another,
18:29even deadlier threat.
18:31Not from the skies,
18:35but from deep beneath the earth.
18:41Iceland is a volcanic island
18:43and that carries its own risks.
18:46Scattered all across here
18:48is this material,
18:49which is pumice,
18:51volcanic rock.
18:52Now that has come originally
18:53from Mount Hekla.
18:55You can see the white summit
18:57just nosing above the horizon.
18:59Hekla erupted famously in 1104.
19:03It was a catastrophic event.
19:05It scattered ash and debris
19:07over half the island.
19:08This farm and many others like it
19:10had to be abandoned.
19:17Viking farmers were tough folk, though.
19:20And undaunted by the occasional
19:21volcanic eruption,
19:23the early Icelandic communities thrived.
19:29And amazingly,
19:31they decided that even this
19:33very challenging land
19:34wasn't an end to their endeavours.
19:38Not when there was still
19:39a whole lot more ocean
19:41to be explored.
19:44And in 1000 AD,
19:46the unforgettably named
19:47Eric the Red
19:48led a fleet of 25 ships
19:50out into the North Atlantic
19:51in hopes of founding
19:53a new colony.
19:55They had reliable ships.
19:57They were renowned sailors.
19:59But even so,
20:00there are references
20:01to countless people
20:02washed overboard,
20:04ships driven onto rocks,
20:06plain old lost at sea.
20:10Eric the Red's expedition
20:12colonised what we now know
20:14as Greenland.
20:18But the Viking explorers
20:19still weren't done.
20:23Evidence of Viking camps
20:24has been found
20:25as far west as Newfoundland.
20:29And it's thought
20:30they even sailed
20:31down the eastern seaboard
20:32of America.
20:36The distance
20:37from Norway to Newfoundland
20:39is 4,500 miles.
20:42And we're talking about a time
20:43when that land mass
20:45was beyond the knowledge,
20:47far less the reach
20:48of any other Europeans.
20:50What those Vikings did
20:52then
20:52was simply staggering.
20:56No permanent colonies
20:58were ever established
20:59in North America.
21:00And eventually,
21:02the harsh extremes
21:03of Greenland
21:03also proved too much.
21:12But on Iceland,
21:14despite all the hazards,
21:15the Vikings went on
21:16to build a whole new society.
21:21And,
21:22without a king in charge,
21:24they had to find
21:25a whole new way
21:26to govern.
21:29The first settlement
21:30of the island
21:31was essentially lawless.
21:32But after two generations,
21:3436 of the leading farmers
21:36came together
21:37and formed an assembly
21:38to govern Iceland.
21:40It was called
21:41the Althingi.
21:42It was founded
21:43in 930 AD
21:44and it met once a year
21:45for two weeks
21:46to make laws,
21:48to judge disputes,
21:49and to appoint
21:50a law speaker
21:51whose responsibility
21:52it was to remember
21:53and recite the law.
21:59But this being
22:00Iceland,
22:02a special location
22:04was chosen
22:04for the assembly.
22:06And it's here
22:07where two of
22:08planet Earth's
22:09tectonic plates
22:09divide.
22:12So the Althingi
22:13straddled
22:13the old world
22:14of Europe in the east
22:16and the new world
22:17of the west.
22:18And it seems
22:19strangely apt
22:20that those first
22:21Icelanders
22:22chose this place
22:23to form a new
22:25kind of government.
22:29That government
22:30met on this site
22:31for the next
22:31800 years,
22:33well into
22:34the modern era.
22:40But what's
22:41incredible to me
22:42is that the 36 men
22:44who met here
22:44over 1,000 years ago
22:46unknowingly
22:47gave birth
22:48to the oldest
22:49extant democracy
22:50in the whole world.
23:00leaving Iceland
23:01and its
23:02proto-Republicans
23:03behind
23:03and returning
23:05south to
23:06Scandinavia
23:06and a Viking site
23:08close to
23:09Denmark's capital.
23:13Because while
23:14the Norwegians
23:15were busy
23:15creating colonies
23:16in the North Atlantic,
23:18back in the old world
23:20things were also
23:21changing.
23:26In the middle
23:27of the 10th century
23:27the Danes
23:28were being ruled
23:29by a new dynasty
23:31that was forging
23:32the beginnings
23:33of a nation-state.
23:38The new royal house
23:40was the Yelling dynasty
23:41and theirs is the most
23:43visible legacy
23:44of the Viking age
23:44because towards
23:45the end of the 10th century
23:46they built an enormous
23:48amount of infrastructure.
23:49towns were fortified.
23:51A huge
23:52earthen rampart
23:53was built
23:53across the neck
23:54of the Jutland Peninsula
23:55to protect against
23:57invaders from Germany.
