A Tour of the Viking Age - full documentary

viking the very word epitomizes adventure and ferocity though not the most technologically advanced culture of their period the vikings nevertheless saw more of the world than virtually any other group the viking spirit drove them constantly to push beyond the next horizon from their northerly homelands in scandinavia vikings took to the rivers and seas they drove east into russia reaching constantinople in baghdad to the west they had sailed the coastlines of europe and created colonies in scotland england ireland and france the vikings explored the mediterranean attacking italy and muslim territories in spain and north africa most impressive of all vikings crossed the atlantic establishing bases in iceland and greenland they even explored north america centuries before the expeditions of [Music] columbus [Music] the 9th and 10th centuries were perilous times and it was against a backdrop of rising and falling empires that the vikings adventured for most peoples vikings were terrifying the sight of their dragon-headed longships on the horizon struck terror into many a villager the anglo-saxons of the british isles the carolingian franks and even the muslims of cordoba all battled viking raiders and all experienced shock at the swiftness and daring of their attacks but vikings weren't all violent raiders many of them were merchants and settlers they engaged in trade from baghdad to england and formed alliances with local rulers most notably a band of vikings joined the bodyguard of the great emperors of byzantium vikings were brilliant metal workers and craftsmen their longships remain impressive to this day for every viking who returned home rich with plunder many others died in battle or perished of disease in squalid military camps or drowned in violent sea storms these men risked everything for land wealth and fame their priced courage over all else norse religion contrasted greatly with the monotheism of christianity and islam which stressed submission to the supreme being and avoidance of sin viking gods were divine warriors and life was a contest of valor for the norse an immense ash tree named igdrasil lay at the heart of the universe yggdrasil's branches spread throughout the heavens binding together the realms of the gods frost giants fire giants elves dwarves men and the underworld at the dawn of creation odin and the first gods slew the giant ymir the gods formed the world as an immense flat circle divided into three regions each with its own inhabitants but all centered by the core of yggdrasil the giants were banished to the outer edges called jotenheim from where they plotted revenge for the killing of ymir from yamir's eyelashes the gods constructed a great fortress to hold the giants at bay forming the middle realm called midgard while walking along the primordial shore odin and his brothers came upon two logs washed up by the sea from these they fashioned ask and embla the first man and woman the gods gave midgard to man as his home for themselves they took the central domain the celestial kingdom of asgard home of the aesir asgard reveals much about viking attitudes asgard was the great hall of a celestial warrior king a place for the gods to feast and hold court from his great throne odin watched over the entire universe like the chieftains that honored him odin presided over his own household of warriors the inheriar the bravest fighters fallen in battle they dwelt in valhalla odin's home the house of the slain a vast hall of gold with spears for rafters and a roof made from shields and armor each morning the inheriar marched out to fight and die in great battles in the evening they were magically healed and then returned to valhalla to feast on mead and meat only to march out again for more war the following day the inheriar were attended by valkyries beautiful female spirits clad in armor at odin's order the valkyries flew down to the battlefields of earth to conduct the bravest of the fallen to valhalla courage earned a viking a place in odin's household for the norse odin in particular was associated with wisdom his gifts to man were the runes poetry and prophecy odin himself was relentless in his search for wisdom once he allowed himself to be hung from yggdrasil for nine days to uncover the secrets of the runes however the most popular god was odin's son thor god of thunder who protected men from giants with his magical hammer small thor hammers were worn as protective amulets by travelers of the goddesses the most widely invoked or probably thor's wife frigg called upon by women in childbirth and freyja goddess of love beauty and fertility the location of midgard conveys the norse sense that humanity exists between the order of the gods and the elemental chaos of utgard the outer world between midgard and utgard lay the sea inhabited by an enormous serpent which encircled the world and bound it together by biting its own tail yggdrasil's heights reached to the sky and its roots penetrated a subterranean well called urdswell where the gods held their assemblies igdrasil symbolized the cyclical nature of life bringing water up from the well and dispensing it throughout the cosmos the universe of asgard midgard and utgard with yggdrasil at the core mirrors the norse conception of their own society at the center stood the farmhouse ringed by the cultivated land with dangerous wilderness lying beyond although utgard was chaotic and frightening it was understood to contain the elemental matter necessary for creation and the discovery of wisdom and so the vikings journeyed beyond the midgard of their homes to penetrate the far-flung chaos of the seas eager for discovery a norse family cultivated near their house a house tree a symbolic core representing yggdrasil and the stability and centrality of the household historian robert ferguson writes whatever else it was northern heathendom was not the absence of a culture viking age scandinavians had their own cosmology their own astronomy their own gods their own social structure their own forms of government and their own notions of how best to live and to die by the middle of the eighth century changes and growth in scandinavia were bubbling over and would produce the burst of activity including the incredible seafaring journeys that would come to define the viking [Music] centuries from the moment he became king of the west saxons alfred the great was confronted with the mortal threat of the vikings but alfred had considerable experience as a commander having fought alongside his brother the late king athelrid in addition alfred was plagued throughout his life by a medical infirmity described by the king's friend and biographer bishop asser today historians believe this may have been crohn's disease a chronic illness that can go into remission for long periods but is terribly painful during flare-ups despite this ailment alfred was a very active and dutiful ruler [Music] the condition did not prevent him from fathering children joanna armin estimates that alfred's first child and firstborn daughter ethelflood was born around this time in roughly 870. alfred the great was crowned during a period of profound turmoil to the english of the time it must have seemed like the end of days the vikings had destroyed all but two of the anglo-saxon kingdoms of britain kings had been martyred houses of god had been despoiled monasteries left in ruins the thriving trade of the 8th century had broken down learning was at a low point alfred would later complain that south of the river humber there was scarcely a literate priest left a month after alfred the great took the throne in 871 he faced two viking armies on the battlefield near wilton the viking coalition was formidable indeed its ranks multiplied by the presence of the great summer army in this engagement the anglo-saxons were defeated and alfred concluded that he could not eliminate the immediate threat to his kingdom without buying off the invaders this was an old but never