I HAVE To React To This Viking Expert From WIRED

[@metatronyt]

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[@wooderice64]

Hi Metatron

[@ezrafaulk3076]

According to a couple particularly reliable sources like Hurstwick (which look at the Sagas, archaeological evidence, *&* test whatever they can to the fullest extent they can) & the Norse Magic & Beliefs channel (who's a Norse pagan who's as immersed historical Norse culture as it's possible to be) the Norse *did* practice human sacrifice; but unlike *other* cultures that practiced human sacrifice, the Norse only sacrificed *capital criminals* ; murderers, rapists, traitors, etc; they sacrificed them to Oðin by *hanging* them, that's why one of Oðins titles was "father of the hanged". But basically, that makes the human sacrifices more of ritualized *executions* . Also, while I don't really believe there were *professional* women warriors in Viking Age Scandinavia (because there's no evidence that *anyone* in Viking Age Scandinavia was a professional warrior, as there's no evidence that any country in Viking Age Scandinavia had a *standing* army), I *do* believe that Viking Age Norse women would've known how to fight, as would the women of *most* countries in the world before Christianization or Christian influence changed things simply because in their world, it would've been *necessary* for them to survive; as would their engaging in a lot *more* activities & behaviors that are labeled masculine now. Not to mention that *no-one* wants to have to protect, or *be* protected by someone *all the time* . Maybe Skjóldmær (shield maidens) was just the term for women who knew how to fight if they *had* to. Honestly, I'm very much *impressed* with this womans professionalism, telling things like it *is* according to the evidence instead of injecting any personal bias into it; I'm also impressed with how she brought attention to some more *obscure* elements of Norse culture like the skiing thing. PS: The unwanted baby disposal thing probably happened way *less* frequently in Viking Age Scandinavia than you might think, same with *other* historical cultures because they tended to be a lot closer to nature than we are, & thus, a lot more in tune with their *bodies* than we are; which in this case, would mean women were in tune with their *ovulation* cycle, & thus would better know which days having sex on would get them pregnant, & which days they could have sex on *without* having to worry about that (& there's only about six *days* of the former in every month).

[@titu2435]

what about Ahmad ibn Fadlan "His account is most notable for providing a detailed description of the Volga Vikings, including eyewitness accounts of life as part of a trade caravan and ..."

[@aramisone7198]

​@@ezrafaulk3076When four Viking fleets attacked Irland in the year 1000AD the Irish wrote that the woman with red hair was leading one of the fleets i cant remember where i red this . In Sweden they found a Viking grave it was a woman with weapons and the weapons were not ceremonial so it seems that she knew how to fight but in not sure how many Vikings were professional warriors they were farmers mostly that took part in raids , some were warriors in the Verengy guard in the Byzantian Empire but its not impossible that some few women did fight . Im sure Metatron knows more about this.

[@LawfulBased]

Dunno about Vikings but I know that w0k3 people s@crifice Humans every single day. On the altar of dî3-worsety and Îsl@m m°gration.

[@cpuuk]

Pretty sure that the Lindisfarne Monks gave the "Vikings" 1 stars on Trust Pilot for 'friendliness'. Conversely the "Vikings" rated the Monks abode 5 stars "would visit again".

[@danorris5235]

This is straight up the funniest and most accurate interpretation on perception involving cultural differences I've seen in a while. 😂

[@jmw1500]

😂 Oh that's great.

[@bdavis7801]

🤣

[@kenneth3537]

😄

[@JM-mh1pp]

Vikings " great landing place, good fish, passable cheese and decent women, but careful- they are very decent runners

[@scholasticaltactical9058]

As an ancestor of Mayan and Aztec people, 1 human sacrifice every 9 years is amateur at best.😂

[@almost_harmless]

😂

[@wednesdayschild3627]

I have been looking into it. It worked like this, if someone died in battle it wasn't as good as sacrifice. They captured people alive. That makes sense. They had a big lower ckass, and a smaller upper class.

[@scholasticaltactical9058]

@@wednesdayschild3627 it seems like the Vikings were gaming the system, the gods are gonna know if it’s a half ass sacrifice.

[@Kaeldorn]

@@scholasticaltactical9058 And they wouldn't necessarily care. It depends on whether your faith advocates personal sacrifice (as is often the case with Christianity) or sacrifice as a presentation of your conquest and strength (as was likely more common with north Germanic faiths).

[@Nick-Lab]

It was actually 9 men every 9 years plus 9 of all the common domesticated animals of the time too.

[@danielaramburo7648]

Not true. My Netflix historian grandmother said the Vikings were all black gay native Americans.

[@LawfulBased]

Can confirm this is true.

[@Provocative-K]

😂

[@MrRabiddogg]

who used light sabers and rode into battle on unicorns?

[@infinitesimotel]

Oh you git, you beat me to it LoL!!

[@infinitesimotel]

@@MrRabiddogg Decks and decks of race cards a flying and a fluttering.

[@childofcain666]

This is the first time I've seen Metatron not blow a gasket on an expert. This is a nice change of pace. I liked her.

[@VolumousSyrup]

Wired is a lot better than vanity fair they try to bring legit people without agendas

[@richardvandeursen2395]

I have read her book River Kings. Very informative. She does know her stuff.

[@greenLimeila]

Wired's Tech Support and their expert guests are usually so good at this! Vanity Fair's similar format is the one full of inaccuracies and woke propaganda that usually makes Metatron (and all of us) so mad

[@greenockscatman]

Yeah I was expecting something else, very pleasantly surprised!

[@HPLovesCraftsCat]

simp

[@ivilivo]

When did the Vikings start use horned helmets? - 19th century in a German opera

[@33d672]

Austrian opera actually

[@ivilivo]

@@33d672 thanks. If I was to do a tricky quiz.. Do you also know if was in German? Edit: I meant, in German language?

[@dennisu7515]

It is correct that the Vikings did not wear helmets with horns, but the myth of the horned Viking helmet does not originate with Wagner, though his operas played a significant role in popularizing it. The myth actually has earlier roots, particularly in the misinterpretation of archaeological finds like the Grevensvænge figurines discovered in Denmark in 1779. These figurines, which feature horned helmets, were initially thought to belong to the Iron Age (Viking Age). Although they were later correctly identified as Bronze Age artifacts, the misinterpretation helped fuel the idea of Vikings wearing horned helmets. Wagner's operas, especially Der Ring des Nibelungen (which focuses on Germanic mythology, not Vikings), later reinforced this misconception through the costumes used in 19th-century productions. While Wagner spread the myth further, its origins can be traced back to earlier archaeological mistakes like those associated with the Grevensvænge find. Additionally, we have since discovered actual horned helmets from the Bronze Age, such as the Viksø helmets found in Denmark. These helmets were not used for warfare, but rather for ceremonial purposes. Vigsø helmets dated ca. 1000 BC.

[@glara-i4s]

​@@dennisu7515 ai ahh response

[@Salt-Upon-Woundss]

There have been some winged bronze helmets discovered but they appear to have been a ceremonial dress for the priestly caste.

[@Elis_Nordgall]

I do want to point out, as a Swede, the thing in the beginning, with the “son of X” thing. The most common surname in Sweden is still Andersson, so “son of Anders”. It’s actually like this in all Scandinavian countries, in Denmark it’s Nilssen, in Norway it’s Johansen and so on. So back in the day, with the exception of certain societal classes like nobles, priests and soldiers, if your father’s name was Anders, as a son your name would be Andersson and as a daughter it would be Andersdotter. In Sweden we stopped with this tradition in the 18th - early 19th century, but in Iceland they still do it. And names like Thor, or Tor in Swedish, are actually a thing/were a thing, not just the name of the god. Same thing with other gods names, like I had a friend named Loke (Swedish for Loki), also knew someone named Freja. And there are even historical figures who had names like these.

[@0num4]

Great points. Also, cultures around the world have named their families for namesakes, such as my own family which is named after Odysseus. I highly doubt there is any blood relation, if such a legendary figure truly existed, but people all over have sought to boost their egos by connecting themselves to historical or mythological figures.

[@unarealtaragionevole]

🤣 Someone needs to have the Vikings explain this concept to the Celts...one of my favorite Celtic names is MacTaggart which comes from Mac an t-Sagairt....which means 'son of the priest.'

[@igorbednarski8048]

so if Anderson proceeded to have children too, would his son be Andersonson? And the grandson Andersonsonson ? I'm half joking, half genuinely asking - how did this work beyond a single generation?

[@DY142]

​@@igorbednarski8048 they inherited the father's given name, not the surname

[@HiddenEvilStudios]

@@igorbednarski8048 One would assume said Andersson would have a forename and not just a family name. For instance, he could be Sven Andersson, and his daughter could then be Olga Svensdottir or something to that effect. Her son would then be Arne Olgasson or whatever the father was called. I imagine men dictated who their children would be named after, usually, nowadays I could see parents debate over what to pick.