23:58They also built
23:59numerous bridges
24:00and roads
24:01as well as
24:02these
24:03huge
24:04fortresses.
24:12This fortress
24:14is at Trelleborg
24:15around 60 miles
24:16west of Copenhagen.
24:20It's an impressive
24:21symbol
24:22of royal power.
24:26All of the fortresses
24:28are built
24:28on the same
24:29ground plan
24:29perfectly circular
24:31earthen bank
24:33each top
24:34with a timber
24:35palisade
24:35adding an
24:36additional
24:368 metres
24:37in height.
24:38There are
24:39four entrances
24:41and then the
24:41interior
24:42there were
24:4316 buildings
24:44in there
24:44four in each
24:45of the quadrants
24:46and in each
24:47case laid out
24:48in a square
24:48but you don't
24:49have to try
24:49too hard
24:50to imagine
24:50what those
24:51buildings
24:51looked like
24:52because there's
24:52a perfectly
24:53good reconstruction
24:53just over there.
25:01It's thought
25:02each of these
25:03fortresses
25:03housed around
25:04500 trained
25:05warriors
25:05and their
25:06families.
25:08This was
25:08centralised power
25:10and it represented
25:11a watershed
25:12in Viking history.
25:16These fortresses
25:18were much more
25:18than just
25:19defensive positions.
25:21They were
25:21very visible
25:22statements of
25:23wealth and
25:24power and
25:25centralised
25:26control.
25:27The power
25:28was Harald
25:29Bluetooth,
25:30king of
25:30Denmark
25:30and he
25:31exercised
25:32total control
25:33over the
25:34people,
25:34the land
25:34and its
25:35resources.
25:36And his
25:36legacy was
25:37much more
25:38than
25:38constructions
25:39like this.
25:40He changed
25:41his country
25:41forever
25:41and he did
25:42that by
25:43converting his
25:44people to
25:45the modern
25:45religion called
25:46Christianity.
25:53Since the end
25:54of the Roman
25:55Empire,
25:56Christianity
25:56had dominated
25:57religious life
25:58right across
25:59mainland Europe.
26:03Scandinavia was
26:04the last outpost
26:05of the old
26:05pagan ways.
26:07But not for
26:08long.
26:11At one of
26:12Denmark's oldest
26:13towns,
26:14Reba,
26:16archaeologists
26:16are making
26:16some startling
26:18discoveries.
26:21Graves of
26:22some of
26:22Scandinavia's
26:23very first
26:24Christians.
26:27I spent
26:28most of my
26:28years digging
26:29on prehistoric
26:30sites so it's
26:32genuinely remarkable
26:33for me to see
26:35such obvious
26:38remains in the
26:39ground.
26:39You can see
26:40the clear outlines
26:41of the graves,
26:42you can even see
26:42the remains of
26:44the coffins.
26:45What is it
26:46about the
26:47skeletons that
26:48says these are
26:49Christians?
26:50They are all
26:51east-west
26:54burials with
26:55the skull in
26:58the west end
26:58facing east.
26:59As the
27:00Christian doctrine
27:01says, you
27:03should face the
27:04upgoing sun on
27:06the judgment
27:07day.
27:08So when the
27:08trumpet sounds
27:09and Jesus comes
27:10back.
27:10And they rise
27:12from the grave?
27:12They're facing
27:13the direction
27:14it's coming from.
27:16The oldest ones
27:17are carbon dated
27:19to around 850.
27:21That is actually
27:21some of the
27:22oldest Christian
27:24graves in
27:25Scandinavia.
27:26So right early on
27:27in the Viking
27:28age, you've got
27:30Christian Viking
27:31burials here.
27:34So in terms of
27:35official Danish
27:37history that
27:37children learn
27:39at school,
27:40these finds
27:40here change
27:42that quite
27:42significantly.
27:44We actually
27:44now know we
27:45have a prolonged
27:47christening period,
27:49much longer
27:49than the first
27:50thought,
27:51meaning that
27:53pagans and
27:54Christians lived
27:55alongside each
27:56other maybe
27:56for 200 years
27:58until Christianity
28:00completed took
28:02over.
28:06The Vikings
28:07here were
28:08some of the
28:08very first
28:09to adopt
28:10the new
28:10religion.
28:12But it
28:13appears that
28:14these first
28:14Viking
28:15Christians still
28:16hung on to
28:17their traditional
28:18maritime burial
28:19rites.
28:20And then we
28:21have all these
28:22rivets set
28:24alongside the
28:25coffin edges.
28:27They're big as
28:28well, they're big
28:28pieces of metal.
28:29Yeah, we hope to
28:30find out if this
28:31is a part of a
28:32boat.
