How Did Vikings Bury Their Dead?

This is the first part of a series looking at death and burial in the Viking Age.
This video will give you a brief overview of some of the trends, terms, and burial types we see when archaeologists look at a Viking age site occupied by Old Norse people. We'll also briefly discuss some more complex issues like Norse and Christian religious syncretism, inheritance, cultural contact and diffusionism. But we'll mostly talk about shiny things, ship burials, weapons, tools, and whether a corpse is crouched or extended!
There's also some love for the beautiful York Cemetery, which is where this video was filmed. It's very much a #deathpositive vibe, and if you enjoy that sort of thing, you should check out ‪@AskAMortician‬ and the wonderful work they do making death and commemoration a more open and accessible subject!
Some extra reading on current Viking death and burial archaeology in Cumbria and Iceland, and some Anglo-Saxon stuff from Sutton Hoo thrown in for good measure!
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[@rachelboersma-plug9482]

Never trust a historian who doesn't say things like, "Well, it depends," and "we really don't know."

[@berkleypearl2363]

Any good historian and archaeologist will always preface everything they say with “depending on who, when, and where you ask” and it’s beautiful

[@luciasoosova2182]

Same with ethonologists and anthropologists and religious studies. I heard some many times the variation of phrase "Well, it depends on..."

[@siaariel]

Basically every good scientist is careful in how they phrase their answers and hypotheses

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

Quote: Anybody telling something else is selling something!

[@katieyeti4420]

My partner heard your voice and glanced over. He said, and I quote, "how does that man get more attractive every time you watch a video of his?" So there ya go Jimmy, you've turned a straight man's head and I hope that compliment brightens your day. 😊

[@sarar4901]

It's a GOOD sweater vest and beard combo.

[@georgiarn3915]

I still miss Jimmy's long hair. But he does look the part of a dapper Professor now. 😉

[@eazy8579]

Gonna bury myself with a bunch of grave goods in all my reenactment kit just to fuck with future archeologists, who are gonna have to figure out why a guy is buried in Norse fashion in Mid Michigan, with 21st century tech, while wearing chainmail and buried with swords and shit

[@myrtsimyy]

They'll be excited to find a fellow nerd :)

[@virginiacardinal9563]

My boyfriend, a retired viking reenactor, said upon hearing your comment "the f***** is stealing my idea!" He is in Toronto so there will be added confusion in comparing yours and his. His kit is more focused on Norwegian finds too. 🤣

[@andruloni]

Remember to drop enough hints of time travel

[@sarahwatts7152]

A collab with Ask a Mortician would be awesome! I'm looking forward to the rest of the burial videos

[@OzzieJayne]

That would be a must-watch!

[@ladykarolyn1]

Oh yes, I would watch the hell out of that!

[@patpierce4854]

Yes indeed! That would be wonderful!!!

[@margotmolander5083]

Yes! I'd love to know what archeologists think about composting, and how a lack of human remains might be interpreted in a couple of hundred or thousand years.

[@LauraW-J]

Yes Please! I've been thinking that for a while. Glad that I am not the only one that wants to see that happen!

[@roxiepoe9586]

Rodeo riders earn large fancy belt buckles for accomplishments in Rodeo. I attended the funeral of a 17 year old cowgirl who was a very successful and accomplished rodeo rider. At the funeral her pallbearers wore, as a mark of respect, buckles that she had won. Before the casket was sealed (done graveside. very unusual in USA.) several people with whom she had worked placed "grave goods" inside with her. I saw a few buckles, a set of antique "lady leg" spurs, a handwoven rawhide rope and about a dozen silver dollars. I've been to a lot of funerals and seen a lot of different things left, but that day I wept because of the love expressed. After most of the mourners had left, her competition saddle was placed on her coffin and the pallbearers, using a single shovel, took turns filling the grave. It was a bone cold day in west Texas and the sky was full of mares tail clouds. Funerals are interesting.

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

How lovely!