[@williamabrahamsson2945]

I am Swedish and we still have the nicknames that are given to us as a kid, by other kids, mine was "Skullen" it sounds cooler in English then in Swedish, means like a pile of hay, due to my rather long hair when I was a kid. I'll just show myself out now. (Love your show)

[@Azdeus]

I was lucky, I got to move away from Vårtan, only to be re-nicknamed Stig Helmer.

[@Ami-jc2oo]

"Glorious." -an American you doesn't understand this shit.

[@mndiec]

@@Azdeusät mig, Stig-Helmer

[@JDubzDrumz]

Okay pile of hay! ✋🏽

[@tosweetdelight]

Skullen does sound cool in English. Your battle-helm should have a skull on top.

[@initial_C]

The discussion of grave goods has inspired me to bury myself with very random things when I pass away, just to confuse future archaeologists.

[@Terran.Marine.2]

I fully support this idea.

[@embee7434]

Willing to share a list of the items so my burial so my random items don't accidentally coincide? 😂

[@54032Zepol]

What's this rubber tentacle mean?

[@initial_C]

@@embee7434 "Ah this must be a totem of some guardian spirit (it's literally a Gunpla model)" is all I've got so far but I'll keep thinking

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

I've had that idea as well. Thinking about starting with idols from various different religious backgrounds as a starter just to really confuse future archaeologists.

[@Moogerton9]

It's so refreshing to watch Metatron react to "experts" that are actual _experts_ ; I watched the WIRED video a while ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, so it's fun to see it here as well. No intellectual dishonesty, historical revisionism or making value judgments with a modern lense. Maybe it's because she's Norwegian 😉(shoutout to other Norwegians here btw!). Anyway, it's always entertaining to watch the Metatron annihilate so-called "experts," but it's also a nice change of pace to watch people who actually know what they're talking about.

[@christiansorensen7567]

I agree! I'm only a literature major, but have a great fondness for the Migratory and Medieval periods. I've watched a bunch of the WIRED videos and thought they were very sound. I've learned several things, or can back up what they say with sources I've already studied. A nice change of pace, indeed!

[@thomasmaughan4798]

"shoutout to other Norwegians here btw!" Takk!

[@scottybreuer]

I love watch Metatron roast fools. I also love when Metatron finds people who actually know their stuff.

[@DISTurbedwaffle918]

His excitement and glee at seeing someone competent is contagious.

[@MR-MR-ud5oo]

Same.

[@adamhercik581]

Really, this was way more enjoyable than him roasting ideologues spreading their propaganda.

[@gotteskind_7]

A group of friends go hiking, die, and their remains are found 1,000 years later. Archaeologists: "Let's call them Hikings."

[@LeeuwenlandVlaanderen]

Get out!

[@anthonyoer4778]

Don't quite your day job...

[@TinusTegenlicht]

​@@anthonyoer4778What is quite your job?

[@anthonyoer4778]

@@TinusTegenlicht just telling the original commenter to not quite their job because they wouldn't make it as a comedian.

[@TinusTegenlicht]

@@anthonyoer4778 I guess you wouldn't make it as an English teacher with quite instead of quit. So, maybe hold on to your own day job as well?

[@unarealtaragionevole]

I'm surprised tattoos didn't come up. I loved Dr. Jackson Crawford's recent video about how Vikings were not covered in tattoos, or might not even have liked them cause there are no records of them having tattoos except for the singular 'painted' description that came from Ahmad ibn Fadlan. And we don't know if the 'Rus' he is describing are Vikings or a different group of people. There's no word for tattoo or the concept of tattooing in the Norse language, and tattoos are not in any of the myths or sagas.

[@christianraymond9966]

Strongly agree. I am sick of the modern depiction of vikings.

[@knaveknight5737]

This could be a case of tattoos being regular enough that they aren't worth mentioning. Similar things occur in creation myths. Specifically about dogs. Many early cultures have dogs set aside, with their own creation myth apart from animals and humans. Others have dogs being created alongside humans (human,dogs // other animals). And other cultures have creation myths for animals and humans but dogs are just already there. No mention of creation. They just *are*. If we bar Ibn Fadlans account, then there is no evidence either way. The educated answer will probably always be "idk".🤷‍♂️

[@unarealtaragionevole]

@@knaveknight5737 That's a fair point and a possibility. I just find it really strange that there is this modern "image" for Vikings, and a lot of Germanic and Scandinavian groups, as being these heavily tattooed people when there just isn't a lot of historical evidence or references to suggest this. The most direct thing we have is a singular description from Ahmad ibn Fadlan, when he said that some of the men (we don't even know who he's talking about in the passage) as being painted green. And that's an odd expression cause he says "painted" when there is a word for tattoo/tattooed in Arabic which is what he writes in, but he specifically says painted. Many people think that he was indicating that they were literally painted green, similar to how the Picts in a war party painting themselves blue. Now in fairness, both Dr. Crawford and myself both also agree that it's possible, and probable, that some individuals or even groups did have tattoos or were aware of them. That's understandable and believable. But not enough to say the whole group in general did this, or that it was a common practice by them. The Scandinavians were very descriptive with people in their stories, sagas, rune stones....I feel like if tattoos were normal or common we would have more evidence for them somewhere. We just don't at this time. And we certainty don't have enough to depict them like we do in the modern media. I really do feel there is a desire to project our modern ideas and preferences for tattoos onto them, and that's OK also...but might not be historically accurate. LOL ;o)

[@Ewil.Bluetooth]

Almost everything that we know about the myths and sagas were written by a Christian monk 300 years after the vikingage. It's a bit of a leap of faith to think that isn't an extremely biased source and an ignorant one as well. Vikings in parts of Sweden were referred to as the Rus. There's suggestions that it even was those vikings that gave Russia it's name. Even today it's name is Rus-country in Swedish. It's much more evidence that these Vikings settled all over Eastern Europe and were part of the establishment of cities that still flourish. The Finnish people still calls Sweden Ruotsi....I forget the spelling but it sounds like that when spoken. I think that there's much more than just that muslem that associates the Rus with the vikings. It would have been the Vikings from that part of Scandinavia who were the ones who went East and south to Konstantinopel.

[@unarealtaragionevole]

@@Ewil.Bluetooth Oh I wasn't suggesting that the Rus weren't a group of Vikings per se, I meant that there were several groups of people in this region and unless we are being specific about which group of people we are speaking about and when, our usage of terms can muddy the waters. In Scandinavia, Northern Europe, Western Russia...there were a few groups of people we could say are Scandinavian, Germanic, Baltic, Slavic, Celtic...or some other similar Northern European...and these groups and their cultures could have been unique or a hybrid or who knows what. In his writings Ahmad ibn Fadlan tends to describe all northern people he encounters in his travels as Rus, and we don't actually know if he is talking about a group of people that we would define today as 'Rus." If that makes sense. You are absolutely correct that Scandinavians migrated and dominated to the west and southwest. And that later groups will associate the Rus with the Vikings and all that...the historical question is what was he talking about in his writings.

[@AnotherDuck]

She's great. As a Swede, I approve. One thing I would change if I could go back in history would be to go back to before the castle Tre Kronor burnt down and try to save the castle, or at least the vast collection of historical accounts that were lost. There's so much we could've learned from that. I'm not sure how far back those records stretch, but it's possible there'd be at least something from Viking times. I could tell she wasn't just a normal British person by how she pronounced "Gamla Uppsala". Not only was her pronunciation accurate, she also didn't skip a beat. Most people can learn the pronunciation correctly, but they will almost always make a brief pause before switching language, as if they're quoting something.

[@Halfdanr_H]

I think that shield-maidens make sense in one context. Imagine there’s 400 men in your Viking age Danish settlement. Half of them go raiding for weeks at a time between Spring and Autumn, or perhaps they’ve gone on a military campaign for months at a time. Your settlement is now a suitably depopulated target for attack by another band of Viking raiders. With half the men gone, the half that is left may need help, so you arm the women, because everyone understands that it’s a life and death situation. Shield-maidens help to defend the settlement until the men get back to bolster the number of warriors. That makes the most sense to my mind.

[@richardavery4692]

Females lack the upper body strength to form a shield wall. They could use light bows & other weapons for quick raid style attacks but they could not have actually engaged in a full battle against a force of males. The males would have formed a shield wall & destroyed them. Likely "shield maidens" served to execute wounded soldiers on the battlefield ushering them to Valhalla like the Valkerey were said to do in myth. Eliminating the wounded would have been very useful to the main force so they could focus on the enemy in front of them without having to worry about being stabbed by a guy on the ground.