28:33So you might
28:34have within a
28:35Christian burial
28:35the suggestion
28:36of a boat
28:38burial or being
28:38buried with part
28:39of a boat.
28:40Yes, of course
28:41being Christian
28:43in these early
28:44stages didn't mean
28:45that you should
28:46abandon all your
28:47old practices.
28:51So they
28:52will maybe
28:52still be
28:53paying homage
28:55to Thor and
28:56Odin, but
28:57when it
28:57suited, they
28:59will just
28:59pray to
29:00Jesus.
29:01It's just
29:01amazing to
29:02think that
29:02these people
29:03weren't just
29:03Vikings and
29:06the product of
29:06the Viking
29:07tradition, but
29:08they were
29:09Christian at
29:09the same
29:10time.
29:15Excavating
29:16these graves
29:16is like
29:17turning a
29:17bright light
29:18onto a
29:19few pages
29:20of history.
29:21They illuminate
29:22the moment
29:23when the
29:24Vikings are
29:25no longer
29:25just part of
29:26their own
29:27private
29:28Scandinavian
29:28world.
29:29They're
29:29becoming part
29:30of a much
29:31bigger picture.
29:32They're joining
29:32something more
29:34modern, more
29:35European, and
29:36the catalyst for
29:37that is
29:38Christianity.
29:40all over
29:41all over
29:41Scandinavia,
29:42Vikings began to
29:43turn to the
29:44new god, and
29:47their conversion
29:47would signal the
29:48beginning of the
29:49end of the
29:50Viking Age.
29:50village.
29:59This religious
30:00revolution was
30:01endorsed around
30:02970, when
30:03Denmark's king,
30:05Harold Bluetooth,
30:06made Christianity
30:07his country's
30:08official religion.
30:12from here on
30:13in, all
30:14Danes were
30:15expected to
30:16worship Christ.
30:17And to celebrate
30:18the moment,
30:19Harold Bluetooth
30:20installed a huge
30:22stone monument.
30:25Today, it's one
30:26of Denmark's most
30:28precious national
30:29treasures.
30:37Because all the
30:38tourists have
30:38gone, have been
30:39allowed inside for
30:39some privileged
30:41access.
30:43The stone, once
30:44upon a time, was
30:45brightly painted
30:45red, white, and
30:46blue, as it
30:47happens, but a
30:48thousand years of
30:51weathering and
30:52winter have faded
30:53it, so it's very
30:54indistinct now.
30:55Now, I'll grant
30:57you, it's almost
30:58impossible to make
30:59it out, but what
31:00you are in fact
31:01looking at is
31:03this image here.
31:04It's Jesus Christ
31:06emerging from
31:07within a thorn
31:08bush, and it's
31:09interpreted as a
31:11representation of
31:12Christianity itself,
31:15disentangling
31:16itself from
31:17amongst the
31:18thorns of the
31:19old pagan
31:20beliefs.
31:21This is
31:22actually the
31:23first page of
31:24a modern Danish
31:25passport, so
31:26that this image
31:27is alive and
31:28relevant for
31:29Danes even
31:29today.
31:37The story goes
31:38that before his
31:39conversion, King
31:40Harold witnessed a
31:41divine miracle.
31:45A moment
31:46commemorated in
31:47some early
31:48Christian art.
31:50Here, one of
31:51these gilded
31:51plates set into
31:53the altar, in
31:55this one, you
31:56can see a priest
31:57performing a
31:58miracle.
31:59He can extend
32:00his hand into
32:01the fire and
32:03then withdraw it,
32:04apparently unhurt,
32:06although he does
32:06seem to be wearing
32:07a giant oven
32:08glove.
32:09Then in this one,
32:11we have Harold
32:12himself, a fine
32:13figure of a man,
32:13being baptised
32:15while standing up
32:17to his waist
32:17in a barrel.
32:20This is all
32:21very nice, but
32:22you can see it
32:23as PR spin,
32:26stories to
32:27please the masses,
32:28because Harold's
32:28conversion to
32:29Christianity, more
32:30than anything else,
32:31was a calculated
32:32political move.
32:37Christianity
32:38wasn't just a
32:39belief, it was a
32:41social and political
32:42institution that
32:44dominated every
32:45other kingdom in
32:46Europe.
32:50And Harold
32:51Bluetooth knew
32:51that joining the
32:52club would give
32:53him protection
32:54from aggressive
32:55neighbours, because
32:58no other
32:58Christian ruler
32:59could now claim
33:00a legitimate
33:01right to attack
33:02him.