[@pixeltheragdoll]

This came at a very opportune time for me. I've been busy planning my own funeral and it's been raising a few family eyebrows as I'm not going for the standard cremation or burial. I was laughing and said, "They must think I'm a heathen." I'll just call myself a Viking then! For those with a burning curiosity, it's going to be a natural woodland burial and they're going to stick an oak sapling on me after 😊

[@TheWelshViking]

Lovely choice!

[@pixeltheragdoll]

@@TheWelshViking Thanks, I'm pretty happy with it. I mean, it's just a body, but it has to go somewhere. I like that it will be growing a tree instead of churning out more toxic chemicals.

[@Bildgesmythe]

I like that!

[@stevezytveld6585]

@@pixeltheragdoll You're actually making a gift to your family with this. Thank you. Fair voyage. - Cathy (&, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi

[@KanonBlack13]

How and where? I'm interested!

[@TheSaneHatter]

We're going to need some kind of flowchart for how KZbinrs are socially connected to each other! For after watching this video, it seems that you know . . . a) Bernadette Banner b) Tasting History, with Max Miller, and now . . . c) Ask a Mortician? This is going to make one hell of a round-table discussion or shared video, along the lines of "What to Wear to a Viking Funeral and Bring to the Potluck Afterwards."

[@TheWelshViking]

For clarity: I’ve never met Caitlin, but am a fan of her work :)

[@laurenchroman2388]

That collaboration would be stupendous! So much research and so much fun!

[@MissingRaptor]

This list would be amazing. I've been trying to find other KZbinrs who are in the history/clothing circle but most of them don't feature other channels. It's more than a little frustrating

[@donaldwert7137]

When my mother died she was cremated and buried in the same grave as my father, who died 40+ years prior. She was a foster mother for many years, keeping infants, and had taken pictures of every baby. She said for years that she wanted her "baby book" buried with her when she died, so I slipped it into the vault before it was interred. When my sister was died and her ashes placed in a vault at the cemetery, I placed a few of her favorite bits of Disney jewelry in the vault. In both cases, the objects interred were of far more value to the person we had lost than they were to any of the survivors, so it seemed fitting.

[@stevezytveld6585]

If I'm understanding the information correctly, the Sitting Mummies of the Inca - they would often burry a child wrapped around a mummified guinea pig. The piggies were not only a food source, but were part of the mythology. They continue to be used in modern folk medicine. It's always gotten me - making sure not to send a child alone into the infinite. Grief writes it's own rules. Well done. And thank you. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi

[@rachelboersma-plug9482]

And if those objects *had* been valuable to the survivors, they could have been photographed or otherwise recorded. It's important to respect those kinds of wishes; good on you.

[@rachelboersma-plug9482]

@@stevezytveld6585 Inca mummies are fascinating - some of them used to be brought along to public occasions and given a drink. I read an article recently that mentioned an indigenous Peruvian who kept the skull of one of his relatives on the chimney shelf in the living room so they could stay in the loop with family affairs.

[@donaldwert7137]

@@rachelboersma-plug9482 That makes me think of the Mexican tradition of the offrenda (sp?) to remember family members who have gone before and keep them alive on the other side.

[@cypriennezed5640]

Came for the graveyard, stayed for the nuance baybeeee 🪦

[@stevezytveld6585]

Totally Tubular... - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi

[@wendynordstrom3487]

Ohh, I finally caught you right after an upload! I'm so excited for this video. I did a paper on viking burials for one of my mortuary classes.

[@TheWelshViking]

Oh yay!

[@DirtySqwerties]

Incredibly glad I found this channel. The balanced perspective, constant reference to archaeological finds, and academic integrity are fantastically refreshing. Never stop. Cheers Jimmy

[@johannageisel5390]

Can confirm the presence of grave goods in clerical burials. Under the cathedral of Magdeburg there were a couple of stone sacopharguses of bishops from the 13. to 15. century (roughly) and they had jewelry, textiles and insignia of their position with them.