[@maybrittwilkens6149]

Also take into account that the raiders needed to mount an attack on a village of a size large enough to produce an actual raiding party, would require more than a small band of brigands; it would have to be a large army, and that means it would be a neighbouring or at least within proximity tribe/village. Now considering attacking your neighbour and enslave or kill all his women, what would happen if the viking raiders were successful and returns to this situation; honour would demand a retibutal of some severity. ...The norse were fierce and brutal, but not stupid, nor honourless.

[@wulfheort8021]

The most logical explanation for shieldmaidens is that they were camp-followers who armed the men.

[@christiansorensen7567]

@@wulfheort8021 Someone had to say it. It's more like "shield-bearer," who assists their lord by handling arms and armor. It's the same thing with Berserkers, where we basically have a word, and a few unclear references.

[@wulfheort8021]

@@christiansorensen7567 In Dutch we call a squire 'schildknaap' of which the literal translation would be 'shield boy'. And those boys were responsible for the equipment of a knight. As for Berserkers, there is definitely a lot more evidence for them compared to shieldmaidens as warriors.

[@hmmokay.4807]

Glad to have an unbiased expert just explain history

[@ludvig3242]

There’s many of them. Perhaps you don’t always end up agreeing with history however, we should all be aware of our biases

[@-Higashi-]

Yes definitely do more of these bro!! My morning commute was much more enjoyable with this video playing

[@julianne_warren]

She did a great job answering all the questions in that episode.

[@ZackRekeSkjell]

As a Norwegian I can say we’re quite proud of our Viking heritage here. We study them in school from we were very small. I love seeing an expert in the Viking age that really knows her field! The Viking age has been misrepresented in shows like Vikings to the point that so many people believe this is actually how they were, and it bugs a lot of Scandinavians to the core.

[@Uriel-Septim.]

I agree, Ooh and Btw: Many of our Danish last names like Petersen or Jacobsen or Hansen or Rasmusen or Jørnsen etc etc is just the name of the father and the Sen is son like Peters-son or Jacobs-son aso. they do the same in Sweden, Norway and Island. About offensiv nick names, well what can I say, the Viking age is like to opposite to moden day wokeness, we still like to tease each other and banter and ridicule the attemt of wokeness. The Norse society was and is not very violent, how ever when we did go vikinge it was often used, but we did just as much trading as we did plundering, just Hollywood that don`t focus on that part and all this searching for women warriors in every culture begin to get silly. I have never heard of human sacrifice in our culture or in Norse mytology, it was for sure not the norm, just the fact that you have to go and search for it and only find a few that maybe suggest it did happen, show that it was`t a part of our every day culture. Norse is a people, viking is more of a occupations and danes is english, in Danish it is Dannerne and that mostlikely come from the tribe of Dan and before that the Phoenicians, even our boats and sails are very similar and other things also suggest a connection. And sure we did use the Northstar (polaris) to navigat (my great great grandfather was a sea captain from Gotland and even then where they did have compas and Sextant they still used it) as it never move on our rotatin, spinning flying globe ....... And sure Lørdag or søndag was the bath days in the past, not have to go future back then my grandparents, hot water was boild in the basement and all the people in the block wash their children and them self and their closed. And yes we are very proude of our Culture and past, we where great seamen and cunning traders and warriors. .

[@tylerdurden3722]

@@Uriel-Septim. søndag seems like it would mean Sunday. So whats Sunday in Danish?

[@Uriel-Septim.]

@@tylerdurden3722 Søndag is the Danish word for sunday aka sunnudagr, the day of the Sun.

[@jr3753]

They we’re uncivilized pagan savages

[@christiansorensen7567]

I grew up in Stoughton, an American town with heavy Norwegian heritage and holidays. As a Dane, I got tired of you Norskies always spelling my name wrong. So, I just want to remind you that many of the historical references- especially "The Anglo Saxon Chronicle," referred to the Danes specifically where those going Vikingr were concerned. The establishment of the Danelaw was much more formative than your silly raids on Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Of course, as Danes, we have to bring this up in order to compensate for being so much shorter than you red-headed mutants. 😉

[@DieLuftwaffel]

She was much more fair and informative than I expected a modern historian on a major media platform to be! Good video!

[@LaineyBug2020]

How violent were the Vikings? Expert: YES.

[@Uriel-Septim.]

The Norse society was and is not very violent, how ever when we did go vikinge it was often used, but we did just as much trading as we did plundering, just Hollywood that don`t focus on that part.

[@jr3753]

@@Uriel-Septim.they uncivilized savage pagans

[@LibertyDino]

​@@Uriel-Septim.Christian propaganda as per usual

[@tapiolautavaara9532]

@@Uriel-Septim. Vast majority of folks were just common, decent people, but those who stayed home raising families and running the society weren't called vikings, although they all shared the same cultutre. Various craftsmen undoubtedly manufactured shitloads of weapons and armor, while others had the skills to build ships or longboats to brave the high seas for those murderous marauders, who were willing to risk their lives raiding and looting on faraway lands. Those obviously weren't the nicest guys around, but got romanticized by and for us.

[@Beannin]

​@@tapiolautavaara9532 yes yes yes! Viking is not an ethnic group, it's a job description.

[@lzbscalle7943]

I'm Swedish and growing up my nickname was "Lilleman" (Little Man) ... I'm 6'8 now ...

[@drapersefone]

I was called “flaquita” basically skinny and little my Mom should be ashame to mis that hard

[@shocktnc]

I could probably pass for swedish due to my ancestry but I don't have a cool nickname 😢

[@Kelnx]

As a serious comment when I studied Norse cultures, particularly the Viking era, apparently it was pretty common to give some people nicknames that were the complete opposite of their actual attributes. We do this in America as well sometimes. A big thug named "Tiny" or a bald guy named "Curly" are examples found in film tropes. We find it funny. Considering how many Americans have Scandinavian ancestors, I figure they brought that idea over.

[@trevorstevenson4038]

Did you fight Jon Jones?

[@DemonKingBadger]

I mean there is always that big guy nicknamed Tiny for irony. Or bald guys called Curly

[@Silverghost992]

Wow they found a real expert for one of these videos. Some are very bad on these types of videos.

[@meginna8354]

This is a very bad expert, or a limited expert, she can tell you about isotopes but she's a bit clueless about Vikings. Metatron just doesn't have the expertise to judge. The most clueless thing she said is that Viking was a verb, that's total bull that's been spread on the internet. There two words in Old Norse Víking and Víkingr, both are nouns.

[@trenae77]

I know! Someone who shares what she does know, quantifies what she can and offers reasonable speculation on what she can’t.

[@LibertarianGalt]

Wired is a poo factory.

[@shocktnc]

​@@meginna8354You provided one example but made a claim that most of the video is wrong. Care to actually back that up?

[@Chuck_EL]

​@@trenae77 my ancestry is Nordish Vikings and the grape part is true My Irish druid ancestors were invaded by them forced them to change their last name (my last name is morphing of both) And graped by both male and female Vikings So we got blondes, redheads and even strawberry blondes on my dad's side alongside Blackfoot But if you saw me you'd think I was Black with dark red hair

[@sanders1534]

From an estonian here, I’m glad that she brought up the viking ship in salme. There were people who also went raiding much in the manner of vikings from the island it’s on, we call it Saaremaa but is also named Ösel. We also have an island called Osmussaar, which the swedes named Odensholm, meaning Odin’s grave and is the accurate grave of Odin according to the lore of the norse people.

[@michaelshelton5488]

Grimfrost is not a random Viking Age reenactor. They are a company who sells Viking Age related merchandise and try to be as historically as possible. They are based in Sweden and one of the co owners is the lead singer of Amon Amarth.

[@JugglerOfWords]

hi, random Dane here... only example of a shieldmaiden I can remember was the pregnant woman who fought in Vinland, probably in defense of the settlement there (at L'anse auw Meadows in Newfoundland)... there are probably more, but as you said, it wasn't really a common thing...

[@Uriel-Septim.]

As another Random Dane I must agree, Btw: Many of our Danish last names like Petersen or Jacobsen or Hansen or Rasmusen or Jørnsen etc etc is just the name of the father and the Sen is son like Peters-son or Jacobs-son aso. they do the same in Sweden, Norway and Island. About offensiv nick names, well what can I say, the Viking age is like to opposite to moden day wokeness, we still like to tease each other and banter and ridicule the attemt of wokeness. The Norse society was and is not very violent, how ever when we did go vikinge it was often used, but we did just as much trading as we did plundering, just Hollywood that don`t focus on that part and all this searching for women warriors in every culture begin to get silly. I have never heard of human sacrifice in our culture or in Norse mytology, it was for sure not the norm, just the fact that you have to go and search for it and only find a few that maybe suggest it did happen, show that it was`t a part of our every day culture. Norse is a people, viking is more of a occupations and danes is english, in Danish it is Dannerne and that mostlikely come from the tribe of Dan and before that the Phoenicians, even our boats and sails are very similar and other things also suggest a connection. And sure we did use the Northstar (polaris) to navigat (my great great grandfather was a sea captain from Gotland and even then where they did have compas and Sextant they still used it) as it never move on our rotatin, spinning flying globe ....... And sure Lørdag or søndag was the bath days in the past, not have to go future back then my grandparents, hot water was boild in the basement and all the people in the block wash their children and them self and their closed. And yes we are very proude of our Culture and past, we where great seamen and cunning traders and warriors.

