What's so special about Viking ships? - Jan Bill

Explore the history and technology of Viking longships, which helped the Scandinavians conquer trade routes and new territories.
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As the Roman Empire flourished, Scandinavians had small settlements and no central government. Yet by the 11th century, they had spread far from Scandinavia, gaining control of trade routes throughout Europe, conquering kingdoms as far as Africa, and building outposts in North America. What was the secret to their success? Jan Bill dives into the history of the formidable Viking longship.
Lesson by Jan Bill, directed by TOTEM Studio.
Animator's website: www.totemstudio.tv
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[@blankname6657]

"If the goal of a captain was to preserve his ship he would keep it docked forever" - Thomas Aquinas

[@hashslingingslasher4214]

Mr. Anonymous love it

[@Tom-tr4em]

odegaard idk if the trireme would survive the atlantic

[@aaronfield7899]

More like keep it in a bottle.

[@oopsmybad7659]

The narrator has such a soothing voice I would love to listen to his podcasts.

[@user-gc9pg5rm9p]

I enjoy his voice too, does anyone know the name of the narrator

[@hazardeur]

@@user-gc9pg5rm9p It's Addison Anderson I believe and I hope he will continue to do these narrations forever. To me he is the voice of Ted ed

[@thatsroughbuddy1407]

@@hazardeur he's Ted Anderson

[@astroboirap]

Viking ASMR

[@kasa3943]

@@yuriperillo6390 r/woooosh

[@Sorcerers_Apprentice]

There's also the role of the cod, whose fatty, vitamin D packed livers allowed them to live in sunlight poor areas without developing bone problems like rickets.

[@gardenhead92]

Until they moved to Greenland and started farming...

[@user-ky4bm9dn5c]

Who are the rickets ?😕

[@Sorcerers_Apprentice]

@@user-ky4bm9dn5c It's a disease. If you don't get enough Vitamin D from sunlight or fatty fish, your bones get soft and deformed.

[@Wood111112]

It's true. The Lithuanian name for Swedes is "fish eaters."

[@calcareadk]

Rickets has nothing to do with cod liver or vitamin D. Rickets is due to deficiency of vitamin C.

[@2xHooligan]

You gotta figure Vikings probably had amazing stamina/endurance from rowing.

[@pretzelbomb6105]

Not to mention they were one of the few cultures that taught swimming as a basic skill and anyone who set sail had already memorized how to construct the ship they were sailing, so in the event of a shipwreck they could simply build a new one.

[@nathanlin6798]

Pretzelbomb damn

[@hunnitbaehunnitbae8804]

yes, but did they have leg day?

[@Kilovotis]

@@hunnitbaehunnitbae8804 Yep, it's called raiding day.

[@hunnitbaehunnitbae8804]

@@Kilovotis awesome

[@bubbaguy4411]

they left out two things that also made viking ships different than others of that era: Wool sails as opposed to linen sails. Yes, wool was heavier, but when wet; the linen holds the weight of the water with no added benefit while the wool fibers expands (also making it stronger) for more surface area for the wind. How the wood was cut. The vikings used a process that allows the log to split along the grain naturally to form planks. This allowed for long, thin planks that remained strong yet flexible as opposed to the hewn planks that were sawed and shaped against the natural grain that needed to be thick to retain their strength..

[@truefallen4370]

also how the plank were put together allowed them to move a little making sea travel smoother and less bumpy

[@stormysmurf]

There's a really good video demonstration of the way they cut wood to go with the grain for strength and flexibility.

[@atakanozkan3567]

Imagine chilling with your monk homies in Lindisfarne in 793 and seeing one of these bad bois

[@sandroskronias]

And then Ragnar saves you

[@uncledanni9352]

@@sandroskronias Booo! get off the stage!

[@Hush_Otaku]

Don't waste your time looking back, you're not going that way - Ragnar Lothbrok(Viking)

[@RussianAssassin100]

Just watched that episode an hour ago!

[@adygombos4469]

I'm still pissed off that they did Ragnar like that.

[@Larstig81]

@@adygombos4469 what? Putting him in a hole in the ground full of snakes? But history tells us there was a Viking named Ragnar Lothbrock who was killed by snakes by King Ealla.

[@karlchristoffer1275]

@@Larstig81 -and he was not happy...

[@hey7492]

Now that scene in Vinland Saga where they carry the viking ship ON LAND feels even more epic. wow

[@arnestpasaribu839]

Request: Vikings leaders biography, like Erik Thorvaldsson

[@meginna8354]

he wasn't exactly a leader, he did trick a bunch of people from Iceland to settle in Greenland so that he wouldn't be alone there

[@wackypacky6917]

The vikings were badass

[@robotsquirreI]

skol?