permanent solution to viking attacks it often only invited further hostility and increasingly alfred was not capable of maintaining this financially ruinous policy the king's own estates could not produce the dane guild and so it had to be raised from the people of wessex and from church estates the following year the great heathen army took steps to consolidate their gains under the viking chiefs in halfton they moved into murcia here the vikings set up base in repton during the winter of 873.74 northumbria and east anglia were already under their control in the past wessex had brought aid to murcia but not this time the mercians were powerless to overcome the danes king bergrid and his wife were deposed and went into exile bergrid fled to rome where he died the following year his wife king alfred's own sister finished her days in a nunnery never again would an independent king rule murcia instead the danes established their own puppet ruler the following year the danish host divided houston marched north to consolidate power in northumbria the anglo-saxon chronicle simply states halfton shared out the lands of the northumbrians and they proceeded to plow and support themselves this passage has invited much debate did the vikings seize land from the locals or did they purchase estates from native lords with the treasure now weighing down their coffers whatever the case it's clear that halfton's company settled in york as a permanent home here the land was fertile and opposition non-existent this was an ideal place for these danish adventurers to settle in and put down roots place names of the region today indicate the mixing of scandinavian and anglo-saxon language as the former raiders became cultivators of the land there was also an interaction of peoples even cooperation and trade vikings were marrying into the local population and it was not just warriors arriving from the scandinavian homeland there is evidence that the danes were bringing their women with them as well another sign that the vikings were settling in as farmers and no longer acting as mere raiders [Music] meanwhile the summer host under guthrum remained in murcia they established a base at cambridge for the year guthrum's ambitions were now focused on the final unconquered territory in england wessex [Music] in age 76 guthrum's army entered the kingdom they evaded alfred's army seizing whereum in dorset at first alfred besieged the enemy in their stronghold he was forced to withdraw when he learned of a large viking fleet cruising along the coast of wessex intent on reinforcing guthrum once again the king had to negotiate guthrum swore to leave wessex and gave hostages as assurance this time however alfred wanted a stronger guarantee guthrum agreed to swear the oath on a holy ring this was a solemn practice among the vikings and the ring used on this occasion has been identified as a ring of thor a large gold band worn on the chieftain's arm used by the danes themselves in the exchanging of oaths nevertheless alfred's effort at appealing to viking piety proved useless guthrum did not keep to his vow perhaps the viking leader was adopting the advice of odin from the sayings of the high one if there's a man whom you don't trust but from whom you want nothing but good speak fairly to him but think falsely guthrum and his men murdered their west sacks and hostages then slipped away by night to exit her the fleet mentioned earlier was at this time destroyed in a storm off the coast of swannage this resulted in the loss of some 120 ships a serious blow to guthrum's efforts following the storm alfred and his forces encamped before exeter the king refused to attack the town to dislodge the invaders but the saxons were well positioned and guthrum was unable to resupply his army once again the two sides came to terms [Music] having terrorized wessex for more than a year guthrum finally withdrew in august 877 meanwhile discontent was brewing among the west saxons many were frustrated with alfred's handling of the viking menace the archbishop of canterbury wrote to the pope complaining of the king's practice of paying off the danes recently some historians have suggested that high-ranking members of the west saxon nobility may have even tried to depose alfred this may be why the kingdom was so woefully unprepared when guthrum attacked again the king was celebrating christmas at chippenham when the danes arrived and began spreading havoc the vikings had executed the maneuver brilliantly achieving total surprise and if in fact alfred's regime was collapsing and a coup was in progress this would have left the king and his inner circle all the more vulnerable the surprise of the attack along possibly with the revolt of the west saxon nobility left alfred no option but to retreat into the forest with his family and his personal retinue of warriors and followers alfred made the difficult journey through the woods of somerset he and his companions were reduced to living off what they could forage and hunt throughout the bitter winter months they lived as fugitives asser describes the virtual chaos of this period by strength of arms the vikings forced many saxons to sail overseas through both poverty and fear and very nearly all the inhabitants of that region submitted to their authority [Music] alfred was determined to bounce back from this defeat after easter 878 he established a fortress at athony amidst the somerset marshes from here he dispatched intelligence-gathering missions trying to rouse the spirits of his people and to discover who would rally to his call against the enemy he also sent bands of warriors to execute hit-and-run raids on the vikings who weren't numerous enough to control the whole of the territory in may 878 with spring turning the world green again alfred departed athely and rode to egbert stone east of selwood in a great expanse of woodland here the king met with those shire forces on whose support he could still rely astr describes the relief of the west saxons at the sight of their king despair had been widespread in wessex but now here was alfred alive and rallying his men to fight back his intelligence sound and his army assembled alfred now acted decisively the king marched out with his men guthrum an excellent commander in his own right was well aware of alfred's movements the viking leader prepared his own forces to deal with the west saxon counter-offensive it was guthrum who selected the site of the battle positioning his forces on a hilltop surrounded by ditches this would oblige alfred to fight uphill and also would prevent the vikings from being outflanked the west saxons now arrived at eddington in wiltshire here they met guthrum and his viking army battle began joanna armin writes that despite television portrayals saxons and vikings used similar weapons and equipment large rounded shields with metal bosses were held in front to form a hopefully impenetrable wall swords were high status weapons owned only by the very wealthy most men would have used a long spear stabbing with it over the shield wall in an effort to penetrate enemy ranks as the shield walls met both sides would have hacked and stabbed at one another trying to exploit gaps in the opponent's formation asser describes the engagement when the next morning dawn alfred moved his forces and came to a place called eddington and fighting fiercely with a compact shield wall against the entire viking army he persevered resolutely for a long time at length he gained the victory through god's will he destroyed the vikings with great slaughter and pursued those who fled as far as the stronghold hacking them down max adams writes that alfred's advantages lay in his command of an army defending its homeland and in the tactical superiority anglo-saxon open field warfare against a marine assault force honed to perfection in the art of raiding alfred pursued the defeated danes all the way to their fortress at chippenham the west saxon seized the enemy's livestock and settled in for a siege