[@oldylad]

@@Uriel-Septim.why do you keep commenting this

[@oldylad]

Yeah, like in most places, it was a desperation thing more so than a female empowerment thing. Life for the Norse was rough, and it only ever really happened in defense of their homes, and in their small towns this woild be pragmatic. They were probably at least somewhat trained. People make a fuss about gender roles, but in that time and place, the objectively physically stronger sex in men being hunters and warriors just makes sense in a land with small populations and a harsh environment

[@megarakadmea]

It’s so refreshing to hear from a historian in one of these videos who isn’t pushing a myopic interpretation of everything and shared evidence and plainly states when we don’t have enough information to draw conclusions.

[@Kensei007]

I LOVE how she mentioned ibn Fadlan. He was the basis for Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead which was loosely adapted into The 13th Warrior. I love that they incorporated some of his stuff into the movie, like them passing around a communal wash bowl BLEH. 🤢

[@raics101]

My favorite part from the book which didn't make it into the movie is that Ahmad initially comments that he never saw such jovial, hearty people, and then one day they ran out of booze.

[@Graaskaegg]

A combination of Ibn Fadlans story and Beowulf. 👍

[@cheesehands3112]

... except, he was disgusted by the fact that it was communal, which is why he commented on it, but it inadvertently reveals to us that the Vikings washed regularly, which is corroborated elsewhere. This even goes back further to being a general Germanic trait, which was cleanliness and hygiene. The number one most common grave good found in Germanic graves is the simple comb. Also, makes it weird to think, the Romans borrowed the word for 'soap' from the Germanic peoples. Before soap, the Romans used types of oil in a bath and scraped it off afterwards with a wooden scraper.

[@circeowaggles]

I am reading it right now and about half way thru I was like hold up this is beowulf

[@RusticTrophies]

35 years Viking Age expert here; PhD and Professor. (English is my third language) I agree with you on most points but on the violence point I have to add; I think the Vikings perspective was Better then some other civilizations at the time. Their perspective at being more efficent and lethal in combat is actually a better and sophisicated way of conducted war during that age, One of their Bards had the saying which I translate: "I rather be killed by a Viking then left a sunder by a weak soldier who will leave my soul here." I think they really put focus on this thinking. The warrior grave topic. Vikings revered their fathers so it might just be a son that ws given his fathers weaponry and kept them because of his passion of his ancestry. This happened often but doesn't sell that well in media and books. Sometimes men just wanted to keep weapons that reminded them of Dad. End notes: For being the WIRED on youtube she is actually pretty okay with her statements and facts which I think is quite rare for that channel. I hope you do more content on Vikings in the future and best of luck!

[@gustaf3811]

Also something I wanted Metatron to add, we don't really know if it was only executions.. Or if people freely sacrificed themselves as well. According to some evidence it was both people who freely wanted to be sacrificed as well as "criminals" by the norse laws. The human sacrifices that were voluntarily was done for ritual purposes as well as transmitting messages to the gods possibly. It was most likely people with a very extreme faith in their gods existence and their wants of meeting the gods. Also something important to point out that was never said in the video either. Most ancient religions practiced "human sacrifices" even christianity had crucifixion and execution of many kinds.

[@pensandshakers]

@@gustaf3811 While most ancient religions practiced human sacrifice, Christianity was born during the height of the roman empire, long after human sacrifice had become frowned on in most of Europe. No mainstream Christian organization has condoned human sacrifice to Yahweh, even though there have been cults that practiced it. They were by and large condemned by the majority of Christians. You may be referring to the martyred saints held in high regard by the Catholic church. These were people executed for their faith by hostile governments and people groups. Not sacrifices. If you are referring to the Sacrament of Communion, at no point has the "Blood" of Christ been literal blood. It has always been red wine or grape juice. The idea that Christians drank blood was a smear tactic. Again, there have been cults who made exceptions. Again, they were condemned by the majority of Christians. If you are referring to Jesus himself - Jesus was executed by the Romans ostensibly for causing civil unrest. While in reality this was a sacrifice He was making, it can't be called a human sacrifice, because Jesus - being both God and man - is sacrificing Himself to Himself. This act was never intended to be repeated. If you are referring to Isaac of the Old Testament, that "human sacrifice" was always symbolic and never intended to be carried out. While it has been referred to as a "test" of Abraham's faith, it's really a symbolized prediction of Jesus. Again, not an action intended to be repeated or even carried out the first time. There's also a long record of kings who "sacrificed their children in the fire" ie to Moloch, and this action was strongly condemned. Execution and religious sacrifices are different things and should not be conflated.

[@spoodermens]

The handing down of weapons is not stated enough. Americans should especially identify with this as many Americans who live in rural areas, keep firearms that are 100-200 years old, simply because it was owned by their great grandfather, grandfather, or father.

[@MrBlazingup420]

I was wondering, did the Vikings ride horses, I don't recall hearing anything about Vikings on horseback, because I think those are stirrups in the grave with the woman warrior at 11:00, or are those an ancient form of brass knuckles.

[@Goldenhawk583]

@@pensandshakers Why are you defending christianity by using lies? The communion, is the consumation of human flesh and blood by proxy. Aka, not just human sacrifice, but actual cannibalism. Many claim that it turns into actual flesh and blood once consumed. The OT human sacrifices were NOT just symbolic, as that is not what the bible says. Assuming symbolic meaning where it is not specified to be such, is just a way to prettyfie a horrific practice. Remember that god said " all the firstborn are mine." And you mentioned Abraham.. who was told to kill his child, then stopped at the last moment when he had agreed to do so. Leaving a little boy knowing that his father would kill him at any moment if he heard voices... and he was just lucky enough to survive.. thats child abuse, and immensely traumatic. But the bible never cared much for children, did it... My point? Stop lying about what the bible actually says, and read ALL of it.

[@seangannon6081]

“Olaf the Witch breaker” might be one of the hardest nicknames I’ve ever heard.

[@HKD9]

I really like this historian, really knowledgeable and passionate about her field of study

[@Playwright-Lorde]

Crazy how nicknames originate like this. In high school we had a kid we called "the Grandpa" because he had been sent back like three times and was older than all of us

[@Soundofwindonsand]

Arthur "Dead Eye" he was actually just a country kid, he was an ok guy The only "kid" in the 8th grade with drivers license

[@christianlenik5307]

Bluetooth came from Harald Bluetooth and the Logo is His Rune - dont know why him though

[@thegatorhator6822]

I heard many cultures gave women who died in childbirth funerary rites similar to those of a warrior and may have even laid weapons down with them because childbirth was often considered a woman's battle.

[@helmaschine1885]

Yes like the prehistoric woman whose pelvis was cracked and the baby stuck. Buried like a warrior symbolically.

[@oldylad]

Possible, though doubtful. I’d have to see for myself, but there are countless explanations for this behavior, if the child was male then that’s an obvious explanation in a culture that values warriors

[@thegatorhator6822]

@@oldylad I did say "I heard" for a reason. I'm no scholar and lots of the things you hear are myths

[@sidvich]

I'm Norwegian and my grandma done 60 years of reading old church books etc. "Siggurd Syr" is my 32 times great grandfather ;-) Love Viking history

[@ShanobyKin]

Estonia mentioned! 🤗 as an Estonian I have to just say it... kind of a rule. Love this channel! Thank you for your insights Metatron.

[@Uriel-Septim.]

Estonia, Letland and Litauen are old settelments of the Norse, our DNA is similar same with the Rus, I remeber when the EU was debating if they should let those 3 countries in to the Union, the Scandinavian Countries was pushing for it as we argue that it is our long lost cousins. Btw as a Dane and after the EU have existed for +30 yeas I would rather have seen a Scandinavian/Kalmar Union, maybe with Estonia, Letland and Litauen in it aswell.

[@itshample3010]

It's so refreshing seeing such a well made video from Wired and the Viking expert. She was extremely informative

[@metatronyt]

She was!

[@marekgorka9816]

Hello everyone, have a nice day.

[@Ami-jc2oo]

You too although in my case, night.

[@jmw1500]

No, you have a nice day!

[@socketwrench993]

You have yourself a nice day too Brother

[@raimundotorres44]

And good day to you sir.

[@assaixfedajini]

We need more kindness in this world like that... Thank you sir, have a good one, too!

[@joshuatempleton9556]

she is very good, actually grounded in reality unlike that other guy that kept trying to claim everything was racist and gay.

