Retracing The REAL Great Viking Army | With Dan Snow and Dr Cat Jarman

In 865 AD, England was invaded by the Great Heathen Army. The Great Viking Army, as it was also known, was made up of a coalition of Scandinavian warriors mainly from Denmark and, legend has it, four of the five sons of Ragnar Lothbrok, including Halfdan Ragnarsson, Ivar the Boneless, Bjorn Ironeside and Ubba.
This was an army that would change Britain forever. It would lay siege to towns and cities like York, attack monasteries and kill kings - the most famous of course being St Edmund, who was brutally beheaded by the Norse warriors in 869 AD.
Dan Snow was recently joined by bioarchaeologist and Viking specialist Cat Jarman on a road trip across England to retrace the path of this conquering Viking Army.
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#historyhit #vikings #dansnow
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:57 What was the Great Viking Army
00:06:16 The first Winter Camp
00:10:36 Viking burial mounds
00:13:18 The murder of King Edmund
00:23:33 Archaeological evidence
00:28:04 The conquest of Mercia
00:39:29 Analysing Viking skeletons
00:48:00 The Repton camp
00:54:47 The end of the Great Viking Army

[@count69]

18:22 I REALLY thought he was going to say "The most interesting part of Edward's life is that he was 5 foot 6 inches tall at the start of his reign, but only 4 foot 8 inches tall at the end of it" (Monty Python "Oliver Cromwell")

[@JohnCasteel1333]

This guy is a good documentarian, he knows how to wrap up the military strategy, archeological, and political stories into one very entertaining narrative. Also shows great mix of modern information and recreations to add watchability.

[@soupdragon151]

He's a professional historian has a history degree

[@Draggis92]

I live in Oslo, Norway, and recently visited the viking ships at display here. I am proud of our strong heritage. The Vikings were as much travelers, explorers and merchants, as they were warriors.

[@kimberlypatton205]

You are fortunate indeed!

[@skepticalbadger]

They were also murderers and rapists (yes, so were warriors of other cultures but still).

[@Draggis92]

@@skepticalbadger Indeed. Perfectly normal at the time.

[@bazsnell3178]

And they were the Conquerors of Paris, France, and the original ancestors of the Russians - they were called 'the Rus'.

[@KK-fi6ms]

@@bazsnell3178 Although their country was named after the Rus, majority of Russians are Slavic. Only the Rurikid dynasty and some other families were of Rus origin, i.e. descendants of Vikings.

[@shehansenanayaka3046]

This documentary is fasicinating . History hit tv is actually the netflix of history . Your huge fan from sri lanka . ❤️❤️

[@funjuror]

I like the way Dr Cat doesn't get carried away with hyperbole comments like," We think so, "Maybe, possibly, as far as we can tell, etc.

[@sandraholland2706]

I am from Norfolk and discovered that i am 50.9% Scandinavian which i find amazing, plenty of place name evidence for settled vikings in my part of Norfolk. Always been interested in the viking. Love this documentary.

[@Musicienne-DAB1995]

Fascinating!

[@larsbjrnson3101]

The name Norfolk has Viking origins and means ‘people from the north'

[@sykesalecsykesleamas6805]

I am half Norwegian (born and raised) and half English. I love both countries and their shared history. Thanks for an interesting documentary!

[@maisoncosarde877]

You’ve probably been for longer than you think..

[@reed3249]

what shared history? norwegians had a minimal impact on english history. it was danes whose settled and conquered england. the vikings tv show has attempted to rewrite history and give it to norway and i guess that is where you get the idea from.

[@haraldsigurdsson1232]

@@reed3249 People from all Scandianavian countrys settled in England and were part of the great viking army. "Dane" was used for all Scandinavians then.

[@maisoncosarde877]

@@reed3249 at the time they were called Norsemen. Despite, in France, the vikings settled in Normandy (Norse land in French) of which some were Danes but there were « Norwegians » as well as Swedes. After William the conqueror, the UK effectively was ruled by sovereigns who were part Norse. So no, there is in fact a big impact of the Viking and Norse culture dating way back in the UK. Also check out Cnut The great, King of England, Danemark and Norway and tell us how the Norwegians had little impact in the uk. I’m listening 👂

[@pres5049]

@@reed3249 thats shared history my friend, you should do your research better before making such comments

[@jonathanwright3049]

If you like watching History documentaries of all kinds, then History Hit is worth it.