[@nataliestanchevski4628]

I was raised Macedonian Orthodox so cremation is a no no. But since I'm now a poor atheist it'll be a yes yes for me, just don't tell my mum (she'll get a burial of course). We sent my dad to the afterlife with $50, a deck of cards, a pack of cigarettes, and a hat I knit for him that he wore everyday, year round, to keep his bald head warm. A bottle of rum and a lighter were vetoed by funeral home staff. His headstone has a cross and roses. A Christian with burial goods! What will future scholars make of him, I wonder?

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

That sounds like a good send-off!

[@lynn858]

Depending on how long this world gives you, and where you're located, natural burial may be similarly priced to cremation - if you manage not to die while the ground is frozen. Might appease everyone, as well as being more environmentally sustainable. Just a thought.

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

My husband's ashes have been in my front room for 10 years. Not weird at all. And perhaps cremation vs inhumation was a matter of convenience, seasonality--frozen ground--or various local customs. As you say, it varies. PS. crouched burial means a smaller hole. digging is hard before shovels!

[@kismitj]

i am fairly sure Caitlyn is very ok with you co-opting that hashtag 💜 the level of "there is Nuance" is super important in all aspects of archaeology. and i really appreciate that you talk about it.

[@januzzell8631]

I'm sure Caitlin would be thrilled :) - both of you are fascinating to listen to - thank you again

[@FennecTheRabbit]

I need this collab now.

[@azteclady]

@@FennecTheRabbit Seconding.

[@lucie4185]

Thinking I should have a drinking game sip of mead for any time Jimmy says "we don't really know", "nobody really knows" and "nuance"

[@laikax5115]

Lowkey planning to do that with my friend lmao

[@januzzell8631]

Aaaaaahahahhahhhhaaa -you saluted a Magpie!!!! I thought that was just me :)

[@lenabreijer1311]

One important thing to remember is that the funeral rites are done by others, not the person being buried. The funeral is for the survivors. My parents didn't want funerals, they were cremated. After my father died we organized a service. A celebration of life of both of them. That was for us. It gave us a chance to mourn. Oh and dad's urn sat in my bedroom closet until the pandemic was over and his ashes could be scattered in the mountains wher mom's were. I still have empty urns in the closet and don't know what to do with them.

[@NBDYSPCL]

Turn them into flower pots and plant things in them? From death comes life anew.

[@BrotherJing1]

Bury them to confuse future archaeologists

[@lenabreijer1311]

@@NBDYSPCL they are like brass vases. The necks are too narrow and the is no drainage holes

[@noexpensespentstudios]

@@lenabreijer1311 Could they hold a candle? Perhaps light them for special occasions that have importance to you and/or them.

[@doobat708]

100% agree the rites are for the survivors; aside from that, it's also about celebrating a loved one's life in a way apporpriate to them. My one grandad was a humanist, and preferred little fuss and a cremation, the other was a protestant christian, and wanted to be buried in a plot next to his wife. Perhaps you could ask local funeral homes what to do with them? Perhaps they can be recycled, maybe not as urns, but the materials re-used.

[@erinrising2799]

8:00 I placed a bookmark in my grandpa's casket, because at age 8 I couldn't imagine a heaven without a library. So that'll confuse a future archaeologist

[@azteclady]

I have been pondering for a while about the influence, not just of local customs, but also of specific political and climatic circumstances--i.e., if you are going through scarcity, you are less likely to drop usable items, that in a pinch could be traded for food or safety, in a grave, no matter how much loved or well regarded the deceased, than if you are going through a period of abundance where you have lots of different things to spare. Edited to add: loving the sunshine for you, on many levels. Re: keeping cremation urns at home: until quite recently, one of my siblings had three that we were trying to get a crypt for (maternal grandmother, mother, stepfather).

[@TheSaneHatter]

My thoughts are similar: in order to be buried with all of your "stuff," you have to be able to afford to spare it all. That's why, I think, so many of these "furnished burials" seem to be from kings and potentates, or at least the wealthy. Somewhere along the line, leaving something to the people who come after you seems to have become more important than "dying in style."