after a fortnight the vikings capitulated guthrum surrendered entirely on alfred's terms the vikings gave hostages alfred gave none the invaders also promised to evacuate wessex immediately the terms were sealed three weeks later near athony when guthrum and his leading men submitted to baptism as christians no doubt from the perspective of the west saxons the ceremony was a powerful symbol of christian triumph over danish heathenism this was a dramatic turning point asshore tells us that never before had the vikings made such a capitulation alfred's triumph at eddington achieved nothing less than the salvation of his kingdom he'd been on the verge of losing everything but this victory restored his position no doubt alfred understood that the viking offensive was aimed at nothing less than the total conquest of wessex he knew that his only option was to fight and win a complete victory the actual course of the battle remains obscure to historians but certainly alfred and his men rose to the occasion it's possible that the west saxons had the numerical advantage over guthrum's army as the viking forces appear to have been fewer than during previous attacks after the decisive west saxon victory at eddington the viking army withdrew from chippenham the following year they returned to east anglia where they settled and shared out the land this marks the final stage in the establishment of the danelaw the viking ruled territories of england no longer content to simply extract tribute from the local populations the danes now tried to enforce their own political rule total subjugation of england proved impossible so they contended themselves to consolidating their hold of eastern and northern portions distinctly danish political structures would leave a lasting if subtle influence in these regions [Music] meanwhile alfred's victory at eddington marks the beginning of a period of respite for the kingdom of wessex which would last throughout the 80s alfred took full advantage of this situation he recognized that his kingdom had not been prepared for the ravages of the danes at once he implemented programs of military cultural and civil reform that transformed and strengthened wessex this period proved that alfred was not only a capable commander but a truly wise and creative ruler his innovations would not only fortify his people against future viking aggression but elevate the intellectual and spiritual lives of the west saxons [Music] on november 24 885 a viking army under a danish leader called sigfrid sailed up before the walls of paris by now the danes expected little resistance from the carolingians and they likely expected a quick surrender the next day siegfried met with jocelyn the bishop of paris siegfried demanded that his vikings be allowed passage upstream where they could plunder the countryside of france in return siegfried swore to leave paris unmolested [Music] think of the horrors that your people will endure said siegfried if you refuse to comply with my terms the viking chieftain was amazed when this churchman flatly refused his demands i have been made responsible for the defense of this city by king charles said the bishop and i will not betray his trust this charles referenced by jocelyn was charles the fat charles had done a poor job in defending france from viking attacks so the stakes were all the higher for paris the citizens knew well they could expect little support from their emperor what treatment would you deserve the bishop asked siegfried if you were entrusted with a city and allowed an enemy to pass unmolested sigford replied i should deserve that my head be cut off and thrown to the dogs nevertheless if you do not give in to my demand i must tell you that tomorrow our war machines will destroy you with poisoned arrows you will be prey of famine and pestilence and these evils will renew themselves every year siegfried had hoped to easily frighten jocelyn into compliance he was disappointed anticipating future viking attacks the bishop had spent years strengthening the defenses of paris in an age of corruption and cowardice among the carolingian authorities jocelyn was a bishop committed to the defense of his people and his city paris sat on the il de la site a long slender island in the sun strong walls protected the island making it a difficult target for the vikings a bridge called the grand palm joined the city to the north bank of the river guarded by a partially built stone tower another smaller bridge the petitpont joined the city to the south bank with a wooden tower standing in defense these two bridges totally controlled traffic on the river to continue with their plundering expedition the vikings would have to overcome these fortifications the bishop was not the only resolute leader in paris count odo son of robert the strong led the military operations against the danes otto represented the tough crop of frankish noble stepping up to fill the void of leadership left by the failing carolingian kings odo's garrison contained no more than 200 soldiers but like the bishop odo was determined in the face of impossible odds courageous leadership can go a long way manganelles and ballistas equipped the walls of paris giving the defenders a fighting chance against the siege equipment of the danes we are unsure as to the exact size of siegfried's army but christian chroniclers recall that it was enormous historians today estimate that the danish ships numbered around 300 and their army was probably composed of thousands or even tens of thousands of men at dawn siegfried began his assault the chronicler abbot sanjar says the city resounded with clamor the people were aroused the bridges trembled all came together to defend the tower there odo his brother robert and the count ragnar distinguished themselves for their bravery inspired by their commanders the christians fought hard the bishop himself planted a crucifix on the city walls and personally used a bow to launch arrows enemy troops for jocelyn the desperate circumstances overrode his priestly vow against shedding blood as night fell the danes withdrew dragging their dead along with them through the hours of darkness odo and the bishop oversaw repairs to the damaged tower the franks added an extra story and when the danes awoke they found that the tower stood even higher than it had yesterday now the vikings tried to mine the tower's foundations the franks countered this by pouring boiling pitch and oil down onto them the shrieks of the danish miners echoed hideously with some of them tearing off the skin of their own scalps as they burned to death from the walls the christians cheered defeated the danes scoped away to their camp where they were now assailed by the jeers and mockery of their wives and concubines sigrid was enraged and determined to avenge this humiliation the danes gave up on the idea of a quick victory their eye aroused by the doggedness of the franks they committed to a long siege in january siegfried launched a three-pronged attack one division of the viking army attacked the stone tower on the north bank while their comrades assaulted the city from their ships the danes tried to fill in the moat using logs straw and even dead animals and captives for three days the vikings struggled to move their siege towers into position but the frank sallied forth from the city and managed to burn two danish engines a few vikings broke into paris only to be slaughtered by the citizens after suffering another humiliating defeat the attackers benefited from the weather in february the sin flooded and surging water smashed the pedipone during the night bishop jocelyn dispatched a band of franks to occupy the wooden tower so that the bridge could be repaired but siegfried spotted this maneuver and quickly attacked the tower from the walls of paris the franks could only watch helplessly as their brave comrades were massacred on the south bank the vikings threw the bodies in the river and burned the wooden tower to the ground siegfried could now