[@KhaozVoid]

It's definetly badass. Tho there's enough free shit here on YT that I'm not really compelled to pay anything for a service 🤷‍♂️

[@twonumber22]

"The Ancients" is the best one.

[@judebaber5695]

Totally agree…I really enjoy watching History Hits documentaries 🙂

[@ahmedizyan5287]

Indeed sir

[@Sarge80]

That is funny, you see them really struggling to get up on the old motte and then you see stairs on the other side hahaha

[@beeman2075]

I noticed that also haha. It would be fascinating to see the motte with the fortifications that were on it in ancient times.

[@Sarge80]

@@beeman2075 Agreed, to bad that wood/timber doesnt leave any traces to be found except stains in the dirt.

[@beachcomberbloke462]

Absolutely enthralled by this account of the Great Viking Army. Ties in nicely with Bernard Cornwells Viking TV seies,i wish Cat Jarman had been my history teacher she really brings history alive.Also i love Dan Snows school boyish enthusiasm.👍

[@GavTatu]

i am just re-binging the last kingdom !

[@robertmcgovern8850]

Agree! It was so good, I just subscribed to HH. 🙂

[@killforkylie]

Cat Jarman's book "River Kings" is excellent.

[@Raz.C]

Yeah, well... At least NOW we know where Benny Hill got his idea for his iconic chase scenes...

[@WilliamJohnson137]

As a Chinese, I love the history of Britain. Thank you for an interesting documentary!

[@maksimlipecki232]

Great documentary. Dan Snow and Dr Cat Jarman are amazing presenters.

[@scootergoat98]

Being lucky enough to live in York I have seen first hand what the Vikings were capable of, but this has taught me so much more. Thankyou guys 🫡

[@Restrodsworth]

How old are you 1200? 😂

[@scootergoat98]

@@Restrodsworth reading that back it looks that way 🤣

[@RealtalkManc]

What ??? Are you on drugs ??

[@PeterParker-yr8yb]

😅👏👌

[@jozzieokes3422]

​@@scootergoat98haha

[@louiseedwards29]

Really love listening to Cat Jarman talk about Vikings. Missing her on the Gone Medieval podcast.

[@manuelkong10]

GREAT documentary and Cat Jarman is AMAZING....needs her own show....

[@OldieBugger]

My family comes from southern Sweden (Småland I believe) but a forefather of mine moved to Finland right after the 30-year war. It is interesting to hear about my ancestors.

[@thesaurus9226]

The Swedish vikings mostly headed east, for Russia and the varangian guard in byzantium :)

[@Facedless]

@@thesaurus9226 Not if you're to believe the stories, Björn Ironside and his line were Swedish Vikings who supposedly led the Great Heathen Army

[@alistairlambert3275]

What a compelling documentary, Dan Snow brings the subject to life with passionate history experts.

[@DJ10ROCS]

A fantastic watch! Great work History Hit team!

[@blockingthesunmusic]

Epic documentary! Thank you everyone who worked on this, tremendous job well done.

[@Thickcurves]

It's a history channel and I know they use reenactors, but when you show any army from the past.... spears! Spears, spears, spears. Every chad has to be the special man with a sword and axe. Spears, the armies and raiders lived by the spear, not the word and axe. Spears where cheap and more effective and the sword or axe is the back up.

[@lewis45acp]

As an avid HH podcast listener, I have two big takeaways - 1. Dan Snow is a giant 2. Dr Jarman is just as lovely as her mellifluous voice

[@cleverusername9369]

I believe Dan is something like 6'6"/200 cm tall, he is quite a towering gentleman. The good Dr Jarman looks about 5'2" and is quite easy on the eyes.

[@thewhitedoncheadle8345]

wish dan knew how to close his mouth when eating though

[@casperdog777]

Great discussion; informative and helpful.

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

Informative and enjoyable introduction

[@legendary_catzz930]

HIstory Hit has really become one of my favorite channels over the past few weeks. I have seen videos with both of these people and both are great personalities and very entertaining historians to watch, I mean if i was a teacher I would probably show this to my history class one day.

[@soupdragon151]

Its really good

[@fredowen64]

So much history of them missing...loved watching this, thankyou both.

[@JackieWelles]

This was incredibly interesting!