33:07The land to
33:08the south of
33:08Denmark was
33:09ruled by Otto
33:10the Great,
33:11Duke of
33:11Saxony, King
33:12of Germany
33:13and Italy, and
33:14Holy Roman
33:14Emperor, and
33:16he wanted to
33:16add Denmark to
33:17his list of
33:18territorial
33:19acquisitions.
33:20But Harold's
33:22conversion made
33:23that impossible,
33:23because now the
33:24Danes, like
33:25everyone else, were
33:26protected by the
33:27one true God.
33:28And that wasn't
33:29all.
33:30Christianity
33:31also helped
33:32Harold to
33:33rule as a
33:33king, and
33:34all because of
33:35this, the
33:37Bible.
33:40Christianity gave
33:41kings a divine
33:42right to rule
33:43under a single
33:44god.
33:46The days when a
33:47brave warrior
33:48might rise to
33:49fight alongside
33:49the old gods
33:50through epic
33:51earthly adventures
33:52was over.
33:55For those being
33:56ruled, Christianity
33:57would change their
33:58lives forever,
34:00because conversion
34:01to the one true
34:02God struck at the
34:03very heart of
34:04all that it had
34:05meant to be a
34:06Viking.
34:11Seeing the
34:12benefits of
34:13Harold's
34:13conversion, other
34:14Viking rulers
34:15started to
34:15follow suit.
34:17Within just
34:18a hundred years,
34:19most of
34:19Scandinavia was
34:20officially
34:21Christian.
34:25And as their
34:26ancient pagan
34:27roots were left
34:28behind, the
34:30modern nation
34:30states of
34:31Denmark, Norway
34:32and Sweden
34:33were being
34:34born.
34:37Christianity
34:38was central to
34:39that modern
34:40world.
34:40The king was
34:41Christian.
34:42The trading
34:42partners all
34:43across Europe
34:44were Christian.
34:45Christianity
34:46also dictated
34:47that the old
34:48pagan beliefs
34:48were to be
34:49stamped out,
34:50not just in
34:50Denmark, but
34:51all across the
34:52Viking world.
34:53In Norway,
34:54edicts were
34:55issued banning
34:56the performance
34:57of spells to
34:59awaken trolls.
35:00Strict no-no.
35:06There was also
35:07a raft of
35:07new laws.
35:08Oh, perfect.
35:10Meat could only
35:11be eaten on
35:12certain days.
35:14Rules for
35:15married life
35:15even dictated
35:16when you could
35:17and couldn't
35:18have sex.
35:24The old
35:24pagan gods
35:25had been like
35:26friends.
35:27Provided you
35:28made your
35:28sacrifices,
35:29then you
35:30felt entitled
35:31to help
35:31from Odin
35:32and Tor.
35:33But the
35:33new Christian
35:34god wasn't
35:35like that.
35:35He was
35:36more of a
35:37judge.
35:37If you
35:38misbehaved,
35:39he was the
35:40injured party
35:40and you'd
35:41be made to
35:41suffer in
35:42the next
35:42life.
35:43So instead
35:44of the
35:44promise of
35:45Valhalla,
35:46now Vikings
35:47learned to
35:47live in fear
35:48of eternal
35:49damnation.
35:50The whole
35:51focus of
35:52Viking life
35:52was shifting
35:53away from
35:55the here and
35:55now, the
35:56adventure, the
35:57heroic deed,
35:58the reputation.
36:00Instead it
36:00became about
36:01hoping for
36:02life after
36:03death.
36:04And there's
36:04something about
36:05that that
36:06feels a little
36:07bit sad.
36:11the wild
36:12north that
36:14had been the
36:14backdrop for
36:15the entire
36:15Viking world
36:16was leaving
36:17its mysterious
36:18and ancient
36:19past behind
36:20and emerging
36:22into a much
36:22more European
36:23age.
36:28It was all
36:29very well,
36:29becoming
36:30Christian and
36:31exercising
36:32royal power.
36:33But to
36:34effectively run
36:35a state,
36:36you also
36:36needed an
36:37efficient
36:37administration
36:38and effective
36:39taxis as
36:40well.
36:44And the
36:45masters of
36:46that operated
36:47just across the
36:48North Sea,
36:49the Anglo-Saxons.
36:55Now I'm heading
36:56for England
36:58because for the
36:59ninth century
37:00Danes,
37:01this country
37:02was more
37:02important than
37:03ever as an
37:05easy source
37:06of cash.
37:12England had
37:13been Christian
37:14for centuries
37:14and she was
37:15also streets
37:16ahead of her
37:16Viking
37:17counterparts
37:17when it
37:18came to
37:18commerce.
37:21Hiya.
37:22Hi, how are
37:22you doing?
37:23Not bad.
37:23Can I have
37:23four of these
37:24braebol?