[@jrgensenbo2999]

RobotSquirrel ; it is skål

[@Vladklx]

And No. 1 Rapists and pillagers

[@safeman1231]

You obviously know nothing about the Norsemen

[@Motivationalwisdomspeech]

Its Skol too 😂

[@sreejasrivaram8250]

4:21 thorfinn and leif erikson proud moment.

[@dustinalecxander8647]

Vinland saga!

[@ahmaddude1423]

Haha, yeah.....

[@charulathakanala4158]

One of the best animes from past seasons

[@lettszien1835]

Yes yess

[@minnanoart7127]

Vinland saga 😁

[@anunayk7119]

0:36 no,the secret to their success is that They knew how to teach their dragons.

[@fathmaa2389]

Yes😂

[@leejaerim8972]

To train**

[@sargeanthrs]

I was searching the comments for someone to make that reference and you made my day

[@francesleones4973]

HTTYD reference!

[@ryancrowley173]

I'm waiting for someone to get r/wooshed

[@happyharmony7062]

*_IT'S LEIF ERIKSON DAY!!! HINGA DINGA DURGEN!!!_*

[@yeetme3032]

I don't know Scandinavian but it seems like Norse ooga booga

[@itacom2199]

Love ya

[@ELEGANTFOX]

Ok looks cool

[@CBRN-115]

HINGA DINGA DURGEN, HJÖNK HJÖNK

[@MsSlash89]

Sir Harmony No, Leif Erickson day is on October 9

[@abthedragon4921]

Hmm, this is a different art style for a Ted Ed video. A welcome one though.

[@tuckerrobinson5897]

yeah my thoughts too. It reminds me a bit of my runescape days

[@mirwaiz9619]

Yup, but i don't like this style

[@OSDisco]

It doesn't show details well at all

[@steventhedog94]

I really enjoy the simple design

[@kenwebster5053]

They are elegant and an amazing achievement for the times. High craft with only very basic tools and resources. The ribs did not go right through but only across a few strakes overlapping an offset rib for the next few strakes. This allowed the whole frame to flex over the swells so a light frame was resilient and fast.

[@kamenidriss]

Can we just take a moment and appreciate the amount of work that goes into this animation!

[@MrSamulai]

"Viking" was a profession, not an ethnicity. The word literally means someone who goes viking, that is to say, exploring and raiding. You could just as well call every U.S. citizen a "marine". You bet I'm fun at parties.

[@RIFLQ]

Their real name was Norse right?

[@MrSamulai]

What's that? A Norwegian who'd prefer his ancestors be called "vikings"? I mean I can't blame you, but...

[@mexicanmuslim]

@@MrSamulai Finnish people are a completely separate people's in Europe

[@MrSamulai]

+How To Vegan That's related to anything said thus far exactly how?

[@MrSamulai]

+K S Oh, that makes it even better. "Help, we were raided by going on raids!"

[@hami7022]

I'm italian student who learning english... Our teacher recommended to us to watch this video! Very helpful and clear video!!

[@Tralfagal]

Always love Viking content!

[@mace8873]

If only it was accurate...

[@safeman1231]

Even when it is a load of rubbish

[@sreejasrivaram8250]

for those who love vikings and obsessed with them, please check vinland saga.. its the best viking show...

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

Ruby Red read the manga as the art and paneling is on a whole other level. But that’s because I’m art obsessed.

[@coasteringkid]

I came here to upvote every vinland saga comment

[@PotatoSmasher420]

also Norsemen for the lulz

[@sreejasrivaram8250]

@@Gadget-Walkmen u don't have to tell an aspiring artist about art. I am already caught up with the manga😄

[@friedlemons5201]

There's also vikings and the last kingdom which are less accurate (especially vikings) but are pretty good shows.

[@ra-one9564]

The background soundtrack made it even more Intense and interested to watch ❤️..

[@yeatnaiteck6172]

Yay, now I know more about the ships in Vinland Saga. Thank you TedEd

[@icarusash2241]

Learned more About Vikings here than from books !! Thanks TED ED!!

[@mace8873]

Too bad it was mostly wrong.

[@jessepinkman3075]

Scandinavian represent 🙋🏽

[@hijodelsoldeoriente]

Hoping for the Philippine/ Maritime Southeast Asian Karakoa boat to be featured. Wonder what are the similarities and differences between the vessels of both major seafaring cultures.

[@somerandomguy3129]

Lol looks like I'm not the only one that noticed the similarities of these two ships. And how we used them xD

[@philRminiatures]

A wonderful video about these famous and fabulous ships...Superb!😍😍

[@kiakay4867]

Thanks this helped a little bit with understanding Viking ships.

