You didn't know that about the Vikings — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Have you ever wondered where Vikings
2. 0:01actually came from? In movies, we are
3. 0:04shown mighty warriors in horned helmets
4. 0:07who look cool but get stuck indoors. But
5. 0:10in reality, Vikings never wore horned
6. 0:13helmets. Why? Because in battle, an
7. 0:16enemy could just grab you by the horns.
8. 0:19Real Vikings wore simple iron helmets.
9. 0:22The horned helmets were invented by
10. 0:25opera artists in the 19th century just
11. 0:28because it looked epic. And now let's
12. 0:30find out who they really were. Vikings
13. 0:33were not a nation. They were ordinary
14. 0:36farmers and fishermen from Scandinavia.
15. 0:39The word Viking most likely meant
16. 0:42pirate. So if you are a peaceful farmer,
17. 0:45you are not a Viking. But if you rob
18. 0:47monasteries, you are a Viking. It was a
19. 0:50profession and it was very profitable.
20. 0:53But why did they suddenly start doing
21. 0:55this? There was little land in
22. 0:57Scandinavia. All the inheritants went to
23. 0:59the eldest son and the younger sons got
24. 1:03just a kick in the butt. And then they
25. 1:04looked at the sea. They were excellent
26. 1:07carpenters and built a ship. But it
27. 1:09wasn't just a ship. It had a shallow
28. 1:12draft. It could sail on the seas and on
29. 1:16shallow rivers. It could even be dragged
30. 1:19over land. It was like a tank that can
31. 1:22swim. Europe was in shock. In 793, they
32. 1:26reached England. The Lindesfarn
33. 1:29Monastery was rich and absolutely
34. 1:32defenseless. And then they saw the
35. 1:34sails. At first, the monks thought they
36. 1:37were traders. They went to the shore to
37. 1:39greet the guests. But these were not
38. 1:42traitors. The Vikings landed on the
39. 1:44shore and hell began. They robbed
40. 1:47everything they saw. The monks couldn't
41. 1:49resist. They took all the gold and
42. 1:52burned the monastery. For Europe, it was
43. 1:55like a bolt from the blue. The kings
44. 1:57realized their coasts were defenseless.
45. 2:01But how did they prepare for their
46. 2:02campaigns? Vikings were very clean. They
47. 2:06washed more often than most Europeans.
48. 2:08Europeans considered them savages, even
49. 2:12though they themselves washed once a
50. 2:14year. They wore woolen shirts and
51. 2:16cloaks. The helmet was simple but very
52. 2:19durable. Shields were made of wood.
53. 2:22Their main weapon was not a sword but an
54. 2:25axe. They could chop with one blow. They
55. 2:28also used spears. Rich warriors wore
56. 2:31chain mail. Poor ones thick leather. In
57. 2:34battle they formed a quote a shield
58. 2:37wall. It was a terrifying sight. And
59. 2:39they were not just robbers. They were
60. 2:42excellent strategists. Vikings didn't
61. 2:45just rob. They went into the unknown.
62. 2:48Without a compass, they found their way
63. 2:50by the sun and stars. They took ravens
64. 2:53with them to find land. They discovered
65. 2:56Iceland. Then they discovered Greenland.
66. 2:58And 500 years before Columbus, they
67. 3:02reached North America. They called it
68. 3:04Vinland, but they couldn't settle there
69. 3:07because of the locals. So Columbus
70. 3:09wasn't the first. But why did the Viking
71. 3:11age end? Europe was no longer easy prey.
72. 3:15Strong kingdoms appeared. Plus, the
73. 3:18Vikings themselves began to settle in
74. 3:20new lands. They married and built houses
75. 3:24and became ordinary Europeans.
76. 3:27Scandinavia adopted Christianity. Kings
77. 3:30banned raids. Wars became unprofitable.
78. 3:34The Viking age ended in the 11th
79. 3:37century. But they left a huge mark on
80. 3:39history. Their descendants are modern
81. 3:42Scandinavians. Their languages and
82. 3:45culture are still alive today. The word
83. 3:47Viking has become synonymous with
84. 3:50courage. Their ships still fascinate
85. 3:53engineers, and the myth of the horn
86. 3:55helmets is still alive in movies. But
87. 3:58real Vikings were different. They were
88. 4:01cleaner, smarter, and more cunning than
89. 4:04we are used to thinking. from cavemen to
90. 4:07fearless navigators. And the next time
91. 4:10you see a Viking in a movie, remember
92. 4:13that horns are just a myth.