37:29Manufacturers
37:30and farmers
37:30ensured a
37:32steady flow
37:33of goods
37:33and currency.
37:37Thanks,
37:38132.
37:41Relatively
37:42speaking,
37:42this was a
37:43rich trading
37:44nation.
37:45There was
37:46also a
37:46huge army
37:47of bureaucrats,
37:48administrators
37:49to look
37:51after the
37:51land,
37:52to dispense
37:53the justice
37:53and to
37:54collect the
37:54tax.
37:55Thanks,
37:56sir.
37:56That's five
37:57pounds.
37:57Lovely.
38:01To put it
38:01mildly,
38:02she was
38:03rich and
38:04well-organised.
38:10For nearly
38:11a hundred
38:12years,
38:13between
38:13866
38:14and 954
38:15AD,
38:17Denmark
38:17had had a
38:18piece of
38:18the action,
38:19controlling the
38:20kingdom of
38:20York from
38:21the Danish
38:21city of
38:22Jorvik.
38:26York.
38:27though,
38:27York was
38:28back under
38:28Anglo-Saxon
38:29control,
38:30so Harold
38:31Bluetooth's
38:32descendants had
38:33to resort to
38:33some very
38:34old-fashioned
38:35Viking
38:35tactics.
38:39Not that
38:40that just
38:41meant more
38:41raiding for
38:42slaves or
38:43monastic
38:43treasure.
38:44By the
38:45late 10th
38:46century,
38:46the Vikings
38:47had a new
38:48scheme,
38:48to issue
38:49threats and
38:51demand tribute
38:52payments in
38:53cold,
38:54hard cash.
39:01England had
39:02the most
39:03well-organised
39:04and efficient
39:05currency anywhere
39:06in Western
39:06Europe at this
39:07time.
39:07They had
39:08up to
39:0970 mints
39:10active at
39:11any one
39:11time from
39:12York down
39:13to Exeter
39:13and Canterbury
39:14and each
39:15of them
39:15would be
39:16making silver
39:17pennies,
39:17much like
39:18this one.
39:19So it's
39:19they're all
39:19solid silver,
39:20that's this
39:20unifying feature
39:22of them,
39:22they've all
39:22got the
39:23same worth.
39:24Precisely,
39:24yes.
39:27England
39:28had a
39:28sophisticated
39:29coinage
39:29system and
39:30well-organised
39:31tax collection.
39:33Denmark
39:34had neither.
39:36but King
39:37Harold's
39:38son and
39:38successor
39:39Svein
39:39Fortbeard
39:40didn't see
39:41the need
39:41for
39:41improvement.
39:45Not when
39:46you had
39:46neighbours
39:46who did
39:47it so
39:47well for
39:48you.
39:56Svein
39:57might have
39:57been
39:57baptised
39:58but his
39:59veins ran
39:59with Viking
40:00blood and
40:02when he
40:02came to
40:02the throne
40:03he crewed
40:04up the
40:04Danish
40:04longships
40:05once more
40:05and set
40:07sail for
40:07England.
40:09So it's
40:10from around
40:11the 980s
40:12that the
40:12Vikings
40:13begin to
40:13go and
40:14attack and
40:15extract money
40:16from England
40:16again and
40:17we see the
40:18English coins
40:19begin to
40:19flow into
40:20Scandinavia in
40:21massive quantity.
40:22How much
40:23money are the
40:24Vikings taking
40:24out of the
40:25country?
40:26A very
40:26great deal.
40:27We know
40:28from the
40:28Anglo-Saxon
40:28Chronicle that
40:29more than
40:29£200,000
40:30was paid
40:31to them
40:32overall
40:32between
40:33991
40:33and
40:341018.
40:36Are the
40:36English
40:37producing
40:38coins
40:39precisely
40:39because
40:40they know
40:40the Vikings
40:41are coming
40:41and will
40:42want
40:42paying?
40:43Well the
40:43most vivid
40:44example we
40:44have of
40:44this is
40:45this coin
40:46here.
40:47With all
40:47of these
40:47other types
40:48you have
40:48the bust
40:49of the
40:49king
40:49and a
40:50cross
40:50but in
40:51this
40:51case
40:51you don't.
40:52You have
40:52the Lamb
40:53of God
40:53and you
40:54have the
40:55holy
40:55dove.
40:56This
40:57coinage
40:57is all
40:58about
40:58an
40:58invocation
40:59to God
41:00trying to
41:01get him
41:01to send
41:01the Vikings
41:02away
41:02and bring
41:03the English
41:03to safety.
41:06But
41:06invoking
41:07God on
41:08their coins
41:08didn't help.