[@Mma-basement-215]

I love your work together she's amazing and beautiful and Dan your awesome well done love it

[@LaWraWaN]

This was great! As a Dane I love to hear and learn about Vikings. :)

[@RubberToeYT]

Fantastic documentary

[@deanmc178]

loved this bit of history dan ,and cat giving us the diary of the events was brilliant

[@yugster78]

All of dan's stuff is class.

[@ruthjames9278]

love this as with all the History Hit docs;

[@mihalachemihaela4059]

Vă rugăm și traducerea în limba română !! Mulțumesc!!

[@philturner1826]

What a brilliant programme, thanks.

[@johnnewsam1299]

Very well put together video

[@wilsontheconqueror8101]

As an American listening to the history of the Vikings conquests & travels is fascinating! From their forays into the British Isles and the continent.all the way to Constantinople & even the middle east & America itself! Whats interesting is their political & religious transformation ultimately to become Christian Kings, like Harald Hardrada & William the Conqueror.

[@stenerline]

Have you read about the Normans in Sicily and their participation in the first crusade to control trade in competition with Constantinople

[@soupdragon151]

Aye its pretty amazing. Hardrada was not a christian though

[@mrmeowmeow710]

2 big thumbs up for this great gem of a video

[@RichiEnglish]

Used to live in York (still missing it). Loved the Viking Festival.

[@whynottalklikeapirat]

Viking Festivals tend to cause actual nosebleeds from frustration for the historians and archeologists working in the places invaded by “vikings” who own garden tractors.

[@soupdragon151]

I remember visiting the Jorvik centre when they were still digging the site

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

THanks.

[@Paeoniarosa]

I'm now very interested in visiting Repton someday. Fascinating.

[@soupdragon151]

Its a very small place barely a village but was once the capital of a kingdom

[@b.elzebub9252]

9:09 That really cracked me up. Bonafide Philomena Cunk moment.

[@user-lc1nm3me3f]

Hey Cat , do lidar surveys around saxon/viking battle sites , especially where viking were the victors . There should be a plethora of viking of burial"as every battlecane with heavy casualties regardlessof the outcome " on such locations . Where Saxons were the victors there would be little to no Viking like burials !

[@KernowekTim]

Another superb documentary! Thank you both very much indeed. So sad that this island was fought over so brutally and for so long, to end up as it is today.

[@whitlaw1395]

My ancestors are Angles and later they were called Vikings, -so I don't know which side to choose in that dispute as they are same family

[@ianthomas739]

Never heard of Cat before but she's a fantastic presenter.

[@soupdragon151]

Academic consultant

[@stephenwright414]

Another excellent episode from HH

[@michaelbinney9913]

Them gaming counters was the first things we found at Torksey in 1986 we found 3 during the morning.I thought it was a musket shot of some sort until my mate showed me two he had found the same day. A Arabic coin was found and a small piece of hacked silver the same morning. Over the next 4 years we had tons of artifacts off the 2 almost pure sand fields.

[@soupdragon151]

Torksey is a norse placename, I think

[@thedisabledwelshman9266]

i love these kinds of docs.

[@katherinecollins4685]

This was awesome

[@robf4157]

Amazing, fascinating stuff

[@dgroteboer]

Video titled after The Darkness’ song “Barbarian”? I hope it’s no coincidence!

[@soupdragon151]

Great stuff thanks.

[@sc2320]

quality 💯💪

[@chrishughes6932]

Fantastic documentary, love dans style of presenting and passion for history 👍

[@blacktidemilf]

Just to let everyone know that he had a daughter named Alof banger ragnarsdotter and she was born to lagertha Alof banger ragnarsdotter is my 37th great grandma

[@Andy_Babb]

Pumped this is on here bc it’s easier to have on a playlist lol

[@taivo55]

Outstanding

[@MaShcode]

The real Vikings of East Anglia. Their mocktail parties were legendary and BBQ a specialty.

[@chrsdesy8370]

That LIDAR really is amazing.

[@soupdragon151]

Its especially good when the area is heavily forested

[@Stuparod]

Time Team could help confirm several of those sites.. Nudge nudge.. :D

[@NClark-lp3bq]

3 Seconds in and I'm won over, I'm like dang me and the boys need a boat like that! 😎

[@wenthulk8439]

I hear I can claim descent from Rollo the Viking ancestor of William the Conqueror

[@paulpowell4871]

Love it

[@RatelHBadger]

29:00 in Mercia? The coconuts' tropical!