[@paulinelarson465]

I always thought that the painted or artificially furnished tombs, that had all accoutrements of life, depicted rather than physically there, were genius ! ! Your descendents kept the worldly, family wealth and faired better, the spirit had spirit objects if it was a comfort for them and there was no incentive for grave robbers.

[@kenomalley-local6561]

This seems like a good time to suggest a colab with Caitlin over at Ask A Mortician.

[@GratiaCountryman]

I would love to see a collaboration between you and Caitlin!

[@astreaward6651]

OMG I KNEW YOU WERE A DEATHLING!!! :D Awesome!

[@GallowglassVT]

It's frustrating at how few, if any, reliable contemporary texts exist on the matter, but it's also comforting to know that then, just as now, people approached the rituals surrounding death with care and nuance.

[@gypseyteague6376]

You asked for grave choices. My specialty is Heathen graves in Iceland and my favorite one and one I just recreated is the woman in the Ketilsstaðir dig.

[@SusanS588]

Not too crazy to have your dad’s ashes in a main room. My mum’s ashes in a nice box is accompanied by the ashes of the Cairn terrier who traveled with her in a pretty small box on the built-in sideboard in the dining room.

[@nailguncrouch1017]

I want to be buried with grave goods, my favorite coffee cup, and good scissors.

[@ChristheRedcoat]

"It's nuance, baby" should honestly be on a shirt.

[@judithlashbrook4684]

Firstly: double thumbs up for the death positivity, what ever form that takes! (Love Caitlin!) Secondly: still drinking everytime you say "nuance" so very happily tipsy right now! and... Thirdly: as some one who has looked into past, present and geographical difference in burial practices with a view to coming up with meaningful, acceptible, "green" options. I particularly liked your inclusion of use of ressources in the choice of "body disposal" practice and would like to add that there would possibly have been an aspect of "what was on offer".. right now where I live it's either burial in a cemetry that caters predominantly and historically for christians,, therefore the practices even for pagans, agnostics and aetheists still follows "normal" christian influenced protocol or cremation with no protocol... Thanks for this great, aesthetic and informative video!

[@nataliestanchevski4628]

Cake or death? The cake was indeed a lie.

[@AnnAnonyme]

I didn't know how interesting Viking burials would be. Excited for the rest of the burial series. Thanks!

[@hianedae]

you know, the thing you said about that it doesn't matter that much what the old norse did with a dead body but how they remember and honor the spirit...it really bring me peace

[@hianedae]

i know i sound like a ghost here but i am not..i am a very alive human person

[@m.maclellan7147]

I remember hearing that a soul stayed around as long as someone on earth was around to remember them. I believe this might be a Jewish belief. I found this truly comforting and try to think of my dad often, to keep his spirit "hanging around" a little bit longer ! (He died when I was maybe 18? I am 60 now. Still miss him.) I like to think he can "sense" me thinking of him. Total fabrication, I am sure, but it still makes me smile.

[@chrisball3778]

It's worth considering the fact that before Christianity, the Norse followed a polytheistic religion, i.e. one defined by plurality, and one that doesn't seem to have had a unified religious text. The idea that there's one 'correct' form of corpse disposal is partly one inherited from monotheistic religions that have holy books that attempt to set out a single, correct way for everyone to live and die. Historical and current pagan religions that are better documented than the Norse one sometimes have relatively consistent funerary practices, but not always. They often tolerate a variety of spiritual traditions or cults and sects devoted to different divinities, and the rituals practiced by the different factions can vary considerably. The Romans favoured cremation, but we also have plenty of Roman burials, and even mummification in places like Egypt, where they adopted local customs. It might be (pure baseless speculation follows) that if you wanted to honour Odin, it might be best to be cremated, but if, e.g. you'd previously prayed to Freya to sort out your marriage problems and your spouse took you back, you might opt for burial as a way of paying tribute.