accomplish his original goal he could now move his army past paris to plunder the french countryside but the proud viking had no intention of letting the stubborn parisians off the hook with part of his force he maintained the siege while the rest of his men plundered chartra to the west and evro to the south by spring of 886 disease and hunger plagued the defenders of paris the cemeteries could no longer hold their dead the franks suffered a terrible blow when their beloved bishop jocelyn fell ill and died on april 16. with a small band of followers count odo struck out on a secret mission to personally plead with the emperor to bring his army to paris charles replied with non-committal assurances disappointed odo returned it once to rejoin the beleaguered parisians describes what happened when odo returned from this desperate errand one day odo suddenly appeared in splendor in the midst of three bands of warriors the sun made his armor glisten and greeted him before it illuminated the country around the parisians saw their beloved chief at a distance but the enemy hoping to prevent his gaining entrance to the tower crossed the sin and took up their position on the bank nevertheless odo his horse at a gallop got past the northmen and reached the tower whose gates were opened to him finally in october the archbishop of iran's warned the emperor that if he lost paris he would lose his kingdom at last charles raised an army and marched but when he arrived at paris much to the dismay of the defenders the emperor simply opened negotiations with the procedures incredibly charles granted the vikings exactly what they had originally wanted permission to sail past paris and ravage the burgundians the count of burgundy had been disloyal to the carolingian regime and charles didn't mind punishing him with a viking violence the defenders of paris were disgusted they refused to honor the terms of charles the fat by now the petipol had been repaired and the parisians blocked the danish ships from advancing the vikings had to drag their vessels over land and relaunch them upstream of paris as a final demonstration of his weakness charles paid the danes a hefty 700 pounds of silver in return for peace the outcome of the siege of paris destroyed what little credibility still clung to charles the fat during a council at frankfurt the east franks deposed charles and elected his nephew arnolf in his place abandoned even by his close retainers charles retired to a private estate in the black forest where he died in january 888 rumor held that arnold had ordered his uncle strangled at last the ancient empire of charlemagne collapsed completely while the east franks recognized our north burgundy italy and provence all elected their own rulers meanwhile the west franks crowned as their king odo the hero of paris in odo the vikings would face a very different sort of opponent over the coming years men like odo and arnold would fundamentally shift the trajectory of the viking age in france but we'll leave that for a future video once vikings entrenched themselves on the river loire in france it was only a matter of time before they pressed farther south to explore the wealthy muslim holdings in the iberian peninsula that is modern-day spain and portugal the riches of cordoba were attempting prospect in the 9th century the umayyad emirate of cordoba was the westernmost stronghold of muslim civilization the bulk of the iberian peninsula was under muslim rule only in the rugged cantabrian mountains of the northwest did christian rule endure cordoba with a population of some 200 000 was by far the largest and richest city in western europe but muslim spain would be no easy pickings the emirate boasted a strong and well-organized military of infantry and light cavalry during this period the emir's armory manufactured 20 000 arrows every month both infantry and cavalry wore male or scale armor as well as iron helmets which only wealthier vikings could afford the emirates leading warriors were the mamluks slave soldiers raised from boyhood to be the emir's elite fighting force cordoba's standing army could react more quickly to a viking attack than the levees of france or england indeed the iberian peninsula as a whole was primed for war in the face of the muslim military powerhouse to its south the christian kingdom of astorias had to maintain a high level of combat readiness the poor but determined christian states of the iberian mountains also posed a considerable challenge to viking raiders in the east muslim geographers described the vikings they met in russia as al ruse in spain they called them al-majus the term was not created for the vikings but for the zoroastrians of persia for whom fire was a primary symbol arab writers misinterpreted the cremation in viking funerary rites as fire worship their religion is that of the magi wrote the chronicler al-watwat and they burned their dead with fire the geographer ibn syed offered his own interpretation of fire worship among northern peoples nothing to them seems more important than fire for the cold in their lands is severe history records 844 as the year of the first viking raid on the iberian peninsula from the loire a viking band sailed south to the gerond charles the bald the king of west francia was distracted by a dispute with pippen of aquitaine and so the vikings managed to sail up the river garrom as far as toulouse they moved on to plunder the coast of galicia and astorias when they attacked la corona they encountered a strong christian force led by king ramiro the first romero's troops fought cohesively and effectively galician ballistas giant crossbows inflicted serious casualties on the vikings the christians captured 70 of the norsemen's longships and romero ordered them burned on the beach the surviving norsemen sailed farther south down the coast of modern portugal which at the time was controlled by umayyad cordoba the vikings landed near lisbon in august arab chroniclers state that their fleet numbered around 100 vessels which means that it must have been almost twice that large when it set out from the loire for 13 days the vikings plundered lands around lisbon the umayyad governor of lisbon dispatched messengers to cordoba to raise the alarm the emir al-rahman the second put the governors of the coastal districts on alert meanwhile the vikings sacked cadiz and the fortress of medina cedonia they next traveled on the guadalcavir river into the amir's wealthiest districts cordoba itself lay in their path on september 29 the vikings established a base on isla menor an island in the guadalcaver from here they began to systematically ravage the region on october 1st the fleet continued upriver another 15 miles until they reached sevilla to these vikings sevilla must have been a tantalizing site aside from cordoba sevilla was the greatest and wealthiest city in iberia it was well beyond anything the norsemen would have found in england or france where the towns were poor and small since the decline of the roman empire and the establishment of arab control of the mediterranean sea sevilla by contrast benefited from the vast trade networks secured by the great muslim conquests as they approached this magnificent city the vikings must have been giddy imagining the loot within its walls when the townspeople saw the vikings disembarking on the riverbank they sallied out to challenge them this was brave but ultimately foolish the vikings were experienced warriors and when they attacked the townsmen panicked and scattered in the turmoil the vikings rushed into the city where they indulged in a week's worth of unhindered plundering many of the town's people were killed or taken captive though a large number of them fled into the mountains once they finished looting sevilla the vikings returned loaded with booty and prisoners to their camp at isla menor from here they continued to dispatch raiding parties throughout the region days later they journeyed back to sevilla hoping to capture returning townspeople