[@gustaf3811]

Also something important I was dissapointed Metatron never pointed out. Most ancient religions practiced "human sacrifices" even christianity had crucifixion and execution of many kinds.

[@pensandshakers]

@@gustaf3811 Wow, you commented this on every comment where it vaguely makes sense. Good job, high class discourse-bait. You actually got me the first time. Won't make that mistake again.

[@Uriel-Septim.]

Yes compared to the other woke guy she was many degrees better and more accurate.

[@Roescoe]

@@gustaf3811 "even christianity had crucifixion and execution of many kinds" Burning at the stake is not crucifixion.

[@ANDY-h6m]

​@@gustaf3811no Christianity didn't create nor practice crucifixion.

[@paddyodriscoll8648]

When asked, “Who defeated the Vikings,” she should have just written,”Christianity and Netflix.”

[@deovision]

Really good video my guy. A+ to that specialist too!

[@tzor]

This was from WIRED? It's like finding a diamond in a coal mine, and a huge one at that.

[@pesahson]

I recommend their whole series with experts. They found great people and those videos are really interesting and on a great variety of topics.

[@reineh3477]

@@pesahson I agree, not all of the subjects are my cup of tea but many are very good.

[@mrh4900]

It’s okay to be Anglo Saxon

[@MasonBryant]

The English are a people with a culture. It is a culture that is being systematically repressed and denied.

[@lucienarcos-palma3834]

​@@MasonBryanti dont think so but :/

[@-Jozef]

@@lucienarcos-palma3834good boy, you’ve been suppressed enough to the point you don’t know. Now go buy the newest iphone

[@Marinanor]

It's great is what it is

[@claudiaxander]

Not if you're Welsh! We the Britons want our country back!

[@Carpediem357]

The roman one is another good one imo. Hers delves more into the living standards if you will like the Roman concrete

[@wmarkfish]

In the 50s, before we had a shower in the house, bath day was always Saturday in my family. It was taken at night before bed, to be ready for church in the morning. It never occurred to me it was a possible link to our Viking ancestors. My parents could have made much use of that knowledge, persuading me to get in the bath tub and I would have enjoyed bath day much more. After showers were installed when I was about 13 everyone took showers almost daily, and bath day was not a thing anymore, except for my dad who stuck to the old tradition yet he took baths more frequently in addition to Saturday.

[@jesperlykkeberg7438]

That´s hilarious. In Denmark we always enjoyed Saturday ("day of satire") being the weekly mocking day when we were all supposed to poke fun on one another and any foreigner and all authorities like the Vikings used to do. Saturday is indeed called lørdag/løjerdag In Danish after all, from Old Danish: Laugardagr, from "Laugar" = modern Danish: "løjer" meaning pranks, jokes, and also modern Danish "løjerlig" meaning hilarious, ridiculous or just weird. Especially we loved the old tradition of mocking all the ridiculous folks who would waste their Saturdays taking baths and washing clothes because they apparently were confused about what "løjer" and "lørdag" actually means. I recommend reading Ludvig Holberg (1684 - 1754) who really brought to perfection the traditional Danish-Norwegian style of Saturday mockery and ridicule.

[@The_Judge300]

@@jesperlykkeberg7438 The old Norse and old Norwegian word Laugar means taking a bath. It also comes from the old Norse word Laug that means a bath, pool or hot spring with the plural Laugar and this is still used for this in Icelandic. In old Norse they used the word Laugardagr that became the word Laugardagur in Icelandic and Laurdag in Old Norwegian and Nynorsk. In Danish, Swedish and common Norwegian(bokmål) it became the word Lørdag. So your løjer about the meaning and origins of the word Lørdag is historically incorrect. And your/mine/our Ludvig Holberg loved lots of løjer and playing with words and comical and tragic stories as well. Everybody says that Jeppe drinks, but nobody asks why Jeppe drinks.

[@oldylad]

@@jesperlykkeberg7438this could be a case of the tradition being formed from a misinterpretation of the name as language developed. It does mean bath, but maybe løjerlig comes from the tradition of ribbing or joking occurring on that day as well. Similar things have happened many times

[@jesperlykkeberg7438]

​@@oldylad Absolutely, and in this case it might well have happened like this: At some point it became a fashion for the old Icelandic/Norse elites to establish outdoor pools at their mansions for use as reservoirs and for outdoor bathing. The educated Icelanders would have used the Scottish word "loch" for these pools and soon they would have applied the Icelandic/Norse spelling "laug", as they did with "Snorrislaug" (Snorri Sturlason´s pool/bath). From then on they would use the spelling "laugar" for outdoor bathing as in "going to the pool". However, the Old Danish spelling "laugar" (løjer) would always have had the G indicating a vowel-glide "öy" from the preceeding ö (written as "au"). Way back in the Roman Iron Age this glide (aug) would have been spelled with a K (as in *LAUKAZ). This difference in pronunciation between old upper Scandinavian (Old Norse/"Norrön") and old southern Scandinavian ("Dónsk tungu") is also preserved in the difference between the Icelandic pronunciation of the G in "ég" and the Danish pronunciation of the G in "jeg". These are both from the same common old written form "EK" where the K in southern Scandinavia was pronounced exactly as the K in the Danish/Norwegian word "seksten" which is still today pronounced as "saysten". This old pronunciation is also preserved in the East Gothic (sais), and Frisian word (seis) for the number six. There is no evidence, however, that the pronunciation "løjer" (pronounced as the English word "lawyer") or a written form "laugar" was ever referring to any possible meanings deriving from lake/loch in the Danish language. Apart from a few words such as "sø" and "kær", almost all Danish words related to water are abbreviated compounds that follows a rather strict ancient development from the common Germanic root Aa/Å for the substance "water/liquid" with similar pronunciation to the french "au". This can be demonstrated by analysing the wordforming morphemes: (the vowel Aa is also written as Å since 1948) Aa/Å (river) ved+Å+ad = våd (wet) vaad+hen-ad = vand (water) at vaad-gøre = at væde (to wet) at sig-væde-gøre = at svede (to sweat) væde-sig-gør-være = vædske/væske (liquid) at væde-sig-gøre = at vaske (to wash) Other seemingly Aa/au related Danish/Germanic words are: vaskeri (laundry), væge (candlewick), hav (sea/ocean), havn (port), bad (bath), fråde (foam), fugt (moisture) and perhaps the Icelandic words: að þvo, þvotta, þvottahús. Now, of course, comes the question if words like lake/loch/laundry/lavandarium was formed in a similar way perhaps from attaching the Romance-French prefixed definite article "la". There is also other families of Germanic cognates, were the initial letters originally could have been a prefix : blóð, blautur, að bleyta flóð, á flyde, fljótandi Who knows.

[@heartsgang2457]

I love the way Metatron reacts to videos like these. You can tell he is passionate about his knowledge of these topics and even attempts to tie in his discoveries from studies of other cultures/nations/eras. His pauses on the video for quips or predictions is so relatable when it’s a topic you’re heavily invested in. I also love how he called out Grimfrost with what is seemingly an attempt to mold history to your personal fantasy 😂

[@anarchclown]

It's great to see you react to someone that you actually like and that doesn't piss you off for once. :) Also your description about how to feel about your ancestors is spot on. As a swede this doesn't just apply to viking era but to Gustavus II Adolphus (AKA the lion of the North) and the era of conquest that came after him as well. We had all kinds of cool stuff going on at the time, but going to Riga and hearing about how we treated the locals after conquering them made me go "Eeeh. Not to self. Maybe don't cheer on the historical conquests so much".

[@IrishCavalry6]

Around 6:40 the talk of the damage to the bones could have a third interpretation. 1: one group was more violent, thus more wounds on skeletons. 2: one group were better warriors, thus less wounds. 3: the group of bones with more injuries could have had better healing practices thus more people living through more wounds that would have killed others.

[@williamjenkins4913]

Number 3 doesnt work because they already account for that. Bone damage includes healed damage. Though healed vs unhealed does tell us interesting things

[@Beannin]

4: they encountered different groups who fought at different levels of competence comparative to the wounded groups

[@The_Judge300]

Yes, there might be different interpretations, but the most likely one is that the Norwegian Vikings were more involved in combat. That doesn't mean that they for sure in general raided more. The reason could also be that they fought more against each other than the Vikings in the other countries did. Some of the sagas suggest this, but since the Vikings themselves didn't write down their own history, are we left speculating and guessing.