[@siwsanpackard1140]

Great video, thanks Jimmy, glad you could enjoy the sun and the setting fantastic

[@jodieg6318]

It’s nuance! That needs to be a hashtag. I always had a feeling that then as now it was all a matter of personal preference and how much money your family could spend on the funeral. Although it does remind me of a particular bit in the Vikings TV show that really, really got under my skin. In the early days they show the Rus funeral with the ritual assault, and it’s very clear that it’s assault, cause they’re trying to be all edgy and “real” about it but then later they have Lagertha’s funeral in the same Rus style but they go out of their way to show that the ritual is consensual, they even show the deed as rather romantic with lit candles and such like. And it’s all because I’m sure they knew the main fans of the Lagertha character would not find ritual assault palatable while in the early season they were appealing to viewers looking for brutality. So not only just novelizing history but also an act of brutality too many people survive and it just makes my blood boil.

[@januszbogumil]

*as soon as i see that content warning card* it's that one rus funeral isn't it, i just know it is, i can feel it in my bones, calling it now Yep I called it

[@emom358]

When this horrible Ukraine War is finally over, I wonder what will be left of archeological sites, especially along the Dniper (sp?)

[@TeklaFrancis]

We just talked about syncretism and Mithras in my Roman Civ class. So nice to see it in this video and know the context! Love the extra reading and sources!

[@chrysanthemum8233]

Re: the idea that people buried without grave goods might have been because their heirs/family/whoever had already collected everything .... it would honestly be more surprising if there was a group of people in history where this NEVER happened. My guess would be that some people were buried without grave goods due to poverty, others due to personal/religious/family preference, and a few because their rapacious relatives had started squabbling over grandma's brooches before she was even cold.

[@m.maclellan7147]

There might have been VERY strong taboos about taking the grave goods for yourself, though ?!

[@mikeymullins5305]

Im not reliogious but for moment i was like .. but his bible? How will he preach at the second coming?😢

[@petersmedley459]

Not Christian myself but I loved the story of a Shropshire vicar who was, at his own request, buried ‘the wrong way around’. That way, come resurrection, when he rose he would not be facing towards Heaven. He wanted to be facing his congregation so that he could comfort them and they would clearly see he was there to lead them. He was noted as being a particularly thoughtful and kind man during his life, and it seems he wanted to carry that on.

[@ladyliberty417]

So informative- I needed to hear this to have a better understanding of all that was going on in different places- lovely graveyard ☠️ thanks Jimmy🥰

[@wendymontie5660]

Maybe some of it was depending upon the weather? Crouched: weather was getting bad/wasn’t great at the time = crouched for smaller holes? Winter = air burial so as to preserve wood for heating those still living? STRICTLY conjecture on my part. I absolutely LOVE “Nuance baby!” Thank you for this video! ❤❤❤

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

Exactly! Crouched burial did echo the 'womb posture'--or sleeping--but also digging was hard in bad weather and before the invention of shovels as opposed to antler picks!

[@TheWelshViking]

They had shovels

[@TheWelshViking]

The graves tend to be fairly similar sizes, so there wouldn’t have been all that much less work, usually

[@ragnkja]

@@elizabethmcglothlin5406 Until relatively recently, there were parts of Norway where winter funerals weren’t really a thing; the dead would be kept in coffins or caskets in a designated place until spring, when they’d be buried. Fishermen returning from Lofoten would stop by this place on their way home, and lift the lids to see if they’d lost anyone while they were away.

[@Aswaguespack]

Wonderful Production and Information. Looking forward to future updates in this series of funeral practices. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@crashlvmc]

Absolutely loving that one of my favorite youtubers does a video about burials and mentions one of my other favorite youtubers. A Jimmy/Caitlin collaboration video would be entertaining.

[@Skooby59]

What a dapper bloke!

[@maleahlock]

CAITLIN!!! BE FRIENDS WITH THIS HUMAN PLEASE!

[@njordmannen]

There is also the graves at Vang in Oppdal Norway, the largest iron age gravesite in norway. It has over 900 graves, and while some has mounds and markers, some did not, and the earliest ones were cremations i believe. Shows that nuance baby!