but the city was still mostly deserted a small group took refuge in a mosque where the vikings slaughtered them the sheer boldness of the attack on sevilla took umayyad cordoba off guard but the emir finally did organize a military response with the help of catapults the cordoba army drove the vikings out of sevilla umayyad detachments began ambushing viking raiding parties the emir's men captured a large number of norse ships killing all the raiders on board as the weeks wore on the umayyads continued to pressure the vikings making their position increasingly untenable in early november the muslims ambushed the bulk of the vikings near sevilla killing many of them including their leader to celebrate the emir dispatched the severed heads of the viking commander and some 200 of his men to the berber emir in tangier the surviving vikings were now trapped on their island base they negotiated with the umayyads exchanging their prisoners for passage out of spain the remnant of the norse fleet passed lisbon as it headed back for the loire historian john haywood estimates that less than a quarter of the original expedition returned home from their showdown with the astorians to their audacious sacking of sevilla the first viking attack on iberia proved to be a deadly caper marked by the reckless adventurism that characterizes the viking age in the aftermath of this jarring episode the emir took steps to bolster his defenses lookout posts were established on the atlantic coast and a new armory was installed at sevilla the emir also organized a fleet to patrol his coastline the muslim warships were large swift sailing galleys they bore crews of 50 to 100 sailors and warriors the emir placed catapults on his vessels to counter any future viking raiding parties [Music] but the most famous viking attack on iberia was launched by two of history's most renowned viking commanders the oran ironsides and hastine later legend cast bjorn as the son of ragnar lodbrook a semi-mythical figure of the nordic sagas as a child bjorn's mother was said to have imbued him with magic invulnerability to wounds earning him the title ironsides hastein was one of the 9th century's most well-traveled viking leaders ending his career as the final great opponent of alfred the great in england in 859 pastine and bjorn set out from a base on the loire with a fleet of some 62 ships bound for the iberian coastline first they tried to attack galicia and astorias but the christians confronted them with a resistance that proved too strong so they moved on to plunder the emir's western coastline where initially they found easier pickings but the emir's fleet responded quickly capturing two viking ships already loaded with plunder and prisoners with muslim ships in pursuit yarn and hasstine made a drive up the guadalcavir perhaps intent on attacking sevilla when the emir's ships attacked with incendiary weapons the vikings lost several ships to fire and narrowly escaped the usual viking tactic was to avoid strong resistance and look for an easier target and bjorn and hastein did just that they moved on to alhaseras near gibraltar where they launched a surprise attack the inhabitants were completely overwhelmed the vikings sacked the town and burned the chief mosque hoping to find more plunder bjorn and hastine now crossed the straits of gibraltar and entered the mediterranean they struck the african coast attacking nakor they made short work of local troops and then plundered freely for a week they captured the harem of a local emir which was later ransomed by the emir of cordoba himself from africa the vikings veered back to muslim spain plundering the coast of mercia and the balearic islands from here they moved back to plunder parts of france before setting up a winter camp on an island in kamar a large delta of the river rhone in the spring hastine and bjorn sailed some 100 miles up the roan plundering neem arl and valance as they went but the franks defeated them in battle and so they decided to head back out into the open sea [Music] according to legend during this time hastein and bjorn sacked rome but this is a myth and did not in fact occur historically instead they moved along the tuscan coast plundering as they went in 861 they crossed the straits of gibraltar intent on returning home they didn't know that the emir of cordoba had prepared an ambush for them in the narrow passage of the straits the emir's fleet waited for them attacking the vikings as they made the crossing a desperate battle ensued in which the muslims emerged victorious the viking fleet was devastated of hastein and bjorn's original 60 ships only 20 escaped ever undaunted bjorn and hastein continued raiding with their remnant fleet just before they exited spanish waters they attacked the tiny christian kingdom of navarre sacking the town of pamplona amazingly they managed to capture king garcia the first for his ransom the vikings collected an incredible 70 000 gold dinars thus despite the final disaster of their expedition the survivors of bjorn and hastein's band returned to the loire in 862 very rich indeed it's one of those twists of fate that seemed to characterize viking history [Applause] the daring nature of bjorn and halstein's expedition earned them fame that endures today but the cost had been high less than a third of the original force survived to return home future viking leaders took this into account they continued to raid spain but in the future avoided the mediterranean local naval forces could too easily ambush a viking fleet trying to negotiate the narrow straits of gibraltar after this operation hastein and bjorn went their separate ways bjorn returned to denmark hoping to use his wealth to gain the throne but he lost his wealth in a shipwreck and died in phrygia [Music] wisdom is the highest virtue and it has within it for other virtues one is caution the second moderation the third courage and the fourth justice wisdom renders those who love it wise and honorable and temperate and patient and just and it fills him who loves it with every good quality this is from alfred the great's translation of the consolation of philosophy by boethius the eight eighties were years of great activity for alfred but also years of reflection and study the king spent this period bolstering the military defenses of his kingdom as well as reading and translating the works of thinkers like boethius alfred sought to instill wisdom not only in himself but in his subjects as well he knew that his people needed to be strong not only in body but in mind and spirit alfred also spent this period strengthening bonds with his neighbor mercia the crown of wessex had deep ties to the mercians alfred was married to a mercian lady ellsworth and she'd brought with her many family members and clerics from her homeland historians have long noted that the 80s and 890s particularly saw alfred's court filled with mercians it was at this time that atherin lord of the mercians became a fixture at the court of wessex joining the king on numerous military campaigns the two rulers got to know one another well both on the war warpath and in the council chamber alfred arranged for his eldest daughter ethelfled to marry the valiant young lord of mercia by the time ethelfled set off for murcia in 886 to begin her life as a married woman she was already well acquainted with her husband athelrid and confident that unity of purpose existed between him and her father athaflood and her brother edward would carry forward alfred's dynasty as children they were educated in the rich literary traditions of the anglo-saxons the heroic poetry that had thrilled alfred as a youngster would have also been inculcated in the young athlete and edward this instilled in them a sense of the majesty of their own royal line bishop assert tells us of alfred's legendary ancestry which even included ancient germanic scandinavian gods like odin alfred's younger children and other anglo-saxon youngsters would benefit from an even more extensive education