[@milkbottle9952]

This type of 3d animation makes it more emersive love it

[@lamandigital]

Gives me this goosebumps

[@bobsmoot2392]

Excellent presentation. I learned some things, and I'm a sailboat designer/builder. Subscribed.

[@Magentmeta]

Lindisfarne: Why do I hear boss music?

[@tycoongamer2416]

😂😂😂😂

[@anklepick9524]

lol

[@ellawong2171]

this animation is honestly beautiful

[@ShivamPandey-wz3si]

Background music is outstanding!!!!and ofcourse the voice over is fantastic... great job guys..

[@Irondragon1945]

Props to the animator! The animations might need some tweaking and refining maybe, but the 3D already stands out among the other TED-Ed content!

[@jackvader4898]

The thing about Viking longboats is that they can bend a lot without breaking in storms but were thin and short enough to go through rivers

[@shoai1bb]

I love this guys voice! It's perfect for the animation!!

[@feynstein1004]

The special thing about Viking ships was that they were built by Floki 😉

[@raihanalam9]

Floki the boat builder.

[@ashishkinge7162]

floki🔥🔥🔥

[@disky1784]

I'm glad TedEd is doing a video about Vinland saga

[@sarahh1014]

I love this animation style!!

[@l.o.b.2433]

"inhospitable north known today as scandinavia" Well it wasn't as nice as italy but inhospitable? Isn't that a bit of an overstatement?

[@kleko]

Denmark was okay, but Sweden and Norway is just a bunch of mountains and river valleys. Also snow & tundra.

[@PokePresto]

@@kleko Not true. Both Norway and Sweden have a lot of livable grassy plains. Like Jæren and the east.

[@friedlemons5201]

Yeah, saying Scandinavia was inhospitable as if it were Greenland is definitely an overstatement

[@kovona]

@Marius Periwinkle Southern Sweden is fairly temperate, but most of Sweden, Norway, and Finland fall under the Koppen classification of subarctic or arctic climate. Agriculture is possible in these colder areas, but not prosperous. Though during the heyday of the Vikings, the region was warmer.

[@paddor]

It all depends on the time of the year.

[@mjstory1976]

Awesome and informative video

[@Hush_Otaku]

Power is always dangerous. It attracts the worst, And Corrupt the Best. -Ragnar Lothbrok ( Viking)

[@kazokutan8025]

Here is a quote I forgot who said it though Power tends to corrupt,absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[@bigleggo6738]

Great Animation.....Amazing Job

[@toomastamm9190]

Really helpful

[@kotdish]

Well you see, they look super cool!

[@danielcuevas5899]

You always come out with topics I was just thinking about.

[@mikesands4681]

Lovely animation

[@KAYEscl0sed]

The animation is incredibly videogame-y. Nice.

[@hitblank2320]

The sound Soooo good

[@senecamontezdeoca3434]

I love these animations

[@GraffErFett]

Hello:) im a professional viking ship builder , I’m one of the very few in the world with this practical expertise/education. I work with historians and archeologies and build replicas of vikingships with the original tools and methods. I can tell you the most important and unique things regarding the construction of a Viking ship that was never mentioned here. How was the ships so light? And still so strong? The main reason for that is that the Vikings didn’t use saw, they used axes and wedges to split the oak and pine to super thin boards. That’s a lot of extra work (which they had slaves for) but you don’t break the fibers in the wood (witch is about 90% of the strength) therefore the high strength. A Viking ship also has 3 keels not 1 to be able to have even thinner boards. The extra ones are placed in between the middle of the boards (the 6th to the 8th board) and they are called Meginhufr. Have a good day:)

[@GraffErFett]

If you wanna know more about what a real Viking ship looks like, search for Saga Farmann which me and my colleges built a couple of years back:)

[@Wilpsn]

Askeladd best hero of 2019

[@stephenahn7866]

awesome

[@nielsarum8057]

determination and will made it possible...

[@sabitabanerjee9561]

Great animation. Next Viking video should be in this type of animation

[@nighteternal2268]

Floki would be so proud watching this! 😁

[@clarkquesto9770]

The video is awesome! Reminds me alot of Vinland Saga

[@michaelbalbautog3087]

The animation was on point

[@mikejade4146]

whoever creates these TED-ed animations deserves more credit than ever alongside tha narrator

[@mace8873]

However, the researcher should be fired.

[@biggicheese9590]

Good info

[@leaitihr9885]

Also there are a ton of much mpre useful and revolutionary designs

[@maxhill9254]

thanks

[@petter5721]

Great story 👍🏻

[@francesleones4973]

I needed more Viking videos. Thanks, TED-ED!