[@maehhhr]

there is an interesting explanation, so the most famous Vikings are the Danish. they are the one who predominantly went traveling and settling new land. the Norwegian Vikings were the complete opposite, Norway at the time was a bunch of small groups of people who fought and pillaged literally everyone and everything, even their own people. at least that's what I've learned from watching several historical videos so far

[@mf8279]

@Metatron At 10:42 - Calling it a warrior grave or not. In scandinavian archaeology it is important to differentiate between Weapon graves and Warrior graves. Weapon graves contains at least an axe/sword/spear (other researchers also add shield, arrows and/or horse gear), but the dead does not necesserily need to be a warrior as there are numerous Weapon graves where the dead is a child, elderly or a woman as well as there being 0 battle damage. So basically a burial containing a weapon. A Warriors grave however is when the weapons inside the grave can be clearly interpreted as being used for war = A Weapons grave is promoted to Warriors grave when the stuff cannot be interpreted as simply meant for hunting or as a status marker. A problem here is however that the 2 terms are used interchangeably. So if we look at BJ581 - Should a grave containing 2 horses, riding gear, a longknife/seax, axe, sword and a shield either be interpreted as an extremely rich Weapon grave, or an actual Warriors grave? And - the argument that the bones have been mixed up has been brought up but Hedenstierna (the one publishing the study in the first place) has debunked this as the bones have always been labeled correctly. Also at 13:38 - A good point, but doesnt that also question the skill and competence and role (that is being a warrior) - with all graves containing weapons? What if the childrens graves containing swords or spears are not symbolical but actually mean that viking children were badass warriors? Or that many of the men maybe got a weapon with them as a symbolic gesture of pity because they drowned or fell of a horse instead of dying on combat? Instead of maybe shifting the goal posts because of the sex of the dead one our own bias but instead the archaeological remains and judge from that? And indeed, armies of women is BS :P Even Hedenstierna put it as: "The identification of a female Viking warrior provides a unique insight into the Viking society, social constructions, and exceptions to the norm in the Viking time-period. The results call for caution against generalizations regarding social orders in past societies." onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajpa.23308 Exceptions to the norm here being the main takeaway.

[@DeanMetalAngel666]

Fun fact, that X/Twitter user Grimfrost asking if the Vikings smoked pot is actually a rather large company who I believe even sponsored some of Skallagrim's videos back in the day; they're still pretty much the guys to go to online for anything like mead horns or Viking jewelry and some of their executive staff have been involved with re-enactment including the guy who's seen as their main founder having spent some of his time off from his main job living in a Swedish historically accurate Viking Age settlement... that guy being Johan Hegg the vocalist from Tumba's most famous Melodic Death Metal band Amon Amarth of all people LOL.

[@KlaustheViking]

I saw that and wondered if it was Johan asking that lol

[@Ligmaballin]

That plot twist was funny af

[@TheNeo349]

wait what! i love Amon Amarth! had no idea they did this as well.

[@smjorhnifur]

as an Icelander we would heartily welcome you and your wife to Iceland, it is a great place to visit with many Viking museums and interesting geological places to see. Hope that you will visit one day. Best regards from Geir Gunnarsson (Geir means weapon or spear and Gunnarsson is son of Gunnar which means Brave or bold warrior)

[@The_Judge300]

I am Norwegian and my name is Bjørn Egil that also have old Norse origins. I am not writing down my surname, but that has no Old Norse origin anyway.

[@yorbenhebbelinck1169]

I'm a second year (in uni) archaeologist, I absolutely love your videos. You point out what my professors and others in the field would bring attention to as well. The importance of objectiveness and reliable sources is something that is far too often overlooked in popular media.

[@RogerLackman-q3q]

What made you choose archeology? I ask because I'm also in my second year of Uni with a goal of obtaining a History PhD. I completely respect archeology as history's sister discipline, but I feel like I would find it frustrating being so dependent on physical artifacts instead of written records. Hoping you can give me a new perspective.

[@yorbenhebbelinck1169]

@@RogerLackman-q3q Hi there, I chose Archaeology 2 years ago because of my shared passion of history but also science. I didn't want to give up on either and I was lucky to find Archaeology as a new field to study. However, we do not at all rely only on physical artifacts. If anything, I thought that more so about historians. We archaeologists get to discover history right then and there by being in the field. Just like for you, iconographical and written sources are extremely important to fill in the questions we have in our fields. We do however also ad a couple of scientific methods like dendrochronology to date, C14, any other biological remains. We also give extreme attention to the way we find things, how is a body orientated, is he the only one buried with such riches (indicating social hierarchy?), etc. I hope I helped you out a bit, feel free to ask more questions. Always nice to talk with historians!

[@weybye91]

They went to Constantinople to become the elite bodyguards of the emperor

[@KLanio-lr8yv]

ferengi

[@Kr1sset]

They even carved runes into walls in Constantinople, basically graphiti, saying stuff like "Ragnar was here". Such madlads...

[@KLanio-lr8yv]

@@Kr1sset church service. might be boring. for. elite warrior's

[@abstuli]

@@Kr1sset Yes, there are still three Viking runes in Hagia Sofia. Arinbárðr cut these runes, Arni and the last was probable Halfdan was here.

[@delaroxx]

I loved that you started mentioning the expert humorously as usual, and eventually just said "fascinating" once you were actually sure this was indeed an expert. hahahahaha I can relate to that on different levels! kudos from Brazil, sir! great content!

[@metatronyt]

You are spot on my friend.

[@emilialarsson496]

as a swedish woman i think i can explain the swedish society in a little more detail years ago the swedish woman are wery independent and often handled all the farming and the children all by her self for long periods when the man was in war 200 years ago in the viking age the men did trips for long periods to traid but there was civil war at home if a woman died defending her home she might have been remembered as a shield maiden or something The woman turned to christianity before the men in sweden because in christianity she could go to heaven

[@Goldenhawk583]

in christianity she was also not beheaded, and a slave to men. I dont think women converted to go to heaven, but to stay alive.

[@andrewhavrylei6333]

Idk if word "traid" was intentional or not but omg it's hillarious

[@emilialarsson496]

@@andrewhavrylei6333 haha 😅 it should be trade

[@emilialarsson496]

my english writing is making me look like a drunk crazy person ... hehe

[@swedenisthemotherland3952]

@@emilialarsson496Har du dyslexi? Eller är din engelska kunskap ytterst begränsad?

[@Heylon1313]

That was a great video, I'd love to see more in the hopes that other episodes can hold up to the standard set here.

[@caiodiniz7371]

So good to see actuall agreements and built upon comments on a reaction video

[@Runatyr9]

You should definitely react to more of their history videos. Wired definitely seems to leave the politics for the politicians

[@shocktnc]

hard disagree, every wired video I have been suggested has been political propaganda

[@williansnobre]

Did they change or are you making a cheeky joke?

[@The_Judge300]

@@shocktnc Where was the political propaganda in this video? Please stop being a clown.

13:29 A more likely indication that some of those female skeletons buried with weapons were indeed of female warriors could be that the bones of one of their arms were thicker and more dense, as it happens with those of male warriors.

[@JohnH.Sturgis]

I've disagreed a few times in other videos but let me just say -- METATRON ROCKS! Agree with a take or not, his humor, his intelligence, his fairness (not often found among academics, sad to say), are impeccable. 'Ragnar texting from Valhalla'???? Going to make me smile all day! 🙂

[@metatronyt]

Appreciate that thanks! 🙏🏻

[@bwa_8]

I love it when the video you review shows a real expert. Tous mes respects depuis le Sud de la France.

[@Bonko78]

I'm Swedish and I want to say I'm often so impressed by your diverse knowledge, Metatron! The etymology of "saturday", which is "laugardagr" in Old Norse and "lördag" in Swedish is a deep cut over here. The words "löga" and "lögardag" are words that are rarely used anymore so not too many people know where "lördag" comes from. The English word "Saturday" is purportedly taken from the Roman god Saturn but it also shares a curious similarity to "saturate", which of course means to _soak in liquid._

[@jesperlykkeberg7438]

Saturday = day of satire/satyr - day of satyr play Lørdag (Old Danish Laugardag) = day of pranks and mockery, from Laugar, modern Danish spelling "løjer" = pranks, mockery, and "løjerlig" = ridiculous, strange, hilariously weird.

[@Bonko78]

@@jesperlykkeberg7438 Thanks! Etymology is so interesting.

[@Johnnisjohnnis]

There are several stories of men killing someone because their wife told them so. Norse women didn't lack bravery nor blood thirst. I assume they would rather have their men do it for them if they had the choice. Gener stereotypes also where much more dominant in Norse culture.

[@MeanBeanComedy]

They were much more dominant in all non-modern cultures!

[@ivorybow]

My educational background is anthropology and archeology. The biggest impediment to understanding finds like this, is our own ethnocentrism. It is impossible to conceptualize other non-extant cultures because we are unable to penetrate their paradigm. I noticed that many researchers believe they understand a find if they can relate to it, and if they can't, they term it something ritualistic. Imagine 3,000 years from now our descendants trying to grasp the meaning of the millions of ancient computer screens in the ground, and deciding we sat in front of them daily and worshiped. Aside, and amusingly, would they be wrong?

