The Scandinavian History Podcast

Olav Tryggvason was a zealous Christian, but it didn’t stop him from leading violent Viking raids. He became king of Norway thanks to impeccable timing and by spending copious amounts of silver that he had acquired on his raids. Once Olav became king, he spent his reign killing pagans and making powerful enemies.

Under Harald Bluetooth, Denmark became a powerful unified kingdom. But not powerful enough to take on the Germans. Harald strengthened the southern border defenses and erected the trelleborg fortresses all over his realm. This shows not only that the Danes had impressive engineering know-how and considerable political, financial and military resources--but also that Harald was scared enough of the Germans to pay for it all. In the end, though, his downfall would come from much closer to home.

Harald Fairhair gets the credit for uniting Norway under one crown. According to the legend, he did so because a woman he fancied made this her condition for marrying him. Not because he was a ruthless and vain brute. Once Harald achieved his goal, he persecuted his opponents, raised taxes and got a haircut. Lucky for him, his nickname is based on the last of those activities.

Even today, almost a thousand years after the Scandinavians abandoned the old gods for Christianity, people are fascinated by the stories about the heroic and hammer-wielding (albeit slightly thick) Thor, his dad Odin—the one-eyed King of the gods—and Loki, Odin’s evil blood brother.

Even though the Vikings had a rich literary tradition, it was mostly oral. The sagas that have survived were written down after the Viking Age is conventionally considered to have ended and the Middle Ages begun. But the Vikings weren’t illiterate. They used their own unique alphabet—the runes—and they've left us plenty of runic inscriptions all over the place. Except in Iceland.

The Vikings who travelled the furthest away from home, reached Muslim lands around the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus Mountains. There, they encountered men who didn’t wear pants, but rather caftans or tunics, so naturally the Vikings called the place Serkland—or “Gown Land”. Many a Scandinavian trader made a fortune selling furs and slaves in Serkland. Many others lost their lives fighting local armies.

Vikings traded and raided along the great rivers (almost) connecting the Baltic and the Black Seas. They sold slaves, furs and other goods, and in return brought home enormous amounts of silver from Byzantium and Baghdad. Some Scandinavians settled along the route and set up a network of city states they called Gardariki, or “The Realm of Cities”.