[@HKCREATESUNIQUE]

Which software you use to make animation?. Please tell me

[@luachutin7078]

The animation is so creative

[@nishantshrivas7746]

New animation looked great 🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@KP-gf4zd]

Ted-ed: what is so special about viking ships? Me: do you want to get attacked by one?

[@YouAndImpact]

Great Video

[@00kidney]

So fabolous!

[@SnoopyDoofie]

Legend has it that vikings loved being rained on when sailing.

[@michaeljacksheeheen]

Is it weird that I really like this narrator? Like it feels weird to listen to others on this channel

[@Nobrainerist]

this was a grate video, fun fact the viking ships were the first to be built as clinker built

[@zarinaa1135]

"This is Berk. It four days north of Hopelessness and a few degrees south of Freezing To Death. My village. In a word, sturdy. It's been here for seven generations bit every single building is new. We have hunting, fishing and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problems are the pests. Most places have mice or misquotes. We have...DRAGONS!!!"

[@kiratpreetsingh4107]

Have u read how to train your dragon by cresida cowells ?

[@rahulabraham1098]

I was looking for an HTTYD comment

[@zarinaa1135]

@@kiratpreetsingh4107 Nope. Just the films

[@Preston241]

The tv series is worth a watch.

[@InfansDeAter]

Long, hard, light and sturdy!

[@Chooseyourownhandle]

The animation is epic

[@vlogswsohini]

This seems interesting

[@hylacinerea970]

oh yeah this is what i like

[@eunizii6203]

Ok but the visuals are super pleasinfggf

[@louisageer4227]

your the best

[@FrostbiteB83]

3:20 Oh my God. ¿Is that Stoic from "How to train your dragon"!?

[@duchi882]

They used their Boats to find Vinland Saga an Emo dude Thorfinn's Father was killed on one and legend has it a guy named Thorkell the Tall can lift a Viking ship by himself

[@chvhndrtntlr3482]

now I want ted ed give video about austronesian boat that use double hull and triangle sail, the fastest and most efficient boat to seafaring

[@Moon-li9ki]

I got into this anime called Vinland Saga so this is a pleasant surprise to me

[@alexdelaney8577]

epic vic roy

[@pulkit5367]

Watching this to enhance my knowledge about the Viking history after watching first season of Vinland saga

[@Patou19Pat2]

I love the animations haha

[@anjalikashyap8739]

Just saw video about Vikings. My Brain : Toothless!

[@Hush_Otaku]

Floki Somewhere in valhalla - Who needs a reason for betrayal? One must always think the worst. That way you avoid much disappointment in life.

[@CBRN-115]

It's the "peace was never an option boat"

[@alinaumer7543]

Ted-Ed back at it again with the amazing animation! 💓

[@mace8873]

Too bad the info is incorrect.

[@user-uo1yn4se8r]

i like the animation

[@shahalarahman9544]

voice is soooooooooo relaxing

[@u.g.3298]

Great, now I want to play a strategy history game.

[@fjord9145]

One of the most important things were left out. The logs used for a skip were not cut with a saw but cleaved with an axe, making it flexible and stronger then other ship planks.

[@aragix]

The way a plank is cut doesn't matter. The planks on a viking ship were very thin, and made in the right shape by steaming the planks and then placing them on the ship.

[@fjord9145]

@@aragix it makes a difference wether to cut a plank and destroy the natural connections/fibers within the wood or to use an axe and maintain them. Of course they were thin, but that could only be achieved by cleaving the logs in the right places back then

[@michaelnorris4629]

wrong. Splitting the wood made it follow the grain. That made it both light and strong. Sawing does not follow the grain.@@aragix

[@amiratazkia]

My brain: VINLAND SAGAA

[@bthanbeethan5590]

Hey Ted Ed, ever heard of Invinta the KZbin channel, there doing a documentary on the Punic Wars you should see if you can get involved in it

[@sreejasrivaram8250]

0:42 this ship looks exactly like askellad's ship from vinland saga... is this some sort of vinland saga reference?

[@danatrick4868]

Vineland Saga takes place during the period where Vikings were active in Europe. The author most likely studied and referenced the various designs and structures of the Vikings' boats for the characters' boats.

[@Gyropilot42]

Pretty sure both are referencing the same thing, viking ships

[@astro2937]

I thought so too but it's probably just how most/all Vikings ships were in that era Vinland Saga is faithful to history ig

[@mace8873]

Whatever it is, it's about as wrong as the info shared in the video, a ship of that length to width ratio would be a merchant ship, not a warship, and thus not have shields on the sides.

[@gabrielluyo4677]

I'd love yo know the software you made de 3D scenes with

[@2G1B]

10/10 animation and narration! Awesome ending transition to other related videos as well!