with the establishment of alfred's royal school here scholars taught classical latin texts meant to edify young anglo-saxons with high wisdom despite these enlightened pursuits saxon domains remained harried by violence even after 878 viking raids still continued to be a problem for alfred's kingdom though on a mostly small scale guthrum the danish king of east anglia had been a quiet neighbor since his defeat at eddington content to abide by his treaty with alfred but in 890 guthrum died and this created an opening for other more ambitious adventurers vikings who had been active on the continent since 879 suffered a major defeat at the battle of the river dial in 891 a famine the following year drove them to return to the coast of flanders from there they struck at england landing on the coast and attempting to penetrate a sparsely defended thickly forested area known as the great wood the anglo-saxon chronicle recounts this attack of 892 in this year the great viking army came up the estuary of the lyman with 250 ships this estuary is an eastern kent at the east end of the great wood the wood from east to west is 120 miles long or longer and 30 miles wide the river flows out of that forest they rode their ships up the river as far as the forest four miles from the outer part of the estuary and there they attacked a fortification located in the marshland a few commoners were present inside and it was only half made then shortly afterwards palestine came up the thames estuary with 80 ships and made a fortification for himself at milton and the other viking army made one at appledore this passage captures the brilliance of the viking strategy two separate naval forces penetrated the kingdom by river at a remote heavily forested location overcoming light local resistance and establishing two separate bases the army as the chronicler noted was under the leadership of hastine a charismatic norse adventurer who would replace guthrum as king alfred's arch opponent hastein's backstory has all the makings of a viking legend he'd previously raided in spain and north africa and even attempted an attack on rome now he had his sights set on wessex the chronicle describes how alfred handled the sudden assault and then king alfred assembled his army and advanced so that he encamped between the two viking armies at a point where he had the best access both to the forest stronghold at appledore and the river stronghold at milton so that he could reach either one if they chose to make for any open country then the vikings set out afterwards through the forest in small bands and riding companies along whatever side was undefended by the english army and they were also pursued by other troops almost every day either by day or by night both from the english army and also from the boroughs alfred's intention was to prevent the danes from freely raiding throughout his kingdom or from breaking out of their forts he dispatched his own raiding parties to harass both viking armies and to intercept their communications we can see now the benefits of alfred's burl system neither danish army could move about as it wished everywhere they went they were confronted by strong local forces and the towns were well defended easy plunder was scarcely to be found after a few months alfred opened negotiations with hastine accompanied by lord ethelwood the king met with the viking leader and the two parties agreed to terms hastines swore to depart the kingdom and offered hostages two of these hostages were hastine's own sons both were baptized with alfred and atherid acting as their godfathers the chronicle even tells us that alfred paid the vikings quote a good deal of money it seems unbelievable that the victor of eddington would return to the hated old practice of paying daneguild and yet this appears to be exactly what happened in assessing this moment in alfred's career we should consider the dangerous situation he was facing his victory at eddington had been a close run affair and indeed he'd nearly lost his kingdom now for the first time in years two powerful viking forces were on his doorstep alfred was surely nervous about the prospect of another existential crisis for wessex perhaps he decided to try for an easy solution and see if he could convert hastein to another guthrum post 878 guthrum's rule in east anglia had been mostly stabilizing for wessex by having guthrum's son baptized the king may have hoped to recreate such a favorable situation as it turned out alfred would be disappointed hastein crossed the thames settled with his army at benfleet in essex and it once resumed pillaging alfred's lands at easter of 893 the other larger viking army at appledore set off in their ships to join hasstein at essex alfred was preparing to set out against the enemy when the worst possible news arrived in the weeks after easter a third viking army composed of danes from northumbria and east anglia landed at exeter alfred set off to meet this new invasion while his son prince edward marched to confront the appledore vikings although he was only about 20 years old edward was expected to lead troops in the field the chronicle of elderman athelwort recounts the battle that followed and after easter of that year the viking army which had arrived from gallis parts broke camp and by following the hiding places of a certain vast forest which is commonly called the great wood they got as far as western england and devastated the provinces they're about these matters were made known to prince edward the son of king alfred he had been conducting a campaign throughout the southern parts of england but afterward he was joined by the western english the engagement took place at farnam with the dense throngs shrieking with threats without delay the young men attacked with weapons they were duly liberated by the prince's arrival the viking leader was wounded and the saxons drove the filthy crowds of his supporters across the river thames to northern parts thus young edward won his first battle the saxons recovered a great deal of booty and the vikings fled to thorny island here edward besieged the enemy in their campsite however edward ran into a serious problem the levees under his command were running short of provisions and nearing the end of their terms of service they grumbled at the prospect of a long siege many of these men were due to return to their garrison assignments at various boroughs the situation was saved by the arrival of lord athelrod with a mercian army from london edward and atherwood opened negotiations and the vikings agreed to depart the area afterward now further demonstrated his capabilities leading a combined force of mercians and west saxons he surprised hastine at its base of benfleet the chronicle provides a memorable account of this battle then the english arrived and put the viking army to flight and stormed the fortification and seized everything that was inside in the way of goods women and children as well and they brought everything to london and then they either broke up or burned all the ships and hastine's two sons and his wife were brought to the king hastein's fortress was destroyed at benfley but he managed to slip away with most of his men this was the norseman's most remarkable talent making him an enduring thorn in the side of the anglo-saxons hastein established a new fortified camp at shubery then he made a dash across england for the welsh borders to establish camp at buddington in the welsh hills this was a remarkable trek across hostile territory in which the vikings managed to avoid detection by sacks and garrisons a testament to the mobility and effectiveness of the norsemen also this placed hastine very near to the northumbrian east anglian viking army confronting king alfred at exeter but as hastein began pillaging whales the northumbrian east anglian invaders suddenly abandoned their position and returned home alfred's operations had been effective the vikings simply realized that they would not be able to make any headway