[@matshjalmarsson3008]

Saturday is Lördag in Swedish, which comes from Löga, which means clean

[@jesperlykkeberg7438]

Saturday (day of satire/satyr play) is "lørdag" in Danish which comes from (1) "løjer" meaning pranks, mockery, ridicule and (2)"løjerlig" meaning hilarious, ridiculous, strange and weird. From Old Danish "Laugar"+ "Dag" = lørdag. Lørdag was the week day were pranks and mockery were encouraged and people were enjoying satyr plays and comedies.

[@matshjalmarsson3008]

@@jesperlykkeberg7438 That's very interesting, I can see some connnecting points. Lör is very close to Lura, which means to trick someone.in Swedish, we also have the word "löjlig" meaning "redicilous". Languages are interesting!

[@MisterAcker]

I do love how Metatron just doesn't roast or lambast someone for being a total fool for not getting some more obscure facts correct, but appreciates and commends them for the things they get right. A good example of him attacking the argument, not the person.

[@KeepitABuck50]

My grandma always told me I dont care what anyone says, the vikings were black.

[@vulkanofnocturne]

18:20 I agree. And I think most people do in another context. For example in american tv the executioner says "by order the state of Wherever you will be put to death by However (current of electricity, usually) ...may god have mercy on your soul..." He said god! Now we can say Christian Americans do human sacrifice! few people would agree with that, so too for the old Nords.

[@johnnygreenface]

Every society has a little bit of human sacrifice. Just depends on how it shows itself. Lol

[@theblackbaron4119]

Doesn't even need to be that. If you send a forensics/ archeological team in the far future to an American school, you could say that these were prison like sacrificial chambers where they committed child sacrifices.

[@shocktnc]

​@@johnnygreenfacenow its just called abortion

[@FlashyVic]

I'm not sure if Metatron is delighted or disappointed to finally find an expert he broadly agrees with.

[@RogerLackman-q3q]

LOL

[@KennethAunio]

Interesting... She mentioned Ahmad ibn Fadlan's account of the Vikings. Michael Crichton wrote the novel "Eaters of the Dead", which takes his account and combines it with a retelling of Beowulf. Most people would know the movie that came from it... "The 13th Warrior". The book is better (of course).

[@HiddenEvilStudios]

@@KennethAunio Aww, don't say that. It's one of my favourite movies along with Sleepy Hollow.

[@KennethAunio]

@@HiddenEvilStudios Never said I didn't like the movie. I actually like it quite a bit. I watch it whenever I happen upon it.

[@MacScarfield]

Can highly Professor Jarman’s book “River Kings”, not only does she give a good summary of Norse Society and the Vikings (it is a rather short book about 300 pages, so not over detailed, but efficient and informative), but the greatest aspect of it is that it manages to both put the Viking Age into a larger picture (especially how important their long boats could just as easily travel over oceans and (perhaps overlooked somewhat) the Rivers of Europe and how this made them part of an overlapping system of trade networks all the way to Byzantine Constantinople, Moorish Spain and even Abbasid Baghdad, with Vikings providing slaves, furs and other goods in return for silver, luxury items and other commodities) as well as an interesting micro view of how (possibly) a gemstone from India/Central Asia ended up in a Viking Grave in England!

[@Piggelgesicht]

I would love more reactions like this one! i watched the original video but wanted to hear another opinion to the answers or maybe an add on. I will cling to my screen to watch out for similar reactions and assesments 😊

[@the36lessons11]

"Drengr", the only nickname worthy of attaining.

[@EmilReiko]

Just dont flaunt term around today. In modern danish dreng is an pre-teen boy, if used on older males… its mostly as a mockery for them being immature and unmanly… It gets this meaning very early in Denmark, perhaps allready toward the end of the viking age/beginning danish middle ages… where Svend becomes the term for a warrior.

[@Graaskaegg]

And in Swedish the word goes into dräng, meaning farmhand (probably by like in Danish just calling him boy).

[@dawnrazornephilim]

Wired.... explains the title She did well though.

[@unarealtaragionevole]

Are you talking about Viking Support? This video series titles all of their videos like that, it's a play on "Tech Support" in that you can send in your questions and they will answer your questions.

[@pacmonster066]

Once again, a person who didn't watch the video

[@exantiuse497]

@pacmonster066 How come? He only commented on the title of the original video which, admittedly, is a bit lengthy

[@pacmonster066]

@@exantiuse497 Before they added "she did well though" in an edit, their original comment implies the expert must be crap because it comes from the Wired channel. Basically assuming Raph's clickbaity title (not blaming him, KZbin forces this on creators to survive) inferred the expert would be saying nonsense and that is somehow typical of Wired content (it's not, Wired produces hundreds of videos a month, some are bad, some are good, most are just fine)

[@chonky2129]

does it make you feel good when you comment before watching the content?

[@johan.ohgren]

Norse is a language group, the norse themselves spoke a variety of versions of old norse. Viking however is an activity, it´s something you do, quite common among younger men who were looking for fame and riches so they could settle down back home.

[@jmw1500]

Literally just translates to north too. "Why yes, I live in the north."

[@Jthe5th]

24:58 Carnelian is a pretty common material in Europe and around the European continent, anyone into collecting minerals and rocks knows that, often can be found around waterways, basically it can be found with relative ease once certain area is known for having it. Carnelian is a mineral used for making beads and intaglios throughout history like in the ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

[@cyberserk5614]

27:48 the Danish:"someone out there loves our language!"🥺❤

[@shadowheartart3898]

Haha. I'm danish, and I will be the first to admit that our language is needlessly complicated 😅

[@Altinget]

That the women warriors were callde shield maidens instead of sword, spear or axe maidens could suggest that their role were defensive. Maybe the formed a home guard when the men were away or something like that.

[@JohnDoe-pt7ru]

Very likely. That's what the onnabugeisha were in feudal Japan: women trained in the naginata polearm to defend the home while the men were at war.

[@TulilaSalome]

Or they went with the men on raids but more in a support role, there's definitely women mentioned in sagas - Freydís Eiríksdóttir for one. Many seem to have also settled in Britain, coming with their menfolk, if they went around fighting en masse you'd think someone would have mentioned it, but equally seems a little unlikely that they'd all sit and crochet while the men fought. And yes there was little in the way of central control in early Viking era especially, back in Scandinavia, so they must have needed to defend their homes on occasion.

[@9308323]

Interesting. If we're basing _solely_ on the name, there are actually quite a few interpretation that can be done. One is yours. Another is they're the frontliners. Or maybe they're the ones that are assigned to make and/or maintain the shields to be used in battle. But yeah, I don't claim any expertise in any of these subjects and I'm just putting some ideas using literally *just* the name.

[@The_Judge300]

The thing is that all or at least almost all Vikings used shields when fighting. Also when doing Holmgang(duel). While they could use different weapons together with that shield when fighting. Like axe, sword, seax or spear. So, the term Shield Maiden would very well describe a women that was fighting with her shield and other weapons. I doubt there were many women that would have the strength to fight in the front line, even if there could be a few. But they could very well be in the second or even the third line, using a short or a long spear as many more women could have the strength to do that. They could also very well be archers behind the lines. And yes, it is VERY likely that the women for the most part were involved in some sort of home guard if they were trained in using weapons. And the main reason for this is that most of them most likely became mothers at a rather young age and needed to stay home with their children instead of being out raiding. But I also think it is very likely that a few women took part in raiding or other combat with the men. And I think one of the reasons for why we know very little about this is that the enemies of the Vikings that for the most part were Christians and often Christian monks with a rather misogynistic view on women, would never admit that they were beaten by women if a woman or two were involved in a battle. The Christian church at that time was VERY misogynistic and the Viking women lost very many of the rights and power they had when they became Christian.

[@oldylad]

@@TulilaSalomedude, have you been to Scandinavia? While important men may bring their wife with them, most would leave them to manage the estate. They couldn’t just leave their valuables, animals, and children behind. The instances where w ek ow women where with a group of Vikings were specifically when they were attempting to colonize a new land, like in Britain. When they were just raiding, women are never mentioned, and in wars back in Scandinavia, with the little we know, they also aren’t mentioned. The absence of warrior women other than in digs in Scandinavia suggest that as the name suggests, they were a shield for the home of the family. They defended the home if they had to, but weren’t warriors. This isn’t even rare, this happens in many other cultures where the men regularly rise to war and leave their families behind and in regions with very rough living conditions. Their role as stewards or regents of the homes of their warrior husbands and as a career and teacher for their children were just as important if not more than that of the men’s role in raiding and colonizing. People try so hard to make them warrior women to be like the men when they already had a huge role, it feels disrespectful

[@kyleolson8977]

The human sacrifice is not in question. The expert does not mention the sacrificing of young women, for which we have the record of Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, whose journal might be the best we have for some of the Viking culture. It was not written to influence the public but to tell help his bosses.