41:10The more
41:10they paid
41:11the Vikings
41:11off
41:12like any
41:13blackmailer
41:13the more
41:14they came
41:14back
41:15with new
41:16demands.
41:18Realising
41:19that England
41:19was being
41:20bled dry
41:20the English
41:22king
41:22decided
41:23to hit
41:23back.
41:28Now
41:29the English
41:29king
41:30Ethelred
41:31we generally
41:32know him
41:33as Ethelred
41:33the Unready
41:34and he
41:35was given
41:35that nickname
41:36Unready
41:36for a very
41:37good reason.
41:38In Old
41:39English
41:39Unready
41:40means
41:40ill-advised
41:41and the
41:42policy of
41:42continually
41:43buying off
41:44the Vikings
41:44was a pretty
41:45poor plan.
41:47In
41:471002
41:47he made
41:48a ruthless
41:49decision
41:49and ordered
41:50that all
41:51Danish men
41:51in England
41:52were to
41:53be killed.
41:54What happened
41:54next is
41:56known as
41:56the St
41:57Bryce's
41:57Day
41:58Massacre.
42:04By the
42:0511th century
42:06England
42:06was home
42:07to thousands
42:08of born
42:08and bred
42:09ethnic
42:09Danes
42:10whose
42:10families
42:11had lived
42:11in England
42:11for generations.
42:14But they
42:15dressed
42:16differently
42:16and they
42:17stood out
42:17in society.
42:23now every
42:24one of them
42:24was a target
42:26for revenge.
42:30These are the
42:30skeletons of
42:31three men.
42:32They were
42:32excavated in
42:34Oxford during
42:36work in advance
42:37of a building
42:37project.
42:38There's three
42:39here on display
42:40but 38 skeletons
42:42were found
42:43together and
42:44there's far too
42:45many to display
42:46here and now
42:46so the rest
42:47are in their
42:48carefully numbered
42:49and catalogued
42:50cardboard boxes.
42:52All men
42:54all
42:54as far as we
42:55can tell
42:56aged between
42:5716 and 25
42:58certainly none
42:59of them older
42:59than 40
43:02but what is
43:02particularly
43:03amazing about
43:04them is that
43:05they're all the
43:06victims of
43:07violent death.
43:08I almost don't
43:09know where to
43:09start.
43:10This individual
43:11here you can
43:12tell he's a
43:12big robust
43:13character
43:14but all
43:15that he's
43:16been felled
43:17initially by
43:18a blow to
43:18the back of
43:19the legs.
43:20Like a sword
43:21swung at him
43:22from behind
43:22and it's cut
43:23through the
43:24muscles, the
43:24flesh, the
43:25tendons and
43:26finally through
43:26the bones
43:27themselves.
43:27So he's been
43:28felled like a
43:29big tree.
43:30But that's not
43:31the end of it
43:31for this guy.
43:33On this side
43:33of the pelvis
43:34do you see
43:35that hole,
43:36that puncture
43:37wound?
43:39That's where
43:39the point of
43:41whatever it was
43:41spear or sword
43:42went in and
43:43out the other
43:44side.
43:45Huge damage
43:45to the skull.
43:47Something like a
43:48sword or something
43:48sharp and heavy
43:49has caused this
43:50massive slicing
43:51blow.
43:52It's opened his
43:53head up like an
43:53egg.
43:55There are cut
43:56marks on the
43:57ribs.
43:58Too much has
43:58been done here.
43:59Any one of these
44:00wounds would kill
44:01the person.
44:02This is crazy
44:03violence.
44:04These are not
44:05the kinds of
44:06injuries that are
44:07inflicted upon
44:08people who are
44:08standing up and
44:09fighting.
44:10All of these
44:11men, the three
44:12here and the
44:13rest in the
44:13boxes, were
44:15killed, butchered
44:16while they were
44:17running away.
44:23A particularly
44:24grim piece of
44:25evidence suggests
44:26that all these
44:27men were victims
44:28of Ethelred's
44:29massacre in
44:291002.
44:33If you look at
44:34this one, you see
44:35this burning on the
44:37forehead, the front
44:38of the skull, and
44:39then there's more
44:39burning here in
44:41the right hand.
44:43He's been in a
44:44fire somewhere after
44:45death.
44:46And some of the
44:47other bodies show
44:48evidence of burning
44:49as well.
44:54An account of the
44:55killings from Oxford
44:56where these skeletons
44:57were found records
44:59that a group of Danes
45:00sought sanctuary in a
45:01church, to no avail.
45:06The local Anglo-Saxons
45:07simply burnt it to the
45:08ground, with everyone
45:11inside.
45:13So it's possible,
45:14it's possible, that this
45:16and they were some of
45:17those who sought refuge
45:19in a church a thousand
45:20years ago, for all the
45:22good it did them.