[@nataliegath395]

Dang people of the past never bothering to write down stuff that was considered assumed or common knowledge! Like, I know WHY no one would bother to write down what the normal burial rules were for a given religion/settlement, but there are so many things like that that we will never know now because it was too obvious to write, until it was lost forever. I wonder what obvious stuff from today will be baffling to future archaeologists...

[@azteclady]

all social media, but specially myspace ;-P

[@m.maclellan7147]

I think of this whenever I see trash and leaves blown into a small area......future archeological dig there !

[@beagleissleeping5359]

My brain keeps seeing the title as "Buying and cremating vikings." I've had a long, exhausting week......😂😂😂

[@stevezytveld6585]

Oh Algorithmic Overlords (both the Old and the A.I.), consider this my humble offering to thine number machines... - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi

[@m.maclellan7147]

Like this VERY much, Cathy (with a "C" !)

[@jakeaurod]

My favorite Viking burial was in the trailer for History of the World, Part 2. I didn't used to care how my body was disposed. Then I died... but they brought me back. Now I feel more thoughtful about it and wonder if we should leave something behind for future archeologists to dig up.

[@cork..]

How I brain the different names for burial types: Inhumation: human in there Cremation: crrrrrispy Excarnation: exit..Yeet. Hashtag deathpositive hashtag braingoesbloop

[@lanternheart]

Looking forward to the series of death rites! I know nothing of Welsh death rites generally, let alone in this time period, so especially curious for that one. Beautiful filming spot, too!

[@LordWednesday02]

Hey Jimmy, could you do a video on the Vendel Period? It's goes overshadowed very often and I personally love the period because of the beautiful pieces of archaeology we get from it that plays a role in what we know about said period.

[@felixc543]

i love hearing about funerary practices, thank you for this video!

[@mf8279]

A point of view from Sweden: looking at the late iron age graves we have from svealand, the vast majority is cremation graves under either a stonesetting or a stonesetting with a mound over it. Chamber graves do make a comeback during the viking age but they, along with boat graves (both types are usually inhumation graves), only make up a few % compared to the cremations. There are also stone settings that contain an inhumation graves but these Tend to mostly date to the mid iron age but are still used throughout the entire iron age. Things differ a bit if you go to öland and gotland where inhumation graves tend to make up about 1/3 of all graves throughout the entire iron age, likely because these areas saw more trade and contacts around and across the baltic which might have influenced these traditions, that compared to the svealand. Looking to västra götaland, we see an early introduction and influx of christianity in the late 800s meaning that inhumation graves became more common and make up about 1/3 of the graves as well. In dalarna and the north part of sweden, we instead have an influx of sami contacts with lake/fångstmarksgravar, commonly cremation graves but we dont know if the dead are sami with some norse gravegoods in them or norse with some sami gravegoods. Like you say; cultures and burial practices change over time with new ideas, contacts and trends and also differs depending on the availability of wood or peat for fires, material for the grave itself, wealth etc etc :) Graves are the most fun to excavate, they are always similar but totally different at the same time :) /Swedish archaeologist

[@jirup]

Nuance, nuance baby. Yes, this is how I like my history.

[@elynapege6467]

Thank you for a very informative and positive video. You are a professor in the making. I would love to attend your class! Cheers

[@snazzypazzy]

Really interesting video. I'm personally fond of (bronze age) mounds. Especially since people kept using them afterwards, so you get cremation urns put in at a later age. And more recently people often had folk tales about them, that's where the fae and the goblins etc lived. They're just very beautiful to me.

[@invisiblegoats9380]

Damn I wish sky burials were feasible here. Legitimately want to go to a body farm when I go because it's the closest it's going to get. (Also, related, would love a vid just talking about the different afterlives)

[@Donovaneagle2098]

Hi! Jimmy! I love your channel and Norse studies in general, especially as it pertains to their beliefs and practices surrounding homosexuality and LGBTQ peoples (my dad wasnt very accepting of me coming out but my Norwegian mother was very kind and loving so I got invested in studying Norse beliefs and practices, it was very validating) and I had a question in regards to Odin. In your video on Bisexual Loki you mention Odin is said to have lived as a Volva/witch for 8 years but I've found no reference of this. I did however find reference to him taking the guise of a woman in the story of Rindr and I was wondering if you could please elaborate on that, and Odin as a queer diety in general.