[@missysbloglife]

It could carry it by the husk!

[@escapingreality3306]

Why did the vikings use horses from East Anglia to first invade York, when the River Ouse runs right up to it. Weren't their ships a big element of their surprise attacks, as they could infiltrate far up rivers, due to their shallow draught?

[@soupdragon151]

Horses are faster than ships?

[@terryt643]

I absolutely love history between 500 ad till about 1500 the true history is way more interesting than anything you see on TV although the shows about this age are still really good you just get a little annoyed about dates and people

[@user-qp3jj2ks1j]

Vikings were so much more than raiders , i wish films etc would show the real vikings , so much more interesting and exciting than the raiders they always show .

[@ikad5229]

The second season of the anime Vinland Saga shows this. It's incredibly different from the first season.

[@soupdragon151]

They were settlers, traders, raiders and slavers, all depending on the situation on the ground

[@jonwek4332]

Such a different world but only a second ago .

[@LollieVox]

I wonder if anything is buried in that first huge hill! (Mound)

[@Usonan-Foderation2016]

Oh, there once was a hero named Ragnar the Red, Who came riding to Whiterun from old [[Rorikstead]] (pause) And the braggart did swagger and brandish his blade, As he told of bold battles and gold he had made. (longer pause) But then he went quiet, did Ragnar the Red, When he met the shield-maiden Matilda, who said; (shorter pause) "Oh, you talk and you lie and you drink all our mead, Now I think it's high time that you lie down and bleed!" (pause) And so then came clashing and slashing of steel, As the brave lass Matilda charged in, full of zeal. (pause) And the braggart named Ragnar was boastful no more- When his ugly red head rolled around on the floor!

[@robertknowles2699]

Hope America can adopt English weapon possession statutes, and become civil.

[@giannifiori8333]

wAIT! I Know YOU

[@_dbzeibert_1718]

I'll show you to your room... right this way.

[@soupdragon151]

I think you took an arrow to the knee

[@josephschlickbernd7892]

Thanks!

[@josephschlickbernd7892]

Hope this will help with your expenses. I really enjoy your channel.

[@HistoryHit]

Thank you so much Joseph!

[@richardp5586]

I would recommend Cat's book River Kings. Also, she's very nice looking!

[@wilco8729]

She constantly remind me of our dutch painting: The girl with a pearl earring.

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

Women were often parts of armies. In Europe, as far as we know most did not participate in the battle but there are accounts of them going out, ending the lives any injured enemy still alive and collecting valuables from the dead.

[@decaalv]

The Dr. Jarman giving you the eye.

[@wendygarborg7221]

Corneliun Bay near Scarborough on the Yorkshire coast is named after Carneliun which is occasionaly washed up here.

[@jacquelinevanderkooij4301]

The chair, wasn't that made by the Time Team? They also found a cemmetry.

[@finalfantasylegend93]

I frequent bury st edmunds as I live one town over had I known Dan snow was going to be there I would have run the 20 miles just to say hello

[@tonypate9174]

And now it all makes a bit more sense....META TARO BLURAY ....but the mystery of...OH MAJINAI! APOLLO....still persists even with a virtual Joakim Broden and the vest of Mary-Serker in supporting role duty ....Over to Dan for a three little girls a far way from home touched by the ..War beat special

[@langtoun8235]

Fantastic stuff, many thanks.

[@K8E666]

I looked at the Viking script and thought I could read ‘ibuprofen’…. Vikings almost certainly suffered from migraines..

[@tyesmith841]

The song that plays in the chapter “Viking Burial Mounds” what is it please?

[@tyesmith841]

Shazam didn’t work lol

[@AnnDroid877]

This is great and I'm really enjoying it BUT please stop saying "Absolutely!" when "Yes" will suffice.

[@sarahmusk7793]

I agree. So annoying!

[@soho2409]

​@@sarahmusk7793 Absolutely!

[@sceema333]

I really f**king love the norse music in thiwms h, even though it most likely has absolutely nothing to do with actual early medieval norse music except for 2 or 3 instruments

[@TheLadyT23]

The burials discovered at Repton, 34:00 why are they not marked so people know they're there?