45:26King Ethelred's desperate
45:27action, though, was a
45:28failure.
45:30The Viking raids
45:30continued unabated.
45:33And soon, England was
45:35on its knees.
45:37For the Danish king, it
45:39was the chance of a
45:40lifetime.
45:43In 1013, Svein Forkbeard
45:46launched a full-scale
45:48invasion of England, and
45:49it worked.
45:50The English king,
45:51Ethelred the Unready,
45:53simply ran away,
45:54abandoning the English
45:55crown to the Dane.
45:56But it turned out to be
45:57a very short reign.
46:03Five weeks later,
46:05Forkbeard was dead.
46:06But by his side was his
46:09young son, called
46:10Canute.
46:12Now there's a name we're
46:13all familiar with.
46:17Canute was grandson of
46:19Harold Bluetooth and son
46:20of Forkbeard, a
46:22continuation of the
46:23Yelling royal dynasty.
46:28Canute returned to
46:29Denmark, but he kept his
46:31eye firmly on the
46:32English crown.
46:37Just two years later, he
46:38was back with 200 ships
46:41and 10,000 men.
46:43And after some bloody
46:44fighting, he became king
46:46king of all England.
46:52Everyone knows the story
46:54about King Canute and the
46:55sea, how he ordered that
46:57his throne be taken down
46:58onto the beach.
46:59And then he sat there and
47:00as the tide came in, he
47:02told the waves to turn back.
47:04And of course they didn't.
47:05And his feet got wet and he
47:07ended up looking a bit
47:07foolish, a bit arrogant.
47:10But that wasn't what he
47:11intended at all.
47:13What happened that day was
47:15a pure PR stunt.
47:17His subjects, his
47:18followers, were supposed to
47:20see that he was just a man
47:22and that only God had the
47:23power to control the sun and
47:25the moon and the tides.
47:28In conquering England with an
47:30axe, Canute had shown his
47:32Viking roots.
47:34But he was also determined
47:36to prove he was a devout
47:37Christian king.
47:40Combining both powerful
47:41traditions, he would go on
47:43to become ruler of an
47:45empire, a member of the
47:47European royal elite.
47:52And when he died, his tomb
47:54was no Viking longship
47:56beneath a grassy mound.
47:58Instead, it was a
47:59cathedral.
48:01So that nowadays, we hardly
48:02think of him as a Viking
48:04at all.
48:12Originally founded by the
48:13Anglo-Saxons over a thousand
48:15years ago, Winchester
48:16Cathedral houses tombs of
48:18the great and the good.
48:20Centuries of England's most
48:22worthy.
48:28In medieval England, a more
48:30celebrated, a more Christian
48:32location for your mortal
48:33remains could hardly be wished
48:35for.
48:36So for a king who was born
48:37Viking, whose heritage was
48:39pagan and who was viewed as a
48:41brutal conqueror of England, you
48:43might think this is an unlikely
48:44final resting place.
48:46But the truth is, by Canute's
48:48death in 1035, he was known as
48:51Canute the Great.
48:58Canute's invasion of England could be
49:00viewed as the ultimate Viking
49:02expedition, a rite of passage for a
49:06true hero of the sagas.
49:10Though tradition had it that after
49:13your adventures, you were meant to
49:15return home.
49:18For most Vikings, that meant farming a
49:21plot of land at the end of a fjord.
49:23But Canute was king.
49:25And his bones are inside that box up
49:28there.
49:29Or possibly that one.
49:31Or that one.
49:33Any of these.
49:34The truth is, we don't actually know
49:38where his mortal remains really are.
49:40Because during the English Civil
49:41War, around 600 years after his
49:44death, parliamentarian roundhead
49:46soldiers used the bones inside these
49:49reliquaries to smash out what they
49:51regarded as the frankly idolatrous
49:53stained glass window above the
49:55cathedral entrance.
49:56A bunch of killjoys.
50:04Soon after, the good people of
50:06Winchester collected up the glass and
50:08rebuilt the window.
50:11Although the colourful patchwork ended
50:13up more modernist than medieval.
50:20The bones used to smash the windows
50:23were collected up too and returned to
50:25the reliquaries.
50:26But like the window, in a slightly
50:28random way.
50:31So though we don't know where his
50:34bones actually are, we hope and
50:36suspect he's up there somewhere.
50:46Canute's ambition had extended beyond
50:49ruling England.
50:50He was soon king of the Scottish
50:52islands, Denmark, Norway, and parts of
50:56Sweden too.
50:59He'd created a Viking empire.
51:10From England, I've come south, to Austria,
51:14right in the heart of Europe.
51:16Because Canute wasn't just a northern
51:18ruler, but an early European statesman.