[@katienewell7350]

Great video! Cuthbert didn't just have his gospel book with him - he also had the famous St Cuthbert gold and garnet pectoral cross, as well as stunning silk and goldwork-embroidered vestments that are still now in Durham Cathedral. Mans was blinged up for Judgement Day!

[@sherri-annchalmers7509]

I enjoyed watching you talk in the dappled sunshine. 👍

[@crystallinecrow3365]

i rather imagine caitlin would be delighted by u using her hashtag

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

The perfect answer... It depends. Also the only answer when people are being discussed. Enjoyed learning more about this as well as seeing your bright sunny day. You have to enjoy the sunshine when you get it!

[@janosz81]

I've talked about this before in another of your videos. In the culture of the Western Slavs, burial face down is an anti-vampire burial. Similarly, if buried with a knife or a sickle at the throat, hands tied, head pierced with an iron nail or cut off and placed in the feet.

[@mandylavida]

I have my Mum's ashes and everytime I put a new shrub or tree in my garden I add a pinch or two of them to the planting hole so she is covering my garden with beautiful plants we can all enjoy.

[@ABLovescrafting]

Bring back the Nuanced Drinking game - I've got my cup of tea! (Black Jasmine today, yum)

[@bernadmanny]

Trees used to be a thing in Iceland, until overharvesting and overgrazing led to environmental degradation.

[@sElfmadecreations]

Your videos are always such a great and informative overview over scientific discourse! Although my own BA thesis where I looked at Alamannic early medieval burials and grave goods happened some time ago, the results are the same. The absence of grave goods doesn't mean Christian, and the existance of grave goods doesn't mean Pagan. There is so much nuance and I am so grateful you put such a big emphasis on nuance. I keep sending your videos to my friends who are interested in History but don't know where to start (I tend to overexplain ^^) Don't know if you've ever looked into Early Medieval Southern German discourse, but there seems to be a far bigger correlation between age and whether or not there are goods in the grave or not. Especially between 20-40 year old individuals have the most goods, everyone else as significantly less. I've talked long enough, thank you for your work and all the best!

[@cakeeeetime]

I think, now i have to emboider a "Nuance, Baby" wall decoration.

[@TamarHestrinGrader]

Very interesting, and indeed a beautiful cemetery! (I’m fond of those meself.) Much appreciate the emphasis on the sheer amount of resources cremation would require, and the role of location and the larger non-human ecosystem on funerary practices.

[@allisonarmtrong3891]

You are one of the reasons I'm learning Welsh. Also: What a pretty graveyard! My favourite burial... Not Viking by any means but, however romanticized, the Red Burial of Pafiland will always have a place in my heart.

[@melissamybubbles6139]

"Nuance baby!" I love it! I wish we had wills stating reasons for being buried in certain ways, but since we don't, it's just fine to say that local customs varied.

[@francesquinn8091]

Love your channel always something new to discover:) Hello from Dyflinn..

[@lordhank77]

My nanna had a Christian burial. She had a deck of cards and a bag of her favourite lollies buried with her. Grave goods!

[@samh7602]

Hi Jimmy. I know you spoke about your anxiety recently. I thought you would like to know that hearing your voice and watching this video helped me keep calm right before a job interview. Hope you are hale and hearty, with calm mind and soul :) Also- looking forward to those other burial videos. Was momento mori a thing in the viking age?

[@TheWelshViking]

How did it go?! (also memento mori was known of but not a widely used symbol in Europe at the time)

[@samh7602]

@@TheWelshViking Pretty good, first interview I haven't outright blown. I might get a second interview with them. Hope you're able to get some rest tonight/tomorrow 🙂

[@Torirattle]

You look lovely and smart :) and I love how informative this video was I look forward to the other funerary practice videos.

[@Ghostselkie]

He is sitting under a tree. Know I have the melody from "under an old tree" stuck in my head. (Soundtrack from Stronghold 1 ...) Thanks brain. Good video by the way.