[@soupdragon151]

Most of them are in museums now

[@teddywest4960]

I have been interested with the Viking life I had to visit a Viking museum in Norway in fact my daughter is called Ingrid (Goddess of fertility)

[@chaffcutter58.]

When is history hit going to do a doco of the latest invasion .!en of fighting age..in rubber boats ??

[@KangaroozADA]

Visited this place whilst training in the RAF not knowing what it was

[@ray.shoesmith]

Dr Cat 😍

[@STATERECALLMUSIC]

Great stuff. Brain food for sure

[@chucku.farley3927]

history hit, chronicle, timeline and a lot more channels like it never come out with any new info its just a retelling of what is already known. GIVE US SOMETHING NEW......PLEASE.

[@stevestannard6004]

Absolutely.

[@williamrobinson7435]

As I understood it, and acc. to Guerber's The Norsemen, the first mention of Norse invaders in the AC Chronicle goes something like this: "In the year of Our Lord 865, to The Great River, armed and in longships, from Heretheland came Danes, and killed the King's reeve".. Now if this is the case, then they must've known exactly what they were after, since the Kings reeve would've been #1 on the hitlist for destabilising the establishment.. This would corroborate the perceived link established by the discovery of far Eastern trading matter etc between the raiders and a much more organised 'grand scheme'.. If the name 'Heretheland' was common parlance (meaning 'where vikings come from') this would argue some precognition of what may be about to happen.. Heretheland, interestingly, could be a concatenation of 'here', 'the' (or 'they') and 'land'.. Nice one Dan and team. 🌟👍

[@snacks1184]

Or Heathern Land?

[@williamrobinson7435]

@@snacks1184 Could be, since The Anglo Saxon Chronicle is from the local perspective..

[@soupdragon151]

That sounds like the words from a novel the first mention in the anglo-saxon chronicle is the raid on the great northumbrian monastery at Lindisfarne: "In the year of our lord 865 heathen men came from the north and miserably destroyed God's church at Lindisfarne". Its not known whether they were norwegians or danes the line "from the north" suggests they may have been from norway but could also refer to biblical prophecy: "And evil shall come from the north", the chronicles were of course, written by monks.

[@trevormorgan2636]

Somerset Edington

[@paullewis2553]

23:11 ls that a turf maze?

[@terrancedick8912]

What about the centrol 9 ft body?

[@cleverusername9369]

Are we gonna just sit here and not talk about how Dan Snow has to be one of the tallest Englishmen ever? The guy is a giant.

[@pres5049]

he not so tall dude hahah

[@pres5049]

@Son of Wessex 6,6 to be correct

[@dcmastermindfirst9418]

​@@SuperClappy19846.4 is pretty tall for a European

[@dcmastermindfirst9418]

@LalaDepala00 Lol the Dutch are absolutely not the tallest on earth. Some African tribesman have an average height of 7 foot tall. Some Scandinavians are 6'5 on average

[@ingloriousbetch4302]

​@@LalaDepala00not even close

[@clivewells704]

What happened to the 9ft skeleton when the 300 skeletons were rediscovered?

[@joshbell882]

The fact they didn’t ask more about the 9 foot tall giant found in Wrexham puzzles me …. Almost asif historians don’t like TALKING ABOUT GIANTS

[@Mma-basement-215]

I said this already but I think she is so beautiful 😍 ok imma watch again I loved this

[@davidgessin-mccully3919]

My question is how long is the period of time between when it’s grave robbing and when it’s archeological?

[@ikad5229]

Archaeologists are not looking for treasures, they are looking for answers. They are not thieves but scientists. They don't care about the monetary value but the information they can gather. They don't sell what they find, but study it to show it to a greater audience than a rich collector.

[@davidgessin-mccully3919]

@@ikad5229 Did I say treasure? Does it need to be treasure, in the way people think treasure, to be considered grave robbing? They dig up graves, remove the contents but it’s not the same? I know why they do it but that’s not the question I asked. How long of an interval does there have to be before the one turns into the other?

[@soupdragon151]

Its a good question christian burials are protected pre-christian not so much. Christian burials do not include include grave goods as a rule anyhow

[@lhulugren5309]

Ragnar Lodbrok was actually Swedish. He was a son of a king (Sigurd Ring) in the land of todays Sweden.