51:26Canute was smart.
51:27But he knew that more trade across Europe meant
51:29more taxes to fill his coffers.
51:32So he set about standardising the whole
51:35European economy.
51:39Now, you might think of the Euro as a modern
51:42concept, but it's not really.
51:45And in the 11th century, it was neither France
51:47nor Germany that was the centre for monetary
51:49union.
51:50It was England.
51:54First of all, Canute standardised Scandinavian
51:58and English coins, so that there was a common
52:01currency.
52:02And then it appears that right across his empire,
52:06the ounce, the weight that was used for measuring
52:09gold and silver, was altered to match up with the
52:12ounce of Byzantium, of the Byzantine empire.
52:15And that was at a time when Constantinople was not only
52:18the largest, but also the wealthiest city on earth.
52:22Canute was carefully integrating his empire into a
52:26medieval, single European market.
52:33Canute the Great was a player on the world stage.
52:37And here in Vienna, there's an incredible object that
52:40shows us how influential he was.
52:43And how far he had come from his Viking roots.
52:48A decade after becoming king, Canute attended the
52:52coronation of the man who ruled most of Central Europe,
52:55the Holy Roman Emperor.
53:01And this glorious object is what he was crowned with.
53:06It's called De Reis Crona, the imperial crown.
53:09And back in 1027, watching this being placed on the
53:14emperor's head was the hot ticket of the season.
53:27It's decorated with 144 emeralds, sapphires, and amethysts.
53:35Back then, the technique of cutting facets into precious stones
53:40was unknown.
53:42Instead, they were polished into these smooth shapes.
53:46They look a bit like boiled sweets, to be honest.
53:50Although a lot more expensive.
53:52And they're then mounted to let light shine through them.
54:11The final touch are the four picture plates, which depict messages from the Old Testament.
54:20And most important, most tellingly, for our story, is this one on the corner.
54:26It shows Jesus Christ, enthroned as the Lord of hosts.
54:32And above his head, in red enamel, are the words in Latin,
54:43And this idea, this concept of divinely ordained kingship,
54:49was something Canute was very enthusiastic about.
54:56When the Holy Roman Emperor was crowned,
55:00Canute the Great walked as part of the imperial procession.
55:06And afterwards, the emperor even arranged for his own son to marry Canute's daughter,
55:12to cement a powerful political alliance.
55:17Canute's attendance at that coronation showed that he was a major European player.
55:23He had arrived.
55:25And he clearly believed that he was the equal of the Holy Roman Emperor.
55:29Because when he got home, he had one of these made for himself.
55:39Canute's reign lasted less than two decades.
55:42But in that time, he had utterly changed his Scandinavian world.
55:48He had been born a Viking.
55:50But he died a European.
55:55Canute himself had left four children.
55:58And his empire was divided.
56:01Norway, Denmark and Sweden soon found their own new rulers.
56:19It was the end for the Great Yelling dynasty.
56:22And with it, the entire Viking Age.
56:28But by then, Scandinavia was no longer a remote, pagan backwater.
56:34The violent, plundering men from the north had become colonisers.
56:39Christians.
56:40Nation and empire builders.
56:48It had been an incendiary time in European history, but it had burnt itself out.
56:54Nonetheless, the impact of the Vikings on modern Europe is inescapable.
56:59The politics, the politics, the national and religious identities were forged, at least in part, by their exploits.
57:11The Vikings had raided and pillaged coastlines across northern Europe.
57:19They had set out on journeys beyond the knowledge of any other Europeans.
57:26colonised uninhabited lands.
57:30And traded goods from the distant empires of the Far East.
57:36In little more than two centuries, the Vikings had expanded the Western world,
57:42voyaging from Newfoundland in the west to Constantinople in the east.
57:49A world far, far bigger than even they could have imagined possible.
57:56And they're still with us today in our towns and cities,
58:00in our culture, in our language, and in our blood.
58:05And in the very existence of the modern nation states of northern Europe.
58:11But that's not what we remember, or why.
58:15The truth is, the myth and the legend of them,
58:19the excitement and the adventure,
58:21is all there in the sound of one word.
58:25Vikings.
58:31Vikings.
58:32Vikings.
58:33Vikings.
58:34Vikings.
58:40Vikings.
58:44Vikings.
58:46Vikings.
58:48Vikings.
58:48Vikings.
58:49Vikings.
58:50Vikings.
58:50Vikings.
58:50Vikings.
58:51Vikings.
58:51Vikings.
58:52Vikings.
58:53Vikings.
58:53Vikings.
58:53Vikings.
58:54Vikings.
58:54Vikings.
58:55Vikings.
58:56Vikings.
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