[@Katterrena]

Wonderful video and we all appreciate the nuance.

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

Also, bishops buried with crosiers! Looking forward to the next videos!

[@KenZchameleon]

I think Caitlin would love the shoutout!

[@kellyburds2991]

My mother's had my dad's cremains prominently displayed in her home since 1998. Try explaining that to your friends in elementary school.

[@ks.kyokudonanshun]

I'm so sorry... but I got stuck on wondering why you were touching your temple when you heard magpies. Is that something?

[@m.maclellan7147]

Yes, this puzzled me as well ?!

[@camillastacey4674]

There are a whole bunch of things people do if they see a magpie, you're ok if it's more than one, but people salute, say 'hello mr magpie how's your wife and kids?' and all kinds of other things.

[@ks.kyokudonanshun]

@@camillastacey4674 So, interesting! We don't have magpies here, so I am not familiar with magpie culture.

[@carlylewis7088]

I’ve had my cats cremated and I’ve left instructions for my own cremation so that we can all be interred together (if allowed). Im happy to see the vikings were being buried with their animals

[@skiingowl]

Is there a correlation between body position and soil type? That is, do you find crouched burials in areas with dense soil or clay that might make digging a long hole problematic? Are there religious/practical/personal preference reasons?

[@anieth]

Excellent video, Jimmy. I like the light. You look very healthy and peaceful.

[@talscorner3696]

For those wondering: "inhumate" has nothing to do with "inhumaNe" ^^ If my Latin is still somewhat sharp, it's a construction of "in" (one of the various ways to say 'to' in Latin) and 'humus' (earth, as Jimmy said), so moving somebody in humo (or humum, without in) basically means consigning them to the earth.

[@kathrynbassett1535]

Another fantastic video so well explained take care Katy from NZ 😊

[@montylaloca7]

I keep on thinking the line of "ah, yes, the pagans...they were into sex, death and religion in an interesting, nighttime telly sort of way." Fascinating video, loved it. Wasn't it the Oseberg burial where they found the confounding seads? I think I enjoy that one the most.

[@beagleissleeping5359]

Me again. I remembered a story about a guy being buried in his restored classic pick up truck. Most people: Wow, he really loved that truck. Others: Well, I guess that's one way to keep his wife from selling it after he's dead. 😉

[@kathyjohnson2043]

We all like dynamic lighting!

[@teresagabriela5806]

Wherever you go, there you are.

[@laraetoday]

I'm still very much looking forward to you having your own show someplace bigger, Jimmy. Was visualization part of Old Norse pagan culture? ;)

[@TheWelshViking]

Thank you! We have no idea, as there’s really no reliable primary evidence whatsoever for how their rituals were performed

[@gigi3242]

Thank you for the video; thoughtful, as always. Take care, be well

[@georgiarn3915]

It's always odd to me that people assume that any culture or geographic area buried their people the exact same way. Even today there are numerous different ways that modern people are buried. Why would it be different in an other Era? Love that you name dropped Caitlin Doughty. If you start dropping Beau of the Fifth Column, I might pass out!

[@karladenton5034]

Our church (Grace Episcopal Cathedral in Kansas) has a columbarium chapel where my parents and my husband are buried. I slipped Walt's police badge into the niche before it was sealed. My dad has his WWII pilot wings. Mom told me not to put anything in her niche, so I obliged. I will let my son decide if anything goes in with my ashes. I find burial customs incredibly interesting. Looking forward to the other videos on burial rites and customs. Sharing your doctoral research would be interesting if it doesn't disrupt the academic process.

[@iainpearce6379]

A question to do with grave goods, I've seen this on vikings (no wait ) and I've also read about it in fiction way before that. So have you ever heard of people taking swords from graves to use in a wedding ceremony? Cheers Jimmy thanks for the videos

[@TheWelshViking]

Nope

[@maleahlock]

Thank you for the video! As always, your nuanced research makes me feel more certain about uncertainty 😊 Hope you are well.