with the royal army in the field [Music] this development eased pressures on the anglo-saxons now lord athelrt organized for a decisive strike against hastein he was joined by two important west saxon elder men athel somerset and athalam of wiltshire as well as substantial welsh contingents mercia and wales had often been at odds but fear of the vikings brought them together now in a firm alliance for weeks the anglo-welsh coalition besieged hastein's vikings at buddington unable to dispatch foraging parties the danes quickly began to starve and were reduced to eating their horses halstein decided to attempt to break out across the river this resulted in a bloody battle casualties were high on both sides danish losses were higher ultimately the anglo-saxons and their welsh allies were victorious characteristically hastein and many of his men managed to escape but this was the end of the viking leader's legendary career his forces retreated into east anglia and from there hastine disappears from history we can't be sure of his fate but it's possible that he simply retired by now he was probably in his 50s and a wealthy man after a lifetime of raiding across france and the mediterranean thus as 893 drew to a close alfred the great and his allies had defeated a dangerous opponent though not without months of hard fighting this demonstrated the effectiveness of alfred's military reforms the saxons had been unable to prevent the vikings from penetrating their territory but alfred's system of forts had seriously hindered viking movement and dramatically reduced opportunities for plunder villagers found refuge in the fortified boras and local levees effectively harassed and pursued danish raiding parties far from the lucrative expeditions of the past the vikings found this war to be grueling leaving them with little but battle wounds to show for their trouble by now alfred was an old man and took a less active role in the campaigning his son-in-law athlete of mercia provided crucial leadership in some of the most difficult fighting and the king's son and heir edward also proved his worth the west saxons cooperated smoothly with the mercians and the welsh as well and multiple christian armies moved to where they were needed throughout the crisis at the same time the situation revealed limitations in the anglo-saxon military establishment prince edward nearly saw his victory at farnam collapse into defeat when his troops threatened to disperse because they had nearly completed their period of service and were running low on provisions one also might question the continued tendency to negotiate with viking forces in acknowledging the shortcomings of alfred's armies we must also take into account the remarkable competence of their opponents these vikings were no disorganized plunderers but highly efficient swift and elusive invasion units the danes continued to make good use of the waterways often evading saxon counter-offensives palestine himself was the sort of daring commander to inspire the best in his men and to be a persistent irritant to alfred and his [Music] followers with the death of charlemagne's son louis the pious the carolingian empire slipped into crisis the mid 9th century was a period of civil conflict as the sons of louis struggled with one another for power and the empire was ultimately cleaved into three separate entities the strife proved fertile ground for the seafaring raiders of the north penetrating france via the river sin viking commanders such as ragnar and esky plundered all the way up to paris in the 840s askier ravaged and occupied ruon in 841 and when he returned in 851 ruan served as a base from which his raiders spread out on foot two viking forces attacked paris and sacked chartres in 857 hastein who would later become an opponent of alfred the great in england raided up the sen in 858 the carolingian government was increasingly incapable of dealing with these devastating assaults the norse knew well the situation in the once powerful empire of charlemagne the collapse of carolingian legitimacy meant that local governors no longer derived their authority from the king but were increasingly becoming autonomous lords in their own right the people looked to the regional counts for protection and these counts began to solidify their own geographically determined power bases viking violence simply broke the old imperial system and the counts began working to ensure the loyalty of the local fighting men the beginning of the feudal relationship [Music] meanwhile the carolingian church all but refused to cooperate with the king charles the bald could not rely on church wealth to finance his troops impoverished and unable to field effective armies the carolingian kings were reduced to publishing impotent decrees crime was rampant and the monarch was issuing proclamations that thieves should be admonished with christian love to repent and that punishment should be administered to the guilty quote as far as the local officials could remember them as things grew worse the kings even asked royal officials to solemnly swear that they themselves would not turn to theft and plunder [Music] all the while viking violence made much of the northwest uninhabitable the norse leaders hastein and bjorn so ravaged the coten peninsula that it became a deserted wasteland from the mists of norse legend a man named rallo emerges and begins to play an important role in these late 9th century events dudo an early chronicler for the normans records that rallo was a dane expelled from his home country along with other warlike young men thought to be a threat by the danish king rallo took to the sea and began his career as a viking raider in england he took up with his fellow danes who controlled the northern and eastern portions of the island the dane law rallo formed a bond with guthrum the viking chieftain who ruled east anglia guthrum had given up his life of plundering after he was defeated by alfred the great at the battle of eddington baptized guthrum took the christian name appleston and kept his treaties with king alfred dudo writes that rallo and guthrum both of danish origin became close allies no region brings forth extraordinary men and ones actively instructed in arms more than does the kingdom of the danes said guthrum perhaps from guthrum rallo began to gain an understanding of the success he might achieve not in raiding the christians but in forming associations with them dudo's account of rallo while compelling is not uncontested in our scant sources for the mysterious viking in snorri's saga of harold fairhair rallo is norwegian not danish and is described as being so large that no horse could carry him therefore he is called rallo the walker so the founding figure of the normans the apex cavalryman of the 11th century is cast here as a man with no use for horses rallo plundered france as ruthlessly as any other norse chieftain sometime between 876 and 886 rallo led his vikings before the french city of ruang the franks who defended rulon fought on horseback but rallo was determined to undercut their advantage the ruse he devised might be considered an appropriate prelude to the famous cunning of the normans he had his viking crew dig pits between the river sin and the city walls which were then concealed with turf once the battle was underway the vikings pretended to retreat to their ships the franks gave pursuit on their horses at which point they fell straight into the trap set by the norsemen rallo and his men then entered rowland unopposed in 9 11 king charles the simple invited rallo to the negotiating table historian robert ferguson says that charles formally recognized rallo's right to rule a large area of northwest france bluntly described as too often laid waste by hastine and by you in return rallo and his norsemen would convert to christianity and assist charles in the defense of his kingdom the pact was sealed by a marriage between rallo and charles's daughter gisla dutto includes two anecdotes that emphasize