[@kyleolson8977]

And it is important to remember that "Viking" is hugely broad, and this does not mean all Vikings did this. There's a lot we don't know. In the same way, many Native American tribes practiced sacrifice. Many did not.

[@vladmatei1958]

The question is irrelevant today. Many cultures had it, like the natives from South and Central American and they are all considered good.

[@patrickbertlein4626]

@@kyleolson8977 Vikings were not a group of people it was a verb for a small (5% is the estimate I have seen) group that went on viking, as a verb, expeditions during part of the year. So of those while viking would do things like invade others and another group viking would simply trade.

[@aramisone7198]

​@@patrickbertlein4626Another theory is that it means raider.

[@yokaivegaurd8707]

​@@patrickbertlein4626 Viking Vikingr means adventure so it's majority but which group of the Vikings is talked about

[@andrewhawking7893]

I don't care what they tell you in school: my grandma told me that vikings were non-binary

[@casanovafiems1508]

Umm, that is clearly incorrect, because MY grandma told me they were trans.

[@zimzob]

Non-binitarian Norsenonmen vs. Trutransian Viqueens *_FIGHT!!!_*

[@Shabbot]

Grandthey

[@SnailShoes]

​@@zimzobViqueens would for sure have the most fun rowing songs though

[@zimzob]

@@Shabbot *Grandbirthingperson

[@jonomojo]

What I find interesting is that even though Finland is not a scandinavian country, we also have this tradition still to bathe on saturdays (as in sauna and shower usually). Or at least this has been the case all my life living here in south-west Finland. Fascinating.

[@GhostOfTheFire]

just came here off the Greek Myth "Expert" so I was extremely and pleasantly surprised.

[@Sabatonrex]

I'm from Sweden, my daughter speaks almost always English, and in different dialects especially British English and Scottish and Irish, and she has self learned some Italian words and Spanish and Romanian. I'm so proud of her she learned this when she was 12 she is 14 now, many Scandinavians are good at English

[@darkside791]

Ya guys good at english because you are westernized, or should i say americanized. Losing your culture is nothing to be proud about.

[@TheEggmaniac]

I live in the UK, and I have noticed of the years, that the many Swedish people I have met, are the most fluent in English, of all foreigners. To the point of actually speaking in a localised British accent. I met a Swedish woman once , who spoke in an Irish accent. When I asked why this was, she said she had lived in a flat with some Irish flatmates for a year. I met others who sounded like they were from London. Though sometimes you get Swedish, and other Scandinavians, who speak with an American accent. I think they learnt their English from American TV and films. Anyway Im always in awe of how someone from another country can speak a foreign language so perfectly.

[@Sabatonrex]

@@darkside791 no no, I think language is part of our culture, i mean look at our history Swedish history, we have spoken latin,france, german, English, Danish, Norse, Finish. And some of our Swedish dialects are like their own language. I think that we like many other countries have embraced different languages in our culture to make it more Richer.

[@darkside791]

@@Sabatonrex Last i check Sweden was no longer Sweden, it is Swedistan now. If this is the cultural enrichment you want then no, it is not part of your culture. You guys just lack real nordic blood.

[@Sabatonrex]

@@TheEggmaniac yes that's awesome and amazing, I worked with a guy from India and i where amazed that i could talk so fluent with him, i do have spell and writing disabilities , I'm mostly self learned, my school years where tuff time to say the least, undiagnosed adhd and autism, I where diagnosed this year and I'm 41 . Yes we have bad and good speakers to, and many are speaking American, when learned English like in mid school it was more American/English in high school we had a great teacher that spoken more British English but learned us American or like more common English or neutral sounding English. And my daughter has told me that she is learing more like a American English style in school, it's mostly depends on the teacher. And yes movie's and series with English subtitles and speaking sound helps a lot, even music and books.

[@xombi213]

Vikings were actually more than one culture. Most Scandinavian cultures participated. As an example Norway and Ireland are not the same culture. Both went Viking. Viking is an activity/way of life.

[@howardhavardramberg333]

Viking Age Expert answer questions from…… TWITTER? Oh good lord

[@TheDawnbringer]

Wow! I’ve never heard you give such praise for a video! It was fun watching you react to this!

[@YolayOle]

I've watched quite a few of these wired expert videos and they are really good. They do tend to get actual experts in their fields. You occasionally get someone who comes across as a bit weird, but their answers still hold up as accurate. Unfortunately, the experts can't get nuanced on a lot of the answers, so you do have to cut them a bit of slack at times, but yeah, overall, really pleased with these.

[@gcanaday1]

My Danish great grandmother: "WE were VIKINGS!"

[@HiddenEvilStudios]

@@gcanaday1 Based Granny.

[@Belnick6666]

the TV show vikings was FUN, but they totally "#¤"# up Harald, who really died of old age of "#¤"# 80.....80 back then would have been like 140 today, lol and with 20+ offspring, not 0 like the show say. Björn Ironside did not die in that battle, he became the first Royal line of Sweden, the munsöätten or the house of munsö Im sure the "#¤" up other character too, but I only knew about Ivar Benlös(boneless )finehair and ironside before going in to the show....I have no idea about Rollo and if he had any relations to ironside or not

[@Soundofwindonsand]

Wasn't Rollo about 100 years later?

[@kjracz15]

I stopped watching the show once his sons took the stage. 😅

[@walkir2662]

"80 back then would have been like 140 today" Child mortality really makes people misunderstand age distribution... *sigh*

[@AreEia]

@@Soundofwindonsand Yes, they lumped together a lot of people and legends that have several 100 years between them in the show.

[@EIA-Observer]

Not to detract from her, since she's clearly very competent on her field, it's also rather tragic that we've come to this point, where we almost expect an expert (in any field) to be either incompetent or dishonest. Great video. I enjoyed seeing a more light-hearted Metatron, not pulling his luscious locks out.

[@humanfromearth9671]

Mate. Great video. Love your work, and quite honestly you calling us noble always makes me question myself if I am. Mostly, but not always. Its a long story, ends with thanks for your work. You are one of a few who keeps any faith in academia alive. Most academics only have a bachelor of attendance and become nothing more than a mouthpiece for someone else's ideas. Keep the faith, brother. I love you, man.

[@cattraknoff]

When referring to hanging someone, the past tense is "hanged" rather than "hung". This is a peculiar exception which only applies to executions. Laundry was hung out to dry, a criminal was hanged.

[@codyoverton447]

A big reason why the Arabic people thought the ‘rus were disgusting is because “apparently” muslim folk only wash under running or poured water (meaning it can’t be stagnant and rotting, unintentionally they preferred the conditions to not allow bacteria)

[@54032Zepol]

Almost liked they learned it from Romans my

[@RSAMommacyndi]

Most ancient cultures had / have herb lore that prevented / terminated pregnancy. The vikings had shroom lore, so I'm pretty sure they would have had pregnancy prevention lore too. Considering how population numbers were so vital to a community's ability to thrive, I also recon that the majority of those discarded babies were probably considered to be malformed in some way. It was a harsh time and being born with an extra toe was considered to be a bad omen. A breach birth may result in a broken leg which would have been considered to be a doomed future. As much as we find it horrifying now, they probably thought it was a kindness. The past was not a nice place.

[@almost_harmless]

Well, in her defense, Thor is a name used quite a lot in Scandinavia, and Thorson (or derivatives like Thorsen or Torson/sen) are common. Was it common then? I don't know. It does not mean you are the child of THOR though :D And yes. Metatron, do another. I quite liked your (as usual) based reaction and analysis.

[@gordonmacdowell8117]

Thanks for introducing me to this outstanding historian and presenter. That was well worth watching.

[@Grandwigg]

This was an absolutely fantastic video to watch. The commentary on the source, and the source as well. I believe I shall do as I did with the Lex F video and give it an uninterrupted play as well. This was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed.

[@JO-xt3om]

Metatron, hello from Louisiana in the USA! I submitted my DNA for testing about 7 years ago. I always knew about the "Highland Scottish" in my family line, from both father and mother, but was surprised to see about 20% Scandinavian in my DNA! I knew nothing of Scandinavian ancestors, so I had to think about the results for about 5 minutes. It then became obvious... Vikings! LOL. Very fair skin with blonde hair and blue-green eyes. Obvious! And my people have been in the USA since before our Revolutionary War. DNA is a wild ride sometimes! You never know what you're going to find! Great video, thank you!

[@elingrome5853]

well, the Vikings did a lot of "socialising' with the Scots ;)

[@JO-xt3om]

@elingrome5853 Yes, they did! LOL

[@bobSeigar]

Wired? Weird. Weird. Weeeirrd.

[@ryanjamesbaldock5370]

Bloody Vikings coming over ere taking our woman ! 😂

[@Roescoe]

Oi mate you got a license fer that woman?

[@darlaburns3544]

Would definitely enjoy it if you do some more. Thanks for the time you put into these. Always enjoy.