the ideal of the independent and proud viking warrior apparently once the agreement had been made between the carolingians and the norsemen rallo was told that he must now demonstrate his submission to the king by kissing charles's foot rallo refused i will never bow my knees at the knees of any man and no man's foot will i kiss he commanded one of his men to perform the gesture for him the viking came forward seized the king's foot and flung him over so that charles went tumbling backward this provoked laughter among the norsemen but outrage among the franks the story seems like a campfire tale passed down among the normans to remind themselves of their superior prowess but it does illustrate the undeniable reality that charles's grant was as robert ferguson calls it a concession to reality dudo describes another occasion when one of charles's emissaries asked a group of vikings by what title their leader was known the vikings answered by none since we are all equals this emphasizes the old equality of the viking war band warriors were equal to one another but agreed to follow a commander who demonstrated competence the emissary then asked if the vikings would be willing to swear loyalty to charles the simple in return for lands and titles the norsemen replied we will never subjugate ourselves to anyone nor cling to anyone's service nor take favors from anyone the favor that would please us best is the one that we will claim for ourselves by force of arms and in the hardship of battle again coming from a chronicle commission by rallo's grandson we see here depicted an old ideal that the normans continued to prize [Music] two more grants of land followed as a result rallo's territory roughly corresponded to modern day normandy a charter from 918 describes the grant as being made to rallo and his companions for the defense of the kingdom it seems strange to solve the problem of chronic brigandage by handing territory to a pillager and yet charles's treaty with rallo seems to have accomplished this goal robert ferguson compares the granting of normandy to alfred the great's agreement with guthrum in both cases a christian ruler sought to neutralize an enemy by legitimizing his power and bringing him into the christian fold in their own way both succeeded once ralla was established as duke of normandy viking attacks up the sin came to an end rallo made sure of that a volatile region was stabilized and paris was secured [Music] in 923 rallo and his men fought alongside the carolingians in a military campaign led by king charles meanwhile according to dudo rallo divided the land among his followers by measure and rebuilt everything that had been deserted and restored it by restocking it with his own warriors and with peoples from abroad rallo seems to have taken his role as the king's man seriously and worked to restore law and order to normandy we don't know how rallo organized his administration if we can use that term at this point whether he ruled more as a viking chieftain or as a frankish count perhaps he was in some parts both there is evidence however that he ruled mostly as a frankish autocrat he passed laws making robbery and violence punishable by death a far stricter sentence than was imposed in carolingian lands this foreshadows the destiny of normandy which would become the most well-ordered region in france in one account rallo decrees that farm implements should be left out in the field overnight one farmer's wife hid her husband's tools and then reported them stolen rallo at once replaced the man's equipment and then began investigating the theft however when the duke discovered what had really happened he had the offending woman scourged until she confessed at last the husband admitted that he'd known the truth all along rallo handed down two convictions the one that you are the head of a woman and ought to have chastised her the other that you are an accessory to the theft and were unwilling to disclose it both the man and his wife were hanged dudo claims that this outcome so deterred future thefts that normandy remained free of petty criminality for a hundred years dudo also recounts that two of king charles's warriors paid a visit to rallo's wife gisla gisla entertained the two men in private and afterward rumors circulated that rallo had not consummated his marriage suspecting geeseless visitors of starting the rumors the duke executed both men in the public market of ruwan today many questioned the validity of rallo's conversion to christianity certainly his conversion had a political dimension but to claim that rallo was entirely cynical and the adoption of his new faith might be to reimagine him as a nihilistic modern vikings stood in awe of the supernatural though there must have been a divide between rallo's conception of the divine and that of his frankish partners he might have perceived himself as holding some sort of dual allegiance [Music] dudo predictably portrays rallo as entirely sincere in his conversion but other chroniclers are not so certain [Music] adam or chabon writing some 100 years after rallo's death described the ruler's final days as a time of religious madness in which rallo the heathen battled with ralph the christian seeing that he was dying rallo grew terrified of the wrath of thor and odin and ordered 100 christian captive sacrifice to assuage the anger of the old gods but the ailing ruler next grew afraid that christ would now condemn him to hell and so he distributed vast quantities of gold and wealth to the churches of his realm dudo would never have recalled such uncomfortable incidents and it's possible that adamer's tale is either exaggerated or false but robert ferguson says that the story provides a rare and persuasive insight into the violent tensions that could arise when devout men change the object of their devotion as a matter of political convenience in rallo's case they were seemingly mind-wrenching some of rallo's followers refused to convert or return to their previous beliefs after baptism we have a 10th century letter written by the archbishop of ruan to a colleague asking for advice on dealing with apostate heathen converts archaeologists have also uncovered 10th century viking burial sites in normandy edward gibbon insists that within a couple of generations the conversion was genuine and the sons of rallo's vikings forgot thor and odin and fully embraced faith in christ our alan brown says that the religious revival in normandy began almost at once and that it was mostly led by the dukes rallo's successor william longsword refounded the monastery of jumiege around 940 and longed to become a monk there himself his son richard the fearless restored the abbey of san juan at rowan the monastic life was at the center of the norman religious revival from early on the normans could relate to the idea of monks as spiritual warriors engaged in a perpetual battle against the forces of darkness through ceaseless prayer the monk and the knight became the dual arms of the norman state and by the 11th century the abbeys of normandy would be the most powerful centers of western christianity now learn about the christian descendants of the vikings the unconquered normans watch our full-length documentary on the norman conquest of sicily click on the link on your screen or see the link in the description down below

Channel: Real Crusades History

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Keywords: vikings, vikings documentary, viking history, emirate of cordoba, medieval cordoba, anglo-saxons, anglo-saxon history, alfred the great, alfred the great history, viking england, bjorn ironside, hastein viking, medieval england, medieval france, vikings paris, viking history explained, norse mythology, norse history documentary, medieval vikings, viking england documentary, viking england battle, vikings td, vikings highlights, history of the norse vikings, ragnar lothbrok

Id: 9tK4tFx7-sg

Length: 73min 20sec (4400 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 16 2021